Month: February 2016

No night flights for stranded despite Air Force permit

Editor

Hundreds of passengers grounded in Jammu, airlines increase fares Despite being granted permission by the Indian Air Force to fly during the night from the Jammu Airport, no airline has come forward to help the stranded passengers in Jammu. Only one extra flight of Air India took off this afternoon with 150 Delhi-bound passengers. Hundreds of pilgrims and other passengers are stranded in Jammu for the past three days due to the Jat agitation in Haryana, leading to suspension of trains and buses to other parts of the country. The…

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If Kashmiri secessionists think the JNU agitation has boosted their chance for independence, they’re terribly wrong

Editor

The government’s inept handling of the situation in JNU has given a fillip to secessionists in Kashmir. A lot of Kashmiris, including some in leading positions, have got the impression that substantial support for Kashmir’s independence struggle has become apparent across India. They think the upsurge of middle class opposition to the arrest of JNU Students Union President Kanhaiya Kumar actually signifies support for them. They have this impression since the entire imbroglio got going over a function to observe the anniversary of Afzal Guru’s hanging on 9 February –…

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Kashmiri students ‘silent’ sufferers in Afzal Guru row at JNU

Editor

Students from Kashmir, whose numbers have been increasing at Jawaharlal Nehru University, are a scared lot today after the row over an event on its campus against the hanging of Parliament attack convict Afzal Guru as police have been quietly approaching them in their rented accommodations and subjecting them to questioning. After the February 9 incident where some anti-India slogans were allegedly raised, police is believed to have collected the names of Kashmiri students which sound similar to the names of the organisers of the Guru event. “I woke up…

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60% increase in tourist arrivals to Kashmir this Feb

Editor

In what would warm the cockles of tourism traders, the tourist arrivals to Kashmir in February so far have gone up by an impressive 60 per cent. According to official figures a total of 45,129 tourists arrived this month so far in Kashmir. Last year the figure for the entire month was 17,062 while a year earlier it was 21,097. “Even though last year’s tourist footfall was extremely low on the back of massive floods in 2014, the response this year is positive,” Ghulam Jeelani Zargar, Deputy Director (Recreation) JK…

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Six dead in Kashmir standoff between forces and rebels

Editor

Another Army officer has been killed in the ongoing encounter in Kashmir’s Pampore, taking the number of lives lost in the encounter so far to six. The encounter has been on for more than 36 hours now. Three to five terrorists are still holed up in the complex, say security officers. Captain Tushar Mahajan, 26, a resident of Jammu’s Udhampur, was hit by a volley of bullets while mop-up operations were being conducted at the third floor of the house the terrorists have been holed up in since yesterday. On…

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Jat stir: Train, bus services remain suspended

Editor

Nearly four-fold increase in airfare between Jammu & Delhi The Jat agitation in Haryana has cut-off Jammu and Kashmir with the rest of the country as all Delhi-bound trains and bus service have been hit. About 15 pairs of Jammu-bound trains remained suspended for the second consecutive day today. Bus operators have also suspended their services till the situation improves. Thousands of out-bound passengers, including Vaishno Devi pilgrims and security forces personnel, continued to suffer due to cancellation of trains and bus service. Taking advantage of the situation, airline operators…

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Kashmir an ideal shooting destination: Imran Khan

Editor

The stalls set up by J&K Tourism department and the travel trade of the state at the OTM exhibition at Mumbai received an “encouraging” response from the visitors who showed keen interest in the destinations and tourism products showcased. The department to promote all the three regions of the state organised a road show in club Andheri west and several interactive sessions with travel trade and media fraternity at the convention hall of Mumbai Exhibition centre. The department also organized Kargil night in collaboration with Kargil travel trade and LHDC…

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India victimizing SAR Gilani for being Kashmiri Muslim

Editor

Harassment of Kashmiri students in Delhi condemned All Parties Hurriyet Conference (G), the representative body of twenty-four pro-freedom organizations, has said that Indian authorities are victimizing the Delhi-based Kashmiri intellectual, Professor Syed Abdur Rehman Gilani, just for being a Kashmiri Muslim. The APHC (G) in a statement issued in Srinagar expressed serious concern over the rejection of the bail application of Professor SAR Gilani by a lower court in New Delhi terming it a politically motivated judgment. It said that during the function held at the Press Club of India…

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Shehla Rashid, firebrand Kashmiri, leading JNU students’ fightback

Editor

She draws big crowds with her eloquent speeches at Left-leaning meetings. And her politically-flavoured messages are shared by thousands on social media. Meet ‘comrade’ Shehla Rashid Shora, a girl from downtown Srinagar, who has emerged as a prominent voice of the ongoing agitation demanding release of Kanhaiya Kumar, the JNU students’ union president facing sedition charges. Twenty-seven-year old Shehla came under the spotlight for the first time on February 14 when a 14-minute video surfaced, showing her giving a speech to a gathering of protesting students. The fierce speech followed…

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Mehbooba praises Modi, hints at forming govt with BJP

Editor

PDP president Mehbooba Mufti today hinted at re-stitching alliance with the BJP to form the next government in Jammu and Kashmir. “You should have faith in God and then in the decision of Mufti Saheb. As a (party) president I know the issues of Kashmir, whatever will be the decision that will be for the welfare of J&K and for the country’s welfare,” Mehbooba said in her first public address after the death of her father Mufti Mohammad Sayeed on January 7. “J&K will be made a bridge between the…

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