Day: October 24, 2015

Kashmir: Secularism as Suicide

Editor

Mehmood ur Rashid When Nehru was on his way to discover India as a Hindu imperial construct, Gandhi was experimenting with his Ram Rajya, Iqbal was imagining the future of Muslim civilization in the North-West of the undivided India, Jinnah was advocating the Muslim case, who whispered into the ears of Sheikh M Abdullah to bite into this forbidden fruit, called ‘secularism’. That was the moment Kashmir lost its politics, and Kashmiris lost the paradise. Mufti M Sayeed and his PDP is the child of that mishap, and how faithfully…

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Shopian, Pulwama mourn death of Hizb militants

Editor

Clashes in Pulwama against ‘manhandling’ of militant’s family South Kashmir’s Shopian and Pulwama districts observed a complete shutdown on Friday to protest the killing of two Hizb militants in a gunfight at Manzgam village of Shopian district. Thousands of mourners participated in the funeral processions of Irshad Ahmad Sheikh of Maldeera Shopian and Adil Khanday of Barbugh Imam sahib. They were laid to rest amid pro-Kashmir and anti-India slogans in their native graveyards. All the shops and business establishments remained closed in Pulwama and Shopian while transport remained off the…

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Geelani calls for shutdown on Oct 27

Editor

Terming the October 27, as ‘day of mourning’ for the Kashmiris, the Hurriyat Conference (G) Syed Ali Geelani today called for complete shutdown on that day.  “October 27, 1947 is day when armed forces landed in Kashmir against the wishes of people. The people of the Jammu & Kashmir were neither asked for their views about that forced control on that day and nor are their wishes and aspirations being respected today,” Geelani said in a statement. “The so-called accession of Maharaja Hari Singh with India is controversial, unreliable and…

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Restrictions in old Srinagar, protests in uptown areas

Editor

Police put in place stringent restrictions on movement of people in Old Srinagar on Friday, even as protests were held in several uptown areas of the city, against the killing of Zahid Rasool Bhat of Batengoo village of south Kashmir’s Anantnag district by fanatics in Udhampur on October 9. The call for protests was given by Hurriyat Conference (G) chairman Syed Ali Geelani. Though the Srinagar district administration had announced that areas falling under five police stations of old Srinagar shall remain under restrictions, curbs were put in place in…

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Meteorological dept warns of heavy rain across state

Editor

The weather department on Friday issued a forecast of moderate to heavy rain across J&K and snow over mountains forfour days from Saturday. It warned that the rain may trigger landslides and disrupt surface and air traffic. The downpour will be caused by a stormy western disturbance which is approaching the region, and is likely to cause an impact from Saturday afternoon, says a warning bulletin issued by the state Meteorological Department. The stormy weather will continue to have an impact over the state for four days from Saturday afternoon…

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Slain Hizb militants were aides of Burhan, say police

Editor

The police have said that the Hizbul Mujahideen militants killed in Thursday’s encounter in Shopian were close associates of the outfit’s tech-savvy commander Burhan Muzaffar Wani. The slain duo has appeared with Wani in a couple of videos, released by the outfit on the social media. Hizb militants, Adil Khanday, a resident of the Imam Sahib area in Shopian, and Irshad Ahmad Sheikh, a resident of Maldair village in Shopian, were killed in a brief gunfight with security forces in the Mazimpora area of Shopian district on Thursday. Superintendent of…

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Modi to lay foundation stone of Udhampur-Banihal road project

Editor

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who is scheduled to visit the state on November 7, is likely to lay the foundation stone for the four-laning of the highway between Udhampur and Banihal. Work on Chenani-Nashri and Banihal-Qazigund tunnels is scheduled to complete next year, while the four-laning of Qazigund-Srinagar stretch of the national highway is expected to complete soon. Four-laning of Jammu-Udhampur stretch has been already completed and the Prime Minister may lay the foundation stone for the Udhampur-Chenani and Nashri-Banihal stretches, which are projected to be completed in the next…

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Modi may invite separatists for talks during JK Visit : Buzz in PDP circles

Editor

The ruling circles in Kashmir are abuzz with speculation that Prime Minister Narendra Modi may offer talks to separatists during his forthcoming visit to the Valley, his first after the PDP-BJP government took over in March this year. The first indication for the likely talks with separatists was given by Chief Minister Mufti Mohammad Sayeed during a party meeting on Wednesday. “Mufti said the PM’s public rally would be an important event like that of Atal Bihari Vajpayee and he was hopeful that the PM’s upcoming visit would open a…

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RSS timely intervention facilitates BJP’s victory in Leh district

Editor

Sangh’s affiliates carried out door-to-door campaigning for saffron party The Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) once again came to the rescue of the BJP as it helped the saffron party register its maiden victory in the Ladakh Autonomous Hill Development Council (LAHDC), Leh, results for which were announced today. The RSS cadre in Leh worked as foot soldiers for the BJP in the last stages of electioneering as the saffron party was finding it difficult to coordinate work at ground level to counter the Congress, which has a strong base in…

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Bhaderwah shuts down to protest sacrilegious act

Editor

After the Friday prayers, members of the majority community in the Bhaderwah area of Doda district held a massive protest against a sacrilegious act. Tension gripped Bhaderwah town on Thursday evening after some people noticed burnt firecrackers bearing Arabic script. Protesters alleged that the Arabic script on the burnt crackers were verses of a holy book. Reports said the majority community closed its business establishments on the call of the Anjuman Islamia Bhaderwah as a mark of protest and did not allow traffic on the Bhaderwah-Doda highway. They demanded action…

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