'The Pakistani State has to realise that the pigeons have come home to roost.'
Kashmiris across the region condemned the terror attack in Pahalgam that killed 26 people, mostly tourists, with widespread protests and a shutdown in Srinagar and other parts of the valley. The attack was seen as an assault on the foundation of Kashmir's economy, with residents highlighting the importance of tourism to the region's livelihood. Protests were held in various districts, including Srinagar, Kulgam, Handwara, and Ramban, with residents united in their condemnation of the violence and calling for an end to terrorism.
Hours after, however, firing from the Pakistani side was reported in Akhnoor sector in Jammu and Kashmir. Drones were also seen in the Pir Panjal area.
Pakistan has warned the international community that any military moves by India shall be 'responded to assuredly and decisively... onus of any escalatory spiral and its consequences shall squarely lie with India.' Implicit in the statement is a veiled threat that even a nuclear threshold may be reached if push comes to shove, warns Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
'Diplomatic and economic responses are first announced and then implemented. A military response is announced only after it is done.'
Shinde's remarks come in the middle of the election season in JK.
In a historic moment, on Thursday October 31, 2024 night, Srinagar's Ghanta Ghar at Lal Chowk lit up with thousands of diyas to celebrate Diwali for the first time.
'The situation is normal now. The Kashmiri Pandits should come back.'
At Srinagar's famed Lal Chowk, Rediff.com's Syed Firdaus Ashraf meets a computer engineer who drives an auto for a living and discovers that Kashmiris are more interested in finding jobs than discussing the assembly election.
Temples across Uttar Pradesh were packed with devotees on Sunday for Ram Navami, with Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath leading prayers at the Gorakhnath Temple. Heavy crowds were witnessed at temples in Lucknow, Gorakhpur, and Varanasi, where security was heightened. In Gorakhpur, Adityanath performed the traditional kanya pujan ritual, while in Varanasi, a 51-foot statue of Lord Ram has become a major attraction. The festival was celebrated with enthusiastic fervor across the state.
A delegation of diplomats from 16 countries, including the United States, Norway and Singapore, on Wednesday observed the ongoing assembly polls in Jammu and Kashmir.
The scenes in Kashmir, as security is put on high alert after the judgment of Article 370 was passed by the Supreme Court on Monday, December 11, 2023.
It's a different Srinagar from what Rediff.com's Syed Firdaus Ashraf encountered 24 years ago. Tourists throng the Kashmir Valley post-Article 370, azaadi appears dead, and everyone says one man is responsible for this change, so what if his poster is nowhere to be seen.
Former deputy chief minister Muzaffar Hussain Baig was among the 24 candidates in Baramulla constituency whose deposits were forfeited.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi has said he is willing to discard old ideas and embrace new ones as long as they fit into his essential ideology of 'nation first'.
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.
Women outnumber men in six of the eight assembly constituencies with Central Shalteng and Eidgah segments being the exceptions.
On Monday, August 7, 2023, security forces carried out surprise search operations in the Lal Chowk area of Srinagar.
Tourists bustle about a life-size cut-out of Prime Minister Narendra D Modi at the Ghanta Ghar Lal Chowk in the heart of Srinagar.
'For decades, we have heard only lofty claims. We have become accustomed to empty assurances, and it seems that political leaders see us merely as voters'
Over 2.5 million voters will decide the fate of 239 candidates in the fray for 26 Jammu and Kashmir assembly seats in the second phase of the election to be held in the Union territory on Wednesday.
Travelling from South India to Kashmir in December was magical for Ganesh Nadar as he feasted his eyes on the beauty of the snow-capped Himalayas.
On Monday, December 18, 2023, freestyle football champion Agnieszka 'Aguka' Mnich from Poland and German footballer Patrick Bauer performed football tricks in the presence of a huge crowd at the historic Ghanta Ghar at Lal Chowk in Srinagar.
The Indian Navy's Marine Commandos have taken charge of the security of Dal Lake and the Sher-i-Kashmir International Conference Centre, which will host the G20 meeting, on the banks of the Dal Lake.
Bharatiya Janata Party national general secretary Ram Madhav on Wednesday accused the National Conference and the People's Democratic Party of taking support from ex-militants for the assembly polls in Jammu and Kashmir, and said the two parties want to take the Union territory back to its 'trouble-filled days'.
The Tricolour is hoisted atop the newly renovated Ghanta Ghar at Lal Chowk in the heart of Srinagar
The Kashmir valley is facing a shortage of electricity at the beginning of the long winter.
The nomination papers of 35 candidates including that of jailed separatist Sarjan Barkati were on Wednesday rejected during scrutiny for the first phase of assembly polls in Jammu and Kashmir, leaving 244 contestants in the fray.
'Article 370 is now dug 70 feet deep in the ground. It cannot come out.'
Modi began his nearly 45-minute speech by welcoming the people who attended the rally in the Kashmiri language. "This time, the (assembly) election will decide the future of Jammu and Kashmir, which has remained the target of foreign powers since Independence," he told the gathering.
Equipped with the latest technology gadgets, women security personnel maintain a strict vigil at Lal Chowk in the heart of Srinagar.
'The lack of opportunities here remains the biggest worry.' 'We have seen investment summits, but if you look around, much of it is only on paper and not on the ground.'
Umar Ganie captures Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad students carrying a 100 feet-long Tricolor in Lal Chowk, Srinagar, on Republic Day, January 26, 2023.
The operation to neutralise the terrorists involved in the encounter that led to the killing of four security forces personnel continued for the second day on Thursday, September 14, 2023.
'The BJP claims they have eight lakh cadres in the Kashmir Valley so why can't they contest elections from Kashmir?'
"International law doesn't recognise India's unilateral and illegal actions of 5 August 2019. The judicial endorsement by the Indian Supreme Court has no legal value. Kashmiris have an inalienable right to self determination in accordance with the relevant UN SC resolutions," Pakistan's caretaker Foreign Minister Jalil Abbas Jilani said in a post on X.
The 77th Independence Day was celebrated with a festive fervour across the country on Tuesday.
'My mother feels it will be tough and emotional for her to enter an assembly which has essentially been reduced to a municipality now.' 'My opinion is that even if it is a municipality one cannot cede that space to the BJP.'
Highlights of the judgment pronounced by a five-judge Constitution bench of the Supreme Court that on Monday unanimously upheld the Centre's decision to abrogate provisions of Article 370 of the Constitution bestowing special status on the erstwhile state of Jammu and Kashmir.
However, there is no restriction on the movement of people anywhere in the valley, the officials said.
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