In first signs of ending the over a month-long impasse with regard to government formation in Jammu and Kashmir, Bharatiya Janata Party leader Ram Madhav on Wednesday held formal talks with Peoples Democratic Party chief Mehbooba Mufti during a brief visit in Srinagar.

Jammu and Kashmir Governor N N Vohra on Tuesday directed the security forces to avoid collateral damage and exercise maximum restraint while conducting anti-militancy operations in the Valley.

Two army men including an officer were injured in an ongoing fierce gunfight in north Kashmir frontier Kupwara district late Friday.

Authorities have imposed curfew-like-restrictions in parts of Srinagar in Jammu and Kashmir on Thursday to scuttle the protests called by separatists on the death anniversary of the pro-independence Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front founder Maqbool Bhat.

The army confirmed the recovery of the mortal remains of nine soldiers buried under Siachen Glacier avalanche debris on Tuesday evening.

A protest shutdown called by the various separatist groups on the third death anniversary of Parliament attack convict Afzal Guru on Tuesday affected normal life in summer capital Srinagar and other towns in Kashmir Valley.

A local militant was killed on Saturday in an encounter with security forces in Pulwama district, about 35 kms from Srinagar, police said.

Government formation in Jammu and Kashmir could be delayed as both the BJP and PDP want more time from Governor N N Vohra when they meet him on Tuesday evening.

The fate of the BJP-PDP alliance may be known on Monday as PDP chief Mehbooba Mufti talks tough.

The PDP said the party will take a call on government formation in the state as and when it is confident that it can fulfill the vision and mission of Mufti Mohammad Sayeed.

Security forces surrounded a house in Naina village of Pulwama district on Tuesday after receiving information about the presence of a group of heavily armed militants inside it.

Forces were sent on information about presence of terrorists.

The decision came after the PDP's core group met for the first time on Sunday following the demise of former Chief Minister Mufti Mohammad Sayeed.

The doctors in the Valley said there was no need to panic and dismissed the rumours.

The incident, which has sent jitters in the police machinery, took place in Bijbehara, 50 kilometres south of Srinagar, when constable Shakoor Ahmed failed to report for duty for two days.

J&K Governor N N Vohra on Friday ordered a security audit of all vital establishments and installations in Jammu and Kashmir by a multi-disciplinary team of security agencies.

Police said Sajjad was active in the Valley for a long time.

Gandhi's flying into Srinagar to meet Mehbooba assumes significance as there are reports that the PDP and the BJP are bargaining afresh over the formation of a new government.