Normal life was affected in Kashmir Valley on Friday due to a strike called by separatists against the issuance of identity certificates to West Pakistan Refugees (WPRs). Most of the shops, fuel stations and other business establishments in Srinagar – the summer capital of the state – were shut, while public transport was minimal, officials said. They said there were very few street vendors visible in the city today due to the strike. Reports of shutdown were also received from most of the other district headquarters of the Valley, the…
Read MoreDay: December 30, 2016
JK Govt to fight petition in Delhi HC challenging Article 370
The PDP-BJP coalition government has decided to fight a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) challenging non-applicability of any constitution amendment in the region under Article 370 of Indian Constitution. The Law department officials told Kashmir Post that they would examine the case and file writ petition against the PIL filed in Delhi High Court challenging the non-applicability of any constitution amendment in Jammu and Kashmir without a Presidential order under Article 370 of the Indian Constitution. “We have to thoroughly examine the petition filed in Delhi High Court so that we…
Read More2016 Summer will go into history of Kashmir as epidemic of dead eyes: Hurriyat (M)
119 civilians killed by forces in 2016, 16000 wounded, 13000 arrested, 3 civilians died in accidents due to alleged road blockades, 2 cops killed in mob attacks, says Hurriyat (M) Human Rights report Stating that the summer of 2016, will go into the history of Kashmir as a season of “epidemic of dead eyes,” Hurriyat (M) on Thursday said that “119 civilians were killed by security forces in J&K this year.” The group also asserted that three civilians lost their lives in accidents caused allegedly due to road blockades, etc.,…
Read MorePeace unlikely in region till Kashmir Issue resolved: Pakistan
Pakistan on Thursday said it wanted to “amicably” resolve all outstanding issues with India, including those related to the Indus Waters Treaty (IWT) and Kashmir, as there can be “no peace” in the region unless the Kashmir issue was resolved. Radio Pakistan quoted Foreign Office spokesman Nafees Zakaria as saying during his weekly media briefing that the government was assessing “India’s activities” within the framework of the water-sharing agreement between the two countries. Zakaria said the treaty did not allow unilateral abrogation of the agreement and “Pakistan is keeping an…
Read MoreCoaching centres on Govt radar for asking fee in advance
The government is going to act tough against the private coaching centres in Kashmir which are asking students to pay their fees in advance for the year. Director, School Education, Kashmir, Aijaz Ahmad Bhat said it had come to his notice that private coaching centres were forcing students to pay the fees in advance and the department would take serious action against them. “They are looting students. So we are going to take strict action against such centres. We have asked them to take money in instalments but not the…
Read MoreMasarat Alam released from Kathua Jail, rearrested by CID
Two days after hardline Hurriyat Conference leader Masarat Alam’s Public Safety Act (PSA) was quashed by the Jammu and Kashmir High Court, he was released from Kathua Jail around 7.30 pm today and rearrested immediately by a CID counterinsurgency team outside the prison gate. The CID team will hand over Masarat Alam to a party of the Baramulla police awaiting in Jammu. Masarat Alam was lodged in Kathua Jail after he was booked in September this year under the PSA by the Deputy Commissioner, Baramulla, for fuelling the unrest in…
Read MorePolitical turmoil, Killings, Controversies mark Kashmir in 2016
The year began on a tragic note for the PDP and the coalition government as then Chief Minister Mufti Muhammad Sayeed, who had paved way for the first BJP government in the state in alliance with his party, lost battle for life at AIIMS on January 7 following brief illness. If political uncertainty and controversies over Sainik colonies and Pandit townships marked the first half of 2016 in J&K, the civilians killings and longest ever shutdown were the dominating discourses as the curtains fell on the year which saw PDP…
Read MoreLess snowfall in Kashmir valley leaves experts, tourists worried
Over the past three years, the month of December has twice been dry in the picturesque Kashmir valley, a phenomenon that has worried environmentalists and disappointed tourists. This year, it is for the sixth time since 1993 when Kashmir saw a dry, or almost dry, month of December. Apart from a brief spell of snow or light rains on December 11 and 12 this year, local residents and tourists have been looking ahead to snow in the mountains and plains. In Kashmir, the harshest period of winter starts from December…
Read MoreToday Resistance Camp call for bandh over West Pakistan Refugees Issue
As the fortnight-long relaxed protest calendar ended today, the separatist leaders called for a bandh and statewide protests and demonstrations tomorrow against “issuance of domicile certificates” to the West Pakistan refugees. It was for the second consecutive week that normal life activities continued for five days followed by two days of shutdown. The continued shutdowns have been a practice in the past about six months following the killing of militant commander Burhan Wani in an encounter with security forces in south Kashmir on July 8. In a joint statement, the…
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