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.
Two terrorists were mauled to death and another seriously wounded after a bear attacked their hideout in a forest area in south Kashmir, a senior police officer said.
A militant was killed today in an encounter with security forces in south Kashmir's Pulwama district. "One militant has been killed so far. The operation is on," a police spokesman said.
Ninty-five youth have joined militancy over the last one year in Kashmir where 200 militants are active, a senior police official said on Monday, adding that recent incidents showed criminalization creeping into the ranks of the ultras.
Most places in Kashmir continued to reel under intense cold with the night temperature staying below the freezing point, while Kargil town in Ladakh region registered the season's coldest night at minus 9.2 degrees Celsius.
Climate scientists warn that climate change is intensifying heatwaves in India, with the cooling effects of La Nia potentially becoming less effective in a warmer future. The India Meteorological Department (IMD) predicts an early summer with above-normal temperatures and intense heatwave spells, following an unusually dry winter and the warmest February since 1901. Experts emphasize the role of human-caused climate change, along with natural climate drivers like El Nio and La Nia, in shaping weather patterns. While La Nia typically brings cooler temperatures, scientists suggest that under climate change, its ability to mitigate heatwaves may be diminished.
The UN Security Council could meet soon to discuss the situation between India and Pakistan, with the UNSC President expressing concern over rising tensions between the nuclear-armed neighbors. The President, Ambassador Evangelos Sekeris of Greece, said a meeting would provide an opportunity to express views and help diffuse tensions. Sekeris also condemned terrorism in all its forms, including the recent attack in Pahalgam, and called for de-escalation and dialogue between India and Pakistan.
Authorities on Friday imposed strict restricts on the movement of people in old Srinagar city and Anantnag town in south Kashmir, fearing law and order problems over the anti-Islam video made in the US.
At least eight persons were injured, two of them critically, in a powerful hand grenade explosion in south Kashmir's Bejibehara town late on Sunday afternoon.A senior police officer said militants hurled a grenade in the main market in the highway town of Bejibehara in south Kashmir's Anantnag district, 54 kms from Srinagar late on Sunday afternoon. The grenade exploded under a passing car, injuring all the four occupants and four bystanders.
Three persons, including two women, were killed in two separate strikes by militants in south Kashmir on Sunday night. A senior police officer said four militants barged into the house of Mohammad Hussain Gorsi in the Nanmarg forest area of Damhal Hanjipora in south Kashmir's Kulgam district and fired indiscriminately, killing his 40-year old wife and 19-year daughter on the spot. Gorsi managed to escape unhurt.
'Had Haji Pir and/or Skardu been taken, the message would have gone out not just to General Asim Munir and his cohort in the Pakistan army but to the Pakistani people that every terrorist incident in India would lead to substantial loss of territory in PoK.'
Three terrorists were gunned down in an encounter with security forces in Anantnag.
Intense cold wave gripped Kashmir, with Kargil becoming the coldest place this winter.
Additional security personnel have been deployed on the ground and drones are being used for aerial surveillance, they said.
Abdul Hamid Najar, a resident of Mohiendpora area of Budgam in central Kashmir, was shot at and critically injured by terrorists in his native village on Sunday, the official said.
So far 14 Kashmiri Pandits have filed nominations to contest from the valley for the upcoming Jammu and Kashmir assembly elections, aiming to ensure the return and rehabilitation of their fellow community members, whose number run up to 3 lakh.
The 'mediation' by the United States from behind the scene on the diplomatic track appears to be once again working, which calls on both Delhi and Islamabad to show restraint and pull back from a military confrontation, notes Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
'The whole Kashmiri population is seemed to be a suspect community. This status is not good.'
A police official said the curbs have been imposed to maintain law and order in view of the separatists call for a march to the three districts of Baramulla, Pulwama and Srinagar.
Top Hizbul Mujahideen commander Saddam Padder is also believed to be among the slain terrorists.
The encounter broke out after the terrorists opened fire at the search party personnel, who retaliated, the officials said.
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.
Clashes also broke out at several places in Kashmir on Tuesday, leaving several persons injured.
Pakistan need to win if they are any chance of progressing to the semi-finals in their home tournament after being crushed by New Zealand in their campaign opener.
Police have detained a computer engineer and is on lookout for two more persons in connection with the March 22 deadly car bomb explosion that left one dead and wounded 20 in south Kashmir.
Dhoni's two-week stint with his unit was approved by the Army headquarters last week on his request.
Dulat, who was advisor on Jammu and Kashmir to the central government during the tenure of former prime minister Atal Behari Vajpayee, also advocated the need for starting a dialogue with Pakistan.
Waseem Shah, who was wanted in various terror-related cases, was killed along with Naseer, another local boy who had joined the insurgency in May this year.
Kashmir police chief Vijay Kumar has directed personnel to apprehend those responsible for the attack as soon as possible.
'Why should I as a common man not know where my parents are in Kashmir, how they are doing. It is my right,' student Mohammed Aleem Syed, who moved the Supreme Court to be allowed to visit Kashmir, tells Syed Firdaus Ashraf.
The army has quietly moved an entire brigade into south Kashmir to clear it of militants and protesters.
We have seen such scenes from legislatures in South Korea and Europe for instance, but who would have wagered that we would witness such tumult in India, in the Jammu and Kashmir assembly, no less, which only convened for legislative business days ago.
The legislation is aimed at streamlining various services related to immigration and foreigners, including their entry, exit and stay in India.
The state human rights commission on Tuesday ordered the arrest of a deputy superintendent of police who was heading the Special Investigation Team probing the disappearance of a south Kashmir youth in 2007.
One of the slain militants were identified as Wasim, a Pakistani national and self-styled district commander of JeM.
Officials said on condition of anonymity that the situation could be slipping out of their hands.
The sectarian killings by hit-and-run groups have revived and sharpened communal fears among the victims while the Poonch encounter reveals how deep the terrorists have dug in without getting noticed in the porous border area, notes Mohammad Sayeed Malik, the distinguished commentator on Kashmir affairs.
The encounter broke on Monday when the terrorists opened fire on an army convoy, on its way to Srinagar, at Qazigund on Jammu-Srinagar national highway. One soldier was killed in the attack while another sustained injuries.
Security forces on Sunday intensified their operation to flush out terrorists from the forest area of Jammu and Kashmir's Anantnag district on the second day of encounter that has left two soldiers and a civilian dead.
Leh in Ladakh region recorded the lowest temperature this winter as mercury plummeted to minus 17.1 degree Celsius on Tuesday night, a meteorological department official said.
