Jammu-Srinagar highway shut due to landslides near Udhampur

The vital Jammu-Srinagar national highway was closed for the traffic due to heavy landslides that occurred about 15 km from here today. The authorities said the restoration of traffic on the highway could take two days. As per reports, the company engaged in the four-laning of the highway has deployed JCB machines to clear the debris. Official sources said a huge landslide occurred near Balinallah, Bansa Pul, resulting in the blockage of the highway. Long queues of vehicles could be seen on both sides of the road. The authorities have…

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Joint appeal from Army, Police, CRPF to militants to surrender

After the surrender of a local militant and an overground worker during encounters in the past two days, Kashmir’s top security forces officers today made a joint offer to militants to lay down arms. “…He (Adil Dar of Shopian) could have been killed by the forces. There was no other way out, but we preferred to give him a chance to come to the mainstream. We wanted that he should join his parents again. That’s why we preferred to catch him, sending out a clear message to others who have…

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PDP-BJP govt has brought J&K back to chaos: Azad

Senior Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azad has said the PDP-BJP government in Jammu and Kashmir and the NDA-led Centre had taken the state back to 1990s when the law and order situation was at its worst. “Since the BJP came to power in New Delhi and formed the coalition government with PDP in J&K, the situation has gone back to 1990s period. Jammu and Kashmir has slipped into the worst 1990 situation now,” he told reporters here after former prime minister Manmohan Singh-led policy planning group of Congress on Kashmir…

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Ladakh tense over Muslim-Buddhist marriage (love jihad)

The Ladakh Buddhist Association (LBA) is up in arms against the PDP-BJP government in Jammu & Kashmir and has decided to approach Prime Minister Narendra Modi to resolve the growing feud between Buddhists and Muslims. The discord appears to have intensified after a 30-year-old Buddhist woman married a 32-year-old Shia man last year after converting to Islam. Top LBA official P T Kunzang told TOI that a Buddhist delegation has been seeking appointment with the PM to apprise him about the situation, but is not getting an audience with him.…

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Civil society of Jammu demands autonomous councils for three regions

Members meet Manmohan, want end to discrimination The Jammu Intellectual Forum has demanded autonomous regional councils for all three regions of the state to put an end to the discrimination against Jammu. A 14-member deputation of the forum favoured the constitutional set-up for the Jammu, Ladakh and Kashmir regions during its 40-minute meeting with former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, who heads the ‘policy planning group’ of the party, in Jammu on Sunday evening. Headed by KB Jandial, a retired IAS officer, the delegation comprised retired civil servants, academicians, ex-servicemen, businessmen,…

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Article 35A abrogation demand raised in Jammu

Delegations also demand deportation of Rohingyas As delegations discussed various issues with Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh here, the abrogation of Article 35A and deportation of Rohingyas were the main demands of people of Jammu. While the J&K High Court Bar Association (Jammu) demanded abrogation of Article 35A, its ‘victims’ briefed the Home Minister about their plight in the absence of basic rights. “We demanded abrogation of Article 35A which is against the very spirit of the Indian Constitution and the J&K constitution and total negation of Articles 14 and…

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BJP leader makes money by promoting Army’s human shield act on T-shirts

In a shocking development, a New Delhi-based online business portal run by a Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader has started to promote Army’s Human Shield Act in Kashmir by dedicating a T-shirts to it. The online business outlet T-Shirt Bhaiya (tshirtbhaiya.com), was recently launched by a spokesperson of Bharatiya Janata Party (Delhi unit),Tajinder Pal Singh Bagga. The graphic T-shirts available on the portal inscribed with a vehicle and human tied to the bonnet of it with a strong message “Indian Army…saving your ass whether you like it or not!”, the…

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Rajnath Singh leaves Kashmir unimpressed, Nothing new to offer

Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh on Monday concluded his visit to Kashmir with the usual promises and assurances. The Home Minister, who arrived in the Valley on Saturday, held the routine security and political meetings, and met 35 delegations. He also addressed police and CRPF personnel in south Kashmir’s Anantnag district, where he promised to turn Kashmir into a paradise. For the common man, however, it was difficult to detect any newness in the visit. Srinagar’s old city remained sealed off for three consecutive days, leaving thousands of its residents…

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