Kashmir

The leader of Indian Kashmir's moderate separatists said on Saturday that China has a stake in peace in restive Kashmir as part of the disputed Himalayan region is under Beijing's control. The statement came amid rising Sino-Indian tensions over a Chinese embassy policy of issuing different visas to Indian Kashmir residents and the disputed Indian border state of Arunachal Pradesh. "I believe China is not a party to the Kashmir conflict but it has stakes as far as peace in the region is concerned," Mirwaiz Umar Farooq, who heads moderate separatists, said in a statement. Kashmiri separatists have rarely mentioned China's role in resolving ... Read Full Story

Jammu and Kashmir: Army troops today busted a hideout and recovered a cache of explosive and ammunition from it in Reasi district of Jammu and Kashmir. On a tip off, troops of Rashtriya Rifles raided the hideout in Thee Margh forest belt of Gulabgarh belt, 140 km from here, police officials said. The recoveries from the hideout included two AK magazines, three hand grenades, 18 detonators, four Chinese pistol rounds among other things. Hideout Busted in Jammu and Kashmir, Cache Recovered was first posted on November 23, 2009 at 4:34 pm. Read Full Story

Jammu: Security personnel tonight foiled an infiltration bid after a brief encounter with the militants along the Line Of Control in Balakote area, around 190km from here. Troops who were patrolling forward area along the LOC in Balakote in Poonch district observed some movement of militants and opened fire on them, Brigadier General Staff (BGS), 16 Corps, Gurdeep Singh told PTI. Firing starte Read Full Story

Indian Kashmir's top separatist on Tuesday denied media reports stating he met India's home minister at the weekend to kickstart a peace process in the revolt-hit state. The Hindu newspaper reported Tuesday that moderate separatists Mirwaiz Umar Farooq, Bilal Lone and Abdul Gani Bhat met P. Chidambaram in New Delhi on Saturday. The newspaper said the meeting lasted for two hours. Farooq, who heads the moderate faction of the region's main separatist alliance the Hurriyat (Freedom) Conference, denied the report. "No such meeting took place. I was in (winter capital) Jammu on that day," Farooq, who is also a leading Muslim cleric, told AFP. ... Read Full Story

Jammu: Two terrorists and a soldier were killed in a gunbattle after Indian troops foiled an infiltration bid from across the Line of Control (LoC) - in Jammu and Kashmir's Poonch district late Saturday, according to reports. Read Full Story

A senior security officer was killed by a landmine and two soldiers died in a gunbattle in Indian-controlled Kashmir on Monday in a spike in violence ahead of the winter, officials said. Police said a deputy inspector general from India's Border Security Force (BSF) had been lost in southern Samba sector near the de factor border with Pakistan, the highest-ranking officer to be killed in years. "The officer was in the area to assess the situation after overnight gunbattle between BSF and militants," said a police officer who explained the officer's jeep ran over a landmine, killing him and wounding three others. "We suspect ... Read Full Story

SRINAGAR: Back channel diplomacy between India and Pakistan regarding the Kashmir issue has already begun, All-Parties Hurriyat Conference (APHC) leader Mirwaiz Omar Farooq has said. “I believe the process of talks is underway,” he said while addressing a congregation at the Jamia Masjid in Srinagar, adding that an APHC delegation would visit Pakistan after Eidul Azha. “We will be meeting the Pakistani leadership. It is a part of our effort to seek a peaceful resolution of the Kashmir issue,” he said, adding that talks were also underway between Kashmiri leaders and New Delhi. Farooq said “some agencies” bent on sabotaging any headway to seek ... Read Full Story