Year: 2016

Clashes erupt in Pulwama over ‘memorial’ for slain militants

Editor

Protests erupted after the Friday prayers as a group of youth took out a protest march and shouted slogans in favour of two militants killed in an encounter Several youths were injured in south Kashmir on Friday as security forces broke up a group of youths who tried to raise a memorial for the slain militants, including Lashkar-e-Toiba commander Abu Qasim. Eyewitnesses told that some youths gathered in Pulwama district after Friday prayers and started marching towards the city centre to erect a memorial for the militants killed in 2015.…

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Militants attack Air Force Base Pathankot, 2 killed so far

Editor

At least four militants launched an attack on the Indian Air Force base in Punjab’s Pathankot on Saturday morning, reports said. As per TV reports two of the attackers have been killed. The gunfire started at around 3:30 am, reports quoting authorities said, adding that an official car was used to launch the attack. The incident is being seen as connected to the hijacking of a police car a day ago. Gunfire is being heard from inside the air base and reports suggest the attackers have been contained in a…

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Govt not to hand over bodies of foreign militants to locals

Editor

To prevent people from attending funerals of foreign militants, the state government has changed the policy of handing over their bodies to locals and is instead burying them in secrecy in a sparsely populated town near the Line of Control. Two foreign militants killed in December in south Kashmir were buried at a faraway graveyard in a thinly populated frontier Uri town of north Kashmir as the police feared breakdown of “law and order” at the funerals of the militants if their bodies were handed over to locals. A police…

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Clashes in Old City; ISIS, Pak flags waved in Old City

Editor

Clashes erupted in Old City areas here after Friday congregation prayers while the youths waved the flags of ISIS and Pakistan outside historical Jamia Masjid. According to eyewitnesses, hundreds of youths staged anti-India and pro-freedom protests outside Jamia Masjid in Nowhatta area and raised flags of ISIS and Pakistan. Reports informed GNS that the youths also offered absentia funeral for the militants killed in Pulwama recently. The youths, according to witnesses, later marched towards Nowhatta Police Station and resorted to stone-pelting on forces. The clashes in the area continued for…

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New Year rush at Vaishno Devi shrine

Editor

A large number of pilgrims converged at Katra town on their way to the Vaishno Devi shrine on the New Year today. Over 52,000 devotees paid obeisance at the cave in the last two days, said Chief Executive Officer, Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Shrine Board, Ajit Kumar Sahu. “Every year we go to clubs or discos to celebrate the New Year. This year, we thought of doing something different. We generally visit the Vaishno Devi shrine during September or October, but this year, we decided celebrate December 31 at the…

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Met predicts rain, snow from Sunday

Editor

After weeks of dry weather conditions, the cloudy skies over Jammu led to a drop in the temperatures with the weatherman forecasting rain and snowfall across the state. A small western disturbance has reached the state and which has made the weather cloudy in the entire state. The state Meteorological Department has predicted another western disturbance from Sunday onwards, which may cause light rain in the plains of the Jammu region and snow at higher reaches on Monday. The weather will again be dry after Tuesday. Meanwhile, the maximum and…

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J&K mulls reducing police verification time

Editor

There is good news for passport seekers as the state government is contemplating reducing the police verification time for getting a passport. The delay in the police verification is touted as the major cause for the delay in issuance of passports in the conflict-hit region where hundreds of people have been blacklisted by the intelligence agencies and are not being issued passports. In Kashmir, getting a passport over the years has been painful as most of the passport seekers are stuck in getting police verification reports and it usually takes…

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Post-floods, govt fails to revive economy

Editor

As Finance Minister Haseeb Drabu is making preparations to present the second annual Budget in the Legislative Assembly on January 22, the PDP-BJP government’s efforts in the last nine months to revive the post-flood economy have disappointed people. The coalition government, in its maiden Budget on March 22, 2015, had promised to work towards economic self-reliance and fiscal autonomy while focusing attention on putting the state on the path of recovery after the floods in 2014. The government had termed its first Budget as “white paper” on the state finances…

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Hazratbal lights up with prayers

Editor

Friday following Eid-e-Milad was observed with religious fervour and gaiety here today. Devotees thronged the Hazratbal shrine on the banks of the Dal Lake throughout the the day for prayers and supplications and to catch a glimpse of the holy relic of Prophet Muhammad. The maximum rush of devotees was witnessed in the afternoon when devotees converged at the shrine to offer Friday prayers. Even as Eid-e-Milad celebrations are held across the Valley, the Hazratbal shrine has remained the main centre for holding religious functions related to the birth anniversary…

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Two Army men arrested for extortion in Kulgam

Editor

Four persons, including two Army men, have been arrested in Kulgam district of south Kashmir for allegedly extorting money on gun point while posing as Hizbul Mujahideen militants. The Army men have been found involved in more than one case of extortion, the police said. The police were investigating an extortion complaint by a doctor from Khrewan village of the district when the role of the two Army men came under scrutiny. The accused soldiers have been identified as Muhammad Yousuf Teli and Muhammad Rafiq Khanday of Jammu and Kashmir…

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