With his claim that some ministers in Jammu and Kashmir were paid to buy stability, former Army chief V K Singh has opened a "can of worms" and has undermined the legitimacy of successive governments in the state since 1947, moderate Hurriyat Conference chairman Mirwaiz Umar Farooq said.
One person was killed in a clash between a mob and security forces in downtown Srinagar on Sunday evening, shattering the peace that was by and large witnessed in Kashmir through the day with curfew in force in the capital and two other towns.
Normal life in Kashmir was partially affected due to a strike called by moderate faction of Hurriyat Conference to protest the army's decision to close the Pathribal fake encounter case.
The case posed unique challenges, such as a lot of evidence having blown to pieces in the suicide attack and seven accused being subsequently killed in encounters. However, the central agency used forensic tests including DNA profiling of the meagre evidence to breach the dead ends.
Hiba got the unwanted tag of being the youngest pellet victim in Kashmir on November 25 when she was hit by pellets inside her house during clashes between protesters and security forces in Shopian district.
Expressing serious reservations regarding the court martial of army personnel involved in Machil fake encounter, the moderate, All Parties Hurriyat Conference chairman Mirwaiz Moulvi Umar Farooq on Friday said, "Machil and all such cases should be heard in civil courts under wide public gaze instead in the closed rooms."
Separatist leader Masarat Alam, who was invited for Pakistan National Day celebrations at the High Commission in Delhi on Monday, will not be attending the event.
Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti warned that there could be a backlash if the force loses patience.
The separatists termed the state government's appeal for help to restore normalcy as "childish and illogical".
For the first time in 25 years since the start of militancy in Kashmir, the separatists have not called for a general strike on Martyrs' Day on Monday in view of the fasting month of Ramzan.
Top Kashmiri separatist leaders on Saturday evening joined the iftar party hosted by Syed Ali Shah Geelani, the hard-line separatist leader at his uptown residence.
Singh held that India wanted to engage in dialogue with Pakistan at different levels and that was why Prime Minister Narendra Modi had recently met his Pakistani counterpart PM Nawaz Sharif at Ufa in Russia.
Top Kashmiri separatist leaders, including Syed Ali Shah Geelani and Mirwaiz Umer Farooq, were on Thursday put under house arrest only to be released within hours in actions that were linked to their proposed meeting with Pakistani National Security Advisor Sartaj Aziz in Delhi on Sunday.
Stone-pelters clashed with security personnel in Anantnag and in the Safakadal area in Srinagr in the wake of the rumours, he said.
Shops and business establishments were closed across the Valley while all kinds of transport remained off the roads due to the strike called.
According to the order, all security and vehicles provided to the separatists will stand withdrawn by Sunday evening. No security forces or cover will be provided, under any pretext, to them or any other separatists. If they have any other facilities provided by the government, they are to be withdrawn forthwith.
India and Pakistan should move from confrontation to cooperation, Pakistan's High Commissioner Abdul Basit on Tuesday said while adding that Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif is keen to normalise bilateral relations.
The foreign minister acknowledged that he spoke with Hurriyat leader Mirwaiz and India should not make it an issue.
It is an ode to his politics that believed in building bridges across social or political divides that he was one of the most liked state leaders among the upper castes even as he drew his support mostly from Dalits, a group which at times shared antagonistic relations with the more prosperous communities due to a number of social and political reasons.
In a break from past, there was no function at the martyrs' graveyard in Srinagar after the government dropped July 13 from the list of gazetted holidays last year, officials said.
Separatist leaders Syed Ali Shah Geelani, Mirwaiz Umar Farooq (both of separate Hurriyat Conference factions) and Yasin Malik of Jammu Kashmir Liberation Front issued a joint statement here, rubbishing her and her offer.
As many as 22 fire tenders along with pumps were dispatched to the spot immediately to douse the flames.
Normal life remained paralysed for the 42nd day in the Valley which has been rocked by violence after the killing of Hizbul Mujahideen commander Burhan Wani in an encounter with security forces on July 8.
Normal life remained paralysed for the 37th consecutive day due to curfew, restrictions and separatist sponsored strike.
"There should be a complete shutdown on April 2 to protest the proposed visit of Modi. All rhetoric about development or construction of tunnels and roads are futile and will not succeed in luring us," chairmen of the rival factions of the Hurriyat Conference, Syed Ali Shah Geelani and Mirwaiz Umar Farooq, and Jammu-Kashmir Liberation Front chairman Mohammad Yasin Malik said in a joint statement.
4 civilians were also killed and dozens of others injured in clashes that broke out between protestors and security forces following three separate encounters.
An invitation by Pakistan High Commissioner Abdul Basit to all the Kashmiri separatist leaders "for consultations" in Delhi ahead of Indo-Pak foreign secretary-level talks has touched off a controversy with the Bharatiya Janata Party calling it "most unfortunate" and "old tactics".
After receiving sanction under Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, the NIA will name Azhar, his brother Rauf Asghar, and handlers of four terrorists -- Qashif Jan and Shaid Latif in the chargesheet to be filed soon, official sources said.
SAS Geelani said he would support a dialogue process aimed at resolving Kashmir issue.
Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front chief Yasin Malik on Saturday hit out at Prime Minister Narendra Modi over his "hardline" approach on Kashmir and rejected the contention that the separatists are to blame for the stalling of Indo-Pak foreign secretary-level talks.
A group of envoys including those from several Europe Union countries and a few Organisation of Islamic Countries (OIC) member states began a two-day visit to Jammu and Kashmir on Wednesday to take a first-hand account of the situation in newly-carved union territory, especially after the recently-concluded local body elections.
The 13,500-page chargesheet names Masood Azhar, his brothers -- Abdul Rauf and Ammar Alvi -- and his nephew Mohammed Umer Farooq, who had infiltrated into India in 2018 and was subsequently killed in one of the encounters in South Kashmir.
Curfew-like-restrictions were imposed in the old city of Srinagar and some uptown areas to foil protests and a sit-in at the historic Jamia mosque after the Friday prayers.
Mirwaiz Moulvi Umar Farooq, chairman of the moderate All Parties Hurriyat Conference, and hardline separatist leader Syed Ali Shah Geelani on Tuesday described the Narendra Modi government's decision to call off foreign secretary-level talks with Pakistan as an unfortunate 'knee-jerk reaction'.
India can be called "more Islamic than Pakistan" as more Muslims live here than that country, Home Minister Rajnath Singh told the chief of Pakistan Rangers who called on him to discuss ways to keep the border peaceful.
The ruling National Conference-Congress coalition in Jammu and Kashmir received a severe drubbing in the Lok Sabha elections as the coalition could not win even a single seat of the 6 in the state.
In a significant move, Kashmiri separatist leaders on Sunday decided to convene a meeting of all stakeholders on Tuesday to decide the future course of the nearly four-month-long shutdown in the Valley.
A protest shutdown called by the various separatist groups on the third death anniversary of Parliament attack convict Afzal Guru on Tuesday affected normal life in summer capital Srinagar and other towns in Kashmir Valley.
Normal life remained paralysed for the 45th consecutive day due to curfew, restrictions and separatist sponsored strike following Wani's killing in an encounter with security forces.
In an email to PTI, the economist said he was informed of his name being dropped from the panel of speakers at the conference two days ago.
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