J&K

Srinagar, Aug 8 :  Senior Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azad has been stopped at the Srinagar airport and is being sent back by a flight, party leaders said on Thursday.

Azad arrived here to assess the situation in the Kashmir Valley in the wake of the Centre revoking Jammu and Kashmir's special status under Article 370 of the Constitution and dividing it into two union territories.

He was stopped by the administration and will be sent back by a flight later in the afternoon, the Congress leaders said.

Jammu, Aug 7 (PTI) National Security Advisor (NSA) Ajit Doval on Wednesday undertook a whirlwind visit to the militancy-infested south Kashmir and assured the locals that their security is the government's responsibility.

Doval arrived in Kashmir on Tuesday, a day after the Centre revoked the provisions of Article 370, which gave special autonomous status to Jammu and Kashmir. He is reaching out to the local population in the Valley as a confidence building measure (CMB).

Srinagar/Jammu, Aug 6 (PTI) The situation in all three regions of Jammu and Kashmir is totally peaceful, amid unprecedented security cover and restrictions, top officials said on Tuesday.

There are no untoward reports from anywhere in the state, Director General of Police Dilbagh Singh said from Srinagar, a day after the Centre revoked Jammu and Kashmir's special status and proposed to bifurcate the state into two union territories.

The law and order situation in Jammu and Kashmir is "totally peaceful", Singh said.

Sections of the Indian Administered Kashmir have been placed under lockdown, telephone and internet services have been disconnected, and some of the pro-India local leaders including former chief ministers Mehbooba Mufti and Omar Abdullah have been put under house arrest.

This follows deployment of additional 10,000 troops in Kashmir valley, closure of educational institutions and an order for Hindu pilgrims and tourists to leave the valley, currently under President Rule.

Jammu, Aug 3 (PTI) A man was arrested in Jammu and Kashmir's Rajouri district on Saturday for allegedly raping a woman and posting her objectionable pictures on the social media, police said.

The accused, Zulfqar Ahmed of Paran village, was arrested on the complaint of the victim's father, a police officer said.

He said an FIR under relevant sections of the Ranbir Penal Code including those related to rape and the Information Technology Act was registered against the accused.

The investigation in the case is going on, the officer said.

Srinagar, Aug 3 (PTI) A senior police officer dismissed on Saturday the rumours that Jammu and Kashmir Police personnel were being asked to deposit their weapons, and asserted that strict action would be taken against people behind it.

"The tweet...in which it has been mentioned that J&K policemen are being asked to deposit their weapons and CRPF and Army were taking control of police stations, is a criminal rumour," Additional Director General of Police (Law and Order) Muneer Khan said.

Srinagar, Aug 3 (PTI) The Indian Air Force (IAF) flew 326 tourists out of Srinagar on Saturday after the state administration's advisory to pilgrims and visitors to cut short their stay and leave Kashmir Valley at the earliest, officials said.

IAF carried out two sorties from Srinagar during the day, they said.

There were 11,301 tourists when the advisory was issued and only 1,652 of them remained on Saturday.

Srinagar, Aug 2 (PTI) The "gloves are finally off and India has chosen territory over people", former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister Mehbooba Mufti said on Friday as speculations grew in the valley about some possible major decisions regarding the state's special status.

"You failed to win over the love of a single Muslim majority state which rejected division on religious grounds & chose secular India. The gloves are finally off & India has chosen territory over people," Mehbooba, the PDP president, wrote on Twitter.

Srinagar, Aug 3 (PTI) National Conference leader Omar Abdullah on Saturday said Jammu and Kashmir Governor S P Malik has assured his party that no moves are planned on repealing Articles 370 and 35A of the Constitution, or the state's trifurcation.

However, the former J&K chief minister said he wants an assurance on these issues from the Centre in Parliament on Monday.

Srinagar, Aug 02: A Kashmiri has been killed in an alleged encounter with Indian security forces in Shopian district of Indian administered Kashmir, an Indian official said.

The Indian security forces' spokesperson alleged that a cordon and search operation was underway in the area following information about presence of Kashmiri separatist.