Month: July 2016

Geelani lists measures for return of peace

Editor

Hardline Hurriyat Conference chairman Syed Ali Shah Geelani on Sunday listed six confidence building measures that the Centre should take for return of peace to Kashmir. File image of Geelani. AFP File image of Geelani. AFP The measures include rapid “demilitarization” process of population centers and repeal of “draconian” laws like AFSPA and Public Safety Act. The measures were suggested by Geelani in a letter written to several international bodies, including the UNSC, and Heads of States. Among others, the letter has been addressed to Prime Ministers of Pakistan and…

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No Update on ordeal for Kashmiris elsewhere

Editor

People in the Valley seem to have lost track of their dear ones as the communication blackout continued for the fourth day today. The students, professionals and families settled outside Kashmir are restless as they have not been able to hear any news from home. Anisa Sheikh, who is married and settled in Bengaluru, is worried as she has not been able to talk to her parents. She keeps updating her Facebook status, but there is no response from home in uptown Srinagar. The phones are not working and there…

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Kashmir still tense over Burhan’s Killing, Curfew Continues, Media Gagged, Communication Jammed

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Jammu – Srinagar highway blockade causes shortage of essential commodities in valley Strict curfew continued for the 10th day on Sunday in the Kashmir Valley, police said. “Curfew shall continue in all the ten districts of the Valley,” a senior police official said. “Security forces have been instructed to allow movement of patients along with their attendants.” “People going to the airport will not face any hardship as air tickets were being treated as curfew passes,” the official added. The death toll in the ongoing violence reached 44 after an…

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Silencing phones to stifle protests: A recipe for disaster

Editor

Shafaq Shah The government decision to block mobile services in Kashmir has added to the miseries of people with the families of injured persons, undergoing treatment in hospitals, being the worst hit. Cellphone services, barring the postpaid network of government-owned BSNL, remained suspended for second consecutive day Saturday, much to the inconvenience of the people. Khateeja Bano was one of the many such frantic people who were left stranded in the wake of the communication blockade. A woman in her early 50s, Khateeja had come from Kupwara in a load…

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BJP national leaders to coach ministers on party ideology

Editor

Facing criticism from all sections of the society after the Cabinet cleared the controversial pro-separatist Transfer of Property Bill, the BJP high command has decided to organize a four- day training camp to educate its ministers about the ideology of the party. The camp will be held at Patnitop in Ramban district from July 22 – 25. Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh, Ram Madhav, Ram Lal and Murlidar Rao (national general secretaries) along with some senior RSS leaders are likely to attend the training camp. The focus would be on…

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Situation intensifies in Valley, Police shut down newspapers, Presses, Arrest Journalists

Editor

Prime Minister Narendra Modi had said in June 2014, a month after assuming office, “Our democracy will not sustain if we can’t guarantee freedom of speech and expression.”  But governments do not always share these values, taking harsh actions to criminalise freedom of expression. As Kashmir continues to boil following the killing of Hizbul Mujahideen commander Burhan Wani on July 8, the government in the Valley led by Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti has launched unprecedented clampdown on the local media, apparently with an aim to block news and information to…

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Media gag to continue for three days : Govt

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Journalists hold sit-in at Press Enclave, call it ‘press emergency’ In an unprecedented move, the clueless PDP-BJP government has now enforced information blackout across Kashmir by raiding newspaper offices in bid to threaten them to suspend their publications and also banning the Cable TV in Valley areas—the moves which have evoked severe criticism from the stakeholders. According to reports, many newspaper printing presses were raided, leading to forced suspension of newspapers’ publication. On Saturday, owners and editors of several Kashmir-based newspapers held a sit-in at Press Enclave here, condemning in strong…

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Pro-freedom group ask protesters to avoid Chaotic thinking, Action

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Separatist leaders in Kashmir today asked protesters not to follow “chaotic thinking and actions” and assured them that their protest “programme” would continue. The joint statement issued by the separatist trio – Syed Ali Geelani, Mirwaiz Umar Farooq and Yasin Malik – also appealed to the people to show “unity and discipline on immediate basis”. “From our side, (protest) programme will continue at all costs,” the joint statement said. “Deal with the aggression of forces with unity. Maintain discipline at all costs. Save (yourselves) from chaotic thinking and actions,” the…

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Tourists flee Valley but many vow to return

Editor

“We were stranded for four days. We came to Srinagar on Tuesday as we had bookings. We took the risk and came,” said one tourist to IANS. Thousands of tourists who were caught up in the turmoil in the Kashmir Valley have left, dealing huge blows to the tourism industry. But some of the tourists said they will be back. On Saturday, the ninth day of unrest in the valley following the killing of militant commander Burhan Wani, the otherwise busy markets and roads in the Dal Lake area were…

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Two suspected informers shot in legs

Editor

Two persons were wounded in a militant attack in south Kashmir’s Pulwama district on Friday night. The police said the militant suspected that the duo was working as informers. The police said Shabir Ahmad Pandit, 30, and Manzoor Ahmad Pandit, 45, residents of Karimabad, Pulwama, were shot in their legs at their native village around 10 pm on Friday. “The two were brought out from their houses and shot at in the open in their legs. The two were later shifted to a Srinagar hospital where their condition is stable,”…

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