Violence sees new high across Kashmir Valley in last three years: MHA

A total of 256 incidents of violence — a steep hike from 2017 and 2016 — have taken place in Jammu and Kashmir in just six months of 2018, Home Ministry data presented in Parliament on Wednesday revealed. Minister of State for Home Hansraj Gangaram Ahir told the Rajya Sabha that 100 militants, 43 security personnel and 16 civilians have been killed in the 256 incidents in the strife-torn state between January 1 and July 8. The data mentioned that 342 and 322 incidents of violence were reported in 2017…

Read More

Ram Madhav’s upcoming Jammu visit fuels ‘Alliance’ rumours

Amid rumours of the BJP trying to stitch an alliance with the rebel legislators of its erstwhile partner PDP, saffron party’s national general secretary Ram Madhav is reaching Jammu on a two-day tour on July 21. During his two-day stay, Madhav will interact with the party legislators besides holding organisational meetings in Jammu and Samba districts. Although the BJP leaders have termed Ram Madhav’s visit to Jammu as a routine trip for discussing organisational issues, his tour is significant amid reports of efforts being made by the party to stitch…

Read More

UN Human Rights Chief Hits Back on Claims of Bias on Kashmir Report

Over a month after UN human rights commissioner Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein released a report which was greeted by claims of personal “prejudice” from New Delhi, his office has denied any collusion with Pakistani activists. It also said that the Kashmir report had been sourced from Indian official reports. On June 14, UN’s high commissioner for human rights released a report which mainly focused on the “human rights situation” in India’s Jammu and Kashmir from July 2016 to April 2018 based on “allegations of widespread and serious human rights violations…

Read More

Joint Resistance Leadership urges global rights bodies to visit Kashmir prisons

Expressing strong resentment over the extension of judicial remand for Asiya Andrabi and her two associates, the Joint Resistance Leadership comprising Syed Ali Geelani, Mirwaiz Umar Farooq and Muhammad Yasin Malik Tuesday said all the leaders and activists booked by NIA were maltreated by jail authorities in New Delhi. The JRL has sought intervention by global rights bodies including Amnesty International, Asia Watch and ICRC and asked them to visit jails across J&K to observe prisoners’ plight. In a joint statement issued here, the JRL said, “NIA and the Enforcement…

Read More