Bashaarat Masood

The 114th birth anniversary of the former Prime Minister and Chief Minister of Jammu and Kashmir is on Thursday and it would be observed as an official holiday in the Union Territory, but the public event will not be allowed.

Over the last two weeks, Internet service providers in the Valley have restored broadband Internet to over a 100 business companies.

On Wednesday, Shah informed the Upper House that “total normalcy prevails in Kashmir, with government office and educational institutions functioning fully”.

"Last year, we had snowfall in the plains on November 3. But the snow was concentrated in north and central Kashmir," said Mukhtar Ahmad.

As Kashmir witnesses an unusually early winter, with snow flattening trees and power lines, The Indian Express on how the chill has added to the problems of a region now under 100 days of lockdown — from farmers counting their losses to the soldier who is still to get his kerosene stove.

For the past three months, the initiative has come to a halt because the internet ban snapped their only line of communication — WhatsApp.

Given the situation in the region, the government is yet to decide on whether to allow such a large congregation or to impose restrictions — both situations have the potential to stir up tensions.

Nazir Ahmad Laway, a resident of south Kashmir’s Kulgam, was the only mainstream political leader, other than leaders of the BJP, who attended Thursday’s ceremony at the Raj Bhawan in Srinagar.

The oath ceremony was a low-key affair with only top civil and security officials in attendance.

It is early days, but the Centre hopes to restart conversations and slowly fill the political void created following the arrest of almost all notable politicians and prominent workers of mainstream parties in the Valley.

Official sources said the Centre has asked the state administration to hold twin functions — administering the oath of office to the two Lieutenant Governors for Ladakh and Jammu and Kashmir — separately, at Leh and Srinagar, respectively.

Security officials said the suspected militants shot the trucker, identified as Narayan Dutta, near Kanelwan village on the Bijbehara-Pahalgam road.

Members of European Parliament (MEPs) met Prime Minister Narendra Modi at his residence Monday, and were briefed separately by National Security Advisor Ajit Doval.

In its first-ever BDC elections, J&K witnessed 98.3 per cent polling. But behind this turnout lies the story of vacant panchayats, elected panches confined to secured hotels far from their villages, a boycott by the major mainstream political parties barring BJP, and public indifference in the Valley.

The saffron party managed to get only about a third of the blocks in its stronghold of Jammu division, winning 52 of 148 blocks.

Of the 310 blocks, candidates in 27 blocks have been elected unopposed. So voting will be held only in 283 blocks, where over a thousand candidates are in the fray. According to the election department, 853 are independent candidates, while 218 are from the BJP.

Lelhari and his associates Naveed Ahmed Tak and Junaid Rashid were killed in a gunfight in Rajpora village of Tral, in Awantipora, on Tuesday evening, the police said.

“War is a bad thing. Pakistan should behave. If they don’t desist, what happened yesterday, it will happen more than that,” the Governor said.

The police did not register an FIR; they were arrested under Section 107 of CrPC for defying prohibitory orders under CrPC Section 144.