Communication clampdown in J&K to be lifted in 15 days: HM

New Delhi: Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Tuesday assured a delegation from Jammu and Kashmir that the communication clampdown in the Valley will be lifted in 15 days. Shah, who met village heads, also announced Rs 2 lakh insurance for all panchs and sarpanchs.

"We had a good meeting with the Home Minister; he assured us about our concerns," Manoj Pandita, a sarpanch from Pulwama said. "On the communication blockade, we have been that it will be lifted in 10-15 days."

Shah reportedly told the representatives that the statehood of Jammu and Kashmir, which was earlier scrapped by abrogating Article 370, will be returned as soon as possible. "Your fight is against terrorism, so is ours," he told the delegation, adding that block-level election process will begin at the earliest.