Month: May 2017

Valley’s ‘Tulip man’ gets recognition at at int’l fora

Editor

When the tulip growers of Turkey recently invited retired district floriculture officer Javed Ahmad Shah to their country, they were impressed with his knowledge of tulips. Shah was then tasked with preparing a report to suggest ways to boost commercial floriculture vis-à-vis tulips in Istanbul, Turkey. Earlier, he was engaged as an expert on an advisory panel in Darjeeling for the cultivation of tulips to boost tourism in the north-east region. Shah is now scheduled to travel to Canada as a part of the World Tulip Summit Society (WTSS) mission…

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Youth of Kashmir should question those who instigate them: Jitendra Singh

Editor

Appealing to the youth of Kashmir to question those who instigate them to join the “so-called freedom struggle”, Union minister Jitendra Singh today hit out at the separatists, saying if stone-pelting is a “holy task” then they should make their own children pelt stones and risk their lives. Singh rejected separatists as being stakeholders in Kashmir and said that real stakeholders are the state’s youth below the age of 40 who constitute 65 per cent of its population. “I have made this appeal to youth of Kashmir that time has…

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Cracks within PDP & BJP coalition over peace talks

Editor

Cracks have developed in the PDP-BJP coalition over the issue of engaging separatist groups and Pakistan in a dialogue to restore peace in the Kashmir valley. Instead of evolving consensus on the sensitive issue both the coalition partners are blatantly indulging into a war of words to address their respective constituencies. After PDP vice-president and one of the founders of the party Sartaj Madni recently demanded engagement with separatists and Pakistan to restore peace in J&K, state BJP spokesperson Prof Varinder Gupta said those demanding involvement of the Hurriyat Conference…

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People have to choose between ISIS & Kashmiriyat: Mehbooba Mufti

Editor

‘Guns, stones have only brought destruction, snatched best minds like Umar Fayaz’ J&K Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti on Sunday said people have to decide themselves “whether they want ISIS or preserve their Kashmiri identity (Kashmiriyat).” Reacting to a query about the “advent” of ISIS in Kashmir, Mehbooba said: “If people from various religions lived in harmony in Kashmir for centuries, it is only because of ‘Kashmiriyat’ that we need to protect at any cost.” Pointing towards a temple, a Masjid and a Gurdwara located side-by-side near Sher Bagh area of…

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Separatists respond to Zakir’s threat, say disunity will sabotage movement

Editor

In a joint statement, separatist leaders Syed Ali Geelani, Mirwaiz Umar Farooq and Mohammad Yasin Malik asked all political and militant organisations to fight for freedom with “vision and wisdom”. In their first reaction to a death threat issued by militant commander Zakir Rashid Bhat, Kashmir’s separatist leaders on Sunday evening warned that any disunity in the “freedom camp” will give the Indian government a chance to sabotage the movement. In a joint statement, separatist leaders Syed Ali Geelani, Mirwaiz Umar Farooq and Mohammad Yasin Malik asked all political and…

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Hizb dissociates from Anti-Hurriyat statement, calls it ‘Personal Opinion’, Zakir dissociates himself from Hizb, says, ‘I stand by my statement’

Editor

Hizb-ul-Mujahideen militant outfit on Saturday dissociated from the statement of commander Zakir Musa in which he had threatened to behead the Hurriyat leaders for calling Kashmir struggle as a political movement. In a statement, issued from Muzaffarabad, Hizb spokesman Saleem Hashmi said that the statement of Musa isn’t acceptable and that the outfit has nothing to do with it. “This is the personal opinion of Zakir Musa,” he said. He said that the resistance leadership and Kashmiri people were taking the movement ahead through united efforts. “In these circumstances, any provocative statement…

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Two civilians killed as LoC heats up in Rajouri, Schools shut post shelling

Editor

Two civilians were killed and few others injured after a mortar shell landed on a house in Jahangir village of Nowshera along the Line of Control in Rajouri district of Jammu and Kashmir on Saturday. Sources said that the armies of India and Pakistan have been exchanged heavy fire and shelling in the area since 7:15 am in Baba Khori and other areas in Nowshera sector. They said that rescue teams have been dispatched to the spot. Meanwhile, authorities have ordered immediate closure of all the educational institutions in border…

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Army is not against Kashmiris, our job is to separate, target terrorists: Gen Rawat

Editor

“We are not returning to classical CASO in Kashmir, because we know they cause hardship to the local people. These are area search operations. It is not even a cordon,” General Rawat said. Underlining the operating philosophy of the Army which believes that all Kashmiris are not involved in militancy, Army chief General Bipin Rawat has said “our job is to separate the terrorists from the Kashmiri people and target the terrorists”. Disabusing the notion that the Army is against all Kashmiris or treats all Kashmiris as militants, General Rawat…

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Five Educational institutions remain shut post Clashes

Editor

Five schools and colleges remained shut today against the backdrop of clashes in the Valley. The Srinagar Deputy Commissioner said the classwork at Sri Pratap Higher Secondary School remained suspended on Friday as a precautionary measure. Students of Government College for Women, MA Road, and Sri Pratap Higher Secondary School had clashed with security personnel on Tuesday, triggering a shutdown in the commercial hub of Srinagar, Lal Chowk. The Srinagar DC said that in the said institutions, the classwork would remain suspended tomorrow also. In Budgam district, which witnessed clashes…

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Promote, Safeguard educational interests of students: Governor

Editor

Governor NN Vohra today reviewed adherence to educational schedules and protection of students from involvement in law and order incidents in a meeting with Education Minister Mohammad Altaf Bukhari, vice chancellors of Kashmir-based universities and other senior officers. The Governor reiterated his concern that the educational interests of the entire student community must be vigorously promoted and safeguarded and, under no circumstances, should the future careers of the student community be allowed to get exploited or jeopardised in any manner. In the context, he recalled the severe academic losses suffered…

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