Intense clashes erupted in Anantnag, Sopore, Downtown Srinagar; Class work to remain suspended for tomorrow

Clashes erupt in Anantnag in south Kashmir Intense clashes erupted in Anantnag town in south Kashmir on Friday against the killing of Hizb-ul-Mujahideen commander Sabzar Ahmad Bhat and his associate in a gunfight last weekend. Witnesses said that youth pelted stones on government forces deployed in old town localities of Reshi Bazar and Lal Chowk to express their anger at the killings. Forces, they said, responded by firing tear gas shells. Clashes were going on at the time of filing of this report. Youth clash with forces in Sopore to protest…

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With Stones and Phones – Kashmiri youth show deepening resolve against India

The killing of an iconic rebel commander has kicked popular sentiment against India into even higher gear since last summer. A new generation of protesters is determined to project their message outside the Kashmir Valley. Talk to the young protesters in Indian-administered Kashmir today, and you will find more than the familiar slogans against India. Young people are at the forefront of every protest, gathering in the hundreds and thousands to shout against Indian rule and throw stones at the soldiers. Streets are dotted with anti-Indian graffiti, much of it…

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Security agencies gear up to fight ‘Bedroom Jihadis’ in Kashmir

After years of fighting armed terrorists with bullets and brickbats, security agencies in Jammu and Kashmir are now facing a new enemy – ‘bedroom jihadis’ who manipulate social media from the comfort of their homes to spread rumours and influence youths. It’s a new battleground and a new battle, say senior officers. Far removed from conventional weaponry and the conventional fighting zones of the warren of narrow streets and forests, these new age jihadis use computers and smartphones to wage war from just about anywhere – in Kashmir or outside,…

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BJP’s betrayal of coalition promises pushes PDP to lash out

Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) vice president Sartaj Madni has taken serious exception to the BJP’s approach towards Kashmir on behalf of his party. In a statement on 31 May, Madni urged the coalition partner to give up its “confrontationist politics” and check its “provocative voices”. Dialogue The Only Way More importantly, he once again made a strong pitch for dialogue with Hurriyat and Pakistan despite the fact even though the BJP has ruled out any engagement with Kashmiri separatists. “The PDP is in alliance with the BJP on a clear agenda of…

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I-T warns against cash dealings of Rs 2 lakh or more, seeks tip-off

Income Tax department on Friday warned people against indulging in cash transaction of Rs 2 lakh or more saying that the receiver of the amount will have to cough up an equal amount as penalty. It also advised people having knowledge of such dealings to tip-off the tax department by sending an email to ‘blackmoneyinfo@incometax.gov.in’. The government has banned cash transactions of Rs 2 lakh or more from April 1, 2017, through the Finance Act 2017. The newly inserted section 269ST in the Income Tax Act bans such cash dealings…

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Tufail Qadir ‘Militant for a week’ returns home

J&K police on Thursday said a Srinagar boy, who had reportedly joined the militant ranks, has returned home safely and is with his family. Tufail Qadir Mir, 19, had gone missing on May 24 and then surfaced in a video on Facebook wherein he was seen wielding a gun, sending the entire security apparatus in Srinagar into a tizzy. Tufail, according to police, is 34th youth who has returned home in Kashmir after joining the militant ranks, since September last year. “He (Tufail) is back and is with his family…

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Two Hizb militants killed in Sopore gunfight: Police

Thousands join funeral prayers; Comrades give gun salute; Hizb pays tributes They were brain behind Wednesday’ grenade attack on police party Police on Thursday said two Hizbul Mujahideen militants were killed in a gunfight in Sopore area of North Kashmir’s Baramulla district. The duo, according to police, were motivators of two militants, who were arrested last evening after attacking a police patrol with a grenade in Sopore injuring four policemen. A police spokesman on a tip-off about presence of two Hizbul Mujahideen militants that Aijaz Mir and Basharat Ahmad Sheikh,…

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Govt in slumber to prevent 2014-like floods: High Court

Observing that nothing has improved on ground, the Jammu and Kashmir High Court has pulled up the state government for being in slumber to avoid 2014-flood like situation. Hearing a Public Interest Litigation seeking preservation of water bodies in Kashmir, a division bench comprising Chief Justice Badar Durrez Ahmad and Justice Ali Muhammad Magrey observed that government’s inefficiency and negligence led to floods in 2014 causing huge havoc by taking many lives and washing away properties. “But you are still in deep slumber as nothing has improved on ground level.…

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Neither Hurriyat, nor Pakistan stakeholders in Kashmir: BJP

The BJP today made it clear that neither the All Party Hurriyat Conference (APHC) nor Pakistan was the real stakeholder in the final resolution to the vexed Kashmir issue. The BJP issued the statement after its coalition partner PDP had strongly favoured the involvement of all stakeholders, including the APHC and Pakistan, in the dialogue process. In a handout issued here, state BJP spokesman Brig Anil Gupta (retd) took strong exception to PDP vice-president Sartaj Madni’s statement in which Madni had recommended dialogue with all stakeholders, including Hurriyat and Pakistan.…

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Guns roar again along LoC, GREF driver killed, BSF man among 7 injured in Pak shelling

A GREF driver was killed and seven others including a BSF man injured in cross Line of Control (LoC) shelling by Pakistan Army in Krishna Ghati and Mankote sectors of Mendhar tehsil in Poonch district on Thursday. Defence sources said Pakistani troops fired from automatic weapons and resorted to mortar shelling on army positions and civilian areas in Mendhar tehsil this morning. They said the army men also returned the fire. In Mankote sector, a mortar shell fired by Pakistani troops exploded close to a moving vehicle of GREF carrying…

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