Month: July 2016

If Mehbooba is unaware of situation then who is running Govt : Omar Abdullah

Editor

Former Chief Minister and National Conference working president Omar Abdullah Tuesday questioned that if state government doesn’t know anything about the current situation, then who was running the state. Talking to Kashmir News Service (KNS) he said, “Nobody knows who is controlling the situation. I am surprised that Chief Minister is unaware of the situation. First they said CM was aware of Burhan’s encounter and now they are saying she didn’t know. Then they say media ban was imposed to control the situation, now they say they didn’t impose any…

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Editors refuse to resume publication, ask Govt to come clean on Ban

Editor

Valley-based newspapers on Wednesday asked the state government to come clean on continued ban on publication of the newspapers, saying the “government was using all the available tactics to hit the credibility of the media institutions”. “On Monday Chief Minister’s advisor Prof Amitabh Mattoo approached us insisting that it (ban) was a mistake for which he apologized,” Editor Kashmir Life Masood Hussain read a statement to media after 2-hour meeting of the editors and proprietors of Kashmir based newspapers. “At the same time the state government resorted to propaganda blitzkrieg…

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Death toll climbs to 47 & Army deeply regrets loss of life in Qazigund firing

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A woman injured in clashes between forces and protesters in South Kashmir succumbed at a hospital, taking the death toll in the ongoing unrest to 47. Neelofar was injured in firing yesterday during clashes with army in Qazigund. Two other persons, including a woman, were killed and seven others injured in the incident. Army on Tuesday expressed “deep regret” at the “unfortunate loss of life” in South Kashmir’s Qazigund, where troops were forced to open fire at protesters, killing three in the process. The death toll in the aftermath of Hizbul…

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Burhan Era of Kashmir Resistance

Editor

The news of the killing of Burhan Wani, commander of militant outfit Hizb-ul-Mujahideen, had an electrifying effect on the entire Kashmir. Within no time, streets were transformed into battlefields between angry protesters and state forces. Mosque loudspeakers were blaring out Pro-Burhan slogans and songs. Social Media users made his images as their profile and display pictures. In his early twenties, with six years into the life of gun, Burhan was already a household name in Kashmir. A sea of people converged outside his residence in Tral to have a last…

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Pellet guns not used during Haryana riots, why only in Kashmir: Azad

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Ghulam Nabi Azad, who served as chief minister in Jammu-Kashmir, said the Congress stands with the Centre in ending militancy in Kashmir, but they do not endorse the way civilians are being treated. The Monsoon session of the Parliament began on Monday with a discussion on the recent unrest in Kashmir that leftover 47 dead. Speaking in the Rajya Sabha, Leader of Opposition Ghulam Nabi Azad said that the prevailing situation in the Valley is troubling and urged the state government to restrain from using excessive force while dealing with…

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Markets set own clock as Valley Simmers

Editor

A carefully set timetable to open and close markets amid the ongoing unrest in the region is helping maintain a steady supply of essentials and daily use commodities to the residents. The markets in the city neighbourhoods here open twice a day: for a few hours at dawn and after dusk prayers. During the day, the markets remain closed across the region as shutdown and curfew continue for a ninth day across the Kashmir valley. The unrest was triggered by the killing of a militant commander on July 8 and…

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China ‘Concerned’ over Kashmir Clashes, calls for Peaceful Settlement

Editor

Commenting on the unrest in Kashmir, China today said it hoped that the situation will be “handled properly” and “relevant parties” will address the issue peacefully through dialogue. “China has taken note of relevant reports. We are equally concerned about the casualties in the clash, and hope that relevant incident will be handled properly,” Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Lu Kang said in his remarks posted on the Foreign Ministry website. “The Kashmir issue is left over from history. China holds a consistent stance and hopes relevant parties will address the…

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Two killed in fresh clashes, Strict curfew / Shutdown continue for 12th day

Editor

Newspapers failed to hit the stands for the third day while mobile telephony and mobile internet services remained suspended for the 10th day. Fresh clashes broke out between protesters and security forces in Kashmir in which two civilians were killed taking the death toll to 47 in the current unrest even as a PDP MLA was injured when he was attacked by a stone pelting mob. The two civilians were killed in retaliatory firing after the protesters pelted stones at an Army vehicle in Qazigund in south Kashmir even as…

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Govt bans issuing fresh BSNL post paid SIMs, Disconnected services for non-payment of Bills

Editor

The government has further strengthened the blockade of the communication services here with police asking the state run BSNL to stop issuing the new post-paid SIM cards to people. According to BSNL officials the police had earlier asked the BSNL to suspend the services including the landline connections which they have however opposed. The BSNL post-paid service and the landline connections are the only means of communication here in Kashmir. However on Sunday police have asked the BSNL not to issue any fresh SIM cards. Officials said that the police…

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When a vacation in Kashmir turned into confinement

Editor

Gulam Jeelani On a rainy Saturday evening, as I switched on my cell phones after landing at Delhi airport, hundreds of unread messages and e-mails screamed for attention. The messages and e-mails had accumulated while I was holed up in ‘curfewed’ Srinagar for a week without access to phones, internet and newspapers. My holiday had turned into confinement at my home in Bemina, a suburb in Srinagar. I had reached home on July 7 to celebrate Eid. A day later, in the evening, when I was meeting friends at a…

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