The Kashmir Valley readies for the 40-day long ‘Chillai Kalan’ as night temperatures dropped below freezing point on Thursday in the valley with a cold wave prevailing throughout. An official of the MET department told IANS: “Cold, dry weather with foggy conditions in the morning is expected in Jammu and Kashmir during the next 24 hours (till Friday).” “Night temperatures throughout the Kashmir Valley remained below freezing point and the minimum temperatures dropped several notches below zero in the Ladakh region,” he added. The night temperatures were minus 0.4 in…
Read MoreYear: 2016
How the Kashmir unrest unfolded: Flashback 2016
Details of how the Kashmir unrest unfolded in 2016 and different aspects associated with it. The Kashmir Valley, where the situation has been relatively normal since 2010, saw violent protests this year, following the killing of Hizbul Mujahideen commander Burhan Wani by the security forces in July . Such was the situation that valley remained under 53 days of consecutive curfew, with the government having to rush in additional forces to contain the agitation. The unrest, which went on for months, resulted in the deaths of more than 85 civilians and…
Read MoreHigh Court restrains state from closing any Govt School
Bench takes suo motu cognisance of news item, treats it as a public interest litigation In a major setback to the administration, the J&K High Court today took suo-motu cognisance of the state’s decision to close Government Girls High School, City Chowk, for creating a parking lot and restrained it from closing any government school. The High Court took notice of a news item regarding the closure of government school for creating a parking lot and treated it as public interest litigation (PIL) under the name of court on its…
Read MoreBasit fourth engineering student to turn militant, killed in gunfight
Massive protests in South Kashmir against 21-yr-old militant’s death Basit Rasool Dar, Zakir Rashid, Masiullah Khan and Saifullah Ahangar had two common connections that define them: they were engineering students-turned-militants — one of them still is. It is these young men, and others like them, who are serving as the local face of Kashmir’s militancy that in recent years has gained several hundred recruits. On a foggy morning today, Dar became the latest name on the list of militants killed in gunfights with security forces. He was killed near Bijbehara…
Read MoreFive days of peace every week in Kashmir Valley, as Hurriyat parties issue fresh calendar
The unified Hurriyat conference has sent out a fresh calendar to the people of Kashmir, asking them to strike only on Fridays and Saturdays, meaning the Valley would witness five days of peace every week now, coming as a relief to the strife-torn region, which has been facing unrest since July. The move comes after pressure was mounting on the Hurriyat to relax the existing calendar which had brought normal life to a grinding halt. “The leadership feels that a sustainable long-term strategy based on proactive initiatives, programmes and sustainable modes…
Read MoreSupreme Court issues notice to State, Centre on use of Pellet Guns
Asks Modi govt to file expert panel report on the weapon; next hearing Jan 30 The Supreme Court today issued a notice to the Centre and the Jammu and Kashmir Government on a plea for banning the use of pellet guns by the security forces to deal with violence in the state. A Bench headed by Chief Justice TS Thakur also asked the Centre to file the expert committee report on pellet guns. The Bench was hearing an appeal by the J&K High Court Bar Association, Srinagar, challenging the September…
Read MoreExcessive force used in past 5 months: Admits Mehbooba Mufti
Asks police to change ‘line of action’ as situation is normalizing Admitting that government forces had to use excessive force in the past five months of uprising in Kashmir, Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti Wednesday urged the police to “change its line of action so that wounds inflicted on people are healed.” She also directed the police and other forces to differentiate between militants and their family members and not to see everybody as a suspect. Addressing the passing out-cum-attestation parade of a batch of 355 new police recruits at Commandos…
Read MoreWe’ve moved close to goal, now time to consolidate gains: Resistance Group
Announce five-day relaxation, only two-day shutdown ‘Working on transition from weekly protest calendars to long term plan’ Separatist leaders Syed Ali Geelani, Mirwaiz Umar Farooq and Mohammad Yasin Malik, who are spearheading the ongoing agitation in the Valley, Wednesday announced the five-day relaxation in shutdown and stated that they are working on transition from weekly protest calendars to long term plan of programs and initiatives. In a joint statement, Geelani, Mirwaiz and Malik said the agitation of over five months has taken the “freedom struggle forward and opened out the…
Read MoreResistance Issue new protest calendar, Shutdown for only two day (Friday & Saturday)
Joint resistance leader, Syed Ali Geelani, Mirwaiz Umar Farooq and Muhammad Yasin Malik on Wednesday issued fresh protest calendar with only two days of shutdown. The calendar is as follows: Activities Fridays (No Relaxation) Friday Freedom Congregation Post Friday prayer, hold Freedom Congregationsacross Jammu & Kashmir at the places identified and agreed upon locally and mutually; Resistance/Masjid Committees/Youth Volunteers of Villages/Localities coordinate & ensure the arrangements Saturdays (No Relaxation) Tehsil Headquarters Azadi March From 7 am, join Azadi March towards respective Tehsil Headquarters. March on two wheelers(Motorcycles & Bicycles) and…
Read MorePatients suffering due to defunct machines at SMHS Hospital: DAK
An association of doctors today claimed that cancer patients were suffering due to defunct radiotherapy treatment machine, which was damaged in the floods of 2014, at Shri Maharaja Hari Singh (SMHS) Hospital here. The Doctors’ Association Kashmir (DAK) in a statement said the radiotherapy treatment machine at SMHS Hospital, which was damaged during September 2014 floods, had not been replaced yet. The association said cancer patients were suffering “immensely due to lack of radiotherapy facility”. “The radiation oncology unit of SMHS Hospital that was hit by floods has not been…
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