Month: July 2017

Opposition ups ante against BJP’s ‘Surrender’ on GST Issue

Editor

Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti’s appreciation for her ruling alliance partner, BJP, for “protecting special status” of J&K in the Presidential Order on GST has landed the saffron party in a piquant situation as it has always boasted about repealing of Article 370 for complete integration of the state with Indian state. The Opposition, too, have upped the ante against the BJP’s complete “surrender” before the Kashmiri leadership on the GST issue, saying “they stand exposed on rhetoric over Article 370 by compromising with its ideology”. The BJP, however, still considered…

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Normal life back in Kashmir, Internet restored after two days

Editor

After two days of restrictions and strike, life in Kashmir returned to normal today and the authorities restored all internet services which had been suspended in view of the first death anniversary of Hizbul Mujahideen “commander” Burhan Wani. As Kashmir remained by and large peaceful on the anniversary yesterday, there were no restrictions on the movement or assembly of people anywhere in the Valley today, officials said. This morning, life returned to normal as shops and other business establishments opened across the Valley, while public transport also plied smoothly. Authorities…

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How Kashmir lived through the 365 days since Burhan Wani’s death

Editor

To try and understand this free fall that Kashmir has been in for the last one year, we have tried to sketch a timeline of a few significant dates beginning from July 8 last year. The past 365 days were unlike anything that Kashmir has lived through, in a very long time. Since the day Hizbul militant Burhan Wani was killed by security forces, on July 8, the valley has practically been on the edge. It has been witness to some very grotesque violence – the abduction and murder of…

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‘Trespassers would be shot dead’ army warns people in Kulgam; Flag march in Pulwama

Editor

Army personnel from 9 Rashtriya Rifles have drawn a warning line on the road with the directions that those who will cross that line will be shot dead at Chewalgam area of district Kulgam. Reportedly, the line drawn with wax is a message to people not to cross it otherwise they will face bullets. Meanwhile, a strict curfew has been imposed in the entire district on the first death anniversary of Commander Burhan Muzaffar Wani in district Kulgam. However, no reports of stone pelting were received from any part of…

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India, Pakistan trade fire along LoC, 5 civilians killed scores injured

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Five civilians were killed as the armies of India and Pakistan traded heavy fire along the Line of Control in Poonch sector, reports said. An official said that Mohammad Showkat and his wife Shafiya were killed after a shell fired from across the border hit their house in Khari Karmama sector in Poonch district of Jammu and Kashmir. Their three children were injured in the attack, he said, adding that they were shifted to District Hospsital Poonch for treatment. Three civilians were killed and six others injured due to “unprovoked…

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8 Women among 10 injured after forces fire pellets in Shopian; Clashes erupt after forces raid Burhan Wani’s home

Editor

Ten persons, including eight women, were injured after government forces fired pellets to break up a demonstration in Shopian town in south Kashmir on Saturday. Witnesses said that forces raided a locality in the town to stop the anthem being played on the public address system of a mosque on the maiden death anniversary of slain Hizb-ul-Mujahideen commander Burhan Wani. However, people, mostly women staged a protest to stop the forces from entering the mosque. The forces, they said, fired pellets at the protesters, resulting into injuries to ten people.…

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Pro-Burhan Graffiti, Banners come up in Kashmir on slain commanders death anniversary, Clashes erupt in Tral after youth defy Curfew

Editor

Posters and graffiti extolling Burhan Wani have come up on Kashmir valley on the maiden death anniversary of the slain Hizb-ul-Mujahideen commander. Wani’s killing on July 8 last year had triggered a 53-day uprising in which nearly hundred civilians were killed in forces’ action on protesters. Over 200 civilians, including girls, lost vision partially or completely due to pellets fired by the forces to foil rallies during the uprising. Pro-freedom and pro-Burhan graffiti has been scribbled on shop shutters and walls besides the posters of Wani across Srinagar, region’s main…

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Forces scan mobile phones for militant photos: South Kashmir Residents

Editor

South Kashmir residents, especially the inhabitants of Pulwama and Shopian districts have alleged that forces frequently check their personal mobile phones, without even assigning any reason. The residents of South Kashmir also allege that they are beaten also “if by mistake any photo or a video of a militant is stored in their mobile phones”. One of the local who introduced himself as Shahbaaz from Pulwama town said: “I was coming from my maternal uncle’s home and when I reached Murran Chowk Pulwama, clashes erupted between youth and security forces…

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GST a step towards J&K’s complete integration with India: BJP

Editor

‘With changing times, you will realize what has been done’ Minutes after the Assembly passed the State-Goods and Service Tax bill to pave way for implementation of GST in the state, PDP’s ally BJP asserted the move was a “beginning of the process of complete integration” of Jammu and Kashmir with the Union of India. “We are extremely happy that GST has been implemented in the state on the birth anniversary of Shama Prasad Mukherjee,” BJP’s state president and MLA Sat Sharma told reporters outside the Assembly. “The GST is…

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16 persons lose vision in both eyes due to pellets in one year

Editor

At least 16 people have completely lost their vision in both eyes due to pellets fired by government forces on civilians in Kashmir in the past one year, according to official records, while 161 others have suffered total blindness in one eye wounded by the ‘lethal’ ammunition. Records maintained by general specialty SMHS hospital here reveal that since July 8 last year—the day militant commander Burhan Wani died, triggering a six-month-long freedom uprising—a total of 1,043 people have suffered damage to eye (s) by pellet shots. Of these, 70 people…

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