Month: August 2016

In Kashmir valley, it’s Officer Vs Officer on Facebook

Editor

Woman IAS officer takes a dig at PDP for pellet death, police officer asks her to quit and join separatists A new clash has broken out in J&K, this time involving words and unlikely opponents. On Wednesday, a senior police officer and an IAS officer, both hailing from the Valley, took each other on in a series of Facebook comments over the death on Tuesday night of 21-year-old Riyaz Ahmad Shah due to pellet injuries. Shah, who was working as an ATM guard, was killed while on his way home…

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Stop using pellet guns on Kashmiri protesters; Amnesty

Editor

Rights group says pellet guns should be banned immediately, a day after third person dies from pellet wounds. Pellet guns have no place in law enforcement and should be banned immediately, human-rights group Amnesty International India has said, following the death of a third person due to injuries inflicted by the weapons in Indian-administered Kashmir. Amnesty’s comments on Thursday come a week after the Indian government promised to set up a panel to investigate the use of pellet guns as a method of crowd control in the region. Since July…

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Pellet in my Eyes

Editor

Bilkees Bhat Me: Oh my sight, oh my dear sight         You left me midway in an endless night Sight: oh my young beholder, how could I          Only You complete me, how could I Me: Then why is that I can’t see the way I used to be          And why is it so dark, please come to me Sight: Not my fault, I was unwilling to leave          Until an evil unleashed a savage heave Me:  How did it happen, I just seem not to know          Was…

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6000 Pellet cartridges used in one month on Kashmir protesters

Editor

Police official says pellets used in Kashmir are ‘bare-metal pellets without rubber coating’ The pellets used by police and Central Reserve Police Force to disperse protesters in Kashmir are “bare-metal pellets” and the Standard Operating Procedure prepared by the Bureau of Police Research and Development for crowd control makes no mention of pellet guns, officials said on Thursday. Police records suggest that in the past more than three weeks, CRPF personnel have fired more than 6000 pellet cartridges in Kashmir to disperse pro testers who hit the Valley streets against…

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Shut down your car engine it will still move at 20 kmph; Magnetic Hill

Editor

There is a place in Jammu and Kashmir where even if you shut down your car engine, the vehicle would still moves forward at a speed of 20 kmph. Amazing right! The place is called Magnetic Hill and is located on the Leh-Kargil-Srinagar national highway, some 30 km from Leh. www.JKLTravels.com – www.KashmirTravels.in (Your Travel Partner In Jammu & Kashmir)

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“Move fast before Kashmir explodes” : M Y Taragami

Editor

PM has not said a word even though Kashmir is burning: M Y Tarigami Mohammad Yusuf Tarigami, a senior legislator of Jammu Kashmir, has been a voice of sanity in troubled times in Kashmir. The sole representative of the CPI (M) in Kashmir, he has won from the Kulgam constituency repeatedly in 1996, 2002, 2008 and 2014. He can by no stretch of the imagination be called a separatist being a mainstream politician who has taken firm positions on important issues in the past. Tarigami is deeply disturbed and worried…

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Amid restrictions, local growers meet vegetable demand across Valley

Editor

“We are having adequate supply of vegetables. In fact we are exporting vegetables at this time of the year,” Chairman Parimpora Fruit Mandi Association, Bashir Ahmad Basheer said. As Kashmir continues to remain under siege, the vegetable growers and vendors in the Valley have been working tirelessly to ensure the local demand is met locally and the prices remain under check. Amid the ongoing unrest, while the growers have ensured abundant supply of locally cultivated vegetables, the vendors ensure the prices remain under check and vegetables reach every nook and…

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Day 27: No let up in Protests, 100 fresh injuries; Resistance camp extend shutdown till Aug 12

Editor

Over 100 injured in clashes in South, Central, North Kashmir Curfew, restrictions, shutdown cripple life Separatists extend shutdown till Aug 12, Announce relaxations in strike after 6 pm on alternate days, ask DCs not to force employees to attend offices Thousands attend pro-freedom rally in Anchdora People offer afternoon prayers on roads at many places; Women lead protests in Kupwara Pro-freedom protests in Poonch, Rajouri, Kishtwar, Doda There has been no let up in protests in the Valley even as the curfew, restrictions and shutdown remained in force for the 27th…

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Violent Protests in Kupwara, Shopian, Dozens Injured one critical

Editor

At least 22 persons were injured in south Kashmir’s Shopian district as protesters were tear gassed at two different places. Hundreds of protesters started their march towards Shopian from Pinjura and Trenz area. Raising anti-India and pro-freedom slogans, the protesters were intercepted in the midway near Sheikh Mohalla, by police and CRPF. Soon clashes started in the area and government forces used tear smoke shells and pellets to disperse the protesters. Sources said that twenty protesters sustained injuries in clashes which lasted for a couple of hours. However, they were treated locally. Another…

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Mirwaiz Umar Farooq – Once bitten, Twice shy

Editor

Mirwaiz Umar Farooq, who heads his faction of the Hurriyat Conference, has been continuously under house arrest for the past two months. He is considered a moderate separatist leader, but he has turned a hardliner now as the Union government continues not to listen to the voice of Kashmiris. In this interview, he expresses his frustration. Excerpts: Why do you think the situation erupted like this? It was the most obvious reaction to the kind of provocations that the people of Kashmir were being routinely subjected to since the infamous…

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