Barring a clash between protesters and security forces which left one person injured in Sopore, situation in strike-hit Kashmir Valley remained calm though restrictions were imposed in parts of interior city where Hurriyat Conference had planned to hold a meeting.
Intercepts of communication between terrorist groups have suggested this.
Ahead of the all-party delegation's visit to Kashmir Valley next week, Congress President Sonia Gandhi held deliberations with senior party leaders on the strategy for the troubled state.
The ban will be in place for a month or till further orders, whichever is earlier, said an order issued by Principal Secretary Home R K Goyal.
On August 5, the Narendra Modi-led government abrogated Article 370, which gave the state of Kashmir special powers, and decided to transform the state into two Union Territories -- Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh. Since then phone networks have been cut off and curfew-like restrictions have been imposed, leaving residents in a state of despair. On September 29, Union Home Minister Amit Shah attacked the Opposition for spreading "misinformation" about Kashmir. There were no "restrictions", he said -- they were "only in your mind". Sixty one days later, this is what normalcy looks like in the former state, particularly the Kashmir Valley.
Most of the public transport on inter-district and intra-city routes remained suspended but some private vehicles were seen plying on the roads, the sources said, adding no untoward incident was reported from anywhere in the valley so far.
Curfew was on Wednesday clamped in four districts of Kashmir Valley to foil a march by the separatists to the United Nations office in Srinagar demanding withdrawal of troops from Jammu and Kashmir.
The Kashmir Valley received fresh snow Sunday that blocked the Jammu-Srinagar national highway yet again. The blockade of the highway stranded hundreds of vehicles at various points on the highway.
Banks, ATMs and quite a few markets were kept open on Sunday while 2.5 lakh sacrificial goats have been made available in the Kashmir valley to help citizens celebrate Eid-ul-Azha with traditional fervour.
'The wave of terrorism is over in Kashmir. Local people do not support it.'
Fourteen youths from Kashmir Valley have reportedly joined militant groups this year, the government told Parliament on Wednesday.
The intensifying cold wave sweeping the Kashmir valley froze parts of the d famous Dal Lake located in the heart of Srinagar. This has made rowing difficult for fishermen and boatmen.
Rejecting Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari's statement that Kashmiri militants are terrorists, separatist leaders in the Kashmir Valley said he was 'ignorant about the sub-continent's history'.
Kashmir Valley remained under curfew for the third day on Monday even as mobile Internet services remained suspended and newspapers failed to hit the stands following hanging of Parliament attack convict Mohammad Afzal Guru.
The Pahalgam massacre highlights the evolution of terrorism into a multi-domain challenge. India's response must similarly evolve -- from tactical retaliation to comprehensive strategic deterrence. To establish a credible and sustained deterrent, India must also carry out continuous kinetic operations, both overt and covert, suggest Sakshit Raina and Rahul Mishra. To establish a credible and sustained deterrent, India must also carry out continuous kinetic operations, both overt and covert, suggest Sakshit Raina & Rahul Mishra.
Survivors of a terrorist attack in Jammu and Kashmir's Baisaran recount a horrific massacre in which 26 tourists were killed. The attackers, clad in brown clothes and wearing GoPro cameras, demanded to know who was Hindu or Muslim before firing indiscriminately. Families of the victims demand accountability and justice, calling for increased security at tourist spots.
More companies of the Central Reserve Police Force were rushed to Srinagar on Thursday to reinforce the security bandobast in the valley where curfew was imposed on Wednesday. The army conducted flag marches in sensitive areas of the capital on Thursday afternoon to assist the civil administration in the enforcement of the curfew imposed in the wee hours of Wednesday.
The resolution asserted that the House "is of the firm and considered view that there cannot be any compromise on unity, integrity and national security.
The pages on Facebook and Instagram were created to negate the lies and propaganda flowing from across the border and also to apprise people of the real situation in the Kashmir valley, an official said.
As we continue our climb, I meet 59-year-old Pushpa Devi from Banaras. I stare at her in wonderment when she tells me this is her 45th visit to the temple. She is equally bewildered to hear this is my first visit!What is it that draws her here each year? 'Bas ek shabd hai. Shraddha. (There is just one word. Faith.)'
'Although the tactical move to outflank the BJP fell through with New Delhi's decisive intervention and eventual dissolution of the state assembly, the PDP, NC and the Congress appeared to be more than satisfied.' 'They see the assembly dissolution as their 'great achievement'.' 'If one were to believe what they say, this was also their main objective,' reveals Mohammad Sayeed Malik, the doyen of Kashmiri commentators.
People, who have been virtually been kept indoors because of heavy security deployment in the wake of removal of special status for Jammu and Kashmir and bifurcation of the state, were allowed to go to mosques in their localities without being asked any questions by security personnel.
Is Azaadi the proverbial opium that has been sold to successive generations by the previous ones, or, is it something more fundamental?
Two persons were killed and eight others injured when security forces opened fire to quell stone pelting mobs in curfew bound Kashmir valley on Friday.
One person was killed and five others were injured when security forces allegedly opened fire to quell stone-pelting mobs in Budgam district of central Kashmir on Friday.The fresh protests came even as the curfew remained in force in Srinagar and other major towns of the Kashmir valley for the fifth successive day on Friday. Five persons were injured when security forces allegedly opened fire to disperse hundreds of people who defied curfew and indulged in stone-pelting.
A set of new standard operating procedures have been issued by the force headquarters in Delhi for vehicle-mounted movement of troops in Jammu and Kashmir, and it has also been ordered that the 'passenger manifest discipline' for each vehicle in the convoy be strictly adhered to.
The judicial commission appointed by the Jammu and Kashmir government to probe 17 civilian deaths in the Kashmir Valley, between June 11 to July 19 this year, started its process of inquiry on Thursday. Secretary to the Commission of Inquiry Tariq Ahmad Banday issued a public notice, seeking information from persons, groups or organisations having any knowledge about incidents which led to the killing of 17 civilians, beginning with death of 17-year-old Tufail Ahmad Mattoo.
The Indus system of rivers comprises the main river -- the Indus -- along with its five left bank tributaries, namely, the Ravi, the Beas, the Sutlej, the Jhelum and the Chenab. The right bank tributary, the Kabul, does not flow through India.
Fed up with repeated strikes by separatists in Kashmir Valley, shopkeepers are up in arms against protestors, who are tasting their own bitter pill as locals are attacking them with stones. Clerics have also started making fervent appeals from mosques to open shops and restore normalcy in violence affected areas. An incident of clash was recently reported from Peerbagh in Budgham district of Central Kashmir - the scene of violent protests during the last few weeks.
The women, after their 45-day induction training and combat-stress inoculation, will be deployed in the valley to tackle stone-pelters and protestors, including women.
The Jammu and Kashmir Education Department is planning to compensate for the loss by extra and special classes. Some schools are also opting for e-lectures that are distributed to the students through Internet.
While there was unrest in the rest of the Kashmir valley, the Dal Lake was serene and peaceful.
Pakistan said demilitarisation in Kashmir would improve the atmosphere and conditions for the Kashmiris, who he alleged are subjected to continuous intimidation by Indian security forces.
The AFSPA, often criticised as a draconian law, gives armed forces operating in disturbed areas sweeping powers to search, arrest and open fire if they deem it necessary.
Life in Kashmir Valley on Saturday returned to normal as authorities lifted the curfew and the hard-line Hurriyat Conference exempted the day from its schedule of protests and strikes. Curfew was lifted from the entire Valley, except Kangan town in Ganderbal district, on Friday night as the law and order situation across the region remained peaceful, official sources said. The sources said restrictions were not eased in Kangan town.
The education sector has been badly hit in Kashmir Valley during the five-month-long unrest, causing "irreversible loss" to students, the Economic Survey Report has said.
Ghulam Nabi Azad remarked that the figures are not high enough to know whether the people are happy or angry with the abrogation of Article 370 and bifurcation of Jammu and Kashmir into two Union Territories, Mehbooba Mufti said it is a message that the people have not accepted the Centre's decisions.
