Real Kashmir FC face defending champions Chennai City FC in their first I-League home match of the season on Thursday in the first big sporting event in the Kashmir Valley since it became a union territory. The abrogation of Article 370 and the ensuing lockdown in the valley in August had raised security concerns, but Real Kashmir have made elaborate arrangements since then, allaying the fears of the visiting teams.
Former Chief of Army Staff General Sundararajan Padmanabhan, affectionately known as 'Paddy' in army circles, passed away in Chennai due to old age, a source close to him said on Monday.
Pak had realised in 2018 that Hurriyat Conference, the separatist conglomerate created by Inter-Services Intelligence, won't be able to deliver any more
In 2022 Nanaji Dembi pulled down the Hurriyat office board in Srinagar, an act of defiance that grabbed headlines. Despite such nationalistic bravado, the BJP has denied him a ticket for the assembly election.
The separatists, under the banner of Joint Resistance Leadership, on Tuesday called for a strike for Thursday against the killing of Shujaat Bukhari and also civilians allegedly in security forces firing.
Schools, shops, business establishments, private offices and banks remained closed in most pasts of the Valley due to the strike, officials said.
Curfew was on Friday lifted from Anantnag after four days even as life returned to normal in the Kashmir Valley after hardline Hurriyat Conference suspended protests for the day, the last Friday of Ramzan.
Rediff.com's Jammu and Kashmir correspondent Mukhtar Shah takes a real close look at the young protestors of the Valley, their struggles and the challenges they pose.
A list of lesser-travelled destinations in India that you must explore this year!
'Fears in Washington began to intensify when it was realised that subsequent Pakistani and Indian attacks on major military facilities -- which were significant in terms of geographic scope and intensity -- could rapidly take both sides to where neither actually wanted to go.' 'The US objective was to stop the fighting as soon as possible. Everything else was secondary.'
A strict curfew blanket spread across Kashmir valley ensured a peaceful Friday and stymied the call for a march to the Eidgah ground in Srinagar to attend a rally against the hanging of Parliament attack convict Afzal Guru at Tihar Jail in Delhi last Saturday.
The logo for India's Operation Sindoor, which has captured the imagination of millions, was designed by two Armymen. The operation, a decisive military action against terror camps in Pakistan and Pakistan-Occupied-Kashmir, was launched in response to the Pahalgam massacre. The logo, featuring a bowl of vermilion, has become a powerful symbol of India's resolve against terrorism.
For over two months the Kashmir valley has simmered with discontent against the government as youth have thronged the streets demanding azaadi. Some human images from the conflict zone.
Three earthquakes on Monday shook Kashmir within an hour but there were no reports of any damage caused anywhere in the valley.
Pakistan has halted the construction of contentious canals in Punjab province after India suspended the Indus Waters Treaty following a deadly terrorist attack in Kashmir. The decision to suspend the canals project was made after Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif met with PPP chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari and agreed to address the concerns of Sindh province, where the project had sparked protests. The canals project, aimed at irrigating the desert region in Punjab, was seen as a threat to water resources in Sindh. Both sides have agreed to seek consensus on the issue in the Council of Common Interests (CCI), a high-powered inter-provincial body. Meanwhile, Pakistan has reiterated the importance of the Indus Water Treaty for its water security and economy, and condemned India's move to suspend it.
'From the time we landed to the time we left, we got so much love that I didn't feel like coming home.'
Rahul Gandhi arrives in Kashmir Valley on Thursday on a two-day visit, bringing along a strong business delegation that will include Ratan Tata and Kumar Manglam Birla, to a state seeking more investments.
Political parties and leaders wait with bated breath for the Haryana and Jammu-Kashmir assembly poll results on Tuesday.
'Innocent lives lost. Tourists, families, people who were just... living. Seeking beauty. Seeking peace. And now there's only grief.'
A retired school headmaster from Jhalda, West Bengal, mourned the loss of his 33-year-old son, an Intelligence Bureau officer, who was killed in a terrorist attack in Pahalgam, Kashmir. The incident sparked outrage and calls for justice as families and political leaders expressed grief and condemned the attack. The victims' families recounted the horrifying details of the attack and praised the courage of a local taxi driver who rescued survivors and provided support.
Designer duo Shivan and Narresh, who are facing backlash for displaying 'obscene' garments at a fashion show in Gulmarg last week, have said their sole intention was to celebrate creativity and regret any hurt caused by the event during the holy month of Ramzan.
'I want to break the notion that models can't act.'
The third-highest category of security in the country has been granted to Agnihotri because of the film-maker's increased threat perception after the The Kashmir Files release.
Amid rising tensions between India and Pakistan, the US has called on both countries "not to escalate" the conflict. Secretary of State Marco Rubio is expected to speak with the foreign ministers of Pakistan and India as early as today or tomorrow. The US State Department said Washington is reaching out to both India and Pakistan "regarding the Kashmir situation" and telling them "not to escalate the situation."
Union Home Minister Amit Shah asserted that the abrogation of Article 370 in 2019 was crucial in ending terrorism in Kashmir. He stated that the provision fostered separatism among Kashmiri youth and impeded the region's full integration into India. Shah also highlighted the development initiatives undertaken in Jammu and Kashmir post-Article 370, including a reduction in terrorism, successful local body elections, and an increase in tourism and film production. He emphasized the significance of writing India's history with facts and evidence, countering narratives that had obscured the country's rich heritage.
'We called him Sher-e-Kashmir but we realised he was no lion but a pussycat who surrendered.'
President Pezeshkian on Saturday said that Iran unequivocally denounces such "inhumane acts", Iran's embassy in New Delhi said in a post on X.
Tourist hot spots like Gulmarg and Pahalgam woke up on Friday morning under a thick blanket of snow.
"China is an absolutely impossible factor to ignore in what has been our confrontation with Pakistan," Tharoor said.
Citing media reports, KPSS chief Sanjay K Tickoo claimed that the Hindus living in Kashmir wanted to leave the Valley but the government was not allowing them to do so.
A glass igloo restaurant in snow covered Gulmarg has become one of the prime tourist attractions in the Kashmir Valley.
The senior Congress spokesperson posted on Twitter that on many occasions in the past, he had "cautioned that the Kashmir issue or problem (or by whatever name it is called) was a festering wound".
In all the instances of sniper attacks, the terrorists used a nearby hillock to carry out strikes on a security force campus when unsuspecting jawans were using their mobile phones to talk to their family or friends.
For the Kashmiri people, the gun remains India's main face, and coercion or deception by New Delhi dominates their consciousness, says Praful Bidwai after a recent visit to the valley.
"For those who accuse the opposition of 'politicising' this issue: There is nothing more 'political' and 'anti national' than the shutting down of all democratic rights that is taking place in Kashmir," Priyanka Gandhi said.
Cold wave tightened its grip further in Kashmir Valley and Ladakh region as minimum temperatures in most places dipped several degrees below the freezing point.
Sachin Tendulkar, Virat Kohli, and Shreevats Goswami spoke out-some demanding an immediate and total severing of sporting ties with Pakistan.
Life across Kashmir valley was badly affected on Friday by a protest shutdown called by hard-line separatist leader and All Parties Hurriyat Conference chairman Syed Ali Shah Geelani.The strike had been called to protest against the alleged human rights violations in Kashmir.Although authorities didn't impose any restrictions in the old city, security across Srinagar has been beefed up to maintain law and order.
As a spate of targeted killings of minorities rock Kashmir, a Kashmiri Pandits' organisation on Friday said some employees from the community, who were provided government jobs under a rehabilitation package in 2010-11, have started moving to Jammu quietly fearing for their life, alleging the administration was unable to provide then a secure environment.
