Category: Kashmir

Kashmir

Army supported the hair chopper in malwan Kulgam

Editor

People in Malwan Kulgam on late Monday claimed the army rescued an alleged braid chopper, whom they said they had apprehended near the nearby graveyard outside a mosque in the village. Civil administration said they have ordered investigations into the allegations. Local residents said that they had been following a suspicious man for the last two days, who they claimed was behind the mysterious braid chopping incidents in the village. The “man” in question is being refered to many as “bhoot”, the ghost. “As we were going towards Masjid to…

Read More

NIA summons Research Scholar, Separatists in Terror funding case

Editor

The National Investigation Agency has issued summons to a Kashmir university PhD student, the head of a traders’ body and two Hurriyat leaders to appear before it tomorrow in connection with a case related to the funding of terror activities in Kashmir, NIA officials said today. Yaseen Khan of Kashmir Traders and Marketing Federation, Aala Fazil, pursuing a doctorate from University of Kashmir, and leaders of Syed Ali Shah Geelani-led Hurriyat Conference Abdul Hameed Magrey and Wali Mohammed have been asked to appear before the NIA at its headquarters in…

Read More

Kashmir based BJP leaders upset with ‘Arrogant’ Ministers

Editor

Kashmir-based BJP leaders today complained about the high-handed attitude of party ministers at a meeting with party general secretary Ram Madhav in Srinagar. The leaders condemned the arrogant style of functioning of party ministers while solving day-to-day problems of the people. Sources said that at the meeting, which was convened by Ram Madhav to discuss organisational matters, some annoyed leaders seized the opportunity to expose their nominees in the government. “In the meeting attended by over 40 prominent leaders of the Valley, the style of functioning of ministers was opposed…

Read More

No let up in strike against shifting of batamaloo bus stand

Editor

Traders and transporters continued to protest against the shifting of the General Bus Stand from Batamaloo to Parimpora. They threatened to launch an agitation if their demand is not met. The transporters also continued with the shutdown in the Batamaloo area and said they would continue to oppose the shifting of the bus stand. The traders and transporters, under the banner of the All Traders’ Joint Coordination Committee, held a sit-in at Batamaloo. As soon as the protesters started their march towards the civil secretariat, where the office of the…

Read More

Pellets force Kashmiri youths to drop out of schools and give up jobs post losing sight

Editor

Twenty-six-year-old, Mohammad Ashraf Wani has discontinued his college education. He was blinded in an eye after government forces fired pellets at him last year on 31 October near his home at Rohmoo in Pulwama. The pellets scarred his body and, despite multiple surgeries, he was unable to regain vision in right eye. In 2016, when protests in Kashmir had become fierce after the death of Hizbul Mujahideen commander, Burhan Muzafar Wani, the 26-year-old received pellets as he was watching the protests go on. Like Ashraf, there are other large number…

Read More

Posters, Videos terming Zakir ‘Traitor’ surface in south Kashmir

Editor

A series of poorly scripted videos and dubious origin posters — attempting to cash on divisions between Al-Qaeda-linked commander Zakir Musa and his erstwhile group Hizb-ul-Mujahideen — have appeared in the region in recent weeks. The latest to appear is a poster written in Urdu with significant spelling errors. The contents of the poster accuse Zakir Musa of being a “traitor”, or “gaddar” — the word spelt wrongly, which has caused doubt about the origin of the message. The posters, which had the logo of Hizbul Mujahideen, appeared in Shopian…

Read More

Three leaders (Farooq Abdullah, Omar Abdullah, Mehbooba Mufti) and their ways in Kashmir valley

Editor

It is very difficult to write about the powerful people whom one has known for decades. It becomes more difficult when they happen to be political rivals, each nursing Himalayan ego. As a journalist, I have encountered many such occasions when the powerful appreciated and ridiculed my reporting alternatively depending which part suited them. One theme is common they have zero tolerance to even slightest of criticism. At the moment, there are three powerful leaders in Kashmir’s deemed mainstream. Farooq Abdullah, his son Omar — both former Chief Ministers, and…

Read More

Security forces wipe out LeT top brass, but militant outfit still enjoys vociferous support across Valley

Editor

Contrary to claims made by security forces, that a leadership vacuum has been created in the ranks of Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT) after the killing of its Kashmir chief Abu Ismail, the militant outfit still commands respect in the Valley and continues to draw local youth to its ranks. After the death of Ismail, police officials believed that two of his associates, Abu Furqan and Abu Mawya, who were also involved in the attack on Amarnath pilgrims in July that left seven dead, are capable of taking over as LeT commanders. Pakistan…

Read More

Blacktopping work picks up pace across Valley

Editor

After failing to deliver on infrastructure development due to the unrest in the Valley last year, the government is showing its presence by taking up blacktopping of roads across the state on a massive scale. Only 30.64 km of the road length was blacktopped last year in Kashmir. Officials say that the carpeting of roads in rural and urban areas had been given priority in the current financial year. “The macadamisation of roads is in full swing and 1,302.46-km road length has been blacktopped till August 28 against the target…

Read More

Schools remain Shut, Curbs cripple Downtown: Ismail killing fallout

Editor

Friday prayers disallowed at Jamia Masjid for 2nd week A day after Lashkar-e-Toiba chief Abu Ismail and his aide were killed in a gunfight with government forces, most educational institutions in Kashmir remained closed while authorities didn’t allow congregational Friday prayers at Jamia Masjid to thwart possible protests against the killing of militants. The government also imposed strict curbs in majority of Downtown areas and placed Hurriyat Conference (M) chairman Mirwaiz Umar Farooq under house arrest. Meanwhile, JKLF leaders and activists staged a protest in uptown here against the NIA…

Read More