Month: April 2017

If collateral loss feared, don’t carry out operation: Mehbooba to Forces

Editor

Stresses adherence to standard operating procedures After a spree of civilian killings in the past three weeks, Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti today asked the top security forces officers to prevent collateral damage and strictly follow the standard operating procedure (SOP) while dealing with any situation. “If there are apprehensions of collateral damage during an anti-militancy operation then it should not be carried out,” she said. Mehbooba issued the directions while chairing a crucial Unified Headquarters (UHQ) meeting to discuss the security situation in the region. The UHQ is the topmost…

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Demand for splitting J&K into 3 regions gets louder

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Jammu pushes for separate statehood, Ladakh insists on UT status The prolonged unrest in Kashmir has deepened the regional divide in the relatively peaceful Jammu and Ladakh regions as the demand for separating the two regions from the Kashmir valley has gained momentum. The Jammu region has been pushing for statehood while Ladakh has been demanding UT status. People and representatives of Jammu and Ladakh contend that they have been suffering “immensely” due to the recurrent violence, uncertainty and “growing radicalism” in Kashmir. “We have been suffering due to the…

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New Generation Stone Pelters from Kashmir Valley

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Schools and colleges in Kashmir were opened on Monday, a week after they were shut to curb the student protests, in hope that normalcy would return. Shopian/Srinagar: Schools and colleges in Kashmir were opened on Monday, a week after they were shut to curb the student protests, in hope that normalcy would return. But soon, violence erupted at a school in Srinagar’s Lal Chowk, and spread across the Valley. The students hurled stones and attacked vehicles of police, who, in turn, used tear gas and water cannon. Among the things…

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Mehbooba Mufti says Narender Modi amenable to talks to ease Kashmir situation

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“Modi ji said he is following the footsteps of Vajpayee ji. Vajpayee ji’s policy was reconciliation, not of confrontation,” Mehbooba added. Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti on Monday said the prime minister appears amenable to holding talks with stakeholders in a bid to arrest the deteriorating situation in the Valley. However, she cautioned, that “an atmosphere needs to be created” for a dialogue. “Talks cannot happen amid stone pelting and firing of bullets,” she told reporters after a 20-minute meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi at his residence.…

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‘Public Sena’ formed in Kanpur to ‘Take On’ stone pelters in Kashmir

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Head priest of the Siddhnath temple, Kanpur has formed a “public army” to “fight stone-pelters” in the Kashmir Kashmir Valley, Hindustan Times reported on Tuesday. As per the report, Balyogi Arun Puri Chaitanya Maharaj, who has formed the “Jan Sena”, has said that 13,000 people had registered themselves and were ready to give “a befitting reply to the stone throwers” in Kashmir. “I appeal to Prime Minister Narendra Modi to permit the Sena to go to Kashmir and teach the separatist forces there a lesson,” quoting Arun Puri, the report…

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PDP makes “Goodbye BJP” noises post Mehbooba, Modi meet

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The People’s Democratic Party “will not hesitate” to pull out of the alliance with the Hindu right-wing BJP in Jammu and Kashmir if the Centre led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi doesn’t initiate dialogue to resolve the political dispute over Kashmir, sources said. In a meeting of the PDP’s core group at Srinagar following her parleys with Modi and Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh in the national capital, J&K Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti is believed to have said that dialogue is important for restoration of peace in the state. “Dialogue…

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‘Indian democracy will lose credibility if Kashmiris robbed of chance to dream’: New York Times

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An editorial in the New York Times said, “such posturing will only doom Kashmir to a deadly spiral”, adding that Indian democracy will lose its credibility if Kashmiris are robbed of a chance to dream. In an unusually harsh editorial, The New York Times has described India’s security crackdown in Kashmir as “brutal” and cautioned that it will feed more militancy. The editorial which was published on Saturday said the Indian government must ensure that human rights are protected in Kashmir. The New York Times’ editorial board’s comments came days…

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Open your Eyes, Ears and Minds on Kashmir

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Otherwise the media can never portray the reality of Kashmir in a way that will help Indians understand Kashmiri aspirations. Shinzani Jain Start a conversation about Kashmir in India and a hundred familiar questions are hurled at you. What about the Pandits? What if Pakistan invades Kashmir? What about Islamic fundamentalism? What if other states also demand the right to secede? One question that I have been frequently asked in the most condescending tone is, “So, what is the solution? If you want to talk about Kashmir, you must have…

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Two in police net for spreading online rumours

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After suspending 3G and 4G mobile Internet services, the J&K Police have begun a crackdown against administrators of WhatsApp groups and Facebook pages who spread online rumours. The police have arrested two persons in north Kashmir in past few days for circulating wrong news on the social media. The crackdown comes at a time when security agencies have made strong recommendation to curb the social media as it instigates youth to indulge in violence against the forces. The two persons arrested in the latest crackdown are Ishfaq Hussain Hajam of…

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Heavy school bags burden Kashmir children: Survey

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83% Children Carry Bags Heavier Than Permitted Weight, Face Grave Health Risks Children from schools across Kashmir are carrying school bags heavier than the recommended weight, a recent survey has revealed. In absence of any regulation, the heavy bags are posing serious health risks and developmental issues to the growing children. In Kashmir schools, 83.7 percent of children carry bags heavier than 10 percent of body weight, a survey by Department of Social and Preventive Medicine of Government Medical College (GMC) Srinagar has revealed. The survey, carried out across government…

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