At an hour-long meeting of top security officials in the Indian capital on Sunday, Interior minister Rajnath Singh directed the security forces to go after those instigating youths to indulge in violence in the state of Jammu and Kashmir.&nbsp; 
 
Sources said Rajnath Singh asked forces to take strict action against the violators and book them as they continue to disrupt normal life in the Valley.&nbsp; 
 
Singh said the troops must aim to bring back normalcy in the state within a week. He added that schools and other educational institutions are the worst sufferers amid the prolonged turmoil and must be allowed to function soon.&nbsp; 
 
He told officials that attempts should also be made to reopen shops and other commercial establishments which were completely shut.&nbsp; 
 
National Security Advisor Ajit Doval was present at the security meeting in the capital, besides other senior officials.&nbsp; 
 
The officials had briefed the interior minister of the prevailing situation in the state as well as the border areas.&nbsp; 
 
76 people have lost their lives so far as the unrest continues for the 66th day in the Valley.&nbsp; 
 
The violence had started following the killing of Hizbul Mujahideen commander Burhan Wani by Indian security forces on July 8. 
 
(WION with inputs from agencies) 
 
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Singh has asked the security forces to restore normalcy in the Kashmir Valley within a week

At an hour-long meeting of top security officials in the Indian capital on Sunday, Interior minister Rajnath Singh directed the security forces to go after those instigating youths to indulge in violence in the state of Jammu and Kashmir. Sources said Rajnath Singh asked forces to take strict action against the violators and book them as they continue to disrupt normal life in the Valley. Singh said the troops must aim to bring back normalcy in the state within a week. He added that schools and other educational institutions are the worst sufferers amid the prolonged turmoil and must be allowed to function soon. He told officials that attempts should also be made to reopen shops and other commercial establishments which were completely shut. National Security Advisor Ajit Doval was present at the security meeting in the capital, besides other senior officials. The officials had briefed the interior minister of the prevailing situation in the state as well as the border areas. 76 people have lost their lives so far as the unrest continues for the 66th day in the Valley. The violence had started following the killing of Hizbul Mujahideen commander Burhan Wani by Indian security forces on July 8. (WION with inputs from agencies)

Kashmir unrest: Indian interior minister Rajnath Singh directs forces to crack down on 'instigators'

The Indian Army foiled an infiltration attempt today along the Line of Control (LoC) in the Naugam sector of Handwara in the Kashmir Valley, the Indian news agency PTI reported. Four militants were killed in the operation.&nbsp; 
 
A heavy gun battle was reported. &quot;Alert soldiers posted along the Line of Control in Naugam sector noticed some suspicious movement and challenged the intruders,&quot; an army official told PTI.&nbsp;
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FLASH: Three foreign terrorists killed in Nowgam, Handwara (J&amp;K). Four weapons have been recovered from them. Search operation continues.
&mdash; ANI (@ANI_news) <a href="https://twitter.com/ANI_news/status/774835472191324160">September 11, 2016</a></blockquote>
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The militants opened fire on the security forces which was &quot;effectively retaliated&quot;, he said. 
 
&quot;Three militants have been killed and war-like store recovered from the scene of the gun battle,&quot; the official said.&nbsp; 
 
Indian news agency ANI said weopons were recovered from the millitants.&nbsp; 
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FLASH: Three foreign terrorists killed in Nowgam, Handwara (J&amp;K). Four weapons have been recovered from them. Search operation continues.
&mdash; ANI (@ANI_news) <a href="https://twitter.com/ANI_news/status/774835472191324160">September 11, 2016</a></blockquote>
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A millitant was also killed in the Poonch district of northern Jammu and Kashmir state in another encounter between security forces and militants. A police officer had also been killed in that attack. &nbsp; 
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J&amp;K: Police personnel killed in an ongoing encounter b/w security forces &amp; terrorists in Poonch (Visuals deferred) <a href="https://t.co/VcydiYv9dT">pic.twitter.com/VcydiYv9dT</a>
&mdash; ANI (@ANI_news) <a href="https://twitter.com/ANI_news/status/774825428578078720">September 11, 2016</a></blockquote>
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J&amp;K: 1 terrorist killed in an ongoing encounter with security forces in Poonch. One police personnel lost his life. <a href="https://t.co/8Axi02lZI2">pic.twitter.com/8Axi02lZI2</a>
&mdash; ANI (@ANI_news) <a href="https://twitter.com/ANI_news/status/774875775027777536">September 11, 2016</a></blockquote>
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Protests continue in Kashmir, 12 protesters injured in Pulwama 
 
Tensions continue in the troubled northernmost state of the country. As many as 12 protesters were injured today during clashes with security forces in the Pulwama area of South Kashmir.&nbsp; 
 
This comes a day after a youth was killed in clashes between the protesters and security forces in the Shopian district. According to reports, at least 50 protesters were injured in clashes with the police and CRPF men in different areas of the valley on Saturday. 
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J&amp;K: Army flag marches in Pulwama after a clash between security forces and protesters. <a href="https://t.co/KTTeN0RSqr">pic.twitter.com/KTTeN0RSqr</a>
&mdash; ANI (@ANI_news) <a href="https://twitter.com/ANI_news/status/774851256863031296">September 11, 2016</a></blockquote>
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Triggered by the killing of Hizbul Mujahideen commander Burhan Wani, the unrest in the Valley has entered 65th day leaving more than 70 people dead and thousands injured.&nbsp; 
 
(WION with inputs from agencies)&nbsp; 
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Another militant was killed in a separate encounter in the Poonch district

The Indian Army foiled an infiltration attempt today along the Line of Control (LoC) in the Naugam sector of Handwara in the Kashmir Valley, the Indian news agency PTI reported. Four militants were killed in the operation. A heavy gun battle was reported. "Alert soldiers posted along the Line of Control in Naugam sector noticed some suspicious movement and challenged the intruders," an army official told PTI. FLASH: Three foreign terrorists killed in Nowgam, Handwara (J&K). Four weapons have been recovered from them. Search operation continues. — ANI (@ANI_news) September 11, 2016 The militants opened fire on the security forces which was "effectively retaliated", he said. "Three militants have been killed and war-like store recovered from the scene of the gun battle," the official said. Indian news agency ANI said weopons were recovered from the millitants. FLASH: Three foreign terrorists killed in Nowgam, Handwara (J&K). Four weapons have been recovered from them. Search operation continues. — ANI (@ANI_news) September 11, 2016 A millitant was also killed in the Poonch district of northern Jammu and Kashmir state in another encounter between security forces and militants. A police officer had also been killed in that attack. J&K: Police personnel killed in an ongoing encounter b/w security forces & terrorists in Poonch (Visuals deferred) pic.twitter.com/VcydiYv9dT — ANI (@ANI_news) September 11, 2016 J&K: 1 terrorist killed in an ongoing encounter with security forces in Poonch. One police personnel lost his life. pic.twitter.com/8Axi02lZI2 — ANI (@ANI_news) September 11, 2016 Protests continue in Kashmir, 12 protesters injured in Pulwama Tensions continue in the troubled northernmost state of the country. As many as 12 protesters were injured today during clashes with security forces in the Pulwama area of South Kashmir. This comes a day after a youth was killed in clashes between the protesters and security forces in the Shopian district. According to reports, at least 50 protesters were injured in clashes with the police and CRPF men in different areas of the valley on Saturday. J&K: Army flag marches in Pulwama after a clash between security forces and protesters. pic.twitter.com/KTTeN0RSqr — ANI (@ANI_news) September 11, 2016 Triggered by the killing of Hizbul Mujahideen commander Burhan Wani, the unrest in the Valley has entered 65th day leaving more than 70 people dead and thousands injured. (WION with inputs from agencies)

Indian army foils infiltration attempt along LoC, three militants killed

Amidst continuing unrest in Kashmir Valley, India&#39;s interior minister Rajnath Singh today reviewed the situation in Jammu and Kashmir, where a policeman and four militants were killed in two separate incidents. 
 
Singh reviewed the situation in the state with national security advisor Ajit Doval, home secretary Rajiv Mehrishi and other top officials during an hour-long meeting, official sources said. 
 
The officials gave a briefing on the prevailing situation in Kashmir Valley as well as along the border and the steps taken to restore normalcy in the state, the sources said. 
 
The recent conflict in the Valley began after the killing of Hizbul Mujahideen militant Burhan Wani on July 8. So far 76 people have lost their lives in the turmoil that has been continuing for the last 65 days. 
 
A policeman was killed and two others, including an officer, were injured as security forces engaged in twin encounters with four terrorists who are holed up at two places near the under-construction mini secretariat in Poonch town of the state. 
 
Meanwhile, the Army foiled three infiltration bids along the Line of Control in Naugam, Tangdhar and Gurez sectors of Kashmir, killing four militants. 
 
(PTI)

The recent unrest in the Valley began after the killing of Hizbul Mujahideen militant Burhan Wani on July 8

Amidst continuing unrest in Kashmir Valley, India's interior minister Rajnath Singh today reviewed the situation in Jammu and Kashmir, where a policeman and four militants were killed in two separate incidents. Singh reviewed the situation in the state with national security advisor Ajit Doval, home secretary Rajiv Mehrishi and other top officials during an hour-long meeting, official sources said. The officials gave a briefing on the prevailing situation in Kashmir Valley as well as along the border and the steps taken to restore normalcy in the state, the sources said. The recent conflict in the Valley began after the killing of Hizbul Mujahideen militant Burhan Wani on July 8. So far 76 people have lost their lives in the turmoil that has been continuing for the last 65 days. A policeman was killed and two others, including an officer, were injured as security forces engaged in twin encounters with four terrorists who are holed up at two places near the under-construction mini secretariat in Poonch town of the state. Meanwhile, the Army foiled three infiltration bids along the Line of Control in Naugam, Tangdhar and Gurez sectors of Kashmir, killing four militants. (PTI)

India's interior minister reviews Kashmir situation

Indian security forces and suspected militants exchanged heavy firing in South Kashmir&#39;s Pulwama district, roughly 40km from summer capital of Indian state of Jammu and Kashmir, Srinagar, on Friday night.&nbsp; 
 
Armed men attacked a Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) camp from both sides at 11pm.&nbsp; 
 
The firing lasted 30 minutes, an unnamed police officials told Greater Kashmir. No casualties were reported, however, the suspected militants managed to escape, a source told WION.&nbsp; 
 
The search operation was still going on when the last reports were reports were recieved.&nbsp; 
 
The attack comes hours after India reportedly decided to deploy thousands&nbsp;of more soldiers in the embattled state.&nbsp; 
 
Kashmir has been on the boil ever since Hizbul Mujahideen militant commander Burhan Wani was killed by Indian security forces on July 8.&nbsp; 
 
(WION with inputs from agencies)

Suspected militants attacked a Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) camp from both sides late on Friday night

Indian security forces and suspected militants exchanged heavy firing in South Kashmir's Pulwama district, roughly 40km from summer capital of Indian state of Jammu and Kashmir, Srinagar, on Friday night. Armed men attacked a Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) camp from both sides at 11pm. The firing lasted 30 minutes, an unnamed police officials told Greater Kashmir. No casualties were reported, however, the suspected militants managed to escape, a source told WION. The search operation was still going on when the last reports were reports were recieved. The attack comes hours after India reportedly decided to deploy thousands of more soldiers in the embattled state. Kashmir has been on the boil ever since Hizbul Mujahideen militant commander Burhan Wani was killed by Indian security forces on July 8. (WION with inputs from agencies)

Militants attack Indian security camp in South Kashmir

As unrest that has spanned more than a month&nbsp;refuses to die down&nbsp;in India&#39;s Kashmir, Pakistan&#39;s Nobel laureate Malala Yousafzai on Tuesday called on the United Nations, Pakistan and India to improve the conditions in the state and halt the &quot;inhumanity and heartbreak&quot;.&nbsp; 
 
&ldquo;The Kashmiri people, like people elsewhere, should have the fundamental human rights,&rdquo; Pakistan daily Dawn quoted the 19-year-old as saying.&nbsp; 
 
Malala expressed solidarity with the people of Kashmir and said that dozens have been killed and thousands wounded in the violent clashes between the unarmed protesters and the police over the last two months. 
 
The violence flared up after Burhan Wani, commander of separatist organisation Hizbul Mujahideen fighting for Kashmir&#39;s independence, was killed. Curfew was imposed in the Indian side of Kashmir following his death.&nbsp; 
 
&quot;I stand with the people of Kashmir. My 14 million Kashmiri sisters and brothers have always been close to my heart,&quot; she said. &nbsp; 
 
On the same day, the Pakistani army chief General Raheel Sharif described Kashmir as Pakistan&#39;s jugular vein and said that Islamabad will continue to support the sacrifices of Kashmiri people, PTI reported.&nbsp; 
 
&quot;We salute the great sacrifices of the people of Kashmir for their right of self-determination. The solution of the problem lies in the implementation of the resolutions of United Nations in this regard. Pakistan will continue to support Kashmir on the diplomatic and ethical fronts,&quot; said the chief of army staff, addressing a ceremony held at General Headquarters in Rawalpindi to mark the country&#39;s Defence Day. 
 
An all-party delegation seeking to end the two-month long turbulence in Kashmir concluded yesterday, with the Indian home minister Rajnath Singh sending out a clear message to the separatists of Kashmir &#39;being an integral part of India always&#39;.&nbsp; 
 
(WION with inputs from agencies) 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
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'The inhumanity and heartbreak in the state must stop,' Pakistan's Nobel Laureate added

As unrest that has spanned more than a month refuses to die down in India's Kashmir, Pakistan's Nobel laureate Malala Yousafzai on Tuesday called on the United Nations, Pakistan and India to improve the conditions in the state and halt the "inhumanity and heartbreak". “The Kashmiri people, like people elsewhere, should have the fundamental human rights,” Pakistan daily Dawn quoted the 19-year-old as saying. Malala expressed solidarity with the people of Kashmir and said that dozens have been killed and thousands wounded in the violent clashes between the unarmed protesters and the police over the last two months. The violence flared up after Burhan Wani, commander of separatist organisation Hizbul Mujahideen fighting for Kashmir's independence, was killed. Curfew was imposed in the Indian side of Kashmir following his death. "I stand with the people of Kashmir. My 14 million Kashmiri sisters and brothers have always been close to my heart," she said. On the same day, the Pakistani army chief General Raheel Sharif described Kashmir as Pakistan's jugular vein and said that Islamabad will continue to support the sacrifices of Kashmiri people, PTI reported. "We salute the great sacrifices of the people of Kashmir for their right of self-determination. The solution of the problem lies in the implementation of the resolutions of United Nations in this regard. Pakistan will continue to support Kashmir on the diplomatic and ethical fronts," said the chief of army staff, addressing a ceremony held at General Headquarters in Rawalpindi to mark the country's Defence Day. An all-party delegation seeking to end the two-month long turbulence in Kashmir concluded yesterday, with the Indian home minister Rajnath Singh sending out a clear message to the separatists of Kashmir 'being an integral part of India always'. (WION with inputs from agencies)

UN, India and Pakistan must work together to resolve Kashmir unrest: Malala Yousafzai

Kashmir is Pakistan&#39;s &quot;jugular vein&quot; and people of Kashmir will continue to get Pakistan&#39;s support on diplomatic fronts,&nbsp;Pakistan army chief General Raheel Sharif said on Tuesday.&nbsp; 
 
Sharif&nbsp;was addressing the Defence Day ceremony in memory of martyrs who died in the Indo-Pak war in 1965, where he expressed support for the people of &nbsp;the disputed region in the northernmost past of India.&nbsp; 
 
&ldquo;We salute the great sacrifices of the people of Indian held Kashmir for their right of self-determination,&quot;&nbsp;Pakistan daily Express Tribune quoted him as saying.&nbsp; 
 
&quot;The solution of the problem lies in the implementation of the resolutions of United Nations in this regard. Pakistan will continue to support Kashmir on the diplomatic and ethical fronts.&rdquo; 
 
The war of words between India and Pakistan after unrest broke out in Kashmir following killing of Hizbul Mujahideen commander Burhan Wani. The ensuing violence has left at least 70 people dead and thousands injured.&nbsp;Kashmir is claimed by both India and Pakistan and remains a bone of contention even after seven decades. 
 
&quot;The solution is not spraying Kashmiri people with bullets, those who are struggling for their right to self determination. The solution lies there in hearing their voice and to respect their aspirations. The solution of Kashmir issue is only possible if UN resolutions are enforced,&quot; &nbsp;Sharif said.&nbsp; 
 
 
Pak-China ties 
 
Sharif also said that Pakistan and China&#39;s relationship is based on mutual respect and any threat to the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) will be dealt with a heavy-hand. 
 
&ldquo;I want to make it clear to all enemies of Pakistan that Pakistan has always been strong and today it is invincible,&quot; he asserted. 
 
The CPEC is 3,000-kilometer-long which includes a network of roads, railways and pipelines connecting western China to the Arabian Sea through Pakistan. 
 
The project was given a green signal last year when Chinese President Xi Jinping visited Pakistan. The agreement includes a plan for energy and infrastructure projects worth 46$ billion in Pakistan and aims to underscore China&#39;s economic ambitions in Asia. 
 
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi was reported to be &quot;concerned&quot; and had termed the project &quot;unacceptable&quot;, Reuters reported. 
 
Indian foreign minister Sushma Swaraj said, Prime Minister Modi had &quot;very strongly&quot; raised the issue during his visit to Beijing and the Indian governement had summoned a Chinese envoy. 
 
China, however rejected India&#39;s reservations and said India&#39;s concerns were baseless. 
 
(WION with inputs from agencies) 
 
 
 
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We salute the great sacrifices of the people of Indian held Kashmir for their right of self-determination: General Raheel Sharif

Kashmir is Pakistan's "jugular vein" and people of Kashmir will continue to get Pakistan's support on diplomatic fronts, Pakistan army chief General Raheel Sharif said on Tuesday. Sharif was addressing the Defence Day ceremony in memory of martyrs who died in the Indo-Pak war in 1965, where he expressed support for the people of the disputed region in the northernmost past of India. “We salute the great sacrifices of the people of Indian held Kashmir for their right of self-determination," Pakistan daily Express Tribune quoted him as saying. "The solution of the problem lies in the implementation of the resolutions of United Nations in this regard. Pakistan will continue to support Kashmir on the diplomatic and ethical fronts.” The war of words between India and Pakistan after unrest broke out in Kashmir following killing of Hizbul Mujahideen commander Burhan Wani. The ensuing violence has left at least 70 people dead and thousands injured. Kashmir is claimed by both India and Pakistan and remains a bone of contention even after seven decades. "The solution is not spraying Kashmiri people with bullets, those who are struggling for their right to self determination. The solution lies there in hearing their voice and to respect their aspirations. The solution of Kashmir issue is only possible if UN resolutions are enforced," Sharif said. Pak-China ties Sharif also said that Pakistan and China's relationship is based on mutual respect and any threat to the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) will be dealt with a heavy-hand. “I want to make it clear to all enemies of Pakistan that Pakistan has always been strong and today it is invincible," he asserted. The CPEC is 3,000-kilometer-long which includes a network of roads, railways and pipelines connecting western China to the Arabian Sea through Pakistan. The project was given a green signal last year when Chinese President Xi Jinping visited Pakistan. The agreement includes a plan for energy and infrastructure projects worth 46$ billion in Pakistan and aims to underscore China's economic ambitions in Asia. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi was reported to be "concerned" and had termed the project "unacceptable", Reuters reported. Indian foreign minister Sushma Swaraj said, Prime Minister Modi had "very strongly" raised the issue during his visit to Beijing and the Indian governement had summoned a Chinese envoy. China, however rejected India's reservations and said India's concerns were baseless. (WION with inputs from agencies)

Kashmir is Pakistan's 'jugular vein', says Pakistan army chief

As the unrest in the Kashmir valley enters its 50th day, chief minister Mehbooba Mufti met Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi today and discussed the security situation in the state.&nbsp; 
 
Following a discussion at 7 Race Course Road, the official residence of the Prime Minister in the capital New Delhi, she accused Pakistan of openly trying to provoke and fuel tensions in the Valley.&nbsp; 
 
&quot;Pakistan has repeatedly wasted chances to talk and resolve issues. It is time for Pakistan to respond if it wants peace in Kashmir,&quot; she said, lashing out at the neighbouring country.&nbsp; 
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PM Modi like all of us is very concerned with the situation in J&amp;K: CM Mehbooba Mufti after meeting PM <a href="https://t.co/vCIExGgUxo">pic.twitter.com/vCIExGgUxo</a>
&mdash; ANI (@ANI_news) <a href="https://twitter.com/ANI_news/status/769413945866260480">August 27, 2016</a></blockquote>
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Modi ji took an initiative, our HM took an initiative, they went to Pakistan, but now its upto Pakistan to respond: J&amp;K CM
&mdash; ANI (@ANI_news) <a href="https://twitter.com/ANI_news/status/769416623929356288">August 27, 2016</a></blockquote>
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Defending the long spell of curfew in the region, the Jammu and Kashmir chief minister called for talks between interlocutors and all stakeholders on the Kashmir issue.&nbsp; 
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Separatists should also come forward and help in saving lives of the innocent youth: J&amp;K Mehbooba Mufti <a href="https://t.co/sauL6fluYj">pic.twitter.com/sauL6fluYj</a>
&mdash; ANI (@ANI_news) <a href="https://twitter.com/ANI_news/status/769419871608250368">August 27, 2016</a></blockquote>
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Meanwhile, Modi expressed concern over the situation in the Valley.&nbsp; 
 
The meeting comes two days after Indian home minister Rajnath Singh visited the Valley to take stock of the situation. Singh also reiterated the need to substitute the controversial pellet guns that have left hundreds blind during the ongoing unrest.&nbsp; 
 
Kashmir in midst of worst unrest in six years&nbsp; 
 
Embroiled in violence following the killing of Hizbul Mujahideen commander Burhan Wani on July 8, Kashmir is in the midst of its worst unrest in six years.&nbsp; 
 
Wani represented a new generation of fighter in a region where alienation runs deep even though attacks have fallen in recent years. 
 
About 70 people have been killed and 6,000 injured in month-and-a-half of clashes, many of them wounded by shotgun rounds fired by security forces enforcing a curfew across the Muslim-majority region. 
 
A police constable was shot dead by terrorists in Pulwama district of in the wee hours today. The police constable, Khurshid Ahmed, was killed outside his house in Koil village at around 3:00 a.m.&nbsp; 
 
As per reports, he was leaving his home for duties when the militants shot him from close range. &nbsp;However, the number of militants has still not been ascertained. 
 
A youth also died in Pulwama district during protests on Friday, according to media reports, when security forces opened firing during protests.&nbsp; 
 
Normal life remains crippled across Kashmir and roads largely remain deserted amid restrictions. Indian Army and paramilitary personnel have been patrolling the streets of summer capital Srinagar while barricades and concertina wires have been erected in sensitive areas. 
 
(WION with inputs from agencies)&nbsp; 
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The Prime Minister expressed concern over the situation in the Kashmir Valley

As the unrest in the Kashmir valley enters its 50th day, chief minister Mehbooba Mufti met Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi today and discussed the security situation in the state. Following a discussion at 7 Race Course Road, the official residence of the Prime Minister in the capital New Delhi, she accused Pakistan of openly trying to provoke and fuel tensions in the Valley. "Pakistan has repeatedly wasted chances to talk and resolve issues. It is time for Pakistan to respond if it wants peace in Kashmir," she said, lashing out at the neighbouring country. PM Modi like all of us is very concerned with the situation in J&K: CM Mehbooba Mufti after meeting PM pic.twitter.com/vCIExGgUxo — ANI (@ANI_news) August 27, 2016 Modi ji took an initiative, our HM took an initiative, they went to Pakistan, but now its upto Pakistan to respond: J&K CM — ANI (@ANI_news) August 27, 2016 Defending the long spell of curfew in the region, the Jammu and Kashmir chief minister called for talks between interlocutors and all stakeholders on the Kashmir issue. Separatists should also come forward and help in saving lives of the innocent youth: J&K Mehbooba Mufti pic.twitter.com/sauL6fluYj — ANI (@ANI_news) August 27, 2016 Meanwhile, Modi expressed concern over the situation in the Valley. The meeting comes two days after Indian home minister Rajnath Singh visited the Valley to take stock of the situation. Singh also reiterated the need to substitute the controversial pellet guns that have left hundreds blind during the ongoing unrest. Kashmir in midst of worst unrest in six years Embroiled in violence following the killing of Hizbul Mujahideen commander Burhan Wani on July 8, Kashmir is in the midst of its worst unrest in six years. Wani represented a new generation of fighter in a region where alienation runs deep even though attacks have fallen in recent years. About 70 people have been killed and 6,000 injured in month-and-a-half of clashes, many of them wounded by shotgun rounds fired by security forces enforcing a curfew across the Muslim-majority region. A police constable was shot dead by terrorists in Pulwama district of in the wee hours today. The police constable, Khurshid Ahmed, was killed outside his house in Koil village at around 3:00 a.m. As per reports, he was leaving his home for duties when the militants shot him from close range. However, the number of militants has still not been ascertained. A youth also died in Pulwama district during protests on Friday, according to media reports, when security forces opened firing during protests. Normal life remains crippled across Kashmir and roads largely remain deserted amid restrictions. Indian Army and paramilitary personnel have been patrolling the streets of summer capital Srinagar while barricades and concertina wires have been erected in sensitive areas. (WION with inputs from agencies)

Kashmir chief minister meets Indian PM Modi, accuses Pak of fuelling tension

A youth was killed and several others injured in fresh clashes between protestors and security forces in Pulwama district, in India&#39;s northern Kashmir state, raising the death toll to 67.&nbsp; 
 
&quot;One youth identified as 18-year-old Shakeel Ahmad Ganai was brought to district hospital Pulwama with pellet injuries in his chest. He was declared &#39;brought dead&#39; by the doctors,&quot; a police official said. 
 
He said Ganai and several other persons were injured in the action by security forces against protestors at Nikas Arbal in Rajpora area of the district this afternoon. 
 
The ongoing unrest,&nbsp;which broke out a day after separatist organisation, Hizbul Mujahideen commander Burhan Wani was killed in an encounter on July 8. 
 
(PTI)

Shakeel Ahmad Ganai, 18, had pellet injuries to his chest. He was declared dead on arrival at the Pulwama district hospital

A youth was killed and several others injured in fresh clashes between protestors and security forces in Pulwama district, in India's northern Kashmir state, raising the death toll to 67. "One youth identified as 18-year-old Shakeel Ahmad Ganai was brought to district hospital Pulwama with pellet injuries in his chest. He was declared 'brought dead' by the doctors," a police official said. He said Ganai and several other persons were injured in the action by security forces against protestors at Nikas Arbal in Rajpora area of the district this afternoon. The ongoing unrest, which broke out a day after separatist organisation, Hizbul Mujahideen commander Burhan Wani was killed in an encounter on July 8. (PTI)

Kashmir: Another youth killed in clashes, death toll rises to 67

At least one &nbsp;person was killed and 40 others were injured in fresh clashes between protesters and security forces in southern part of northernmost Jammu and Kashmir&nbsp;amid Indian&nbsp;home minister Rajnath Singh&#39;s visit to the Valley.

With the youth&#39;s&nbsp;death, the toll in the ongoing unrest in the Kashmir Valley has climbed to 66.

&quot;Aamir Bashir, who had pellet injuries in his chest, was brought to SMHS Hospital (government hospital in Srinagar)&nbsp;but the doctors declared him brought dead,&quot; a police officer&nbsp;said.

He said the youth was a resident of Pohu village in Pulwama district where fresh clashes erupted between protesters and security forces this morning.

The protest comes amid Rajnath Singh&#39;s invite to all those who believe in &nbsp;&quot;Kashmiriyat (ethos of Kashmiri culture), Insaniyat (humanity) and Jamhooriyat (democracy)&quot;, under Centre&#39;s outreach in the Valley.

Sixty six&nbsp;persons, including two cops, have been killed and several thousand others injured in the clashes that began on July 9, a day after Wani was killed in an encounter with security forces in Kokernag area of Anantnag district.

Meanwhile, normal life remained paralysed in Kashmir Valley for the 47th consecutive day due to curfew, restrictions and separatist-sponsored strike.

Shops, private offices, educational institutions and petrol pumps remained closed while public transport continued to be off roads. Mobile internet also continued to remain suspended in the entire Valley, where the outgoing facility on prepaid mobiles remained barred. 
 
(WION with inputs from DNA)&nbsp; 
 
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With the youth's?death, the toll in the ongoing unrest in the Kashmir Valley has climbed to 66

At least one person was killed and 40 others were injured in fresh clashes between protesters and security forces in southern part of northernmost Jammu and Kashmir amid Indian home minister Rajnath Singh's visit to the Valley. With the youth's death, the toll in the ongoing unrest in the Kashmir Valley has climbed to 66. "Aamir Bashir, who had pellet injuries in his chest, was brought to SMHS Hospital (government hospital in Srinagar) but the doctors declared him brought dead," a police officer said. He said the youth was a resident of Pohu village in Pulwama district where fresh clashes erupted between protesters and security forces this morning. The protest comes amid Rajnath Singh's invite to all those who believe in "Kashmiriyat (ethos of Kashmiri culture), Insaniyat (humanity) and Jamhooriyat (democracy)", under Centre's outreach in the Valley. Sixty six persons, including two cops, have been killed and several thousand others injured in the clashes that began on July 9, a day after Wani was killed in an encounter with security forces in Kokernag area of Anantnag district. Meanwhile, normal life remained paralysed in Kashmir Valley for the 47th consecutive day due to curfew, restrictions and separatist-sponsored strike. Shops, private offices, educational institutions and petrol pumps remained closed while public transport continued to be off roads. Mobile internet also continued to remain suspended in the entire Valley, where the outgoing facility on prepaid mobiles remained barred. (WION with inputs from DNA)

1 dead, at least 40 injured in fresh clashes amid Indian?home minister's two-day Kashmir visit

Indian home minister Rajnath Singh, who began a significant two-day visit of the Kashmir Valley today, has asserted that with civil society groups, political parties and other stakeholders in Kashmir. 
 
He invited all those believe in &quot;Kashmiriyat (ethos of Kashmiri culture), Insaniyat (humanity) and Jamhooriyat (democracy)&quot; as he takes stock of the situation in the Valley hit by violence after the death of Hizbul Mujahideen millitant commander Burhan Wani on July 8.&nbsp; 
 
Singh, who is accompanied by home secretary Rajiv Mehrishi, will review the situation in Kashmir where as many as 65 persons have been killed and more than 8,000 &nbsp;have been injured in clashes between protestors and security forces that broke out in the wake of Wani&#39;s killing. &nbsp;He arrived at Srinagar airport at 11.30 AM in a special plane.
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I will be staying at the Nehru Guest House. Those who believe in Kashmiriyat, Insaniyat and Jamhooriyat are welcome.
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Leaving New Delhi for Srinagar on a two day visit. Shall interact with civil society groups, political parties and other stakeholders.
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This is his second visit to the Kashmir Valley in a month. &nbsp;He is likely to emphasise the various development projects and employment schemes undertaken for the youth in the valley. 
 
The home minister&#39;s visit to Kashmir comes after Prime Minister Narendra Modi&#39;s interaction with a delegation of opposition parties led by former state chief minister Omar Abdullah in the national capital on Monday. 
 
Modi had expressed &quot;deep concern and pain&quot; over the situation there and had asked all political parties to work together to find a &quot;permanent and lasting&quot; solution to problems in Jammu and Kashmir. 
 
(WION with inputs from agencies)&nbsp; 
 
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This is his second visit to the Valley where more than 60 people have died, 8,000 have been injured

Indian home minister Rajnath Singh, who began a significant two-day visit of the Kashmir Valley today, has asserted that with civil society groups, political parties and other stakeholders in Kashmir. He invited all those believe in "Kashmiriyat (ethos of Kashmiri culture), Insaniyat (humanity) and Jamhooriyat (democracy)" as he takes stock of the situation in the Valley hit by violence after the death of Hizbul Mujahideen millitant commander Burhan Wani on July 8. Singh, who is accompanied by home secretary Rajiv Mehrishi, will review the situation in Kashmir where as many as 65 persons have been killed and more than 8,000 have been injured in clashes between protestors and security forces that broke out in the wake of Wani's killing. He arrived at Srinagar airport at 11.30 AM in a special plane. I will be staying at the Nehru Guest House. Those who believe in Kashmiriyat, Insaniyat and Jamhooriyat are welcome. — Rajnath Singh (@rajnathsingh) August 24, 2016 Leaving New Delhi for Srinagar on a two day visit. Shall interact with civil society groups, political parties and other stakeholders. — Rajnath Singh (@rajnathsingh) August 24, 2016 This is his second visit to the Kashmir Valley in a month. He is likely to emphasise the various development projects and employment schemes undertaken for the youth in the valley. The home minister's visit to Kashmir comes after Prime Minister Narendra Modi's interaction with a delegation of opposition parties led by former state chief minister Omar Abdullah in the national capital on Monday. Modi had expressed "deep concern and pain" over the situation there and had asked all political parties to work together to find a "permanent and lasting" solution to problems in Jammu and Kashmir. (WION with inputs from agencies)

Indian home minister Rajnath Singh visits Kashmir valley to take stock of unrest?

Curfew was lifted from most parts of Srinagar -- capital city of India&#39;s Kashmir -- on Tuesday, forty-five days after restrictions were imposed in the troubled state. 
 
Indian authorities had enforced curfew after Hizbul Mujahideen commander Burhan Wani was killed in an encounter by Indian security forces on July 8.&nbsp;In the aftermath of the killing, Kashmir was awash with protest&nbsp;and violence.&nbsp; 
 
However, curbs on movement of people will continue to remain in force in five police station areas of downtown&nbsp;and Batamaloo, Maisuma, and Kralkhud in the uptown parts, Indian authorities said.&nbsp; 
 
South Kashmir&#39;s Anantnag town also continues to remain under curfew.&nbsp; 
 
Indian officials said they relaxed restrictions following improvements in the law and order situation in the state.&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 
But normal life remained paralysed the first day of curfew being lifted. Shops, educational institutions and private offices remained shuttered and public transportation remained off road. However, a few public vehicles were seen during the day. 
 
The administration imposed orders preventing the gathering of four or more people and mobile internet and outgoing&nbsp;facility on prepaid mobile numbers remain blocked. 
 
Indian authorities had lifted the curfew in Srinagar for eight hours on Monday as well. There were sporadic cases of stone-pelting, five to be precise, reported from the city, but nothing that alarmed the Indian authorities. 
 
A week after Wani&#39;s death, Indian authorities had imposed a statewide curfew on July 15, but Kashmiris resisted the orders by clashing with Indian forces. So far, 65, including two policemen, have lost their lives between July 9 and August 22. 
 
(Agencies)

A few privately-owned vehicles were seen on the road today, but educational institutes and offices remained shut

Curfew was lifted from most parts of Srinagar -- capital city of India's Kashmir -- on Tuesday, forty-five days after restrictions were imposed in the troubled state. Indian authorities had enforced curfew after Hizbul Mujahideen commander Burhan Wani was killed in an encounter by Indian security forces on July 8. In the aftermath of the killing, Kashmir was awash with protest and violence. However, curbs on movement of people will continue to remain in force in five police station areas of downtown and Batamaloo, Maisuma, and Kralkhud in the uptown parts, Indian authorities said. South Kashmir's Anantnag town also continues to remain under curfew. Indian officials said they relaxed restrictions following improvements in the law and order situation in the state. But normal life remained paralysed the first day of curfew being lifted. Shops, educational institutions and private offices remained shuttered and public transportation remained off road. However, a few public vehicles were seen during the day. The administration imposed orders preventing the gathering of four or more people and mobile internet and outgoing facility on prepaid mobile numbers remain blocked. Indian authorities had lifted the curfew in Srinagar for eight hours on Monday as well. There were sporadic cases of stone-pelting, five to be precise, reported from the city, but nothing that alarmed the Indian authorities. A week after Wani's death, Indian authorities had imposed a statewide curfew on July 15, but Kashmiris resisted the orders by clashing with Indian forces. So far, 65, including two policemen, have lost their lives between July 9 and August 22. (Agencies)

India lifts curfew from most parts of Srinagar

At least 17 people were injured after fresh protests broke out in the Shopian district of Kashmir and&nbsp;security forces fired pellets at stone pelters. Thirteen of the injured were discharged after being administered first-aid at a local hospital. 
 
Hundreds of people from Vehil village&nbsp;were protesting this afternoon against the recent civilian killings in the Kashmir&nbsp;valley when some &quot;miscreants&quot; started pelting stones at security forces, a police official said. 
 
The&nbsp;forces retaliated by firing tear smoke shells and pellet guns, the official said. 
 
&quot;Four of the injured have been referred to hospitals in Srinagar for specialised treatment,&quot; he added. 
 
Reports of stone pelting were also received from Nowgam area of the city, Khushhaalpora in Sopore area of Baramulla district and Bandipora town, the official said. 
 
The protest comes a day after Prime Minister Narendra Modi said there was a need to find a permanent solution to the problem within the framework of the Constitution. 
 
65 persons, including two policemen, have been killed and several thousand others injured in the clashes that began on July 9, a day after Hizbul Mujahideen commander Burhan&nbsp;Wani was killed by security forces in the Kokernag area of Anantnag district. 
 
Meanwhile, normal life remained paralysed in the Valley for the 46th consecutive day due to curfew, and the separatist-called&nbsp;strike. 
 
Shops, private offices, educational institutions and petrol pumps remained closed while public transport continued to stay off the roads. Mobile internet also continued to remain suspended in the entire Valley, and calling facilities&nbsp;on prepaid mobiles remained barred. 
 
(DNA webdesk)&nbsp;

The protests came a day after Prime Minister Narendra Modi said there was a need to find a permanent solution to the problem

At least 17 people were injured after fresh protests broke out in the Shopian district of Kashmir and security forces fired pellets at stone pelters. Thirteen of the injured were discharged after being administered first-aid at a local hospital. Hundreds of people from Vehil village were protesting this afternoon against the recent civilian killings in the Kashmir valley when some "miscreants" started pelting stones at security forces, a police official said. The forces retaliated by firing tear smoke shells and pellet guns, the official said. "Four of the injured have been referred to hospitals in Srinagar for specialised treatment," he added. Reports of stone pelting were also received from Nowgam area of the city, Khushhaalpora in Sopore area of Baramulla district and Bandipora town, the official said. The protest comes a day after Prime Minister Narendra Modi said there was a need to find a permanent solution to the problem within the framework of the Constitution. 65 persons, including two policemen, have been killed and several thousand others injured in the clashes that began on July 9, a day after Hizbul Mujahideen commander Burhan Wani was killed by security forces in the Kokernag area of Anantnag district. Meanwhile, normal life remained paralysed in the Valley for the 46th consecutive day due to curfew, and the separatist-called strike. Shops, private offices, educational institutions and petrol pumps remained closed while public transport continued to stay off the roads. Mobile internet also continued to remain suspended in the entire Valley, and calling facilities on prepaid mobiles remained barred. (DNA webdesk)

17 more injured in clashes between protesters and security forces in Kashmir

The National Investigation Agency (NIA) in India will approach banks and financial institution based in northernmost state, Jammu and Kashmir, for assistance in order to prepare a list of local residents and entities whose bank accounts have shown &quot;suspicious transactions&quot; in the last two months. 
 
A senior official confirmed the development with dna but refused to share the names of the banks that the agency might be approaching for assistance in the near future.&nbsp; 
 
&quot;The banks are obliged to share information as per the section 91 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPc) and 43 F of the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA).&quot; &nbsp; 
 
According to the section 91 of CRPC, if any officer considers that the production of any document or other thing is necessary for the purposes of any investigation, inquiry or trial, a concerned court of the officer himself can issue a written order to the person in whose possession or power such document or thing is believed to be, requiring him to attend and produce it. Section 43F of UAPA also deals with obligation to furnish information. 
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According to NIA, while the trigger to initiate an enquiry against suspected individuals and entities are the ongoing protests that erupted after killing of Burhan Wani, officials here say that a &quot;probe into funding of terror and unlawful activities was long overdue&quot;. 
 
&quot;We have investigated a number terror cases and there are many key areas, especially the financial ones, which are to be explored,&quot; said Sanjeev Singh, inspector general, NIA. The officer added that the agency had received information about individuals from Kashmir and some entities based in the Valley carrying out suspicious transaction in the last two months. 
 
&quot;There has been a steady inflow of money into accounts of many individuals on Kashmir. We are sure that some of the names that have cropped up during our findings might be involved with unlawful activities,&quot; said Singh. When asked if the NIA believes that funding was being distributed among those protesting the killing of Burhan Wani and that of 60 plus civilians, the officer said,&quot; that will be ascertained during the probe.&quot; 
 
According to the agency, three key areas are being looked at by its sleuths. The most important among the three areas seems to be that of cross-border trade which, in the past, has been seen as something that could be used as a confidence building measure to bring all the parties in Kashmir conflict closer to each other. 
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<h5>There has been a steady inflow of money into accounts of many individuals on Kashmir. We are sure that some of the names that have cropped up during our findings might be involved with unlawful activities,&quot; NIA IG said</h5>
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&quot;The funding can take place in many ways. One is routine bank transaction wherein an individual is chosen and money transferred into his bank. Second is the Hawala routes and third is the funding that is done using trade,&quot; said a senior official. The last few years have seen quite a lot of cross-border trade take place between India and Pakistan, and it is likely some of the businesses, specially the ones based in Kashmir, might come under NIA scrutiny. 
 
However, given the&nbsp;current crisis in the valley, it is not clear when the NIA&#39;s probe will lift off or if questioning of bank officials and other locals will further escalate tension between Srinagar and New Delhi. 
 
&quot;We will question them all. It is a&nbsp;routine matter and if the individuals are able to justify where money came from and where was it used, the matter will end there,&quot; said the NIA official. 
 
More than 60 people have been killed and thousands have been left injured in the aftermath of July 8 encounter in which Hizbul Mujahideen commander Burhan Wani was killed. 
 
(Azaan Javaid/ DNA)&nbsp; 
 
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The trigger, according to NIA, to initiate an enquiry is the ongoing unrest that erupted after millitant commander Burhan Wani's killing

The National Investigation Agency (NIA) in India will approach banks and financial institution based in northernmost state, Jammu and Kashmir, for assistance in order to prepare a list of local residents and entities whose bank accounts have shown "suspicious transactions" in the last two months. A senior official confirmed the development with dna but refused to share the names of the banks that the agency might be approaching for assistance in the near future. "The banks are obliged to share information as per the section 91 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPc) and 43 F of the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA)." According to the section 91 of CRPC, if any officer considers that the production of any document or other thing is necessary for the purposes of any investigation, inquiry or trial, a concerned court of the officer himself can issue a written order to the person in whose possession or power such document or thing is believed to be, requiring him to attend and produce it. Section 43F of UAPA also deals with obligation to furnish information. The banks are obliged to share information as per the section 91 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPc) and 43 F of the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA)." According to NIA, while the trigger to initiate an enquiry against suspected individuals and entities are the ongoing protests that erupted after killing of Burhan Wani, officials here say that a "probe into funding of terror and unlawful activities was long overdue". "We have investigated a number terror cases and there are many key areas, especially the financial ones, which are to be explored," said Sanjeev Singh, inspector general, NIA. The officer added that the agency had received information about individuals from Kashmir and some entities based in the Valley carrying out suspicious transaction in the last two months. "There has been a steady inflow of money into accounts of many individuals on Kashmir. We are sure that some of the names that have cropped up during our findings might be involved with unlawful activities," said Singh. When asked if the NIA believes that funding was being distributed among those protesting the killing of Burhan Wani and that of 60 plus civilians, the officer said," that will be ascertained during the probe." According to the agency, three key areas are being looked at by its sleuths. The most important among the three areas seems to be that of cross-border trade which, in the past, has been seen as something that could be used as a confidence building measure to bring all the parties in Kashmir conflict closer to each other. There has been a steady inflow of money into accounts of many individuals on Kashmir. We are sure that some of the names that have cropped up during our findings might be involved with unlawful activities," NIA IG said "The funding can take place in many ways. One is routine bank transaction wherein an individual is chosen and money transferred into his bank. Second is the Hawala routes and third is the funding that is done using trade," said a senior official. The last few years have seen quite a lot of cross-border trade take place between India and Pakistan, and it is likely some of the businesses, specially the ones based in Kashmir, might come under NIA scrutiny. However, given the current crisis in the valley, it is not clear when the NIA's probe will lift off or if questioning of bank officials and other locals will further escalate tension between Srinagar and New Delhi. "We will question them all. It is a routine matter and if the individuals are able to justify where money came from and where was it used, the matter will end there," said the NIA official. More than 60 people have been killed and thousands have been left injured in the aftermath of July 8 encounter in which Hizbul Mujahideen commander Burhan Wani was killed. (Azaan Javaid/ DNA)

India's investigation agency to draw list of residents in Jammu and Kashmir with 'suspicious' bank activities

A delegation of opposition leaders from India&#39;s Kashmir met President Pranab Mukherjee in capital New Delhi on Saturday to apprise him of the prevailing unrest in the northern province. 
 
Kashmir has been on the boil since Indian security forces gunned down 22-year-old Burhan Wani, leader of Hizbul Mujahideen, a group fighting Indian control of the Muslim-majority region, on July 8.&nbsp;Wani represented a new generation of fighters in a region where alienation runs deep even though attacks have fallen dramatically in recent years.&nbsp;His killing has triggered the Valley&#39;s worst outbreak of violence in six years. 
 
The delegation included leaders from National Conference, Communist Party of India (Marxist) (CPI-M), Congress, Democratic Party Front (DPF) and People&#39;s Democratic Front (PDF). 
 
The delegation called for a political plan to diffuse the over month-and-a-half long crisis in India&#39;s only Muslim-majority state. 
 
&quot;The motive was to bring to the president&#39;s notice the situation with which the state of Jammu and Kashmir and especially the Kashmir valley is grappling. According to us, this is a big human tragedy which is being faced by our people,&quot; said a leader of CPI (M), Mohammad Yousuf Tarigami. 
 
Tarigami alleged that the federal and state government had so far followed an inhuman approach in tackling the situation. 
 
Meanwhile, curfew continued to remain in force for the 43rd consecutive day in the Valley with the police personnel maintaining strict vigil in Srinagar, the&nbsp;summer capital of the province. Shops remained shut and roads deserted as civilians chose to stay indoors.&nbsp;Repeated clashes between protesters and security forces have overwhelmed hospitals, where some patients with severe injuries said they had been beaten in their homes by troops. 
 
At least 65 people have been killed and 6,000 injured in the ensuing clashes, many of them wounded by pellets fired by security forces enforcing a curfew across the region.&nbsp;India has urged its security forces to act with restraint as they try to keep protesters off the streets and quell near-daily violence, but many segments have accused troops of using excessive force. 
 
Kashmir is at the centre of a decades-old rivalry between India and Pakistan, which rules a northwestern section of the divided region, and backed an insurgency in the late 1980s and 1990s that Indian security forces largely crushed.&nbsp; 
 
(Reuters)

The delegation has called for a political plan to diffuse the month-and-a-half long crisis in Kashmir

A delegation of opposition leaders from India's Kashmir met President Pranab Mukherjee in capital New Delhi on Saturday to apprise him of the prevailing unrest in the northern province. Kashmir has been on the boil since Indian security forces gunned down 22-year-old Burhan Wani, leader of Hizbul Mujahideen, a group fighting Indian control of the Muslim-majority region, on July 8. Wani represented a new generation of fighters in a region where alienation runs deep even though attacks have fallen dramatically in recent years. His killing has triggered the Valley's worst outbreak of violence in six years. The delegation included leaders from National Conference, Communist Party of India (Marxist) (CPI-M), Congress, Democratic Party Front (DPF) and People's Democratic Front (PDF). The delegation called for a political plan to diffuse the over month-and-a-half long crisis in India's only Muslim-majority state. "The motive was to bring to the president's notice the situation with which the state of Jammu and Kashmir and especially the Kashmir valley is grappling. According to us, this is a big human tragedy which is being faced by our people," said a leader of CPI (M), Mohammad Yousuf Tarigami. Tarigami alleged that the federal and state government had so far followed an inhuman approach in tackling the situation. Meanwhile, curfew continued to remain in force for the 43rd consecutive day in the Valley with the police personnel maintaining strict vigil in Srinagar, the summer capital of the province. Shops remained shut and roads deserted as civilians chose to stay indoors. Repeated clashes between protesters and security forces have overwhelmed hospitals, where some patients with severe injuries said they had been beaten in their homes by troops. At least 65 people have been killed and 6,000 injured in the ensuing clashes, many of them wounded by pellets fired by security forces enforcing a curfew across the region. India has urged its security forces to act with restraint as they try to keep protesters off the streets and quell near-daily violence, but many segments have accused troops of using excessive force. Kashmir is at the centre of a decades-old rivalry between India and Pakistan, which rules a northwestern section of the divided region, and backed an insurgency in the late 1980s and 1990s that Indian security forces largely crushed. (Reuters)

Kashmir opposition leaders meet Indian President Pranab Mukherjee

Amid an outrage in Kashmir Valley, Indian Army on Friday said that actions by its soldiers like the one in which a lecturer was killed will not be tolerated.&nbsp; 
 
&quot;These raids were not sanctioned in the first place. It is unjustified. Nobody can support it and it will not be tolerated,&quot; northern army commander lieutenant general DS Hooda told reporters here. 
 
He said an inquiry has been ordered into the incident that took place during the intervening night of August 17 and 18 in Khrew area of Pulwama district in South Kashmir.&nbsp; 
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Shabir Ahmad Monga, a lecturer, was killed and 18 others sustained injuries when they were thrashed by army personnel who were conducting nocturnal raids to arrest stone pelters in the area. 
 
Asked about the circumstances that led to the incident, the army commander said according to information he has, the troops came under stone pelting by the mobs. 
 
&quot;The instructions are there to exercise maximum restraint but these are difficult times. The security forces are facing tough times and sometimes things get out of hand,&quot; he added. 
 
It&#39;s been more than a month that Kashmir has remained on a boil after Hizbul Mujahideen commander Burhan Wani was killed on July 8.&nbsp; 
 
(PTI)&nbsp;

An inquiry has been ordered to investigate into the recent night raids that triggered outrage, northern army commander told

Amid an outrage in Kashmir Valley, Indian Army on Friday said that actions by its soldiers like the one in which a lecturer was killed will not be tolerated. "These raids were not sanctioned in the first place. It is unjustified. Nobody can support it and it will not be tolerated," northern army commander lieutenant general DS Hooda told reporters here. He said an inquiry has been ordered into the incident that took place during the intervening night of August 17 and 18 in Khrew area of Pulwama district in South Kashmir. Asked about the circumstances that led to the incident, the army commander said according to information he has, the troops came under stone pelting by the mobs. Shabir Ahmad Monga, a lecturer, was killed and 18 others sustained injuries when they were thrashed by army personnel who were conducting nocturnal raids to arrest stone pelters in the area. Asked about the circumstances that led to the incident, the army commander said according to information he has, the troops came under stone pelting by the mobs. "The instructions are there to exercise maximum restraint but these are difficult times. The security forces are facing tough times and sometimes things get out of hand," he added. It's been more than a month that Kashmir has remained on a boil after Hizbul Mujahideen commander Burhan Wani was killed on July 8. (PTI)

'Raids were not sanctioned,' says Indian Army after lecturer's killing in Kashmir?

Curfew was today extended to several places in Kashmir Valley in India as a precautionary measure in view of the call for a march given by separatist leaders.&nbsp; 
 
&quot;Curfew has been extended to many towns including Aripathan and Magam areas in Budgam district to maintain law and order,&quot; a police official said. 
 
The call for march from Aripthan area of Budgam district in the Valley was given by separatists against the death of four civilians in clashes between federal law enforcement and civil agency Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) &nbsp;and protesters there on August 16. 
 
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. 
 
Curfew also remained in force in entire Srinagar district, Anantnag town, Pampore town, Shopian town, Khanpora in Baramulla, Ganderbal town and Kaloosa in Bandipora district today, the official said. 
 
Restrictions on the movement of the people were in force in rest of the Valley. 
 
The separatist camp, headed by Syed Ali Shah Geelani, Mirwaiz Umar Farooq and Mohammad Yasin Malik, has extended the agitation till August 25.&nbsp; 
 
Schools, colleges and private offices remained closed while public transport remained off roads. The attendance in government offices was thin. Mobile internet and telephony services also remained suspended. 
 
As many as 64 persons including two police personnel have been killed and several thousand others injured in the clashes that began on July 9.&nbsp; 
 
(PTI)&nbsp;

While unrest refuses to die down, the separatist camp in the Valley has decided to continue the agitation till August 25

Curfew was today extended to several places in Kashmir Valley in India as a precautionary measure in view of the call for a march given by separatist leaders. "Curfew has been extended to many towns including Aripathan and Magam areas in Budgam district to maintain law and order," a police official said. The call for march from Aripthan area of Budgam district in the Valley was given by separatists against the death of four civilians in clashes between federal law enforcement and civil agency Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) and protesters there on August 16. 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. Curfew also remained in force in entire Srinagar district, Anantnag town, Pampore town, Shopian town, Khanpora in Baramulla, Ganderbal town and Kaloosa in Bandipora district today, the official said. Restrictions on the movement of the people were in force in rest of the Valley. The separatist camp, headed by Syed Ali Shah Geelani, Mirwaiz Umar Farooq and Mohammad Yasin Malik, has extended the agitation till August 25. Schools, colleges and private offices remained closed while public transport remained off roads. The attendance in government offices was thin. Mobile internet and telephony services also remained suspended. As many as 64 persons including two police personnel have been killed and several thousand others injured in the clashes that began on July 9. (PTI)

India: Curfew extended to several areas in Kashmir as separatists call for march

Suspected militants killed two soldiers and one police officer in an ambush on a convoy overnight in Kashmir, an official in the troubled region said on Wednesday. 
 
An unknown number of gunmen opened fire on the two army trucks and a police car travelling through Baramulla district, 60 kilometres (37 miles) west of the region`s main city of Srinagar. 
 
&quot;Two soldiers and one police officer were killed while two soldiers and another police officer were injured,&quot; district police superintendent Imtiaz Hussain said. 
 
Security forces launched a major search for the militants who fled the scene, according to the Press Trust of India (PTI) news agency. 
 
Army convoys have been travelling more frequently at night in recent weeks through the region to avoid encountering protesting residents.&nbsp; 
 
Kashmir has been under curfew since protests erupted over the death last month of a popular young rebel leader, Burhan Wani, in a gunfight with security forces. 
 
More than 60 civilians have been killed in clashes between protesters and security forces, and thousands more injured in the worst violence to hit the Himalayan region since 2010. 
 
(AFP) 
 
&nbsp;

Unknown number of gunmen opened fire on two army trucks and a police car

Suspected militants killed two soldiers and one police officer in an ambush on a convoy overnight in Kashmir, an official in the troubled region said on Wednesday. An unknown number of gunmen opened fire on the two army trucks and a police car travelling through Baramulla district, 60 kilometres (37 miles) west of the region`s main city of Srinagar. "Two soldiers and one police officer were killed while two soldiers and another police officer were injured," district police superintendent Imtiaz Hussain said. Security forces launched a major search for the militants who fled the scene, according to the Press Trust of India (PTI) news agency. Army convoys have been travelling more frequently at night in recent weeks through the region to avoid encountering protesting residents. Kashmir has been under curfew since protests erupted over the death last month of a popular young rebel leader, Burhan Wani, in a gunfight with security forces. More than 60 civilians have been killed in clashes between protesters and security forces, and thousands more injured in the worst violence to hit the Himalayan region since 2010. (AFP)

Three security personnel killed in Kashmir ambush

At least four protesters were killed amid firing by India&#39;s security forces in central Kashmir`s Budgam district today morning. 
 
As per reports, the incident took place when the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) personnel opened fire on the group of protesters who pelted stones at them at Aripanthan area of the district in northern India.&nbsp; 
 
Several others are also reported to have sustained injuries. With this, the death toll in the valley following Hizbul Mujahideen commander Burhan Wani`s killing has reached 64. 
 
Curfew and separatist shutdown continued in Kashmir today for the 39th consecutive day. All educational institutions, shops, public transport and other businesses have remained shut since&nbsp;July 9, a day after Wani was killed. 
 
However, banks, post offices, and government offices have been functioning during this period. Several thousand people have been injured in the clashes that began on&nbsp;July 9. 
 
(ANI)&nbsp;

Indian security forces opened fire at protesters involved in pelting stones in central Kashmir

At least four protesters were killed amid firing by India's security forces in central Kashmir`s Budgam district today morning. As per reports, the incident took place when the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) personnel opened fire on the group of protesters who pelted stones at them at Aripanthan area of the district in northern India. Several others are also reported to have sustained injuries. With this, the death toll in the valley following Hizbul Mujahideen commander Burhan Wani`s killing has reached 64. Curfew and separatist shutdown continued in Kashmir today for the 39th consecutive day. All educational institutions, shops, public transport and other businesses have remained shut since July 9, a day after Wani was killed. However, banks, post offices, and government offices have been functioning during this period. Several thousand people have been injured in the clashes that began on July 9. (ANI)

4 more gunned down in Kashmir ferment, death toll climbs to 64

A video in support of slain Kashmir-based Hizbul Mujahideen&nbsp;commander Burhan Wani, who was killed by&nbsp;Indian security forces last month, is doing the rounds on social media.&nbsp; 
 
The recording shows 12 armed men raising pro-Burhan and anti-India slogans. 
 
The youth leading the group is seen walking in a forest, carrying a wireless set while the others that follow him are seen armed with assault rifles and&nbsp;rocket launchers. Dressed in army fatigues, the men appear to be in their 20s. Their accent, however,&nbsp;does not appear to be typically of a Kashmiri resident. 
 
?The group leader is videoed saying, &quot;This challenge (baazi) is a challenge of blood which you will lose. For each Burhan that you kill, every house will birth a Burhan.&quot; 
 
The suspected militant then introduces&nbsp;himself as Tayib Burhan. The remaining gunmen, who follow him in a single column, also introduce themselves,&nbsp;adding &#39;Burhan&#39; to their first names. They&nbsp;identify themselves as Ali, Irfan,&nbsp;Abdullah, Sultan, Saifullah, Rizwan, Amir, Aslam, Inam Roshan, Usman and Ahmed. 
 
A security official told dna they are yet to establish the origin of the video. 
 
This video surfaces less than a fortnight after a video of the new&nbsp;Hizbul Mujahideen&#39;s militant commander, who is known by the&nbsp;nom de guerre Mehmood Ghaznavi,&nbsp;and four of his associates was circulated on social media. 
 
&quot;Our focus is to restore the law and order situation in the Valley. We have taken notice of such videos appearing on social media. We will take appropriate action once the situation normalises,&quot; said the senior security official based in Srinagar. 
 
On July 8, militant leader Burhan Wani was killed in a fierce gunbattle with security forces of Indian-administered Kashmir. 
 
Azaan Javaid | DNA

The recording shows 12 armed men, armed with assault rifles and?rocket launchers, raising pro-Burhan and anti-India slogans

A video in support of slain Kashmir-based Hizbul Mujahideen commander Burhan Wani, who was killed by Indian security forces last month, is doing the rounds on social media. The recording shows 12 armed men raising pro-Burhan and anti-India slogans. The youth leading the group is seen walking in a forest, carrying a wireless set while the others that follow him are seen armed with assault rifles and rocket launchers. Dressed in army fatigues, the men appear to be in their 20s. Their accent, however, does not appear to be typically of a Kashmiri resident. ?The group leader is videoed saying, "This challenge (baazi) is a challenge of blood which you will lose. For each Burhan that you kill, every house will birth a Burhan." The suspected militant then introduces himself as Tayib Burhan. The remaining gunmen, who follow him in a single column, also introduce themselves, adding 'Burhan' to their first names. They identify themselves as Ali, Irfan, Abdullah, Sultan, Saifullah, Rizwan, Amir, Aslam, Inam Roshan, Usman and Ahmed. A security official told dna they are yet to establish the origin of the video. This video surfaces less than a fortnight after a video of the new Hizbul Mujahideen's militant commander, who is known by the nom de guerre Mehmood Ghaznavi, and four of his associates was circulated on social media. "Our focus is to restore the law and order situation in the Valley. We have taken notice of such videos appearing on social media. We will take appropriate action once the situation normalises," said the senior security official based in Srinagar. On July 8, militant leader Burhan Wani was killed in a fierce gunbattle with security forces of Indian-administered Kashmir. Azaan Javaid | DNA

Anti-India video supporting dead Kashmir terrorist Burhan Wani circulates on social media

Prime Minister Narendra Modi today said like every Indian, he was also deeply pained by recent incidents in northermost Jammu and Kashmir state and assured the opposition parties of his government&#39;s commitment to stable and peaceful resolution of the Kashmir issue as per basic principles of the constitution. 
 
&quot;Like every Indian, I&#39;m also deeply pained by recent incidents and we are committed to a stable and peaceful resolution to the Kashmir issue as per basic principles of the constitution. We are committed to the welfare of the people of the state. To find a solution, we will follow the path shown by former prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee,&quot; said the Prime Minister while delivering the concluding remarks at the all-party meeting to review and seek suggestions on the Kashmir situation at the parliament House here. 
 
Invoking former Vajpayee, he referred to the former prime minister&#39;s offer to hold dialogue under the framework of &#39;insaniyat (humanity), jamhuriyat (democracy) and Kashmiriyat&#39;. It would be pertinent to mention Modi has more than once referred to Vajpayee&#39;s approach during the last two years while talking about the situation prevailing in the Valley. &nbsp; 
 
&quot;When we talk about Jammu and Kashmir, then we should talk about four regions; Jammu, Kashmir, Ladakh and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK),&quot; he said. 
 
&quot;Jammu and Kashmir, which is often referred to as the crown of India, is an age old symbol of embodying the equality of all religions where Hindus, Sikhs, Buddhists and Muslims have co-existed for centuries. The state is not only the matter of our unity, but is also a definition of our nationalism,&quot; he added. 
 
&quot;We cannot reject the fact that security forces have braved all sorts of injuries. They were subjected to organised attacks despite that they maintained restraint. Data speaks that security forces are injured in large numbers,&quot; he said. 
 
The Prime Minister said the percentage of elements, who indulge in spreading propaganda, disturbing peace and inciting children have gone down, despite a vicious campaign by some. 
 
&quot;This is why despite warnings from some separatist elements, the people of Jammu and Kashmir showed their faith in democratic principles during the polls,&quot; he added. 
 
Expressing his gratitude to all political parties and leaders for expressing their feelings in one voice, Prime Minister Modi said, &quot;it&#39;s a matter of happiness that all our friends have expressed their feelings in one voice. I&#39;m grateful to all political parties for raising concerns over the prevailing situation in Jammu and Kashmir&quot;. &nbsp; 
 
Opposition calls for defusing present situation&nbsp; 
 
Former prime minister Dr Manmohan Singh, who attended today&#39;s meeting, said the most important thing with regard to Jammu and Kashmir is to defuse the present tense and tragic situation. 
 
Leader of Opposition in the upper house of the Indian parliament (Rajya Sabha) Ghulam Nabi Azad, while addressing the media after the meeting quoted the former prime minister as saying that the former United Party Alliance (UPA) regime in the last ten years in office made efforts to find practical solution to these problems.&nbsp; 
 
Azad said, &quot;We have lot of problems with the Centre, but right now we only want that the situation in J&amp;K to normalise. Manmohan Singh ji said at the meet that most imp thing with regard to J&amp;K is to defuse the present tense and tragic situation.&quot; 
 
&quot;Manmohan Singhji also said in last 10 years when we were in office, we made efforts to find practical solution to these problem, but we recognise that we didn`t fully succeed and it is the government of India&#39;s duty to come up with a roadmap for defusing the present situation.&quot;&nbsp; 
 
Azad further said Dr Singh assured the government that any positive step in this endeavour would have the Congress&#39; full cooperation. 
 
Home minister Rajnath Singh, finance minister Arun Jaitley, external affairs minister Sushma Swaraj, Congress leader Mallikarjun Kharge, Samajwadi Party supremo Mulayam Singh Yadav, Communist Party of India (Marxist) general secretary Sitaram Yechury, CPI&#39;s D. Raja and Janata Dal (United) chief Sharad Yadav were among others who attended the meeting. 
 
 
&#39;Contact citizens of Pakistan-cantrolled Kashmir,&#39; insists Modi&nbsp; 
 
While Jaitley said security forces have been advised to maintain restraint, Rajnath drew attention to Pakistan-controlled Kashmir.&nbsp; 
 
&quot;PM said that the time has come for Pakistan to answer the world, on atrocities against people in Balochistan &amp; Pakistan-cantrolled Kashmir,&quot; &nbsp;ANI quoted him as saying.&nbsp;
<div class="twitter-block">
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en">
PM said that the time has come for Pakistan to answer the world, on atrocities against people in Balochistan &amp; PoK: HM Rajnath Singh
&mdash; ANI (@ANI_news) <a href="https://twitter.com/ANI_news/status/764076388122972161">August 12, 2016</a></blockquote>
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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en">
All parties put forth their concerns in one voice and with the right intent: HM Rajnath Singh on All party meet <a href="https://t.co/SU4ZuRei7X">pic.twitter.com/SU4ZuRei7X</a>
&mdash; ANI (@ANI_news) <a href="https://twitter.com/ANI_news/status/764075048445489154">August 12, 2016</a></blockquote>
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Security guards will act with restraint. Terrorism&amp;violence will be dealt with effectively: Jaitley on Kashmir issue <a href="https://t.co/OAuAtfPjaR">pic.twitter.com/OAuAtfPjaR</a>
&mdash; ANI (@ANI_news) <a href="https://twitter.com/ANI_news/status/764079637588606978">August 12, 2016</a></blockquote>
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Sharing the main points of his government&#39;s Kashmir policy, Modi also asked the external affairs ministry to try to contact citizens of Pakistan-controlled Kashmir, living in different parts of the world, to get details of the area&#39;s pitiable condition and share them with the international community. 
 
The government&#39;s efforts include reaching out to the civil society and speeding up measures to integrate Kashmir&#39;s youth with the state&#39;s economic activities. 
 
Seeking support of all political parties, the Prime Minister said, &quot;When terrorism is on the rise across the world and when we are encircled by terrorism sponsored by the neighbouring country, then we will have to be united in this fight. The government expects constructive support from all opposition parties on this.&quot; 
 
&quot;I have complete confidence that with the dedication of the state government and with your total cooperation we will soon restore normal life in Jammu and Kashmir again,&quot; he said as he praised chief minister Mehbooba Mufti&#39;s government, in which India&#39;s ruling Bharatiya Janta Party (BJP) is a partner, for its &quot;careful handling&quot; of the issue despite odds. 
 
Indian security forces killed a militant leader Burhan Wani on July 8, sparking a wave of violent protests across the Himalayan region, which has been ruled in part, but claimed in full, by both India and Pakistan since 1947. 
 
Police extended a curfew in parts of the Muslim-majority territory for a 35th day on Friday, a clampdown that Kashmiris said &quot;showed authorities&#39; failure to defuse deep-seated anger against Indian rule&quot;. More than 50 protesters have been killed so far and thousands have been injured in the month-long clashes.&nbsp; 
 
(With inputs from PTI, Reuters and ANI)&nbsp;

'Like every Indian, I'm also deeply pained by recent incidents. We're committed to a stable resolution to the Kashmir issue,' he said

Prime Minister Narendra Modi today said like every Indian, he was also deeply pained by recent incidents in northermost Jammu and Kashmir state and assured the opposition parties of his government's commitment to stable and peaceful resolution of the Kashmir issue as per basic principles of the constitution. "Like every Indian, I'm also deeply pained by recent incidents and we are committed to a stable and peaceful resolution to the Kashmir issue as per basic principles of the constitution. We are committed to the welfare of the people of the state. To find a solution, we will follow the path shown by former prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee," said the Prime Minister while delivering the concluding remarks at the all-party meeting to review and seek suggestions on the Kashmir situation at the parliament House here. Invoking former Vajpayee, he referred to the former prime minister's offer to hold dialogue under the framework of 'insaniyat (humanity), jamhuriyat (democracy) and Kashmiriyat'. It would be pertinent to mention Modi has more than once referred to Vajpayee's approach during the last two years while talking about the situation prevailing in the Valley. "When we talk about Jammu and Kashmir, then we should talk about four regions; Jammu, Kashmir, Ladakh and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK)," he said. "Jammu and Kashmir, which is often referred to as the crown of India, is an age old symbol of embodying the equality of all religions where Hindus, Sikhs, Buddhists and Muslims have co-existed for centuries. The state is not only the matter of our unity, but is also a definition of our nationalism," he added. "We cannot reject the fact that security forces have braved all sorts of injuries. They were subjected to organised attacks despite that they maintained restraint. Data speaks that security forces are injured in large numbers," he said. The Prime Minister said the percentage of elements, who indulge in spreading propaganda, disturbing peace and inciting children have gone down, despite a vicious campaign by some. "This is why despite warnings from some separatist elements, the people of Jammu and Kashmir showed their faith in democratic principles during the polls," he added. Expressing his gratitude to all political parties and leaders for expressing their feelings in one voice, Prime Minister Modi said, "it's a matter of happiness that all our friends have expressed their feelings in one voice. I'm grateful to all political parties for raising concerns over the prevailing situation in Jammu and Kashmir". Opposition calls for defusing present situation Former prime minister Dr Manmohan Singh, who attended today's meeting, said the most important thing with regard to Jammu and Kashmir is to defuse the present tense and tragic situation. Leader of Opposition in the upper house of the Indian parliament (Rajya Sabha) Ghulam Nabi Azad, while addressing the media after the meeting quoted the former prime minister as saying that the former United Party Alliance (UPA) regime in the last ten years in office made efforts to find practical solution to these problems. Azad said, "We have lot of problems with the Centre, but right now we only want that the situation in J&K to normalise. Manmohan Singh ji said at the meet that most imp thing with regard to J&K is to defuse the present tense and tragic situation." "Manmohan Singhji also said in last 10 years when we were in office, we made efforts to find practical solution to these problem, but we recognise that we didn`t fully succeed and it is the government of India's duty to come up with a roadmap for defusing the present situation." Azad further said Dr Singh assured the government that any positive step in this endeavour would have the Congress' full cooperation. Home minister Rajnath Singh, finance minister Arun Jaitley, external affairs minister Sushma Swaraj, Congress leader Mallikarjun Kharge, Samajwadi Party supremo Mulayam Singh Yadav, Communist Party of India (Marxist) general secretary Sitaram Yechury, CPI's D. Raja and Janata Dal (United) chief Sharad Yadav were among others who attended the meeting. 'Contact citizens of Pakistan-cantrolled Kashmir,' insists Modi While Jaitley said security forces have been advised to maintain restraint, Rajnath drew attention to Pakistan-controlled Kashmir. "PM said that the time has come for Pakistan to answer the world, on atrocities against people in Balochistan & Pakistan-cantrolled Kashmir," ANI quoted him as saying. PM said that the time has come for Pakistan to answer the world, on atrocities against people in Balochistan & PoK: HM Rajnath Singh — ANI (@ANI_news) August 12, 2016 All parties put forth their concerns in one voice and with the right intent: HM Rajnath Singh on All party meet pic.twitter.com/SU4ZuRei7X — ANI (@ANI_news) August 12, 2016 Security guards will act with restraint. Terrorism&violence will be dealt with effectively: Jaitley on Kashmir issue pic.twitter.com/OAuAtfPjaR — ANI (@ANI_news) August 12, 2016 Sharing the main points of his government's Kashmir policy, Modi also asked the external affairs ministry to try to contact citizens of Pakistan-controlled Kashmir, living in different parts of the world, to get details of the area's pitiable condition and share them with the international community. The government's efforts include reaching out to the civil society and speeding up measures to integrate Kashmir's youth with the state's economic activities. Seeking support of all political parties, the Prime Minister said, "When terrorism is on the rise across the world and when we are encircled by terrorism sponsored by the neighbouring country, then we will have to be united in this fight. The government expects constructive support from all opposition parties on this." "I have complete confidence that with the dedication of the state government and with your total cooperation we will soon restore normal life in Jammu and Kashmir again," he said as he praised chief minister Mehbooba Mufti's government, in which India's ruling Bharatiya Janta Party (BJP) is a partner, for its "careful handling" of the issue despite odds. Indian security forces killed a militant leader Burhan Wani on July 8, sparking a wave of violent protests across the Himalayan region, which has been ruled in part, but claimed in full, by both India and Pakistan since 1947. Police extended a curfew in parts of the Muslim-majority territory for a 35th day on Friday, a clampdown that Kashmiris said "showed authorities' failure to defuse deep-seated anger against Indian rule". More than 50 protesters have been killed so far and thousands have been injured in the month-long clashes. (With inputs from PTI, Reuters and ANI)

'Deeply pained over Kashmir unrest,'  says Modi as he invokes former PM Vajpayee yet again

Pakistan&#39;s foreign policy Advisor Sartaj Aziz today said that Pakistan would soon write to India and invite it for a dialogue on the Kashmir issue. 
 
Aziz told a news conference in Islamabad that during an Envoys Conference convened this week to deliberate on major foreign policy challenges of Pakistan the &quot;envoys had spent considerable time on the grim situation in the Indian Occupied Kashmir and Indian brutalities after July 8.&quot;&nbsp; 
 
It was emphasised that Pakistan would continue to extend full diplomatic, political and moral support to the Kashmiris movement for self-determination, and also take certain diplomatic initiatives. 
 
&quot;One proposal was that since the comprehensive dialogue was not happening, Pakistan should invite India for a dialogue on Jammu and Kashmir dispute, because the situation there has deteriorated so much that we need to have a dialogue on this issue. Our foreign secretary would formally be writing to his counterpart in this regard, telling him that the Kashmir issue had reached such a stage that an exclusive dialogue on it had become un avoidable,&quot; Aziz said. 
 
Aziz&#39;s offer comes two days after India&#39;s home minister Rajnath Singh told Parliament that India was willing to discuss only Pakistani Kashmir with Pakistan, and the question of discussing Indian held Kashmir with Islamabad did not arise. 
 
Replying to a reporter who said Indian ministers keep saying there is &quot;no issue&quot; in Jammu and Kashmir, Aziz said: 
 
&quot;If they (India) are saying that there is no issue, then why is all this happening over there on the ground? Secondly, why have you kept a force of 600,000 / 700,000 there? Why are all local leaders under detention, almost continuously? There is a media blackout, and no one from outside can get in to probe the situation. So naturally, there is a crisis, and there is a need to discuss it. So, if the Comprehensive Dialogue will take time to arrange, or is not happening, at least if you are ready to talk on the Kashmir issue, we are ready to talk also,&quot; he said. 
 
He said even the international community was getting edgy about the grim situation in Indian Kashmir 
 
&quot;This is a very serious situation. Most of the Kashmiri leaders are under arrest. Apprehensions of the international community are growing about this, and hopefully India will start feeling this pressure. At the same time, we have started a diplomatic offensive in the last five weeks, and that will continue to accelerate until India agrees to either discuss this issue or address it,&quot; he said. 
 
Aziz said a dossier was being prepared on the basis of the confessions of arrested Indian spy Kulbhushan Yadev who was being interrogated by security agencies. 
 
&quot;On the first issue of Kulbhushan (Yadev), a lot of detailed investigations are going on, because he was not alone. He had a network which he was running. So until we can trace out all the links through which he was operating, saying anything about it prematurely would defeat our goal of defeating the network and bringing it under our control. We are trying to further beef up the dossier that we had handed over earlier, so that we can share it at the upcoming General Assembly meeting in September. But work is still going on that,&quot; he said. 
 
He said there were indications that the Jamaatul Ahrar, which had claimed responsibility for the recent Quetta blast, was indirectly supported by Afghan spy agency NDS and Indian intelligence agency RAW. 
 
&quot;It has just been three days since the Quetta attack, but the signals that are coming are pointing at a Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) splinter group in Afghanistan, Jamaatul Ahrar, which has claimed responsibility. In the past it has been said several times that this group has some indirect support from the NDS (Afghanistan&#39;s National Directorate of Security). And RAW has some connections with NDS. But how much involvement there is in this Quetta attack, we cannot say yet. However, the overall perception is that RAW may be indirectly involved, through NDS, and through the Tehreek-e Taliban group. We do not want to point fingers on this without solid proof, but there are fears that all this happened. So as the investigation moves forward, things will get clear,&quot; he said. 
 
He said efforts were underway to improve coordination between the NDS and Pakistan&#39;s prime intelligence agency ISI in order to prevent such attacks in the future. 
 
&quot;Naturally, when we are talking with Afghanistan, we are trying to improve links and interaction between NDS and ISI (Pakistan&#39;s prime intelligence agency) , so that we are able to pinpoint such incidents in the future. We have made mutual commitments that we will not allow our soil to be used against them, and they will not allow their soil to be used against us. The monitoring for this commitment is only possible if both intelligence agencies have interactions at different level, at the border level, as well as a higher level. This is our aim, and God willing we are moving towards it,&quot; he said. 
 
Aziz said there is positive progress on the issue of Pakistan&#39;s membership for the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG). 
 
(Reuters)&nbsp; 
&nbsp;

Aziz's offer comes 2 days after India's home minister told parliament that India was willing to discuss only Pakistani Kashmir with Pakistan

Pakistan's foreign policy Advisor Sartaj Aziz today said that Pakistan would soon write to India and invite it for a dialogue on the Kashmir issue. Aziz told a news conference in Islamabad that during an Envoys Conference convened this week to deliberate on major foreign policy challenges of Pakistan the "envoys had spent considerable time on the grim situation in the Indian Occupied Kashmir and Indian brutalities after July 8." It was emphasised that Pakistan would continue to extend full diplomatic, political and moral support to the Kashmiris movement for self-determination, and also take certain diplomatic initiatives. "One proposal was that since the comprehensive dialogue was not happening, Pakistan should invite India for a dialogue on Jammu and Kashmir dispute, because the situation there has deteriorated so much that we need to have a dialogue on this issue. Our foreign secretary would formally be writing to his counterpart in this regard, telling him that the Kashmir issue had reached such a stage that an exclusive dialogue on it had become un avoidable," Aziz said. Aziz's offer comes two days after India's home minister Rajnath Singh told Parliament that India was willing to discuss only Pakistani Kashmir with Pakistan, and the question of discussing Indian held Kashmir with Islamabad did not arise. Replying to a reporter who said Indian ministers keep saying there is "no issue" in Jammu and Kashmir, Aziz said: "If they (India) are saying that there is no issue, then why is all this happening over there on the ground? Secondly, why have you kept a force of 600,000 / 700,000 there? Why are all local leaders under detention, almost continuously? There is a media blackout, and no one from outside can get in to probe the situation. So naturally, there is a crisis, and there is a need to discuss it. So, if the Comprehensive Dialogue will take time to arrange, or is not happening, at least if you are ready to talk on the Kashmir issue, we are ready to talk also," he said. He said even the international community was getting edgy about the grim situation in Indian Kashmir "This is a very serious situation. Most of the Kashmiri leaders are under arrest. Apprehensions of the international community are growing about this, and hopefully India will start feeling this pressure. At the same time, we have started a diplomatic offensive in the last five weeks, and that will continue to accelerate until India agrees to either discuss this issue or address it," he said. Aziz said a dossier was being prepared on the basis of the confessions of arrested Indian spy Kulbhushan Yadev who was being interrogated by security agencies. "On the first issue of Kulbhushan (Yadev), a lot of detailed investigations are going on, because he was not alone. He had a network which he was running. So until we can trace out all the links through which he was operating, saying anything about it prematurely would defeat our goal of defeating the network and bringing it under our control. We are trying to further beef up the dossier that we had handed over earlier, so that we can share it at the upcoming General Assembly meeting in September. But work is still going on that," he said. He said there were indications that the Jamaatul Ahrar, which had claimed responsibility for the recent Quetta blast, was indirectly supported by Afghan spy agency NDS and Indian intelligence agency RAW. "It has just been three days since the Quetta attack, but the signals that are coming are pointing at a Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) splinter group in Afghanistan, Jamaatul Ahrar, which has claimed responsibility. In the past it has been said several times that this group has some indirect support from the NDS (Afghanistan's National Directorate of Security). And RAW has some connections with NDS. But how much involvement there is in this Quetta attack, we cannot say yet. However, the overall perception is that RAW may be indirectly involved, through NDS, and through the Tehreek-e Taliban group. We do not want to point fingers on this without solid proof, but there are fears that all this happened. So as the investigation moves forward, things will get clear," he said. He said efforts were underway to improve coordination between the NDS and Pakistan's prime intelligence agency ISI in order to prevent such attacks in the future. "Naturally, when we are talking with Afghanistan, we are trying to improve links and interaction between NDS and ISI (Pakistan's prime intelligence agency) , so that we are able to pinpoint such incidents in the future. We have made mutual commitments that we will not allow our soil to be used against them, and they will not allow their soil to be used against us. The monitoring for this commitment is only possible if both intelligence agencies have interactions at different level, at the border level, as well as a higher level. This is our aim, and God willing we are moving towards it," he said. Aziz said there is positive progress on the issue of Pakistan's membership for the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG). (Reuters)

Pakistan gearing up to invite India for talks on Kashmir, asserts Sartaj Aziz

India&#39;s Kashmir Valley remained tense today as people stayed away from roads due to prohibitory orders and a shutdown call given by separatists over the killing of a militant. 
 
The northern Jammu and Kashmir state has been on the boil since July 8, when security forces gunned down 22-year-old Burhan Wani, a commander of the Hizbul-Mujahideen, a group fighting Indian control of the Muslim-majority region. 
 
Armed police personnel patrolled deserted markets and roads as residents largely stayed indoors. Barricades and barbed wire were laid out on roads in sensitive areas. 
 
Violent protests in parts of the Valley, a subsequent curfew and a shutdown called by separatist leaders against Wani&#39;s killing, have kept normalcy away from the Valley. 
 
In the latest instance of violence, security forces opened fire on curfew-defying protesters on Friday, killing three and injuring 100 others, including security personnel. 
 
An opposition party leader in Kashmir blamed excessive use of force for the situation. 
 
&quot;The situation is getting worse. It is bad for all of us, for common people as well as political parties. We had warned the government before that they should stop using excessive force and pellet guns and the rampant arrests and crackdowns that are causing difficulties to people in the valley should also be stopped, only then can we hope for a silver lining of improved situation,&quot; said a regional opposition leader, Ali Mohammad Sagar. 
 
Authorities had lifted curfew from all districts on July 26, except the sensitive South Kashmir belt. 
 
However, it was re-imposed the next day after separatists called for protest march to Kulgam district town against Wani&#39;s killing. 
 
Fifty-five people have been killed and more than 5,000 wounded, including Indian security personnel, in the almost month-long unrest. More than 300 people have suffered injuries because of pellet guns, including 171 with eye injuries, further fuelling the anger against the forces and the government. 
 
(Reuters)&nbsp;

Fifty five people have been killed and more than 5,000 injured, including Indian security personnel, in the almost month-long unrest

India's Kashmir Valley remained tense today as people stayed away from roads due to prohibitory orders and a shutdown call given by separatists over the killing of a militant. The northern Jammu and Kashmir state has been on the boil since July 8, when security forces gunned down 22-year-old Burhan Wani, a commander of the Hizbul-Mujahideen, a group fighting Indian control of the Muslim-majority region. Armed police personnel patrolled deserted markets and roads as residents largely stayed indoors. Barricades and barbed wire were laid out on roads in sensitive areas. Violent protests in parts of the Valley, a subsequent curfew and a shutdown called by separatist leaders against Wani's killing, have kept normalcy away from the Valley. In the latest instance of violence, security forces opened fire on curfew-defying protesters on Friday, killing three and injuring 100 others, including security personnel. An opposition party leader in Kashmir blamed excessive use of force for the situation. "The situation is getting worse. It is bad for all of us, for common people as well as political parties. We had warned the government before that they should stop using excessive force and pellet guns and the rampant arrests and crackdowns that are causing difficulties to people in the valley should also be stopped, only then can we hope for a silver lining of improved situation," said a regional opposition leader, Ali Mohammad Sagar. Authorities had lifted curfew from all districts on July 26, except the sensitive South Kashmir belt. However, it was re-imposed the next day after separatists called for protest march to Kulgam district town against Wani's killing. Fifty-five people have been killed and more than 5,000 wounded, including Indian security personnel, in the almost month-long unrest. More than 300 people have suffered injuries because of pellet guns, including 171 with eye injuries, further fuelling the anger against the forces and the government. (Reuters)

A month on, India's Kashmir Valley remains tense

With curfew and shutdown continuing in Kashmir over the killing of a separatist militant for almost a month now, tourism has suffered a major blow in the Valley. 
 
Trouble began in the northern Indian state of Jammu and Kashmir on July 8 when security forces gunned down 22-year-old Burhan Wani, leader of Hizb-ul-Mujahideen, a group fighting India over control of the Muslim-majority region. 
 
&#39;90 per cent of visitors have already left&#39;&nbsp; 
 
Violent protests in parts of the Valley, a subsequent curfew and a shutdown called by separatist leaders against Wani&#39;s killing have kept the tourists away. 
 
Tourists who had made bookings for July-August period are cancelling them while those in the state are cutting short their trips and leaving. Reportedly, 90 per cent of the visitors have already left. 
 
It has been days since some bus and cab drivers saw any tourists. People earning their livelihoods from the tourism sector urged the government today to take steps to restore normalcy at the earliest. 
 
&quot;The shutdown in Srinagar has had a drastic effect on tourism. Tourists are cancelling their packages and vehicles are not plying. Drivers and travel agents have been sitting idle for the last month or month-and-a-half,&quot; said a travel agent, Sweet Ishar. 
 
A driver, Sayed Zaki Haider said that the locals were losing out a lot of business as it was peak tourist season. 
 
&quot;Small vehicles would ferry people from Poonch to Kashmir or to deliver things like fruits as it is peak season. People who earned their livelihood from all such activities have been badly affected,&quot; said Haider. 
 
Uneasy calm prevails, curfew extended to more areas&nbsp; 
 
Meanwhile, an uneasy calm continues to blanket Srinagar, the summer capital of the state. 
 
Armed police personnel patroll deserted markets and roads as residents largely stay indoors. Barricades have been pulled up and barbed wires have been laid out on roads and in sensitive areas. 
 
Curfew was extended to more areas of Kashmir today to thwart a planned march by separatists to Hazratbal shrine here even as normal life in the Valley remained paralysed for the 28th consecutive day. 
 
&quot;Curfew has been imposed in entire Srinagar district in view of the call for march by some elements to Hazratbal. 
 
&quot;Curfew has also been imposed in Ganderbal, Budgam, Anantnag town, Awantipora, Kulgam town, Baramulla district excluding Sopore, Shopian town, Kaloosa in Bandipora and parts of Handwara,&quot; a police official said.&nbsp; 
 
He said restrictions on assembly of four or more persons in rest of the Valley as a precautionary measure to maintain law and order 
 
Security forces have been deployed in strength in sensitive and vulnerable areas to maintain law and order.&nbsp; 
 
Schools, colleges, business establishments, petrol pumps banks and private offices remain closed while public transport remained off roads. Attendance in government offices was also thin, the official said. 
 
Mobile internet services continued to remain snapped in the entire Valley where the outgoing facility on prepaid connections is barred.&nbsp; 
 
Authorities had lifted curfew from all districts on July 26 except the sensitive South Kashmir belt. 
 
However, it was re-imposed the next day after separatists called for protest march to Kulgam district town against Wani&#39;s killing. 
 
Wani represented a new generation of fighters in a region where alienation runs deep even though attacks have fallen dramatically since the revolt broke out in 1989. 
 
His killing has triggered the Valley&#39;s worst outbreak of violence in six years. 
 
At least 46 people were killed and more than 5,000 wounded, including Indian security forces, in the violence. More than 300 people suffered injuries because of pellet guns, including 171 with eye injuries, further fuelling the anger against the forces and the government. 
 
Officials also informed police had recently launched a massive crackdown against &quot;hooligans and miscreants&quot; in Kashmir, arresting nearly 500 youths from across the Valley.&nbsp; 
 
(AFP, PTI)&nbsp; 
&nbsp;

Violent protests in parts of Valley, subsequent curfew and shutdown called by separatist leaders have kept tourists away

With curfew and shutdown continuing in Kashmir over the killing of a separatist militant for almost a month now, tourism has suffered a major blow in the Valley. Trouble began in the northern Indian state of Jammu and Kashmir on July 8 when security forces gunned down 22-year-old Burhan Wani, leader of Hizb-ul-Mujahideen, a group fighting India over control of the Muslim-majority region. '90 per cent of visitors have already left' Violent protests in parts of the Valley, a subsequent curfew and a shutdown called by separatist leaders against Wani's killing have kept the tourists away. Tourists who had made bookings for July-August period are cancelling them while those in the state are cutting short their trips and leaving. Reportedly, 90 per cent of the visitors have already left. It has been days since some bus and cab drivers saw any tourists. People earning their livelihoods from the tourism sector urged the government today to take steps to restore normalcy at the earliest. "The shutdown in Srinagar has had a drastic effect on tourism. Tourists are cancelling their packages and vehicles are not plying. Drivers and travel agents have been sitting idle for the last month or month-and-a-half," said a travel agent, Sweet Ishar. A driver, Sayed Zaki Haider said that the locals were losing out a lot of business as it was peak tourist season. "Small vehicles would ferry people from Poonch to Kashmir or to deliver things like fruits as it is peak season. People who earned their livelihood from all such activities have been badly affected," said Haider. Uneasy calm prevails, curfew extended to more areas Meanwhile, an uneasy calm continues to blanket Srinagar, the summer capital of the state. Armed police personnel patroll deserted markets and roads as residents largely stay indoors. Barricades have been pulled up and barbed wires have been laid out on roads and in sensitive areas. Curfew was extended to more areas of Kashmir today to thwart a planned march by separatists to Hazratbal shrine here even as normal life in the Valley remained paralysed for the 28th consecutive day. "Curfew has been imposed in entire Srinagar district in view of the call for march by some elements to Hazratbal. "Curfew has also been imposed in Ganderbal, Budgam, Anantnag town, Awantipora, Kulgam town, Baramulla district excluding Sopore, Shopian town, Kaloosa in Bandipora and parts of Handwara," a police official said. He said restrictions on assembly of four or more persons in rest of the Valley as a precautionary measure to maintain law and order Security forces have been deployed in strength in sensitive and vulnerable areas to maintain law and order. Schools, colleges, business establishments, petrol pumps banks and private offices remain closed while public transport remained off roads. Attendance in government offices was also thin, the official said. Mobile internet services continued to remain snapped in the entire Valley where the outgoing facility on prepaid connections is barred. Authorities had lifted curfew from all districts on July 26 except the sensitive South Kashmir belt. However, it was re-imposed the next day after separatists called for protest march to Kulgam district town against Wani's killing. Wani represented a new generation of fighters in a region where alienation runs deep even though attacks have fallen dramatically since the revolt broke out in 1989. His killing has triggered the Valley's worst outbreak of violence in six years. At least 46 people were killed and more than 5,000 wounded, including Indian security forces, in the violence. More than 300 people suffered injuries because of pellet guns, including 171 with eye injuries, further fuelling the anger against the forces and the government. Officials also informed police had recently launched a massive crackdown against "hooligans and miscreants" in Kashmir, arresting nearly 500 youths from across the Valley. (AFP, PTI)

Unrest over Burhan Wani's killing deals blow to tourism in Kashmir

A tarana (poem) eulogising killed Hizbul Mujahideen commander Burhan Wani seems to have become a major concern for security forces posted in the most volatile parts of south Kashmir,in northern India, which has already been witnessing pitched battles between forces and local residents. 
 
The poem, a part of which was apparently written by the slain militant himself, has extra verses added to it by unknown locals who routinely play a recording of the same on loudspeakers installed in local mosques. 
 
Senior Indian security officials, currently facing a challenging job of arresting the protesters in the Valley that erupted following the killing of Burhan Wani, believe that poems such as these are being used as propaganda tool to encourage youth to confront forces violently. 
 
Recording of these poems have been playing in local mosques across the Valley as part of protest that erupted soon after the killing of the militant commander on July 8 
 
The author of the poem writes about the alleged atrocities witnessed by Kashmiri people and how Burhan is the &ldquo;Son of Kashmir&rdquo; who protects the Valley. 
 
Burhan Wani&rsquo;s father and his elder brother Khalid, who was also killed by security forces, also find a mention in the poem. 
 
Security officials believe that playing the &lsquo;taranas&rsquo;, with which Kashmiri youth seem to connect emotionally, is &ldquo;adding fuel to the fire&rdquo; and the fact that it is gaining popularity in south Kashmir is becoming a grave concern for forces on the ground. 
 
Using tarana&rsquo;s, said a senior Jammu and Kashmir police officer, is not new to the valley and was quite a common happening in early 90s when the valley was engulfed in full scale militancy. 
 
&ldquo;Loudspeakers were further used during the 2010 unrest to play recording of similar poems but this time around the problem has aggravated,&rdquo; the officer told dna adding that individuals are using social media to disseminate similar material. 
 
When asked whether the poem was in fact written by Burhan Wani himself, a senior security official said, &ldquo;Police had recovered some material from the militants that were killed on July 8 including weapons. 
 
Our main concern following such encounters is that the last rites are performed peacefully and without creating a law and order situation in the valley. Rest seems less important.&rdquo; 
 
Azaan Javaid/ DNA

Believed to be written by Wani, it has extra verses added to it by unknown locals who routinely play it on loudspeakers installed at mosques

A tarana (poem) eulogising killed Hizbul Mujahideen commander Burhan Wani seems to have become a major concern for security forces posted in the most volatile parts of south Kashmir,in northern India, which has already been witnessing pitched battles between forces and local residents. The poem, a part of which was apparently written by the slain militant himself, has extra verses added to it by unknown locals who routinely play a recording of the same on loudspeakers installed in local mosques. Senior Indian security officials, currently facing a challenging job of arresting the protesters in the Valley that erupted following the killing of Burhan Wani, believe that poems such as these are being used as propaganda tool to encourage youth to confront forces violently. Recording of these poems have been playing in local mosques across the Valley as part of protest that erupted soon after the killing of the militant commander on July 8 The author of the poem writes about the alleged atrocities witnessed by Kashmiri people and how Burhan is the “Son of Kashmir” who protects the Valley. Burhan Wani’s father and his elder brother Khalid, who was also killed by security forces, also find a mention in the poem. Security officials believe that playing the ‘taranas’, with which Kashmiri youth seem to connect emotionally, is “adding fuel to the fire” and the fact that it is gaining popularity in south Kashmir is becoming a grave concern for forces on the ground. Using tarana’s, said a senior Jammu and Kashmir police officer, is not new to the valley and was quite a common happening in early 90s when the valley was engulfed in full scale militancy. “Loudspeakers were further used during the 2010 unrest to play recording of similar poems but this time around the problem has aggravated,” the officer told dna adding that individuals are using social media to disseminate similar material. When asked whether the poem was in fact written by Burhan Wani himself, a senior security official said, “Police had recovered some material from the militants that were killed on July 8 including weapons. Our main concern following such encounters is that the last rites are performed peacefully and without creating a law and order situation in the valley. Rest seems less important.” Azaan Javaid/ DNA

Dead Hizbul Mujahideen commander Burhan Wani's poem puts security forces in Kashmir on alert

A petrol bomb was hurled at the house of Naeem Akhtar, education minister of the Indian state of Jammu and Kashmir, in Parraypora area of Srinagar city last night, police said today. 
 
No one was hurt in the attack that was carried out by unidentified persons.&nbsp; 
 
&quot;A petrol bomb was hurled at the residence of the education minister at Parraypora late last night, causing damage to the main gate of the house,&quot; a police official said.&nbsp; 
 
Akhtar and his wife were not present in the premises as they have shifted to high-security Gupkar Road after the PDP-BJP coalition government was sworn in March last year.&nbsp; 
 
A petrol bomb was also hurled at the office of Road and Buildings department at SDA colony in Bemina area of the city last night, the official said. He said no one was hurt in the incident. 
 
Kashmir valley remains gripped with tension after Hizbul Mujahideen commander Burhan Wani was killed in an encounter by security forces on July 8. More than 50 people have died and thousands have been injured in the ensuing protests.&nbsp; 
 
(PTI)&nbsp;

No one was hurt in the attack that was carried out by unidentified persons, officials said

A petrol bomb was hurled at the house of Naeem Akhtar, education minister of the Indian state of Jammu and Kashmir, in Parraypora area of Srinagar city last night, police said today. No one was hurt in the attack that was carried out by unidentified persons. "A petrol bomb was hurled at the residence of the education minister at Parraypora late last night, causing damage to the main gate of the house," a police official said. Akhtar and his wife were not present in the premises as they have shifted to high-security Gupkar Road after the PDP-BJP coalition government was sworn in March last year. A petrol bomb was also hurled at the office of Road and Buildings department at SDA colony in Bemina area of the city last night, the official said. He said no one was hurt in the incident. Kashmir valley remains gripped with tension after Hizbul Mujahideen commander Burhan Wani was killed in an encounter by security forces on July 8. More than 50 people have died and thousands have been injured in the ensuing protests. (PTI)

India: Petrol bomb hurled at education minister's home in Jammu and Kashmir

Mystery over the killing of Burhan Wani deepened on Thursday when chief minister of India&#39;s northern state of Jammu and Kashmir, Mehbooba Mufti claimed that security forces had no inkling that Hizbul Mujahedeen commander was present in the hideout on the day of the encounter at Bamdoora village on July 8. 
 
Mehbooba&#39;s disclosure comes on the day when Hizbul released new video showcasing the new group minus Burhan in the jungles of south Kashmir. 
 
&quot;How can one know about every encounter? I have talked to the police and, army and they told me that there were three militants but they did not know who they were. I feel if they knew (Burhan was there), perhaps we would had looked for another chance. Like Omar Abdullah who knew about Afzal Guru hanging and prepared for it accordingly,&quot; Mehbooba told reporters on the sidelines of the Peoples Democratic Party foundation day celebrations. 
 
The opposition party National Conference (NC) reacted angrily describing Mehbooba&#39;s remarks as &quot;theatrical tendency to lie and deflect responsibility&quot;. 
 
&quot;It was ironic and ridiculous that the chief minister was terming Burhan Wani&#39;s killing a coincidence while simultaneously having released lakhs of rupees as reward money from the Chief Minister&#39;s secret fund for those who took part in the encounter&quot;, said Nasir Aslam Wani, National Conference provincial president. 
 
Abdullah said that Mufti was kept fully informed of Burhan&#39;s killing.&quot;I&#39;m going by the first on record statement by Jammu and Kashmir police to the media that the chief minister was kept fully informed of the killing. At no point in the first Jammu and Kashmir police media briefing was it ever suggested that they didn`t know who was trapped,&quot; Abdullah said in a series of tweets. 
 
Burhan was killed along with two of his associates by the security forces at Bamdoora village of Kokernag in south Kashmir&#39;s Anantnag district on July 8. 
 
&quot;There seems to be larger design behind such orchestrated eruptions to push Kashmiris into perpetual economic deprivation and social disorder. Kashmiris are made to pay a huge price by way of their life and livelihood in each such cycle of violence. It has been observed time and again that such hideous situations have only hurt the interests of Kashmiris the most,&quot; Mehbooba said. 
 
Chief minister called upon India&#39;s Prime Minister Narendra Modi to make a renewed effort towards the resolution of Jammu and Kashmir&#39;s problems by engaging all the stakeholders. 
 
&quot;I am sure the country&#39;s political leadership will pick up the threads and carry forward the reconciliation and resolution process started by Atal Bihari Vajpayee in 2003,&quot; she said and emphasised the need for taking concrete steps to win hearts and minds of the people of Jammu and Kashmir. 
 
Mehbooba&#39;s statement came on the day when Hizbul Mujhadeen released new video featuring heavily armed militants in army fatigues. It is the first video that has been released by Hizbul after the killing of Burhan Wani, who used social media to the hilt to send across his messages. 
 
(ANI) 
&nbsp;

National Conference leader Omar Abdullah rubbished chief minister Mehbooba Mufti's claim that she was not aware of Burhan Wani's hideout

Mystery over the killing of Burhan Wani deepened on Thursday when chief minister of India's northern state of Jammu and Kashmir, Mehbooba Mufti claimed that security forces had no inkling that Hizbul Mujahedeen commander was present in the hideout on the day of the encounter at Bamdoora village on July 8. Mehbooba's disclosure comes on the day when Hizbul released new video showcasing the new group minus Burhan in the jungles of south Kashmir. "How can one know about every encounter? I have talked to the police and, army and they told me that there were three militants but they did not know who they were. I feel if they knew (Burhan was there), perhaps we would had looked for another chance. Like Omar Abdullah who knew about Afzal Guru hanging and prepared for it accordingly," Mehbooba told reporters on the sidelines of the Peoples Democratic Party foundation day celebrations. The opposition party National Conference (NC) reacted angrily describing Mehbooba's remarks as "theatrical tendency to lie and deflect responsibility". "It was ironic and ridiculous that the chief minister was terming Burhan Wani's killing a coincidence while simultaneously having released lakhs of rupees as reward money from the Chief Minister's secret fund for those who took part in the encounter", said Nasir Aslam Wani, National Conference provincial president. Abdullah said that Mufti was kept fully informed of Burhan's killing."I'm going by the first on record statement by Jammu and Kashmir police to the media that the chief minister was kept fully informed of the killing. At no point in the first Jammu and Kashmir police media briefing was it ever suggested that they didn`t know who was trapped," Abdullah said in a series of tweets. Burhan was killed along with two of his associates by the security forces at Bamdoora village of Kokernag in south Kashmir's Anantnag district on July 8. "There seems to be larger design behind such orchestrated eruptions to push Kashmiris into perpetual economic deprivation and social disorder. Kashmiris are made to pay a huge price by way of their life and livelihood in each such cycle of violence. It has been observed time and again that such hideous situations have only hurt the interests of Kashmiris the most," Mehbooba said. Chief minister called upon India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi to make a renewed effort towards the resolution of Jammu and Kashmir's problems by engaging all the stakeholders. "I am sure the country's political leadership will pick up the threads and carry forward the reconciliation and resolution process started by Atal Bihari Vajpayee in 2003," she said and emphasised the need for taking concrete steps to win hearts and minds of the people of Jammu and Kashmir. Mehbooba's statement came on the day when Hizbul Mujhadeen released new video featuring heavily armed militants in army fatigues. It is the first video that has been released by Hizbul after the killing of Burhan Wani, who used social media to the hilt to send across his messages. (ANI)

Jammu and Kashmir chief minister Mufti: Security forces had no inkling of Burhan Wani's whereabouts on day of killing

Curfew and restrictions were re-imposed in south Kashmir and parts of the capital city of Srinagar today in view of a march called by the separatists. As per reports, curfew will remain imposed in Anantnag and Kulgam districts, while restrictions under Section 144 have been imposed in Shopian and Pulwama districts of the state. 
 
Police and paramilitary forces have been deployed to maintain the law and order situation. Protests erupted yesterday after authorities lifted the curfew from Srinagar, south Kashmir districts and other areas. Meanwhile, the mobile internet services were restored in the Jammu region yesterday after remaining suspended for 17 days in view of protests in Kashmir valley following the death of Hizbul Mujahideen commander Burhan Muzaffar Wani. 
 
Fearing a backlash in Jammu region after the start of protests in the valley, the authorities had decided to snap mobile internet services across 10 districts of the region. Barring BSNL post-paid mobile connections and landlines with broadband connections, the authorities suspended mobile telephony and mobile internet services across the valley following protests. 
 
With communication snapped, Kashmiris outside the state have been expressing concerns over their families&#39; welfare with some students complaining that they were running out of money. 
 
(ANI)&nbsp;

Protests erupted yesterday after authorities lifted the curfew from Srinagar, south Kashmir districts and other areas

Curfew and restrictions were re-imposed in south Kashmir and parts of the capital city of Srinagar today in view of a march called by the separatists. As per reports, curfew will remain imposed in Anantnag and Kulgam districts, while restrictions under Section 144 have been imposed in Shopian and Pulwama districts of the state. Police and paramilitary forces have been deployed to maintain the law and order situation. Protests erupted yesterday after authorities lifted the curfew from Srinagar, south Kashmir districts and other areas. Meanwhile, the mobile internet services were restored in the Jammu region yesterday after remaining suspended for 17 days in view of protests in Kashmir valley following the death of Hizbul Mujahideen commander Burhan Muzaffar Wani. Fearing a backlash in Jammu region after the start of protests in the valley, the authorities had decided to snap mobile internet services across 10 districts of the region. Barring BSNL post-paid mobile connections and landlines with broadband connections, the authorities suspended mobile telephony and mobile internet services across the valley following protests. With communication snapped, Kashmiris outside the state have been expressing concerns over their families' welfare with some students complaining that they were running out of money. (ANI)

Curfew re-imposed in south Kashmir in view of separatists' march

Separatist Hurriyat leader from north Indian state of Jammu and Kashmir, Syed Ali Shah Geelani, on Tuesday dropped a bombshell by claiming that Hizbul Mujhadeen commander Burhan Muzaffar Wani, whose death had led to violent clashes and protracted curfew in the state, had spoken to him few days before his death and reposed full faith in his leadership. 
 
&ldquo;Few days before his martyrdom, Burhan Wani spoke to me over phone and said he was very happy to talk to me since it was his long-pending desire,&rdquo; Geelani said, while addressing his supporters who had marched to his residence on Tuesday 
 
The Hurriyat leader said that it was a brief interaction and Burhan told him that &ldquo;We on our side are trying our best to help this freedom struggle and I have full faith in you that you will also leave no stone unturned to attain the goal of freedom for the Kashmiri nation&rdquo;. 
 
Burhan was killed along with two of his associates in an encounter with security forces at Bamdoora village of Kokarnag in south Kashmir&rsquo;s Anantnag district on July 8. 
 
Kashmir has been simmering and around 49 people have been killed in security forces firing on the mobs since the unrest began. Around 2,228 policemen, 1,100 CRPF men and 2,259 civilians have been injured in the violence so far. 
 
&ldquo;Burhan was very young, very intelligent and matured Mujahid (militant) Commander whose sincerity exposed the Indian claims in Kashmir. The sacred blood of Hizb Commander has infused a new life into the freedom struggle. It was his sincerity and piousness which forced the people of the state to come out on the roads against India. Both his life as well as his martyrdom has shaken the Indian power houses,&rdquo; Geelani said. 
 
Hurriyat hardliner cautioned the people against the policies of the pro-Indian people who have different languages at the time of power and out of power. 
 
&ldquo;The height of the shamelessness is that these paid Indian agents openly accuse each other of killing the Kashmiri innocent people and compete on the argument &ldquo;who killed more&rdquo; in their respective regimes&rdquo;, he said. 
 
Geelani appealed to people not to give them (pro-India politicians) anymore chances to exploit the sentiments of the common Kashmiris. 
 
&ldquo;Everybody in the Jammu and Kashmir knows that the pro-Indian politicians are just stooges of New Delhi and they have nothing in their hands except to hike their own salaries and perks&rdquo;, he said. 
 
(DNA)

Geelani said it was a brief interaction in which Wani had admitted having full faith in former's goal to achieve freedom for Kashmir

Separatist Hurriyat leader from north Indian state of Jammu and Kashmir, Syed Ali Shah Geelani, on Tuesday dropped a bombshell by claiming that Hizbul Mujhadeen commander Burhan Muzaffar Wani, whose death had led to violent clashes and protracted curfew in the state, had spoken to him few days before his death and reposed full faith in his leadership. “Few days before his martyrdom, Burhan Wani spoke to me over phone and said he was very happy to talk to me since it was his long-pending desire,” Geelani said, while addressing his supporters who had marched to his residence on Tuesday The Hurriyat leader said that it was a brief interaction and Burhan told him that “We on our side are trying our best to help this freedom struggle and I have full faith in you that you will also leave no stone unturned to attain the goal of freedom for the Kashmiri nation”. Burhan was killed along with two of his associates in an encounter with security forces at Bamdoora village of Kokarnag in south Kashmir’s Anantnag district on July 8. Kashmir has been simmering and around 49 people have been killed in security forces firing on the mobs since the unrest began. Around 2,228 policemen, 1,100 CRPF men and 2,259 civilians have been injured in the violence so far. “Burhan was very young, very intelligent and matured Mujahid (militant) Commander whose sincerity exposed the Indian claims in Kashmir. The sacred blood of Hizb Commander has infused a new life into the freedom struggle. It was his sincerity and piousness which forced the people of the state to come out on the roads against India. Both his life as well as his martyrdom has shaken the Indian power houses,” Geelani said. Hurriyat hardliner cautioned the people against the policies of the pro-Indian people who have different languages at the time of power and out of power. “The height of the shamelessness is that these paid Indian agents openly accuse each other of killing the Kashmiri innocent people and compete on the argument “who killed more” in their respective regimes”, he said. Geelani appealed to people not to give them (pro-India politicians) anymore chances to exploit the sentiments of the common Kashmiris. “Everybody in the Jammu and Kashmir knows that the pro-Indian politicians are just stooges of New Delhi and they have nothing in their hands except to hike their own salaries and perks”, he said. (DNA)

Burhan Wani called me up before death: Separatist leader Syed Shah Geelani

We left early, crossing the towns of Sangam and Anantnag &ndash; the locals call it Islamabad &ndash; to reach Bemdoroo while the air was still cool. This is where the militant separatist Burhan Wani was killed on July 8.&nbsp; 
 
Kashmir has been on lockdown ever since. The government has called a curfew, the security forces enforce it in the cities and the towns, and the Hurriyat has called a strike, which the people enforce vigilantly everywhere else. Makeshift roadblocks, manned by gangs of young men, some of them masked, have been put up every few kilometres.&nbsp; 
 
Nobody is allowed to pass, especially if you are media. There is a fierce anger here against journalists, especially towards what in local parlance is called the &ldquo;Indian media&rdquo; &ndash; the Indian TV news channels.

The Kashmiris say they are fed up with saying one thing into a TV camera and then finding it &ldquo;distorted&rdquo; that evening.&nbsp; 
 
The ferocity of the backlash has left even Kashmiri journalists reeling. &ldquo;It wasn&rsquo;t like this earlier,&rdquo; they say. There have been reports of journalists being roughed up and abused, especially those wielding cameras or camera phones inside hospital wards where the 50 mostly-young Kashmiri men have died or the close-to 4,000 injured are being treated. Even the Hurriyat had to call for calm a few days ago, making an appeal to the people through the local papers that journalists be allowed to go about their work.&nbsp; 
 
We got through because we left at half past five in the morning, while the people of Kashmir were still asleep and there was no one on the roads to enforce the strike. &nbsp; 
 
 
Bemdooro, Burhan, and a burnt orchard 
 
I stayed inside the car at Bemdoroo. For my own safety, said my Kashmiri colleague Anees Zargar, while he first recced the village, and then returned some minutes later for his camera and Shahid, a schoolmate of his from Srinagar who was driving us.&nbsp;

I remained in the car.&nbsp; 
 
Shahid owns a travel agency in Srinagar, two taxis, and a souped-up Tempo Traveller. One of his drivers, said Shahid, was back&nbsp;at his village. He had the other taxi with him, and no way of coming back.&nbsp;

Shahid and Anees returned a half-hour later, saying the house Burhan had been killed in had been burnt down, that angry men from nearby villages had looted the homes of the Bemdoroo villagers, that they remained fearful of a further backlash (see accompanying story), and that the angry mob had also burnt down a nearby apple orchard.&nbsp; 
 
I was allowed out at the orchard, which obviously belonged to a wealthy man. Young trees were laid out in neat lines and were covered by netting. But the orchard lay in disarray now, some trees had been felled, and an outhouse, what appeared to be a walking tractor, and two motorcycles had been burnt.&nbsp; 
 
A few villagers had guided us to the orchard, more followed on foot. They told us that the mob that looted their homes had kept a getaway lorry running, and had made off with every single valuable they could find, including shower heads. They added that one man had had an axe put to the back of his neck, and been ordered to burn his house down. (The mob had been angry because of rumours that the Bemdoroo villagers had tipped-off the security forces about Burhan&rsquo;s whereabouts. See accompanying story.)&nbsp; 
 
&ldquo;Did he?&rdquo; I asked.&nbsp; 
 
&ldquo;What else could he have done,&rdquo; I was told. &nbsp; 
 
We left, stopping some way ahead at a lone, partially-open shop for cigarettes, biscuits, and juice. This might seem trivial, but I mention it to make the point that virtually nothing is open in Kashmir at the moment. Last Thursday, when the Hurriyat relaxed its strike for a few hours post 2 pm, the government responded by strengthening its curfew. The people who had stepped out to replenish their larders were told to go home by the security forces &ndash; the only reason people are able to survive in Kashmir, have enough to eat, is because they stock up on supplies for as much as six months.&nbsp; 
 
Nobody really knows when trouble might break out. &nbsp; 
 
Plus, in our case, cigarettes killed hunger.&nbsp; 
 
 
A spontaneous protest and an offer of chai 
 
<img alt="" class="img-responsive" src="http://s.wionews.com/photos/slogans-20160725042522.jpg" />

<div class="media-description">
People began to stream out of their homes and a large crowd soon gathered at Hillerbahai Kokernag.

&nbsp;
</div>

We met the first of the people-enforced roadblocks a little outside of Bemdoroo. The young men, boys really, assembled there told us to drive back to Hillerbahai Kokernag, where they said a man had been shot dead the day before (Saturday, July 23) by the CRPF.&nbsp; 
 
We got there, and Anees got out to talk to the locals. Shahid stayed back in the car with me. A few minutes later, an announcement rang out in Kashmiri from the mosque. I caught the word &ldquo;media&rdquo;, looked worriedly at Shahid, and asked him to translate.&nbsp; 
 
&ldquo;They&rsquo;re saying the media is here and everybody should come out of their homes, and talk about everything they want to,&rdquo; he said.&nbsp; 
 
People began to stream out of their homes, and a large crowd soon gathered. As more people arrived, I began to feel more and more conspicuous inside our Toyota Innova and asked Shahid whether we should step outside. Just as we did, a thin, kindly-looking man appeared and asked us whether we would like a cup of tea.&nbsp; 
 
It seemed surreal.&nbsp; 
 
<img alt="" class="img-responsive" src="http://s.wionews.com/photos/bite-20160725041801.png" />

<div class="media-description">
Ishtiyaq Rather&#39;s father, and cousin Shahnawaz Magray speak to WION. Shahnawaz says Ishtiyaq was shot by a Central Reserve Police Force patrol while trying to protect a girl the CRPF men were harassing. 
&nbsp;
</div>

In the din, we heard piecemeal what the villagers claimed had happened the day before. A CRPF (Central Reserve Police Force) patrol had been harassing a girl when a villager, Ishtiyaq Rather, tried to intervene. When he did, the policemen shot him.&nbsp; 
 
WION was unable to corroborate this with police; repeated phone calls to the seniormost policemen in Kashmir &ndash; the director general of police and the additional director general of police &ndash; went unanswered. But WION does have Ishtiyaq&rsquo;s father, and his cousin Shahnawaz Magray on camera (see video) making the claim. Shahnawaz does the talking, the father looks too grief-stricken to say anything.&nbsp; 
 
The gathering, suddenly, turned into a protest. A young boy was lifted onto the crowd&rsquo;s shoulders, and he began to lead the chanting. He would shout a line, and the crowd would shout another back in unison.&nbsp; 
 
The chanting went on for a long time. When it finally began to lull, the women joined in, and it picked up again.&nbsp; 
 
How does a crowd chant for so long? What keeps it going?&nbsp; 
 
One doesn&rsquo;t have to look far for answers. In 2008, after the government handed about 100 acres of land over to the Shri Amarnath Shrine Board, 60 Kashmiris were shot dead in the protests that followed. In 2009, 35 Kashmiris were killed in the protests that followed the abduction, rape, and murder of two young women, allegedly by the security forces. And in 2010, after the army killed three villagers and tried to pass them off as militants, 120 people were shot dead in the ensuing protests.&nbsp; 
 
50 people have died this year so far, and close to 4,000 have been injured, many of them grievously. But the people continue to protest.&nbsp; 
 
The chanting ended with cries of &ldquo;azaadi&rdquo;, &ldquo;we want freedom&rdquo;, and &ldquo;India go back&rdquo;.&nbsp; 
 
A weeping girl, and an older woman walked past us.&nbsp; 
 
&ldquo;Who are they?&rdquo; I asked Shahid.&nbsp; 
 
&ldquo;Probably his sister and his mother,&rdquo; he said.&nbsp; 
 
A local boy comes to talk to me and I take out my phone to write down his details &ndash; his name, his age, what he does &ndash; but the minute I do, the attention focuses on Shahid and I and the crowd around us begins to get bigger.&nbsp; 
 
It is time to go, says Shahid, and all three of us make a beeline for the cab.

Just as we get in, the kindly-looking man appears with cups on a tray and a thermos of tea.&nbsp; 
 
We drink the tea sitting in the cab. A man knocks on my window, saying he wants to take a photograph of the newspaper I am reading. Then he says, &ldquo;You have to tell them what is happening to us. It is your duty.&rdquo;&nbsp; 
 
Another says, &ldquo;These (pellet) guns are used on wild animals. And they&rsquo;re using them on us.&rdquo;&nbsp; 
 
We leave, trying to inch our way past the protest. &nbsp; 
 
&ldquo;Just don&rsquo;t hit anybody,&rdquo; I say.&nbsp; 
 
&ldquo;This is how it starts,&rdquo; says Shahid. &ldquo;A spontaneous protest erupts, and the police come and begin to shoot at people.&rdquo;&nbsp; 
 
 
An encounter with masked men and our luck runs out 
 
We hit roadblock after roadblock. We are now trying to get to Tral, which is where Burhan&rsquo;s home is. Each time the boys manning the road say turn back, and then Anees and Shahid begin to talk them down. Shahid always ends with touching the good-luck charm hanging from his rear-view mirror, and saying &ldquo;Allah kasam&rdquo;.&nbsp; 
 
I am grateful to have him with us. He has a certain manner about him, one that doesn&rsquo;t give offence. And he has a believable face.

I keep telling him he should open a hotel, he would do well in hospitality.&nbsp; 
 
A plethora of excuses are used to keep us moving forward. We give lifts to a number of people &ndash; the buses are not plying because of the strike and curfew &ndash; a lady who is unwell and needs to get to the next hospital, and from there a man who needs to buy medicine for his son and hasn&rsquo;t been able to get it at the hospital, a family, a couple, a woman and her daughter walking through a town patrolled by the security forces. Having a woman in the car makes it easier to get through the roadblocks.&nbsp; 
 
While the unwell lady is in the car, I spot a youth holding a large stone in his hand put it behind his back and wave us on.&nbsp; 
 
At Bandayalgam, we are stopped by especially militant-looking, young, masked men. They hold sticks menacingly and tell us to &ldquo;go back&rdquo; but even they are talked down.&nbsp; 
 
Our luck finally runs out at Chursoo. &nbsp; 
 
The boys here tear off our makeshift Press sticker, and force us to turn around. Then, suddenly, a whole bunch of them clamber aboard and on top of the Innova. Anees steps out in the melee and Shahid and I find ourselves driving in the wrong direction with the boys. They make us stop after a few kilometres and hop off &ndash; thankfully, they had just wanted a lift.&nbsp; 
 
We turn around looking for Anees, and we are again stopped by a group of boys looking for a lift. They too clamber aboard and make us turn around. After a while we cross the first set of boys, who again climb onboard and on top of the vehicle.&nbsp; 
 
After we have dropped everybody off, Shahid and I park by the roadside to take stock. He looks stressed. I&rsquo;ve been better too. We smoke a cigarette each to calm our nerves.&nbsp; 
 
A passerby tells us not to park by the roadside, that there is a mosque back the way we came and we should shelter there. Shahid crosses the road and enters a blue-coloured house with a large gate to ask if we can park inside the compound. We are told yes &ndash; Kashmiri hospitality is legendary I was told some years ago by a lady from Jammu &ndash; and we enter Ghulam Mohammad&rsquo;s home.&nbsp; 
 
 
Two strange conversations and talk of becoming a militant&nbsp; 
 
We sit on his carpeted verandah, make general chit-chat (by which I mean we talk about what is happening in Kashmir at the moment, nobody really talks about anything else) and I catnap.&nbsp; 
 
I wake up to find a sweet, cool drink next to me. A little later chai is offered.&nbsp; 
 
At some point, Mr Mohammad looks surprised to learn that I speak Urdu &ndash; Hindi really. (I have tended to keep my mouth shut over the course of the day, so as not to mark myself out as a non-Kashmiri.)&nbsp; 
 
&ldquo;What do you want?&rdquo; I ask him.&nbsp; 
 
This is a stupid question in Kashmir. There is generally only one answer, but I feel I have to ask.&nbsp; 
 
&ldquo;Azaadi,&rdquo; he says, &ldquo;woh toh hum le ke hi rahenge.&rdquo;&nbsp; 
 
A Muslim, he says, will want to live with another Muslim. Look at the newscasters in India, he says, they look &ldquo;naked&rdquo;. The ones in Pakistan look like that too, but at least they&rsquo;re better.&nbsp; 
 
I don&rsquo;t want to argue with him.&nbsp; 
 
The boys and young men from his home appear, and I have another strange conversation with one of them. Tousif, who is 18 but in class IX because he took two years off for religious studies, asks if I will have lunch. I say no out of politeness. Then, because I know I will get hungry soon and that we might have to wait here till 11 at night when the people go home and the strike is no longer enforced, I say Shahid will take a call on lunch.&nbsp; 
 
&ldquo;Why?&rdquo; asks Tousif. &ldquo;Will you not eat food in the home of a Muslim?&rdquo;&nbsp; 
 
I say no, that&rsquo;s not the case. I ask back, &ldquo;Will you not eat food in the home of a Christian?&rdquo;&nbsp; 
 
Tousif is a jazzy-looking boy with a funky haircut, his hair cut short but spiked upwards and towards the middle of his scalp from both sides.&nbsp; 
 
He says no he won&rsquo;t.&nbsp; 
 
&ldquo;Why?&rdquo; I ask. &ldquo;Is that written somewhere?&rdquo;&nbsp; 
 
Yes, he says, it is written in the Quran. Anees tells him no it is not, the Quran only says a Muslim is not allowed to eat jhatka meat. Everything else is halaal for them.&nbsp; 
 
I ask Mr Mohammad&rsquo;s much younger cousin, Javed &ndash; he is 27, reed thin, bespectacled, dressed in a black salwar-kameez and looks a bit like a techie &ndash; what he does. Javed, smiling constantly, says he has a master&rsquo;s in political science but that he has been unable to get a job commensurate with his qualifications. So he works as a security guard. It pays him little.&nbsp; 
 
&ldquo;What else will he do if not become a militant?&rdquo; says Mr Mohammad, laughing and smiling.&nbsp; 
 
I can&rsquo;t really tell if he is joking.&nbsp; 
 
 
Lunch, and fear&nbsp; 
 
At about two in the afternoon, I ask Shahid sotto voce if maybe we can buy lunch somewhere, meaning off Mr Mohammad. He says we&rsquo;ve been offered it. That we were leaving but they insisted we eat first.&nbsp; 
 
Somewhere deep down, I knew that was what would happen.&nbsp; 
 
Lunch is delicious. Kashmiri rice, a mash vegetable of brinjal and squash, and a tomato and onion chutney.&nbsp; 
 
We get ready to leave. I see Shahid try to offer a little money but the family refuses to accept it. Javed and another young boy from the family accompany us to the same roadblock that we had been turned back from. There are trucks parked on the road now, blocking egress.&nbsp; 
 
The roadblock is now manned by a large crowd of young men. They surge towards us when they see us approach, and an especially angry young man &ndash; rough-looking &ndash; pokes his head in through the window.&nbsp; 
 
The questions come in quick succession. &ldquo;Where are you going? What Press are you?&rdquo;&nbsp; 
 
We tell him.&nbsp; 
 
&ldquo;WION? I haven&rsquo;t heard of it,&rdquo; he says.&nbsp; 
 
&ldquo;And who is he?&rdquo; he asks, looking at me in the backseat.&nbsp; 
 
For the first time in the day I feel afraid. I remember my conflict reporting training in which the British paratrooper taking the class asked us whether any story was worth risking life and limb. It was an easy question, and we&rsquo;d all said no.&nbsp; 
 
Javed gets out to argue with the men. &ldquo;Let&rsquo;s go back I tell Shahid. How long will we keep doing this for?&rdquo;&nbsp; 
 
But Anees is insistent we keep pressing forward. He gets out again. And a combination of our video footage from the morning &ndash; I think Anees has been saying that we need to get it to Srinagar and send it out to the world; telephones and the internet have been shut down across most of Kashmir &ndash; and the Mohammad boys get us through this obstacle too.&nbsp; 
 
We get through yet another roadblock, where a boy we had met on our way out in the morning tells us: &ldquo;I had told you to go back in the morning.&rdquo;&nbsp; 
 
Shahid reaches for his good-luck charm.&nbsp; 
 
 
Home, a worried policeman, and a young boy armed with a stick 
 
Finally, outside of Awantipora, 30 kilometres from the capital Srinagar, we hit a police picket manning the road. So far we have not seen a single police or army vehicle on the road, and it seems to me that the security forces are marooned inside their camps. That their writ does not run out in the villages. (Again, calls to senior policemen to corroborate this went unanswered.)&nbsp; 
 
The policeman in charge stops us, asking, &ldquo;Aage kitne log hain?&rdquo;&nbsp; 
 
A lot, says Shahid, and asks him the same question. &ldquo;How many people are there ahead of us?&rdquo;&nbsp; 
 
&ldquo;It&rsquo;s smooth sailing from here,&rdquo; he says smiling. &ldquo;You can put your camera on top of your car and drive to Srinagar.&rdquo;&nbsp; 
 
A few minutes later, we come across a roadblock manned by young boys. My eyes focus on one dressed in a white salwar-kameez and armed with a stick. He can&rsquo;t be more than 12 or 13.&nbsp; 
 
Shahid parks some way off from them, and Anees gets out to have yet another one of his endless conversations.&nbsp; 
 
&ldquo;Kids are dangerous,&rdquo; says Shahid. &ldquo;You can&rsquo;t do anything to a kid.&rdquo;&nbsp; 
 
After a while the motion of the boy&rsquo;s stick, which has so far been telling us to turn around, tells us to come forward. Shahid backs off farther. The boy runs towards the car and when he sees he&rsquo;s not gaining on us, he picks up a stone and throws it towards us. We are too far off, and it doesn&rsquo;t make contact.&nbsp; 
 
Finally, when we see Anees wave, we move forward.&nbsp; 
 
(WION)

The four districts of South Kashmir are on total lockdown. Nothing gets in, nothing gets out...

We left early, crossing the towns of Sangam and Anantnag – the locals call it Islamabad – to reach Bemdoroo while the air was still cool. This is where the militant separatist Burhan Wani was killed on July 8. Kashmir has been on lockdown ever since. The government has called a curfew, the security forces enforce it in the cities and the towns, and the Hurriyat has called a strike, which the people enforce vigilantly everywhere else. Makeshift roadblocks, manned by gangs of young men, some of them masked, have been put up every few kilometres. Nobody is allowed to pass, especially if you are media. There is a fierce anger here against journalists, especially towards what in local parlance is called the “Indian media” – the Indian TV news channels. The Kashmiris say they are fed up with saying one thing into a TV camera and then finding it “distorted” that evening. The ferocity of the backlash has left even Kashmiri journalists reeling. “It wasn’t like this earlier,” they say. There have been reports of journalists being roughed up and abused, especially those wielding cameras or camera phones inside hospital wards where the 50 mostly-young Kashmiri men have died or the close-to 4,000 injured are being treated. Even the Hurriyat had to call for calm a few days ago, making an appeal to the people through the local papers that journalists be allowed to go about their work. We got through because we left at half past five in the morning, while the people of Kashmir were still asleep and there was no one on the roads to enforce the strike. Bemdooro, Burhan, and a burnt orchard I stayed inside the car at Bemdoroo. For my own safety, said my Kashmiri colleague Anees Zargar, while he first recced the village, and then returned some minutes later for his camera and Shahid, a schoolmate of his from Srinagar who was driving us. I remained in the car. Shahid owns a travel agency in Srinagar, two taxis, and a souped-up Tempo Traveller. One of his drivers, said Shahid, was back at his village. He had the other taxi with him, and no way of coming back. Shahid and Anees returned a half-hour later, saying the house Burhan had been killed in had been burnt down, that angry men from nearby villages had looted the homes of the Bemdoroo villagers, that they remained fearful of a further backlash (see accompanying story), and that the angry mob had also burnt down a nearby apple orchard. I was allowed out at the orchard, which obviously belonged to a wealthy man. Young trees were laid out in neat lines and were covered by netting. But the orchard lay in disarray now, some trees had been felled, and an outhouse, what appeared to be a walking tractor, and two motorcycles had been burnt. A few villagers had guided us to the orchard, more followed on foot. They told us that the mob that looted their homes had kept a getaway lorry running, and had made off with every single valuable they could find, including shower heads. They added that one man had had an axe put to the back of his neck, and been ordered to burn his house down. (The mob had been angry because of rumours that the Bemdoroo villagers had tipped-off the security forces about Burhan’s whereabouts. See accompanying story.) “Did he?” I asked. “What else could he have done,” I was told. We left, stopping some way ahead at a lone, partially-open shop for cigarettes, biscuits, and juice. This might seem trivial, but I mention it to make the point that virtually nothing is open in Kashmir at the moment. Last Thursday, when the Hurriyat relaxed its strike for a few hours post 2 pm, the government responded by strengthening its curfew. The people who had stepped out to replenish their larders were told to go home by the security forces – the only reason people are able to survive in Kashmir, have enough to eat, is because they stock up on supplies for as much as six months. Nobody really knows when trouble might break out. Plus, in our case, cigarettes killed hunger. A spontaneous protest and an offer of chai People began to stream out of their homes and a large crowd soon gathered at Hillerbahai Kokernag. We met the first of the people-enforced roadblocks a little outside of Bemdoroo. The young men, boys really, assembled there told us to drive back to Hillerbahai Kokernag, where they said a man had been shot dead the day before (Saturday, July 23) by the CRPF. We got there, and Anees got out to talk to the locals. Shahid stayed back in the car with me. A few minutes later, an announcement rang out in Kashmiri from the mosque. I caught the word “media”, looked worriedly at Shahid, and asked him to translate. “They’re saying the media is here and everybody should come out of their homes, and talk about everything they want to,” he said. People began to stream out of their homes, and a large crowd soon gathered. As more people arrived, I began to feel more and more conspicuous inside our Toyota Innova and asked Shahid whether we should step outside. Just as we did, a thin, kindly-looking man appeared and asked us whether we would like a cup of tea. It seemed surreal. Ishtiyaq Rather's father, and cousin Shahnawaz Magray speak to WION. Shahnawaz says Ishtiyaq was shot by a Central Reserve Police Force patrol while trying to protect a girl the CRPF men were harassing. In the din, we heard piecemeal what the villagers claimed had happened the day before. A CRPF (Central Reserve Police Force) patrol had been harassing a girl when a villager, Ishtiyaq Rather, tried to intervene. When he did, the policemen shot him. WION was unable to corroborate this with police; repeated phone calls to the seniormost policemen in Kashmir – the director general of police and the additional director general of police – went unanswered. But WION does have Ishtiyaq’s father, and his cousin Shahnawaz Magray on camera (see video) making the claim. Shahnawaz does the talking, the father looks too grief-stricken to say anything. The gathering, suddenly, turned into a protest. A young boy was lifted onto the crowd’s shoulders, and he began to lead the chanting. He would shout a line, and the crowd would shout another back in unison. The chanting went on for a long time. When it finally began to lull, the women joined in, and it picked up again. How does a crowd chant for so long? What keeps it going? One doesn’t have to look far for answers. In 2008, after the government handed about 100 acres of land over to the Shri Amarnath Shrine Board, 60 Kashmiris were shot dead in the protests that followed. In 2009, 35 Kashmiris were killed in the protests that followed the abduction, rape, and murder of two young women, allegedly by the security forces. And in 2010, after the army killed three villagers and tried to pass them off as militants, 120 people were shot dead in the ensuing protests. 50 people have died this year so far, and close to 4,000 have been injured, many of them grievously. But the people continue to protest. The chanting ended with cries of “azaadi”, “we want freedom”, and “India go back”. A weeping girl, and an older woman walked past us. “Who are they?” I asked Shahid. “Probably his sister and his mother,” he said. A local boy comes to talk to me and I take out my phone to write down his details – his name, his age, what he does – but the minute I do, the attention focuses on Shahid and I and the crowd around us begins to get bigger. It is time to go, says Shahid, and all three of us make a beeline for the cab. Just as we get in, the kindly-looking man appears with cups on a tray and a thermos of tea. We drink the tea sitting in the cab. A man knocks on my window, saying he wants to take a photograph of the newspaper I am reading. Then he says, “You have to tell them what is happening to us. It is your duty.” Another says, “These (pellet) guns are used on wild animals. And they’re using them on us.” We leave, trying to inch our way past the protest. “Just don’t hit anybody,” I say. “This is how it starts,” says Shahid. “A spontaneous protest erupts, and the police come and begin to shoot at people.” An encounter with masked men and our luck runs out We hit roadblock after roadblock. We are now trying to get to Tral, which is where Burhan’s home is. Each time the boys manning the road say turn back, and then Anees and Shahid begin to talk them down. Shahid always ends with touching the good-luck charm hanging from his rear-view mirror, and saying “Allah kasam”. I am grateful to have him with us. He has a certain manner about him, one that doesn’t give offence. And he has a believable face. I keep telling him he should open a hotel, he would do well in hospitality. A plethora of excuses are used to keep us moving forward. We give lifts to a number of people – the buses are not plying because of the strike and curfew – a lady who is unwell and needs to get to the next hospital, and from there a man who needs to buy medicine for his son and hasn’t been able to get it at the hospital, a family, a couple, a woman and her daughter walking through a town patrolled by the security forces. Having a woman in the car makes it easier to get through the roadblocks. While the unwell lady is in the car, I spot a youth holding a large stone in his hand put it behind his back and wave us on. At Bandayalgam, we are stopped by especially militant-looking, young, masked men. They hold sticks menacingly and tell us to “go back” but even they are talked down. Our luck finally runs out at Chursoo. The boys here tear off our makeshift Press sticker, and force us to turn around. Then, suddenly, a whole bunch of them clamber aboard and on top of the Innova. Anees steps out in the melee and Shahid and I find ourselves driving in the wrong direction with the boys. They make us stop after a few kilometres and hop off – thankfully, they had just wanted a lift. We turn around looking for Anees, and we are again stopped by a group of boys looking for a lift. They too clamber aboard and make us turn around. After a while we cross the first set of boys, who again climb onboard and on top of the vehicle. After we have dropped everybody off, Shahid and I park by the roadside to take stock. He looks stressed. I’ve been better too. We smoke a cigarette each to calm our nerves. A passerby tells us not to park by the roadside, that there is a mosque back the way we came and we should shelter there. Shahid crosses the road and enters a blue-coloured house with a large gate to ask if we can park inside the compound. We are told yes – Kashmiri hospitality is legendary I was told some years ago by a lady from Jammu – and we enter Ghulam Mohammad’s home. Two strange conversations and talk of becoming a militant We sit on his carpeted verandah, make general chit-chat (by which I mean we talk about what is happening in Kashmir at the moment, nobody really talks about anything else) and I catnap. I wake up to find a sweet, cool drink next to me. A little later chai is offered. At some point, Mr Mohammad looks surprised to learn that I speak Urdu – Hindi really. (I have tended to keep my mouth shut over the course of the day, so as not to mark myself out as a non-Kashmiri.) “What do you want?” I ask him. This is a stupid question in Kashmir. There is generally only one answer, but I feel I have to ask. “Azaadi,” he says, “woh toh hum le ke hi rahenge.” A Muslim, he says, will want to live with another Muslim. Look at the newscasters in India, he says, they look “naked”. The ones in Pakistan look like that too, but at least they’re better. I don’t want to argue with him. The boys and young men from his home appear, and I have another strange conversation with one of them. Tousif, who is 18 but in class IX because he took two years off for religious studies, asks if I will have lunch. I say no out of politeness. Then, because I know I will get hungry soon and that we might have to wait here till 11 at night when the people go home and the strike is no longer enforced, I say Shahid will take a call on lunch. “Why?” asks Tousif. “Will you not eat food in the home of a Muslim?” I say no, that’s not the case. I ask back, “Will you not eat food in the home of a Christian?” Tousif is a jazzy-looking boy with a funky haircut, his hair cut short but spiked upwards and towards the middle of his scalp from both sides. He says no he won’t. “Why?” I ask. “Is that written somewhere?” Yes, he says, it is written in the Quran. Anees tells him no it is not, the Quran only says a Muslim is not allowed to eat jhatka meat. Everything else is halaal for them. I ask Mr Mohammad’s much younger cousin, Javed – he is 27, reed thin, bespectacled, dressed in a black salwar-kameez and looks a bit like a techie – what he does. Javed, smiling constantly, says he has a master’s in political science but that he has been unable to get a job commensurate with his qualifications. So he works as a security guard. It pays him little. “What else will he do if not become a militant?” says Mr Mohammad, laughing and smiling. I can’t really tell if he is joking. Lunch, and fear At about two in the afternoon, I ask Shahid sotto voce if maybe we can buy lunch somewhere, meaning off Mr Mohammad. He says we’ve been offered it. That we were leaving but they insisted we eat first. Somewhere deep down, I knew that was what would happen. Lunch is delicious. Kashmiri rice, a mash vegetable of brinjal and squash, and a tomato and onion chutney. We get ready to leave. I see Shahid try to offer a little money but the family refuses to accept it. Javed and another young boy from the family accompany us to the same roadblock that we had been turned back from. There are trucks parked on the road now, blocking egress. The roadblock is now manned by a large crowd of young men. They surge towards us when they see us approach, and an especially angry young man – rough-looking – pokes his head in through the window. The questions come in quick succession. “Where are you going? What Press are you?” We tell him. “WION? I haven’t heard of it,” he says. “And who is he?” he asks, looking at me in the backseat. For the first time in the day I feel afraid. I remember my conflict reporting training in which the British paratrooper taking the class asked us whether any story was worth risking life and limb. It was an easy question, and we’d all said no. Javed gets out to argue with the men. “Let’s go back I tell Shahid. How long will we keep doing this for?” But Anees is insistent we keep pressing forward. He gets out again. And a combination of our video footage from the morning – I think Anees has been saying that we need to get it to Srinagar and send it out to the world; telephones and the internet have been shut down across most of Kashmir – and the Mohammad boys get us through this obstacle too. We get through yet another roadblock, where a boy we had met on our way out in the morning tells us: “I had told you to go back in the morning.” Shahid reaches for his good-luck charm. Home, a worried policeman, and a young boy armed with a stick Finally, outside of Awantipora, 30 kilometres from the capital Srinagar, we hit a police picket manning the road. So far we have not seen a single police or army vehicle on the road, and it seems to me that the security forces are marooned inside their camps. That their writ does not run out in the villages. (Again, calls to senior policemen to corroborate this went unanswered.) The policeman in charge stops us, asking, “Aage kitne log hain?” A lot, says Shahid, and asks him the same question. “How many people are there ahead of us?” “It’s smooth sailing from here,” he says smiling. “You can put your camera on top of your car and drive to Srinagar.” A few minutes later, we come across a roadblock manned by young boys. My eyes focus on one dressed in a white salwar-kameez and armed with a stick. He can’t be more than 12 or 13. Shahid parks some way off from them, and Anees gets out to have yet another one of his endless conversations. “Kids are dangerous,” says Shahid. “You can’t do anything to a kid.” After a while the motion of the boy’s stick, which has so far been telling us to turn around, tells us to come forward. Shahid backs off farther. The boy runs towards the car and when he sees he’s not gaining on us, he picks up a stone and throws it towards us. We are too far off, and it doesn’t make contact. Finally, when we see Anees wave, we move forward. (WION)

In and a difficult out of South Kashmir

In the midst of massive outburst, men and women, young and old, are out on roads. Slogans from the loudspeaker of nearby mosques fill the air.&nbsp;Young boys man the highway enforcing a strike called by &#39;pro-freedom&#39; camps.&nbsp; 
 
Gripped with unrest for more than two weeks, South Kashmir in India&#39;s northernmost state, Jammu and Kashmir, is angry and mourning.&nbsp; 
 
Amid this anger, a small hamlet in Kokernag area, between a dense cover of poplar and willow trees, is as silent as a grave. This &#39;unnerving&#39; silence in Bemdoora village is not usual for the inhabitants, they say.&nbsp; 
 
Dozen homes burnt down in frenzy&nbsp; 
 
Two weeks after Hizbul Mujahideen commander Burhan Wani was killed here with two other rebels,&nbsp;the residents of this rural neighbourhood,&nbsp;nearly 80 km from state&#39;s summer capital Srinagar, are living in constant fear.&nbsp; 
 
Close to a dozen homes have already been burnt down in a frenzy that erupted against some locals of Bemdoora for allegedly informing the police about the whereabouts of the three armed militants in the area. 
 
<img alt="" class="img-responsive" src="http://s.wionews.com/photos/burhan%204-20160725084539.jpg" />
<div class="media-description">
One of the homes in the hamlet that bore the wrath of protesters.
</div>
Following the gunfight on July 8 where Wani was killed, hundreds have come to the the hamlet to show contempt against the locals rather than empathy, holding them &quot;responsible&quot; for the encounter.&nbsp; 
 
Farooq Ahmad&#39;s home, where Wani and two others were shot down by security forces, was the first to be burned down by hundreds of angry protesters, who alleged that Farooq tipped off the police about them hiding in the area.&nbsp; 
 
Farooq, the maternal uncle of one of Wani&#39;s associates, Sartaj Ahmad, has left the village along with his family. 
 
The smoke still emanates from a spilled rice mound set on fire here, while the walls of granaries have already crumbled. People have vented out their anger by damaging these homes. &nbsp; 
 
&#39;Encounter did not last long&#39;&nbsp; 
 
According to a local, the gunfight between the militants and security forces did not last too long after the area was cordoned off on July 8. 
 
&ldquo;We heard a few gun shots, and within 10 minutes, the three were killed,&rdquo; he said, asking not to be named. Fearing a further backlash, the villagers are living in dread. Others hope to reason with the protesters to not damage properties further.&nbsp; 
 
Ghulam Qadir, along with many other locals, however, confesses no one in the locality had any idea about the presence of the armed militants in the area and said that people should wait until the facts are laid bare.&nbsp; 
 
&ldquo;We request people and Hurriyat leaders to tell others, especially people living in areas near this village, to be calm and patient,&rdquo; Qadir appeals.&nbsp; 
 
<img alt="" class="img-responsive" src="http://s.wionews.com/photos/kash1-20160723041103.jpg" />
<div class="media-description">
Kashmir valley has been gripped with tension following Wani&#39;s death.
</div>
As many as 6,000 apple trees have been destroyed inside an orchard, spread over nearly 10-acre, close to where Burhan was killed.&nbsp; 
 
Fayaz Ahmad, an employee at the orchard, says they were beaten up by an angry mob that believed the property belonged to state chief minister Mehbooba Mufti.&nbsp; 
 
&ldquo;We pleaded before them that it is not owned by any minister, but they did not listen and destroyed everything, even setting our living quarters on fire,&rdquo; Fayaz says.&nbsp; 
 
Outside the village, a few young boys say they firmly believe that Farooq&#39;s family was involved in the encounter. &ldquo;Otherwise, there is no reason why it couldn&rsquo;t have lasted longer,&rdquo; they say.&nbsp; 
 
After Wani&#39;s killing, more than 50 have been killed and about 4,000 have been left injured in the widespread chaos that enveloped Kashmir valley over the past 15 days.&nbsp; 
 
Close to a hundred have been blinded in pellet firing. The separatist camp, fighting for Kashmir&#39;s independence, have issued a protest and strike calendar for people to follow till July 29.&nbsp; 
 
(WION)

Mobs from neighbouring areas attacked the Kokernag village after rumours that they had tipped-off police about Wani's hideout

In the midst of massive outburst, men and women, young and old, are out on roads. Slogans from the loudspeaker of nearby mosques fill the air. Young boys man the highway enforcing a strike called by 'pro-freedom' camps. Gripped with unrest for more than two weeks, South Kashmir in India's northernmost state, Jammu and Kashmir, is angry and mourning. Amid this anger, a small hamlet in Kokernag area, between a dense cover of poplar and willow trees, is as silent as a grave. This 'unnerving' silence in Bemdoora village is not usual for the inhabitants, they say. Dozen homes burnt down in frenzy Two weeks after Hizbul Mujahideen commander Burhan Wani was killed here with two other rebels, the residents of this rural neighbourhood, nearly 80 km from state's summer capital Srinagar, are living in constant fear. Close to a dozen homes have already been burnt down in a frenzy that erupted against some locals of Bemdoora for allegedly informing the police about the whereabouts of the three armed militants in the area. One of the homes in the hamlet that bore the wrath of protesters. Following the gunfight on July 8 where Wani was killed, hundreds have come to the the hamlet to show contempt against the locals rather than empathy, holding them "responsible" for the encounter. Farooq Ahmad's home, where Wani and two others were shot down by security forces, was the first to be burned down by hundreds of angry protesters, who alleged that Farooq tipped off the police about them hiding in the area. Farooq, the maternal uncle of one of Wani's associates, Sartaj Ahmad, has left the village along with his family. The smoke still emanates from a spilled rice mound set on fire here, while the walls of granaries have already crumbled. People have vented out their anger by damaging these homes. 'Encounter did not last long' According to a local, the gunfight between the militants and security forces did not last too long after the area was cordoned off on July 8. “We heard a few gun shots, and within 10 minutes, the three were killed,” he said, asking not to be named. Fearing a further backlash, the villagers are living in dread. Others hope to reason with the protesters to not damage properties further. Ghulam Qadir, along with many other locals, however, confesses no one in the locality had any idea about the presence of the armed militants in the area and said that people should wait until the facts are laid bare. “We request people and Hurriyat leaders to tell others, especially people living in areas near this village, to be calm and patient,” Qadir appeals. Kashmir valley has been gripped with tension following Wani's death. As many as 6,000 apple trees have been destroyed inside an orchard, spread over nearly 10-acre, close to where Burhan was killed. Fayaz Ahmad, an employee at the orchard, says they were beaten up by an angry mob that believed the property belonged to state chief minister Mehbooba Mufti. “We pleaded before them that it is not owned by any minister, but they did not listen and destroyed everything, even setting our living quarters on fire,” Fayaz says. Outside the village, a few young boys say they firmly believe that Farooq's family was involved in the encounter. “Otherwise, there is no reason why it couldn’t have lasted longer,” they say. After Wani's killing, more than 50 have been killed and about 4,000 have been left injured in the widespread chaos that enveloped Kashmir valley over the past 15 days. Close to a hundred have been blinded in pellet firing. The separatist camp, fighting for Kashmir's independence, have issued a protest and strike calendar for people to follow till July 29. (WION)

Branded 'informers', Kashmir village Burhan Wani was slain in lives in terror

India&#39;s ministry of external affairs (MEA) today condemned the remark made by Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, that &quot;Kashmir will one day become Pakistan&quot;.&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 
India&#39;s MEA issued a strong statement: &quot;The whole of India would like to tell Prime Minister of Pakistan that this dream will not be realised even at the end of eternity. The whole of Jammu and Kashmir belongs to India. You will never be able to make this heaven on earth a haven for terrorists.&quot;&nbsp; 
 
The official statement also criticised Pakistan&#39;s reactions over the recent spike in violence in Kashmir after Hizbul Mujahideen commander Burhan Wani&#39;s death:&nbsp; 
 
&quot;In the last few days, leadership of Pakistan, including its Prime Minister has praised as martyr, a wanted terrorist Commander of the banned terrorist organisation Hizb-ul-Mujahideen, Burhan Wani. He was carrying an award of Rs 10 Lakh on his head because he had perpetrated heinous crimes, including murder of elected representatives of local bodies and security forces.&quot;&nbsp; 
 
The statement further added, &quot;Even more condemnable than these deplorable attempts from across our border to incite violence and glorify terrorists is the fact that these attempts have been undertaken by Pakistan&rsquo;s state machinery in active partnership with UN-designated terrorist Hafiz Saeed and other leading terrorists belonging to internationally proscribed organisations.&quot;&nbsp; 
 
Hafiz Saeed 
 
Hafiz Saeed had expressed solidarity with a key separtist leader of Kashmir, Asiya Andrabi, on Friday.&nbsp;Saeed, a Pakistani Islamist with a $10 million bounty on his head, warned India of war if separatist leader Syed Ali Shah Geelani&#39;s four-point solution to the Kashmir issue is not accepted. 
 
Widespread agitation in Kashmir since then has left over 40 dead and 3,100 injured, most of them by police fire, in the worst outbreak of violence in six years, triggering massive protests in Pakistan. 
 
(WION, with inputs from Reuters)

The Indian foreign ministry was reacting to the Pakistan PM's remark that 'Kashmir will one day become Pakistan'

India's ministry of external affairs (MEA) today condemned the remark made by Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, that "Kashmir will one day become Pakistan". India's MEA issued a strong statement: "The whole of India would like to tell Prime Minister of Pakistan that this dream will not be realised even at the end of eternity. The whole of Jammu and Kashmir belongs to India. You will never be able to make this heaven on earth a haven for terrorists." The official statement also criticised Pakistan's reactions over the recent spike in violence in Kashmir after Hizbul Mujahideen commander Burhan Wani's death: "In the last few days, leadership of Pakistan, including its Prime Minister has praised as martyr, a wanted terrorist Commander of the banned terrorist organisation Hizb-ul-Mujahideen, Burhan Wani. He was carrying an award of Rs 10 Lakh on his head because he had perpetrated heinous crimes, including murder of elected representatives of local bodies and security forces." The statement further added, "Even more condemnable than these deplorable attempts from across our border to incite violence and glorify terrorists is the fact that these attempts have been undertaken by Pakistan’s state machinery in active partnership with UN-designated terrorist Hafiz Saeed and other leading terrorists belonging to internationally proscribed organisations." Hafiz Saeed Hafiz Saeed had expressed solidarity with a key separtist leader of Kashmir, Asiya Andrabi, on Friday. Saeed, a Pakistani Islamist with a $10 million bounty on his head, warned India of war if separatist leader Syed Ali Shah Geelani's four-point solution to the Kashmir issue is not accepted. Widespread agitation in Kashmir since then has left over 40 dead and 3,100 injured, most of them by police fire, in the worst outbreak of violence in six years, triggering massive protests in Pakistan. (WION, with inputs from Reuters)

Your dream of Kashmir as part of Pakistan will never come true, India tells PM Sharif

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