The first batch comprising 1,160 Amarnath yatris was on Friday flagged off by the state tourism minister from Jammu base camp to the holy cave shrine in south Kashmir Himalayas.
Nine persons have been killed so far in ceasefire violations over three days, police officials said.
Zakaria, while talking about the unrest in Kashmir, claimed that 'genocide and crimes against humanity committed by India in Kashmir' were going on unabated.
Asking Pakistan to stop ceasefire violations, Home Minister Rajnath Singh on Saturday said while India has been offering its hand of friendship, Pakistan was repeatedly targeting border areas in India.
This is the first time that suicide attackers have adopted this tactic.
The DCW chief had been demanding death penalty for rape of minors and setting up of fast-track courts across the country to try rape cases, along with other demands.
The ceasefire violations and firing from across the Line of Control are "quite serious" and the government wants a "quick resolution" of the problem there, IAF Chief Arup Raha said.
Situation in Jammu was "tense" on Friday as Sikh youth defied prohibitory orders and held protests in various areas as part of a three-day old agitation which is spreading and saw one more policeman being stabbed and his AK rifle taken away.
Using the hashtag 'Janta Maaf Nahi Karegi' (people will not forgive) in a tweet, Modi attacked Sam Pitroda, who looks after Congress's overseas affairs, for reportedly saying that post the Mumbai terror attacks, India could have responded with air strikes, but "according to me that's not how you deal with world."
Defence Minister A K Antony condemned the "dastardly attack" by terrorists on security posts in Jammu region on Thursday and said the forces will not leave any stone unturned to deal with the terrorists with a firm hand.
'The people of the state can be won over by love, and not by swords.'
The shelling was so intense that the deafening sound of mortar shell explosions was even heard in the Jammu city, residents said.
The cross-border firing has forced many to take shelter in government-run camps.
Jammu and Kashmir high court has ordered the transfer of the Mobile Magistrate in connection with stopping an ambulance over using red beacon, which led to the death of a heart patient inside it due to delay in getting medical aid in North Kashmir.
The Border Security Force on Wednesday said Pakistan's border guarding force was deliberately targeting civilian areas and its Army directly supporting the troops in the shelling on these areas and Indian posts along the International Border.
The minimum punishment in cases of rape of women has been increased from rigorous imprisonment of seven years to 10 years.
Fearing disturbances from across the Indo-Pak border, Jammu and Kashmir government will relocate 125 polling stations along the borderline in Jammu district to safer places to ensure border dwellers vote freely.
Fresh protests against arrests in connection with the Kishtwar communal-strife on Tuesday rocked Jammu, Aknoor, Ramnagar and Samba areas even as curfew was relaxed in several towns of the Jammu region.
Restrictions have been imposed in five police station areas of Srinagar, a police official said.
Heavy mortar shelling and firing by Pakistani troops continued unabated along the International Border in Jammu and Kashmir on Wednesday killing two more people -- both women -- even as a "massive" reply was being given from the Indian side.
Curfew continued on Tuesday in Kishtwar for the sixth day running, even as restrictions were partially lifted in Samba district and other areas of Jammu region, which were witness to recent incidents of communal clashes.
Facing difficulty in guarding riverine sections of Indo-Pak border, the Border Security Force has started installing laser walls to fill the gaps which saw several breach by militants from across the border.
'As the weeks passed, we saw our group changing.' 'It was becoming a microcosm of the world outside -- a world we had hoped would never intrude into this space,' says Veenu Sandhu.
Pakistani troops heavily shelled 15 border outposts and hamlets along the international border overnight, leaving three persons injured, one of them seriously in Jammu district.
'It promises to get much, much darker before the dawn.' 'But at least dawn has a fighting chance,' says Mitali Saran.
Warning that the 24-hour long lull on the border can take "any turn any time", the Border Security Force on Sunday said that it was fully prepared to deal with any eventuality and any border build-up by the Pakistani side on the International Border in Jammu and Kashmir.
The Congress on Saturday said that twin attacks were the direct fall out of Mufti playing footsie with Pakistan
Pakistan on Monday displayed white flags along the International Border in Samba sector possibly as a mark for having peace but it did not respond to calls for a flag meeting between border guards to de-escalate tensions.
A large population was forced out of their homes due to heavy shelling and firing.
The fifth and last phase of the state assembly polls in Jammu and Kashmir ended on Saturday with a turnout of 76 per cent.
"The issue is not whether India is first or third or fourth, the issue is that this perception should be taken seriously to set our house in order".
The opposition Peoples Democratic Party on Sunday called for urgent de-escalation of tension along the Line of Control.
As the body of Border Security Force soldier Gurnam Singh wrapped in the tricolour arrived at his home, his mother Jaswant Kaur kept the promise made to her son not to cry over his martyrdom.
This is the second major ceasefire violation along the IB this month and came despite Director General Military Operations of the two countries agreeing, on May 29, to implement the ceasefire pact of 2003 in "letter and spirit".
Cheap milk prices, rising fodder cost and the difficulties in buying new cattle and selling old ones on account of cow vigilantism have cast a triple shadow on this sunshine sector in Indian agriculture, reports Sanjeeb Mukherjee.
The Jammu and Kashmir government has already identified 36,348 families for distribution of the package under which each family will get around Rs 5.5 lakh.
Ceasefire violations by Pakistan Rangers continued on Thursday with 60 Indian border outposts and over 80 villages coming under mortar shelling and firing in Jammu, Samba and Kathua districts along the International Border.
Bodies of all the five soldiers were flown to their home towns after the wreath-laying ceremonies, the spokesman said.
'From the evidently pre-selected questions to the promotional slides on a screen redolent of the official audio-visual department, the choreography was palpably intended to present the prime minister in as good a light as possible in a 'safe' environment insulated from uncomfortable questions,' says Amulya Ganguli.
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