‘Kashmir, South Sudan discussed at high-level meeting’
Curfew remained in force in many parts of the Kashmir Valley on Tuesday, including pockets of Srinagar city and Pulwama district, as the authorities braced for more protests on the fourth day of Hizb-ul Mujahideen commander Burhan Wani’s killing even as the toll in the violent clashes between protestors and security forces climbed to 24. A youth injured on Monday in the protests succumbed at a hospital in Srinagar. Adil Ahmad Mattoo, who was injured in the firing incident at Bijbehara, succumbed to injuries at SMHS Hospital in Srinagar late Monday night. More than 350 persons including over 115 security force personnel have been injured in the clashes and militant attacks following killing of Hizbul Mujahideen commander Wani as the situation continued to be tense across the Valley. Authorities are braced for more protests on the occasion of the fourth day of Wani’s killing.
Latest updates
12.35 pm: Home Minister Rajnath Singh has met a group of Imams who urged him to help restore calm in the Kashmir Valley.
The Imams told Mr. Singh that they would be meeting Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti and local clerics of the State in an attempt to help bring calm in the Valley.
12.32 pm: PM has hoped for peace, has guided us and appealed that no innocent lives are disturbed, says Jitendra Singh.
12.31 pm: PM Modi has made an appeal to maintain peace and calm in the valley. PM has extended every possible help to the State, says Jitendra Singh.
12.28 pm: Kashmir and South Sudan issues were discussed at the high-level meeting, ANI quotes Union Minister Jitendra Singh as saying. “PM has been keeping a close wtach on the sequence of events.”
Kashmir & Sudan issues were discussed. PM has been keeping a close wtach on the sequence of events: Jitendra Singh
12.10 pm: U.N. chief Ban Ki-moon has called on all parties to exercise “maximum restraint” to avoid further violence in Kashmir and hoped that all concerns would be addressed through peaceful means. “The Secretary-General is closely following the recent clashes in Kashmir. He regrets the reported loss of dozens of lives and the injuries to many others,” a statement issued by Mr. Ban’s spokesperson said at the United Nations.
11.00 am: Prime Minister Narendra Modi today chaired a high-level meeting on the situation in the Kashmir Valley.
Back from a visit to four African countries, Mr. Modi convened a meeting of Union Ministers and senior officials.
The Prime Minister was given a detailed presentation of the situation prevailing in the Valley which has witnessed escalating protests following the killing of Hizbul commander Burhan Wani on Friday.
The meeting was attended by Home Minister Rajnath Singh, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj, Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar, Minister of State for PMO Jitendra Singh, National Security Advisor Ajit Doval and Foreign Secretary S. Jaishankar among others.
10.55 am: National Conference leader Omar Abdullah takes a swipe at Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti for not taking part in the crucial meeting chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in New Delhi to review the volatile situation in Kashmir.
@abdullah_omar
I understand if @MehboobaMufti didn’t leave the state to attend but why not by video conference? State unrepresentedhttps://twitter.com/ani_news/status/752730151528595456 …
10:53 AM – 12 Jul 2016
However, a senior official in Jammu and Kashmir clarifies that since it was a briefing by Central Ministers on the Kashmir situation, Ms. Mufti had no role at the meeting.
10.35 am: The restrictions will remain in force even today in most areas of Srinagar city and four districts of South Kashmir as a precautionary measure, officials said. They said the restrictions were imposed to maintain law and order in the Valley. The strike called by the separatist groups also affected normal life in the Valley.
10.20 am: Curfew remained in force in many parts of the Kashmir Valley including pockets of Srinagar city and Pulwama district as authorities braced for more protests, as the toll in the violent clashes between protestors and security forces climbed to 24. A youth injured yesterday in the protests succumbed at a hospital here. Adil Ahmad Mattoo, who was injured in the firing incident at Bijbehara, succumbed to injuries at SMHS Hospital here late last night, a police official said today.
9.50 am: Home Minister Rajnath Singh has postponed his visit to the United States to attend the Indo-U.S. Homeland Security Dialogue scheduled for next week.
A Home Ministry official cited the busy schedule during the coming Monsoon session of Parliament beginning July 18, 2016 as the reason for the deferment of the visit.
However, tension in Kashmir Valley could be the other key factor for the postponement of the Home Minister’s five-day visit to America, sources said.
New dates have not been fixed but the trip now may take place sometime in September, the official said.
2.00 am: Kashmir is an internal matter of India, the U.S. has said and asked all stakeholders to make efforts towards finding a peaceful resolution of tensions in the Valley following the killing of Hizbul commander Burhan Wani last week.
“We have seen reports of the clashes between protestors and Indian forces in Kashmir, and are concerned by the violence. We encourage all sides to make efforts towards finding a peaceful resolution,” a State Department spokesman said.
1.20 am: BSF should remain extra vigilant along IB, says Jammu and Kashmir Deputy Chief Minister Nirmal Singh. Mr. Singh chaired a high-level meeting to review the security situation of Jammu region and said BSF authorities should beef up border management system and remain extra vigilant along the International Border.
Curfew remained in force in many parts of the Valley on Tuesday, including pockets of Srinagar city and Pulwama district Read more
New Delhi: The political divide over the violence in Jammu & Kashmir surfaced sharply in Lok Sabha on Wednesday with Read more
Fresh violence, including attacks on Army camps, on Friday left 65 people injured in Kashmir as protesters defied curfew and Read more
NEW DELHI: Jammu and Kashmir chief minister Mehbooba Mufti on Saturday slammed Pakistan for fuelling protests in the Kashmir valley. Read more
