Month: July 2016

Children aged 4, 11, 12: Old enough for police to get pellets, bullets!

Editor

“I want to go home. I want to be with my friends,” says Zuhra, unmindful of the pellets, fired by police, which have pierced her body. Asked how she got injured, Zuhra blames “firecrackers by police uncle.” Four-year-old Zuhra Majeed, undergoing treatment at SMHS Hospital here, has been insisting on meeting her friends. She wants to show them her video that has gone viral on social networking sites. “I want to go home. I want to be with my friends,” says Zuhra, unmindful of the pellets, fired by police, which…

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Hizb men pose Burhan-style for new poster

Editor

Fourteen days after the killing of militant commander Burhan Wani, a poster showing a group of Hizbul Mujahideen militants, announcing they “would  continue to the challenge the enemy”, appeared in Shopian district. The poster, which shows eleven militants holding AK-47 assault rifles and wearing army fatigues, sitting in what looks like an orchard, is similar to the one in which Burhan posed with 10 of his associates, the majority of whom were killed in gunfights. Burhan’s picture, also shot in an orchard, went viral on social media networking sites last…

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Pellets wreak Havoc, Nasir(5) battles Injuries

Editor

20 Persons have eyes severely damaged, 10 Victims completely lost 1 eye, most of 170 injured need retinal surgery, Nasir(5) Battles pellet injuries Of over 170 persons admitted at general specialty SMHS hospital here with eye-injuries, at least 20 have their both eyes “severely damaged” by pellets while another 10 persons have completely lost their one eye to the ‘lethal’ ammunition. While doctors have started to operate upon these patients, they fear the damage caused by the pellets to many persons may be “irreparable.” A senior eye specialist at the…

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Cong attacks Modi over ‘Silence’ on Kashmir unrest

Editor

Congress today attacked Prime Minister Narendra Modi over his “silence” on the Kashmir unrest and also demanded compensation of Rs 10 lakh to each victim of violence in Gujarat’s Una besides action against guilty policemen. “The Prime Minister is in Gorakhpur today and talks big. But he did not talk of Kashmir or Dalits, as he normally speaks on almost everything.   “Today people of Kashmir are waiting for the Prime Minister to make a statement to show that he is concerned about Jammu and Kashmir and is applying balm…

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Amid communication Curbs, BSNL to connect govt officials only

Editor

Provides 600 new connections on priority Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL), the only telecom company functional across the State has been providing fresh postpaid connections to government officials only, leaving the locals who seek fresh connection in despair. At least six hundred (600) new connections have been given to the officials on the priority basis in two days, while as the ones who lurk in the hospitals or anywhere far from their homes have been standing in queues outside the telephone exchange in vain. “We distributed sims to officials only…

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Why a grieving Kashmir hurts India’s sovereignty

Editor

The Valley’s mourning cements its moral position in challenging New Delhi. Inshah Malik When I first heard about the death of 22-year-old Kashmiri rebel Burhan Wani, I was on my way to a friend’s place. Unexpectedly, his death brought a feeling of extreme doom and a sharp pain in my ribcage. I went on to finish my day, all the while scrolling through news updates on my mobile phone. As a Kashmiri, feeling sorrow over death is a natural response, as killings are not dehumanised in popular Kashmiri culture. There…

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As unrest enters third week, Valley is frozen in time

Editor

It doesn’t matter anymore what hour of the day it is in Kashmir as thousands of residents spent another day on Friday under curfew and restrictions with signal to their mobile phones remained turned off on orders of the state government. In the latest spell of turbulent days in Kashmir, there are no rush hours. The traffic signals obediently flash green and red to deserted roads. A few traffic policemen sit idly on a pavement in the Lal Chowk, the commercial nerve centre of Srinagar where markets have remained shut…

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Police official’s family tenders public apology for ‘atrocities’ committed by son

Editor

In a first such case, a family of a senior police official posted in south Kashmir’s Kulgam district Friday tendered a public apology for the ‘wrong doings’ of their son. “I apologise on behalf of my son and our family,” the police official’s father Bashir Ahmad said during Friday congregational prayers at Jamia Masjid Bijbehara today. The official is posted as the Station House Officer (SHO) in main town Kulgam. There have been allegations against the police official for allegedly committing atrocities in Kulgam town. It was alleged and speculated…

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With two more deaths toll crosses 50, Strict Curfew in force, Curb on Communication Still On

Editor

One dies in Pulwama violence, another after 12 days in hospital After three days of relative calm, one person was killed and several others injured in fresh clashes in Kashmir today while another youth succumbed to his injuries at a Srinagar hospital, taking the death toll during the past two weeks of violence to 50. The fresh killing took place at Chursoo in the Awantipora area of Pulwama district in south Kashmir. Mushtaq Ahmad, who was critically injured during action by security forces in Chursoo, was shifted to a Srinagar…

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One killed in Awantipora, Two injured in Pulwama, Death toll reaches 50

Editor

One person was killed as police and forces opened firing on protesters in Awantipora, in south Kashmir’s Pulwama district on Friday. Reports said that slain Mushtaq Ahmad, son of Bashir Ahmad, resident of Chursoo. Awantipora  succumbed to his injuries on way to SMHS. With the killing of another youth the death toll in Kashmir has reached 50 in violent clashes ever since the killing of militant commander Burhan Wani. At least two persons were injured as police opened firing on protesters in south Kashmir’s Pulwama district on Friday. Reports said…

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