The hinterlands of the country have witnessed five terrorist incidents in the last five years with more than half of them in 2022 alone
Separatist leader Yasin Malik on Wednesday virtually appeared before the Delhi High Court from jail in connection with the National Investigation Agency's plea seeking death penalty for him in a terror funding case. Last week, the high court had directed that the Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front chief, who is presently serving a life term in the case, be produced before it through video conferencing mode from Tihar Jail instead of physical appearance pursuant to the production warrant issued earlier this year. On May 29, the high court had issued notice to Malik on the NIA's plea seeking death penalty for him in the terror funding case and said, Let warrants of production be issued against Yasin Malik, before this Court on the next date of hearing. Subsequently, the jail authorities had filed an application seeking permission for his virtual appearance on grounds that he was a very high risk prisoner and it was imperative to not physically produce him in court to maintain public .
Senior Advocate Kapil Sibal said that the abrogation of Article 370 of the Constitution, which granted Jammu and Kashmir special status, was a political act like Brexit
A massive landslide blocked the Jammu-Srinagar national highway in Ramban district early Wednesday following which no fresh batch of Amarnath pilgrims was allowed to leave from Jammu, officials said. According to the traffic control room, the landslide hit the 270-km highway, the only all-weather road linking Kashmir with the rest of the country, near Maroog around 3 am. The restoration work is going on and is expected to be completed by 2 pm, following which the suspended traffic will be allowed from both sides - Nagrota in Jammu and Qazigund in Kashmir, an official of the department said. No fresh batch of Amarnath pilgrims was allowed from Jammu in view of the highway closure, the officials said. The yatra was suspended for the day from Bhagwati Nagar base camp due to the landslide on the highway, Divisional Commissioner, Jammu, Ramesh Kumar told PTI. He said restoration work is going on at a war footing to make the highway trafficable. Over 4.25 lakh pilgrims have paid obeisa
The 62-day-long Amarnath Yatra, which began on July 1 will culminate on August 31, 2023
Catch all the latest news updates live from across the globe here
Over 18,000 foreign tourists visited Kashmir in the first five months this year, the highest in the past three decades, officials said on Monday noting that the successful conduct of the G20 here has generated greater interest among the travellers. Besides tourists from southeast Asian nations such as Thailand, Malaysia and Indonesia, nationals of western countries like Italy, Spain, the United Kingdom and the USA have also visited Kashmir in huge numbers this season. Authorities cited the success of the G20 Tourism Working Group meeting held here in May as the reason behind the rising footfall of inbound or foreign visitors. "As the G-20 meeting was a grand success, the world saw our real tourism potential. The ambassadors, delegates, and high commissioners of G20 countries experienced the hospitality, warmth and flavour of Jammu and Kashmir," Syed Abid Rasheed Shah, Secretary, Department of Tourism and Culture, told PTI. He said Jammu and Kashmir was one of the prime destinations
The Lok Sabha on Monday passed a bill allowing persons qualified or registered under the Jammu and Kashmir Pharmacy Act to be registered as pharmacists under the Pharmacy Act, thus doing away with the ambiguity with regard to the two legislations. Piloting the Pharmacy (Amendment) Bill, 2023, Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya said that changes will increase job opportunities for the youth of Jammu and Kashmir. The bill, which was passed by voice vote in the Lower House, seeks to do away with issues concerning the status of persons registered or qualified under the Jammu and Kashmir Pharmacy Act. Under the current dispensation, registration under the Pharmacy Act is mandatory for persons practising pharmacy in the country. "Any person whose name has been entered in the register of pharmacists maintained under the Jammu and Kashmir Pharmacy Act, 2011, or possesses qualification (medical assistant/ pharmacists)... shall be deemed to have been entered in the register of pharmacists ...
Mumbai batsman Sarfaraz Khan married a Kashmir girl from the Shopian district in Jammu and Kashmir. Sarfaraz shared a post on Instagram, he wrote "Alhamdulillah married"
A terrorist was gunned down in a gunfight as Army troops guarding the Line of Control (LoC) on Monday scuttled an infiltration attempt from across the border in Jammu and Kashmir's Poonch district, officials said. The alert troops in Degwar sector noticed the movement of some terrorists attempting to sneak into this side under the cover of darkness in the early hours of the day and engaged them in an encounter, the officials said. They said one terrorist was gunned down but his body was yet to be retrieved from the scene. Jammu-based defence PRO Lt Col Suneel Bartwal said an army ambush party established contact with terrorists in Garhi battalion area around 2 am. Two individuals were observed moving across LoC in the general area Degwar Terva. In the ensuing firefight, one terrorist was seen dropping while the second moved towards Pintu Nala, the officer said. The whole area was cordoned off and a search operation is underway, officials said, adding further details are awaited.
The 62-day-long Amarnath Yatra, which began on July 1 will culminate on August 31, 2023
Marking the fourth anniversary of the much-debated move this month, the BJP hailed the new era of peace, development and prosperity in Kashmir since the revocation of Article 370
The Army on Sunday foiled an infiltration bid along the Line of Control in Jammu and Kashmir's Kupwara district, killing one terrorist, police said. According to a police spokesperson, a joint cordon and search operation was launched by the police and Army in the Dakhen-Amrohi area of Tangdhar Sector in Kupwara based on information about possible infiltration attempts. "During the search operation, movement of terrorists, trying to infiltrate to our side, was observed. They were challenged by the joint party in which one terrorist was neutralized," he said. Taking advantage of the thick bushes and rugged terrain, two to three other terrorists escaped back to the Pakistan side of the Line of Control, the spokesperson said. "Army and Kupwara police in a joint operation foiled an infiltration bid by neutralising a terrorist on LoC in Amrohi area of Tangdhar Sector. Incriminating materials, arms and ammunition were recovered. Search operation in progress. Further details shall follow,"
Police said that a terrorist was killed in an encounter while trying to infiltrate across the Line of Control in the Amrohi area of Tangdhar Sector
Senior Congress leader P Chidambaram on Sunday attacked the government over its assertion that the abrogation of Article 370 ushered peace in Jammu and Kashmir, alleging that "freedom is suppressed" all over India but it is most severely suppressed in the Union Territory. On the fourth anniversary of Article 370's abrogation, the government on Saturday highlighted that the "historic" decision ushered in peace and development in Jammu and Kashmir. The biggest change after the abrogation of the article is that the common people of Jammu and Kashmir are living life according to their own wishes, Lieutenant Governor (LG) Manoj Sinha had said in Srinagar. In a tweet, Chidambaram said, "The Government and the LG of Jammu & Kashmir celebrate the 'peace' that has descended on the State (now UT) after the abrogation of Article 37." "I wish to quote President (John) Kennedy who warned against the 'peace of the grave and the silence of the slave'," the former home minister said. If there is
The Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) of the Uttar Pradesh Police has arrested a Hizbul Mujahideen-affiliated terrorist from Anantnag district of Jammu and Kashmir. In a statement issued here on Sunday, the ATS said that its team went to Jammu and Kashmir and with the help of the local police arrested Firdous Ahmad Dar from Kokernag police station area on Friday. After completing the court process there, the ATS team took Dar in transit remand and brought him to Lucknow on Saturday. The ATS produced the accused in court after getting him medically examined here on Saturday. His arrest came a day after the ATS arrested one Ahmed Raza alias Sharukh, who hails from Muilak Gudia village of Moradabad district, over alleged links with banned terror group Hizbul Mujahideen. During preliminary interrogation, it was found that Dar had called Raza to Anantnag for terror training, the ATS said. It was Dar who got Raza the membership of Hizbul Mujahideen. Based on this information, the ATS sought 14
An encounter between terrorists and security forces in a village in Jammu and Kashmir's Rajouri district entered the second day on Sunday, with police advising people to stay at a distance of two kilometres for their safety. An unidentified terrorist was killed on Saturday in the initial exchange of fire with the security forces during a cordon-and-search operation launched by police and the Army at Gundha-Khawas village in the Budhal area. A police official said a gunfight between the two sides was on when the last reports were received. Reinforcements of the security forces have plugged all escape routes for the terrorists and efforts are on to neutralise them, the official said. He said the search operation was launched after police received information about the movement of terrorists in the area. A small police team launched the operation and was later joined by reinforcements from the Army and Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF), the official said, adding that the body of th
After a daylong suspension, the Amarnath Yatra resumed from Jammu on Sunday, with a fresh batch of 1,626 pilgrims leaving the base camp here in the early hours to join the annual pilgrimage in the south Kashmir Himalayas, officials said. However, they were stopped at the Chankerkote Yatri Niwas in Ramban district after a landslide blocked the 270-km Jammu-Srinagar national highway -- the only all-weather road linking Kashmir with the rest of the country -- near Keela Morh, the officials said. They said the 34th batch of 1,626 pilgrims left the Bhagwati Nagar base camp in a convoy of 64 vehicles between 3.30 am and 3.45 am. While 1,092 of them are heading for the Pahalgam base camp in Anantnag district, the remaining 534 devotees are on their way to the Baltal base camp in Ganderbal district, they said. The convoy of the pilgrims was stopped at the Chanderkote Yatri Niwas after a landslide blocked the highway near Keela Morh around 6.15 am, prompting the traffic department to advise
An earthquake of magnitude 5.8 on the Richter Scale struck Kashmir Saturday evening, officials said. There were no reports of any damage. The earthquake that took place at 9.31 pm had its epicentre in the Hindu Kush region of Afghanistan, officials said. The quake hit at the latitude of 36.38 degrees north and longitude of 70.77 degrees east at the depth of 181 km, officials said. This was the third quake to hit J&K in the day. Earlier the region was jolted by quakes occurring in Pakistan and in the Hindu Kush region at 8.36 am and 10.24 am. The two quakes, in that order, were measured 4.8 and 5.2 on the Richter Scale.
Divisive elements are hell-bent on disturbing peace among communities in Jammu and Kashmir, Democratic Progressive Azad Party chairman Ghulam Nabi Azad said on Saturday. Addressing a public meeting at the Gaglla area of Doda on the first day of his 10-day tour of Chenab valley, Azad said the Union Territory has already suffered during 33 years of militancy that led to the loss of precious lives, collapse of the local economy, and lack of development. "We cannot afford instability in the region as elements are out there to exploit and vitiate the peaceful atmosphere, thereby the need of the hour is to remain vigilant and united, the DPAP supremo said without identifying the divisive individuals or groups. The former chief minister said the strong bonding between different communities in Chenab Valley and Pir Panjal is an example of how people uphold and cherish secular values in their respective communities by living in harmony for ages despite disturbance in neighbourhood ...