Day: February 5, 2018

J&K Police hands over Pune woman labelled as suicide bomber to family

Editor

A Pune woman labelled a suicide bomber by the Jammu and Kashmir police has been handed over to her family as there is no case against her, the police have said. “Yes, we have handed her to her family,” Director General of Police S P Vaid told PTI. Sadiya Anwar Shaikh, who turned 18 in November 2017, had travelled to Kashmir from Pune and had been staying in Bijbehara as a paying guest. The police, who claimed she wanted to join the ISIS, detained her on January 25 from South…

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Govt plans to turn Kargil into tourist haven

Editor

The J&K Government has formulated a comprehensive plan to develop Kargil as a tourist destination. Apart from developing the area as an adventure activity centre, the government is making efforts to promote Kargil as a favourite destination for Buddhist and Hindu pilgrims from across the globe. Once a spot of conflict with Pakistan, Kargil is now going to script a new history by becoming a tourist centre. In the year 2017, nearly 2.75 lakh tourists, including foreigners, visited Ladakh and the aim of the government is to lure more visitors…

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Govt re-employing officials, despite ‘Blanket Ban’

Editor

Despite “blanket ban”, the state government says it has re-employed some retired officials on a case-to-case basis due to “administrative exigencies”. This was informed by minister in charge of the General Administrative Department in a written reply to a question raised by Engineer Rashid, MLA, in the Legislative Assembly. Eleven officials have been re-employed by the state government in various departments and they are drawing salaries, travelling allowances as well as accommodation as per the government rules for the regular employees. While most of them have been re-employed on salaries…

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Govt okays withdrawal of stone pelting cases against 9730 people

Editor

Jammu and Kashmir government has approved withdrawal of cases registered against 9,730 people involved in stone-pelting incidents, including first-time offenders, between 2008 and 2017, chief minister Mehbooba Mufti said on Saturday. The government action to withdraw 1,745 cases is subject to “certain conditions” and is based on recommendations of a committee constituted to look into the matter, Mufti said. She said her government has also recommended to give amnesty to more than 4,000 people, who are said to be involved in minor incidents of stone pelting over the past two…

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Captain, 3 Soldiers killed, 4 Injured during cross border shelling in Rajouri Sector

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An Indian Army officer and at least three other soldiers were killed in a sudden escalation of cross-border firing on the Line of Control’s Bhimber Gali sector. The BG area that is near Rajouri is a particularly volatile area. For the first time, the Indian Army has also said that the firing was not limited only to small arms or mortars but also to missiles. The nature of the missiles were not specified. But they are likely to have been anti-tank guided missiles (ATGMs) used in a bunker-busting role. An…

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Pellets killed 18 persons in two years across Kashmir Valley

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At least 18 civilians have been killed and over 6000 injured by pellets in Kashmir in last two years. “As per reports, 18 civilians were killed due to pellets in Valley during last two years,” Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti informed Legislative Assembly in a written reply to a cut-motion on home department of Congress MLA Viqar Rasool. She said 6221 people were injured in pellet firing by security personnel in Valley between July 2016 to February 2017. “Of the 6221 injured by pellets, 5197 were treated in district hospitals in…

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No consensus on Panchayat Polls, Majority of political parties seek deferment

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Majority at all-party meet feels situation not feasible for holding civic polls The all-party meeting chaired by Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti in Jammu on Sunday failed to arrive at a consensus on holding panchayat polls in February, in the wake of prevalent hostile atmosphere fuelled by six civilian deaths in January. “The majority of the leaders are for panchayat polls but were of the opinion that the situation was not feasible for holding it [soon] and suggested its deferment,” Rural Development Minister Haq Khan said after the meeting. Mr. Khan…

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Today Kashmir Solidarity Day to be observed across the globe

Editor

Millions of Pakistanis across the globe will observe the Kashmir Solidarity Day today (Monday) to express their support to the Kashmiris in the struggle for their inalienable right to self-determination under the United Nations (UN) resolution. The day is being observed to give a loud and clear message to the world that the hearts of Pakistanis and Kashmiris throb in unison. One-minute silence will also be observed at 10:00am to pay homage to the martyrs of the liberation struggle of Occupied Kashmir. People from Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) will…

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