Tension has escalated along the Jammu and Kashmir-Punjab border as the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) began a rally at the Madhopur bridge separating the two states, ignoring a call by home minister P. Chidambaram to abandon the march to Srinagar to hoist the national flag on Republic Day.

The Jammu and Kashmir government has conveyed to the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) that it will be 'forced to use force' in case the party goes ahead with its plan to hoist the national flag in Srinagar's Lal Chowk on Republic Day, an official source said.

Accusing the chief minister Omar Abdullah of “siding with the separatists with his insolent statements vis-à-vis tricolour”, Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha (BJYM) on Friday continued to maintain its defiant stance of “no change in the plan” of flag hoisting at Lal Chowk on Republic Day, however, the former (Omar) reiterated that no one would be allowed “to vitiate the atmosphere and the separatists also fall under this purview.”

Cautioning against likely showdown over the issue of flag hoisting at Lal Chowk, which may disturb peace in J&K and thwart dialogue process, K-panel on Wednesday urged both the separatists and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) to reconsider their decisions as “the important thing was not just to show the patriotism, but to facilitate the dialogue”.

General Officer Commanding-in-Chief, N-orthern Command (GOC-in-C), Lt. Gen. K.T.

Jammu and Kashmir chief minister Omar Abdu-llah on Wednesday warned the BJP against its plan to hoist the national flag in Srinagar’s Lal Chowk on January 26, stating it would be responsible for the repercussions, if any, to its move.

Chief minister Omar Abdullah on Wednesday warned the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) against its plan to hoist the national flag at Lal Chowk on January 26, stating that it would be responsible for repercussions, if any, to its move.

Despite strong pleas by the political groups in Jammu and Kashmir, there is little likelihood of the thinning of security forces in the state, government sources said.

Lieutenant General K.T. Parnaik on Saturday took over command of the prestigious Northern Command at Udhampur.

While emphasising that Armed Forces Special Power Act is a must for security forces in J&K, Army Commander, Northern Command, B.S. Jaswal on Thursday extended an open invitation to the stone-pelters to join the forces.