Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) Latest News Today Live Updates.
Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) Latest News Today Live Updates.(Photo: The Quint)
Live‘Will Take Kashmir Issue to ICJ’: Pakistan Foreign Minister
The Quint
IndiaUPDATED A MINUTE AGO
US Secretary of Defence Mark Esper on Tuesday, 20 August held a telephonic conversation with Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and appreciated India’s stance of Jammu and Kashmir's recent developments being an internal matter.
Meanwhile, the Pakistani government has decided to approach the International Court of Justice over the Kashmir issue.
Earlier, senior Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azad was stopped at the Jammu airport and sent back to Delhi, the second time in a month that the former J&M CM was not allowed to visit the state.
 NSA Ajit Doval on Monday briefed Home Minister Amit Shah on the prevailing security situation in J&K
Schools opened on 19 August, after a two-week shutdown
SC on 16 August found six petitions posing legal challenges to the abrogation of Article 370 as ‘defective’
NEWEST FIRSTOLDEST FIRST
6:58 PM, 20 Aug
United States Back India’s Stand on Article 370
US Secretary of Defence Mark Esper on Tuesday, appreciated India’s position that the recent developments in Jammu and Kashmir are an internal matter, ANI reported.
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh held a telephonic conversation with Esper and raised issues of cross border terrorism and appreciated the US' support for India's efforts to maintain peace and stability in the region.
6:54 PM, 20 Aug
‘Will Take Kashmir Issue to ICJ’: Pakistan Foreign Minister
Pakistan foreign minister on Tuesday, said it will to take Kashmir issue to International Court of Justice, according to Reuters.
6:29 PM, 20 Aug
'It Is a Sign of Intolerance': Congress Leader Ghulam Nabi Azad
Senior Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azad lashed out on Tuesday after he was stopped at the Jammu airport and sent back to Delhi.
“It's not right for democracy. If mainstream political parties won’t visit, then who will go? Three former chief ministers of J&K are already under of J&K are already under house arrest and one former CM is not being allowed to enter the state. It is a sign of intolerance,” Azad said.
5:50 PM, 20 Aug
'What Was the Need for Modi to Call Trump?': Asaduddin Owaisi
AIMIM President Asaduddin Owaisi, on Tuesday, questioned the intervention of the US in the matter.
"Since the very beginning, we have been saying that Kashmir is a bilateral issue. India has a very consistent stand on this. Then what was the need for PM Modi to call US President Donald Trump and complain about it?" Owaisi said, according to ANI.
4:39 PM, 20 Aug
'Inform PCR About Rumour Mongers': J-K Police to Public
Jammu and Kashmir Police appealed to the people to inform the police control room (PCR) regarding any person spreading rumours or malicious content, officials said on Tuesday.
The citizens may otherwise contact the nearby police station or police post where the personnel have been instructed to act promptly without any delay against such elements, officials said.
4:32 PM, 20 Aug
Twitter Denies Allegations of Bias for Suspending Pak Accounts
Twitter, which suspended over 200 accounts of Pakistanis posting about the Kashmir issue, has denied allegations of bias by Islamabad, saying that it enforced policies judiciously and ensured impartiality to all users, PTI reported.
Responding to allegations of censorship and biased moderation on its platform, a Twitter spokesperson told the Dawn newspaper that they were founded on the principles of free expression and there was no political bias.
“We believe people on all sides of an issue have a fundamental right to discuss them within the boundaries of our policies, which prohibit terrorism, hateful conduct, platform manipulation and abuse. At Twitter no one is above our rules,” the spokesperson said.
4:26 PM, 20 Aug
Congress Leader Ghulam Nabi Azad Stopped at Jammu Airport
Leader of Congress in Rajya Sabha Ghulam Nabi Azad was reportedly stopped at the Jammu airport earlier this afternoon. He has been sent back to Delhi, according to ANI.
4:18 PM, 20 Aug
DMK Invites Opposition Parties to Protest Against Arrest of J&K Leaders
Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) has invited leaders of opposition parties, including Congress, CPM, CPI, IUML, NCP, TMC, VCK (TN), SP and RJD, to join the protest on 22 August at Jantar Mantar in Delhi, demanding release of political leaders and activists in Jammu and Kashmir.
9:08 AM, 20 Aug
Delhi HC Seeks Centre, J&K Response on Shah Faesal Detention
A plea was moved in the Delhi High Court on Monday alleging that former IAS officer Shah Faesal was illegally detained at the IGI Airport in Delhi on 14 August and taken back to Srinagar where he has been kept under house arrest.
The matter came up for hearing before a bench of Justices Manmohan and Sangita Dhingra Sehgal which did not issue notice in the matter after the central government, represented by Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, said it will file a response to the habeas corpus plea, moved on behalf of Faesal through a 'pariorkar' or next of friend – Mohd Hussain Cader.
A habeas corpus plea requires a person under arrest to be brought before a judge or a court. The court listed the matter for further hearing on 23 August .
12:37 AM, 20 Aug
USA Will Play It's Role To Resolve Kashmir Crisis, Says Pakistan
Pakistan Foreign Minister, Shah Mahmood Qureshi, has said that President of United States Donald Trump spoke to Pakistan PM Imran Khan on 19 August. According to Shah, President Trump and USA will play its role to resolve the ongoing Kashmir crisis.
10:26 PM, 19 Aug
Jammu Police Releases Contact Numbers to Fight Rumours
Jammu Zone police has released phone numbers ‘for information regarding any rumour monger or person spreading malicious content.’
The numbers are: 0191-2542001, 2542000, 2560401, 2544581 and help line nos. 2560244 & 100.
8:46 PM, 19 Aug
J&K Guv Advisors Review Development, Security in Doda, Kishtwar
Advisors to the Jammu and Kashmir Governor K K Sharma and K Skandan on Monday reviewed development and security scenario in Kishtwar and Doda districts, news agency PTI reported quoting an official spokesman.
The senior civil and police officers briefed them on the service delivery, position of stocks and supplies, besides security scenario in the mountainous region, he said.
While on one-day tour of the twin districts, the advisors took stock of the developmental activities, reviewed stock and supply position of essential commodities and law and order situation there, he added.
Reviewing the functioning and performance of each department, the advisors asked for fast tracking of key projects and effective implementation of schemes for achieving optimum results on the ground.
8:29 PM, 19 Aug
27 PoK Residents Fail to Go Back As Authorities Deny Opening Gates
27 residents of PoK who had come to Poonch and were scheduled to return on Monday through Cross-LoC bus services, had to stay back in Poonch as PoK authorities did not open the gates to their side.
8:21 PM, 19 Aug
Anti-India Violence By Leaders Not Conducive to Peace: PM to Trump
Speaking to US President Donald Trump on Monday, 19 August, PM Narendra Modi said, “extreme rhetoric and incitement to anti-India violence by certain leaders in the region was not conducive to peace.”
According to PTI, the PM highlighted importance of creating an environment free from terror and violence and eschewing cross-border terrorism.
The two leaders spoke bilateral and regional matters, news agency ANI reported.
7:51 PM, 19 Aug
All Middle-Level Schools to Be Opened Across Kashmir Valley on Wednesday
After the re-opening of primary schools, the government has decided to re-open all middle-level schools across Kashmir valley from Wednesday.
7:46 PM, 19 Aug
Ready to Help J&K Hold Investment Summit in Mumbai: Fadnavis
Maharashtra is ready to help Jammu and Kashmir if it wants to organise an investment summit ibn Mumbai post scrapping of its special status and reorganisation, Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis said on Monday.
"We will facilitate them (Jammu & Kashmir administration) and provide full assistance if they wish to hold an investment summit here in Mumbai," Fadnavis told reporters in Mumbai.
Seeking to attract businesses to Jammu and Kashmir in the post Article 370-era, the border state's administration has already announced a three-day global investors summit to be held in Srinagar from 12 October.
6:51 PM, 19 Aug
All Areas Where Relaxations Have Been Extended Are Peaceful: DIG Central Kashmir
Addressing the media, DIG Central Kashmir, V K Birdi said on Monday that all the areas where relaxations have been extended have been peaceful.
“There were some minor incidents of stone-pelting in certain pockets but those were dealt with as per law and the miscreants were dispersed,” he said.
6:47 PM, 19 Aug
Shah Faesal Moves Habeas Corpus Plea in Delhi High Court Challenging Detention
Shah Faesal has moved a habeas corpus plea in Delhi High Court challenging his recent detention at Delhi airport. The court has sought a response from the Centre and fixed 23 August as the next date of hearing.
6:45 PM, 19 Aug
DMK, Opposition Parties to Hold Protest at Jantar Mantar over Abrogation of Article 370
The Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) on Monday announced that it will hold a protest in Delhi on 22 August against the Centre’s decision to effectively revoke Article 370. The protest will be held at Delhi's Jantar Mantar, India Today reported.
The protest will be attended by DMK MPs and other lawmakers to demand the release of political leaders who have been detained in Jammu & Kashmir. DMK MP T R Baalu said the Congress, CPI(M), CPI, TMC and the India Union Muslim League (IUML) among others have confirmed their participation in the protest. The DMK leader said he is trying to contact Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav and other leaders.
In a statement, MK Stalin strongly condemned the Centre’s move and said the detention of family members of political leaders in J&K is "unacceptable and unconscionable".
6:35 PM, 19 Aug
 ‘Security Forces Delete Our Footage’: Kashmir’s Local Journalists
Video editors: Vishal Kumar and Sandeep Suman
Video producer: Hera Khan
Local journalists in Kashmir are upset and scared, struggling to share stories from the Valley. What is the reason?
Whenever freedom of speech is curtailed, we are reminded of a couplet from Faiz Ahmad Faiz’s poem, “Bol ke lab aazad hain tere, bol zaban ab tak teri hai.” The couplet is pertinent in the Valley’s condition post the abrogation of Article 370.
The national media is putting out an array of reports but are local journalists in Jammu and Kashmir able to report the true state of affairs? Outside the Press Club in J&K, we tried to find out how local journalists are carrying on with reporting amid the crisis.
JOURNALISTS ALLEGE THEY AREN’T ALLOWED FREE & FAIR REPORTING
A BBC Urdu reporter, Shafat Farooq, told us that he is uninspired by whatever the Indian media is doing in the name of journalism as only one narrative is being reported on Kashmir: Everything is fine. He says that of whatever is being reported about Kashmir, the opposite is true.
Mohammad Dawood, a journalist working for The Kashmir Monitor said that Kashmir's online media is reporting something entirely different. “We know the ground reality but they (national media) are showing something entirely different: The situation is fine, Eid celebrations went well and there are even traffic jams,” Dawood said.
Sana Irshad Matu, a freelance journalist said that what is being shown by the channels, of normalcy having been restored in the Valley, is not true.
“If things had become normal, then connectivity would have been restored.”
Sana Irshad Matu, Freelance Journalist
…………………
SECURITY FORCES DELETING FOOTAGE
Shafat Farooq said that the Indian media will never do a story on protests in Kashmir or stone pelting.
“We went to cover the incident but were made to delete all our footage.”
Shafat Farooq, BBC Urdu
 
He said that journalists being made to delete their footage is a story in itself. He further questioned who was responsible for the same: the police, the CRPF, the Army or the State.
…………………………
Dawood said that they aren’t allowed to go out and shoot, and if, in the off chance of them being able to shoot something secretly, Army and police personnel would delete their footage.
“Even if we manage to escape somehow, we have to take the pen drive to the airport and send it to Delhi, where our stories will be filed.”
Mohammad Dawood, The Kashmir Monitor.
STATE BIASED TOWARDS INDIAN, INT’L MEDIA
Dawood said that it’s been ten days since the local newspaper has been shut, the reason for which is the unjust treatment meted out to local journalists. Only the national media is being highlighted. He feels that the local media should be allowed to work.
“They are being escorted in helicopters. They are not reporting the real situation in Kashmir. No local journalist is being given access.”
Mohammad Dawood, The Kashmir Monitor
…………………….
Muzammil said that the police is not allowing journalists to cover the situation in the Valley.
He said that journalists from Delhi roam around freely and there are no restrictions on them, but local journalists, on the other hand, are not allowed to do the same, even if they work for international organisations.
……………………….
SCARED FOR THEIR LIVES, JOURNALISTS ARE TRYING HARD TO FILE STORIES
Farooq enumerated many kinds of problems, especially the pressure put on local media by the State.
…………………………
A local journalist said that they have to think twice before reporting a story since they live in the state.
“We have to think about all the problems, the NIA and other security agencies here can take action against us.”
Local Journalist 
WILL THE TRUTH REMAIN HIDDEN?
He further stated that whatever local journalists cover, they are saving on SD card and are waiting for Internet connectivity to be restored in order to report the truth.
Till then, the story of Kashmir remains in the dark...
First Published: 19H 48M AGO