Worrying trend across Kashmir Valley as more locals joining rebel ranks

Mohammad Salman Khan and Shabir Ahmad Dar deserted the Jammu and Kashmir police’s counter-insurgency wing to cross over to the other side on June 5. The special police officers (SPOs) left Pulwama’s district police lines with their automatic weapons and joined Pakistan-based terror group Jaish-e-Mohammad four months after it carried out one of the deadliest attacks in Kashmir on February 14 that left 40 paramilitary troopers dead. Within hours of their desertion, security forces raided a house where security forces were tipped off about the duo’s presence at Panjran Lassipora,…

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BJP told to clear stand on Articles 35A, 370: PIL

Dilly-dallying on the abrogation of Articles 35A and 370 amounts to “murdering people’s mandate and negating Preamble of the Indian Constitution”. “The abrogation of these Articles, constitution of a Delimitation Commission to give the Jammu province due representation in the Assembly and implementation of the March 12, 2018, Supreme Court order passed in the PIL titled Ankur Sharma vs Union of India and Ors regarding the identification/notification of Hindus, Sikhs, Buddhists, Jains and Christians as minorities in J&K have become imperative,” said Ankur Sharma, chairman, Ikkjutt Jammu, adding that the…

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Army commanders whose bases breached in terror attacks may be told to put in their papers and retire

Commanders who were in charge of the Uri brigade, the Sunjuwan military camp and the Nagrota army base in Jammu and Kashmir when their establishments were stormed by terrorists in past years may have “to go home”, the government has decided, seeking to take action against the senior leadership for security lapses that may have aided the attacks. The government has communicated its recommendation to the Indian Army, a senior official in the security establishment said, requesting anonymity because he is not authorised to speak to the media. Essentially, the…

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As PDP is moving towards a makeover, Muzaffar Baig would be getting a bigger role

The People’s Democratic Party (PDP) is mulling considerable changes in its party constitution to transfer many of the powers of the all-powerful president Mehbooba Mufti to its patron Muzaffar Hussain Baig in a bid to revive its fortunes ahead of the Assembly elections. In its dismal performance in the parliamentary elections, the PDP lost all three seats in the Kashmir valley, and among the losers was the party president Mehbooba Mufti. That was a big blow to the party as it was aware of the anger of people against its…

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