Congress, National Conference forge alliance for Lok Sabha polls

The National Conference and Congress on Wednesday sealed an alliance for three Lok Sabha seats in Jammu and Kashmir and decided to go for friendly contests on three other seats. The state sends six MPs to the Lok Sabha. The Congress will not field any candidate against NC president Farooq Abdullah from Srinagar while the regional party left the seats of Jammu and Udhampur for the Congress. Leader of opposition in the Rajya Sabha, Ghulam Nabi Azad and chairperson coordination committee for elections, Ambika Soni arrived in Jammu on Wednesday…

Read More

Business slump continues, little hope for revival: Kashmir Inc

Thanks to recent Indo-Pak hostilities and uncertainty over hearing of Article 35A in Supreme Court, Kashmir businesses do not see any hope coming out of prolonged slump. The economic condition of Kashmir may further deteriorate due to dwindling tourist footfall, traders say. While post 2014 flood Kashmir economy is in doldrums, the situation further deteriorated when the valley faced more than six months shutdown and restrictions in 2016 unrest. Since then the businesses have failed to keep pace with their counterparts across the country, traders say. The other factor which…

Read More

Centre misusing NIA to target Kashmiris: Saifuddin Soz

Alleging that Narendra Modi-led government at the Centre was misusing National Investigation Agency (NIA) to target Kashmiris, senior Congress leader Prof Saifuddin Soz on Tuesday said this will be useless and counter-productive. The former union minister supported chairman of Hurriyat (M) Mirwaiz Umar Farooq who has asked NIA to question him in Srinagar as he cannot travel Delhi for security reasons. In a statement here this afternoon, Prof Soz said, “I give credence to Mirwaiz Umar Farooq’s stand that he should be questioned anywhere in Srinagar and not asked to…

Read More

Lighting system and other surprises at Tulip Garden this year

More than a million tulips are about to bloom alongside scented hyacinths in Asia’s largest tulip garden at the foothills of Zabarwan mountain in Srinagar.The department of floriculture these days is busy giving final touches to the garden ahead of its opening, which has been for the past decade now signaled the start of Kashmir’s tourism season. The garden was ranked the fourth among the world’s biggest tulip gardens by the World Tulip Society in 2017.“If it remains sunny, we are expecting tulips to bloom anytime between last week of…

Read More

Hindutva goons assault Muslim father, son; forcefully shave their beard

In an outrageous incident occurred in Charkhi Dadri, Haryana, some communal elements harassed Muslims. The miscreants beat up a father and son in Sanjarwas village and forcefully shaved their beard. The goons not only assaulted the father and son duo but threatened to kill them. Victims belong to Bulandshahr. On the complaint of the local Muslims, police registered a complaint on the charges of inciting religious sentiments. According to sources, Idrees and his son Mohsin, residents of Bulandshahr, Uttar Pradesh, were going to Sanjarwas village on March 14. According to…

Read More

Custodial death sparks outrage, Mainstream demands time-bound probe, Resistance called for shutdown

The custodial death of a private school principal from southern Awantipora police district Tuesday triggered a fresh wave of anger across Kashmir, even as the administration ordered a magisterial inquiry into the incident that evoked widespread condemnation from the mainstream and separatist circles in the Valley. A police spokesman said in a statement that “in pursuance of a militancy case investigation, a suspect Rizwan Pandith of Awantipora was in police custody. The person died in police custody. In this matter, while following the procedure laid down in section 176 of…

Read More

China firmly with Pakistan, says Beijing and Islamabad raises Kashmir in top talks

China on Tuesday assured Pakistan of firm support to protect its territorial integrity and dignity during a high-level bilateral strategic dialogue in Beijing. At this meeting, Islamabad had raised the “rapidly deteriorating” situation in Kashmir and called on New Delhi to relook its policies in the state. Speaking at a joint press conference with Pakistan foreign minister, Shah Mahmood Qureshi, Chinese state councilor and foreign minister, Wang Yi appreciated Islamabad’s efforts to ease tensions with India following the terror attack in Kashmir’s Pulwama, claimed by Pakistan-based terror outfit, Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM).…

Read More