Bashaarat Masood

The Delimitation Commission had invited the three MPs for a meeting, as associate members of the Commission, on February 18.

Sources in the police said the suspension of movement of security convoys was taken as a precautionary measure after inputs that militants might try to carry out a sensational attack Sunday.

Four soldiers injured in the blast were rushed to a nearby hospital. They were then shifted to the Army’s 92 Base Hospital in Srinagar, where one of them died.

Lone, who was the PAGD spokesperson, conveyed the decision in a letter to Farooq Abdullah, president of the alliance.

The Sunday Express meets some of the first recipients of the Covaxin and Covishield vaccines — from a health officer in a remote Arunachal district to a community worker in Naxal-hit Dantewada

The L-G's comments come days after the families of the three youths killed in Lawaypora in the early hours of December 30 alleged that the incident was a “staged gunfight” and that their children were innocent.

The snow and the government’s seeming failure to anticipate challenges despite the meteorological department's warning of heavy to very heavy snow, have thrown life completely out of gear in the Valley and angered people

On Monday, the J&K Police released two videos on Twitter, in which forces can be seen making announcements during the "encounter", asking the three youths to surrender.

The recent DDC polls has seen the redrawing of political lines and the emergence of a new leadership — from a law student in North Kashmir to a dentist in the South, a school teacher in Jammu to the wife of a seasoned politician in Kashmir. The Indian Express in Jammu tell some of their stories.

Just a few weeks after he had obtained the certificate, Satpal Nischal was shot by suspected militants at his shop in Saraibala, and was dead by the time he was brought to the nearby Shri Maharaja Hari Singh Hospital.

As per the J&K Police, Zubair Ahmad of Shopian, and Ajaz Ahmad Ganai and Athar Mushtaq of Pulwama were “hardcore” militant associates, though it admitted their names were not in the list of terrorists.

Both the Army and the J&K Police had earlier claimed that the three youths were unidentified militants and had buried them discreetly in a graveyard in north Kashmir's Baramulla.

The Kashmir Division and Jammu Division comprise 10 DDCs each, and every DDC is divided into 14 territorial constituencies, elections for which were held over eight phases. For clear majority in a DDC, any party or alliance requires a minimum of eight seats.

While the turnout in most south Kashmir constituencies, especially in Pulwama and Shopian, was low, the region witnessed some close contests.

Counting was stopped on similar grounds at Hajin constituency of Bandipore, where a candidate, Pakistani wife of a militant who returned under the rehabilitation programme, was contesting.

The poll results mean that the BJP has secured control of at least six District Development Councils (DDCs) in Jammu and none in Kashmir. The People’s Alliance has a majority in nine DDCs, all in the Valley. As there is no clear-cut majority in the five councils, the independent candidates are likely to play the role of king makers.

Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) DDC Election Results 2020 Highlights: Seven political parties, including the NC and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), contested the polls in an alliance, under the banner of PAGD. This was the first election in the Union Territory after the abrogation of Article 370 in August 5 last year.

A dozen people had been injured in clashes at different places in Mendhar during the eighth phase of DDC polls on Saturday.

Patloo credits his family, including his seven-year-old daughter Jannat who was praised by the Prime Minister for her efforts to clean Dal Lake two years ago, and friend Riyaz Ahmad for realising his dream.

Despite a near total boycott in the south Kashmir districts of Shopian and Pulwama, moderate polling in other parts of the valley pushed up the voter turnout to 32.5 per cent in Kashmir.

Principal Sessions Judge Malik did not respond to calls for comment. Judicial Registrar Masrat Shaheen told The Indian Express that she “can’t comment on it”.

Election Commissioner K K Sharma told reporters said in Jammu that the fifth phase of elections for 37 seats – 17 in Kashmir division and 20 in Jammu division – was peaceful.

In an exclusive interview to The Indian Express, Mufti said that the formation of the People’s Alliance of Gupkar Declaration was the "beginning" of the fight for restoring J&K’s special status.

She hails from Muzaffarabad in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK). Sadaf crossed over 10 years ago with her husband Abdul Majeed Bhat and their three sons and daughter.