Local body elections in Jammu and Kashmir will be held as per schedule in October and the state government will make every effort to reduce the "influence of the gun", Chief Minister Omar Abdullah told an all-party meeting to discuss the situation in the state. During the meeting called by Omar yesterday, leaders of various political parties expressed their support to the Chief Minister in restoring peace in the Valley, sources said.
Peoples Democratic Party chief Mehbooba Mufti and National Conference leader Omar Abdullah engaged in a war of words on Twitter after the passage of the triple talaq bill in Rajya Sabha, with the latter stating that PDP leaders abstaining from voting "helped the government with the numbers needed to pass the bill."
'Under the circumstances, this announcement may remain limited to bravado and little else, adding momentum to Imran's narrative of victimhood,' points out Rana Banerji, who headed the Pakistan desk at RA&W.
The apology came close on the heels of Omar complaining to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh about Army's public criticism of the state governemnt's policies to deal with militancy.
Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah Wednesday expressed satisfaction over the recent statement by Union Home Minister Sushilkumar Shinde wherein he had said that 'the state government would be taken on board over the revocation of the controversial Armed Forces Special Powers Act.
Both factions of Hurriyat Conference on Tuesday attacked Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah in unison over his statement asking to explore "other options" if Pakistan continues with ceasefire volition, saying his talk of "bullet for bullet" shows lack of understanding of the consequences.
The plan to relieve NSG from VIP security tasks has been in the making since 2012 when NSG commanders foresaw an event where simultaneous terror attacks could be witnessed at one time on multiple centres in the country and the commandos will have to be rushed in different directions.
Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Thursday said he will ensure that no person is denied a passport on the basis of his or her relative being involved in subversive activities.
The chief minister has to often face hostilities on Twitter where users continuously taunt and abuse him.
Rather than contesting the state elections from Ganderbal, the Jammu and Kashmir chief minister will be contesting the state elections from Sonwar and Beerwah, reports Mukhtar Ahmad.
Mullah Yaqub, who was in his early 20s, was killed by Taliban who didn't want him as their leader and Pakistan, says a top Afghanistan lawmaker
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has praised Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah for his governance, Union Minister and President of National Conference Farooq Abdullah said on Thursday.
In a direct repudiation of repeated claims of Pakistan, a top American general based in Afghanistan has said that reclusive Taliban leader Mullah Omar is hiding in Pakistan along with his commanders.
Terrorists struck at two places in Kashmir on Saturday night, killing a former sarpanch in Shopian and injuring a tourist couple from Rajasthan in Anantnag, two days ahead of Lok Sabha elections in Baramulla.
Murli Manohar Joshi demanded an apology from Omar Abdullah for saying that Jammu and Kashmir had not merged with India but it agreed to be with India under the accession instrument which had the clearance of the then Viceroy of India Lord Mountbatten.
Ahead of a crucial meeting of the Centre on Kashmir, state Chief Minister Omar Abdullah met Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee and Defence Minister A K Antony to seek their support on the partial withdrawal of the Armed Forces Special Powers Act from the state. Sources said Omar had met Mukherjee late on Wednesday night at the latter's residence for about half-an-hour, during which the chief minister presented his case for withdrawal of the AFSPA.
Law Minister Salman Khurshid on Friday dismissed reports of a tiff between Rahul Gandhi and Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah over empowering sarpanches in the state but insisted that they should be given power across the country "without any exception".
'At his wedding with Patralekha, I officiated as the groom's father as Raj has lost both parents, and that's the relationship we share today.'
Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Thursday expressed concern over the increased ceasefire violations by Pakistan but said they should not be allowed to hijack the Indo-Pak dialogue process.
The only possible solution to the Kashmir issue between India and Pakistan is to create a situation where the "lines while in existence" become "irrelevant", Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah said in an interview published on Sunday.
Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Monday ruled out post-poll alliance with the Bharatiya Janata Party given its stand on issues like Article 370, Uniform Civil Code and Babri Masjid as also with any other party.
IC 814: The Kandahar Hijack begins by asking why the hijack lasted seven days and ends in wondering if the good guys fought the bad ones hard enough, observes Sukanya Verma.
Besides Defence Minister Singh (Lucknow), Minister of Women and Child Development Irani (Amethi), those in the fray are Minister of State for Housing and Urban Affairs Kaushal Kishor (Mohanlalganj) and Minister of State of Consumer Affairs Sadhvi Niranjan Jyoti (Fatehpur).
Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister, Omar Abdullah has said that 35,000 troops have already been withdrawn from the state as part of the gradual troop reduction even though he admitted cross border infiltration had picked up in recent months.
The observations came after counsel for the Centre and the J-K administration informed the court that Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, who was appearing in the matter, is arguing in another court.
Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Tuesday called on Prime Minister Narendra Modi and sought a special rehabilitation package from the Centre for the flood-ravaged state.
Attacking the media, National Conference President Farooq Abdullah said it plays "tricks" so that "one fellow should go down and second fellow should come up".
"I cannot say whether the crisis has been averted," Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah said on Thursday about the tussle with his coalition partner, the Congress, over the creation of new administrative units in the state.
Taliban's reclusive leader Mullah Muhammad Omar is alive and hiding in the Pakistani city of Karachi, a top Afghan intelligence official has said, echoing a similar assessment by Western intelligence officials.
'We have lots of expectations from Omar Abdullah. He is dynamic, very sharp, intelligent and has the zeal to work for the people. He has a fire in him and he wants to do something concrete for the people. Besides, he is soft-spoken, not arrogant and has tonnes of patience,' says Abdul Rahim Rather
Peoples Democratic Party legislator Mohammad Ashraf Mir, who scored a victory over Omar Abdullah from the Sonawar assembly seat, has stoked a controversy after a video surfaced purportedly showing him firing several rounds from an automatic rifle on the day of the assembly poll results.
Expressing concern over rising incidents of ceasefire violations by Pakistan, Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Sunday asked Prime Minister Narendra Modi to speak to his Pakistani counterpart on the issue.
The arrest of Baradar, said to be second-in-command to Omar, is a major blow to the Taliban and is being described as a major success to Obama Administration's war against terrorism in the Af-Pak region.
Refuting speculations of split in the alliance between Congress and National Conference, Omar Abdullah said his party has no intention of leaving the alliance.
Hitting out at Nawaz Sharif over the ceasefire violations, Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Friday maintained that these incidents cannot be without the consent of the Pakistan prime minister.
In a major catch, Pakistani Taliban's top spokesman Maulvi Omar has been arrested along with his two associates in the lawless tribal region bordering Afghanistan, reports said on Tuesday.
Earlier in the day, Omar accused PDP leader Mufti Mohammad Sayeed of 'shutting his eyes' to the sex scandal when it first surfaced in 2006 as his own people were involved.
Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Sunday expressed regret that his government had not been successful in ensuring return of Kashmiri Pandits to the Valley, and vowed to regenerate a "sense of security" among them so that they willingly go back to their homes.
Taking a swipe at the Bharatiya Janata Party, Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Monday accused it of bringing in supporters from other parts of the state for Prime Mister Narendra Modi's rally in Srinagar.
The L-G will take decisions on police, officers of all-India services such as the IAS and the IPS, and giving sanction for prosecution in various cases.
