In his first speech after taking oath as chief minister, Mufti Mohammad Sayeed credits the separatist Hurriyat Conference, militants and “people from across the border”, an indirect reference to Pakistan MARCH 2015: Days later, the CM orders the release of hardline separatist leader Masarat Alam, driving a wedge between the coalition partners

JANUARY 2016: Sayeed, the pivot for the coalition and its most popular face in the state, dies. His daughter Mehbooba takes charge but the absence of Sayeed’s political heft creates dissension within the PDP and BJP

JULY 2016: Hizbul Mujahideen commander Burhan Wani, the poster boy for militancy in Kashmir, is gunned down, triggering widespread clashes and the death of more than 100 protesters over the next year

JULY 2017: CM Mehbooba Mufti hits out at court petitions demanding abrogation of Article 370 of the Constitution which gives special status to the state

JANUARY 2018: The rape and murder of an eight-year-old girl rocks the state. Two BJP ministers are sacked after they show up at a rally to defend the Hindu men accused of the crime.

Courtesy: Hindustan Times: 20 Jun 2018