Month: July 2017

Historic Khanqah Naqshbandia craves for attention: Neglected Heritage

Editor

The historic sixth century mosque in heart of the city is craving for attention as insects from dead pigeons and the excreta of birds drop down upon the devotees from the roof top of once majestic centre of Islamic learning which housed the holy relic of Prophet Muhammad (SAW) before being shifted to Dargah Hazratbal. Ritually on July 13 every year the who’s who of the government throngs Hazrat Khawaja Naqshband Sahab (RA) shrine to pay tributes to 1931 Martyrs who are buried here but within a short distance lies…

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Ex-bureaucrats groom youth for civil services exams

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60 students registered; given free weekly tips Concerned and dismayed over the lack of interest among displaced Kashmiri Pandit youth in a career in civil services, former civil servants have started a programme to groom youngsters and prepare them for competitive examinations like those for the KAS, IAS and the IPS. About 60 boys and girls have registered themselves with the group, which meets every Sunday in a small room at Durga Nagar, having a sizable population of migrant Pandits. They are given tips about ways to prepare themselves for…

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Military court suspends life terms, grants bail to 5 accused army men

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Three Kashmiri youth were dubbed as Pakistani militants in the 2010 fake encounter case A military court has suspended the life sentences of five army men accused of killing three unemployed Kashmiri youth and then trying to pass them off as Pakistani militants in a fake encounter in Machil sector along the Line of Control in April 2010, a media report said. According to Mail Today, the armed forces tribunal also granted them bail in the case related to the death of three civilians in Kashmir Valley in 2010 where…

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Another Assault on Article 370, RS extends statistical data bill to J&K

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RS passes bill empowering GoI to collect statistical data from JK Opposition says move overrides JK’s special status Further eroding Article 370, which accords a special status to Jammu Kashmir, Rajya Sabha Wednesday passed amendments in the Collection of Statistics (Amendment) Bill, 2017, in the Parliament for applying it to the Jammu Kashmir. The decision comes within three weeks of the passage of the controversial Goods and Services Tax regime in the State despite protests by opposition and traders who over fears of compromise of State’s fiscal autonomy. Before the…

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Are Geelani, Mirwaiz, Malik next? Time will decide, says DGP

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Commenting on the recent arrest of several Hurriyat leaders by National Investigation Agency (NIA), director general of police SP Vaid on Wednesday said that time will decide the fate of senior Hurriyat leaders, referring to Syed Ali Geelani, Mirwaiz Umar Farooq and Muhammad Yasin Malik. He said that people of Kashmir have right to know who is responsible for bloodshed in Kashmir. “I can’t say anything about further arrests, especially of senior Hurriyat leaders at this time. Time only will decide,” said SP Vaid while replying to media questions during…

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Stone Pelting incidents have come down across Valley: CRPF

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The number of stone-throwing incidents in the Kashmir valley has come down this year and this time we used less lethal weapons and had minimum collateral damages, said CRPF Director General Rajiv Rai Bhatnagar today. “So far in 2017, only 424 stone-throwing incidents have been reported in comparison with 1,600 incidents last year,” said the Director General, CRPF, during the 78th anniversary celebrations of the CRPF. Giving credit to the security forces, Jammu and Kashmir Police and Central agencies, the DG said: “The combined efforts of the security forces, Jammu…

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Separatist leader Shabir Shah arrested for funding terror

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In a late evening development, Jammu & Kashmir police on Tuesday arrested another separatist leader Shabir Ahmad Shah in connection with the alleged terror financing case on the instruction of the Enforcement Directorate, the official sources said. Presently heading separatist outfit called Democratic Freedom Party (DFP) Shabir Ahmad Shah is also part of Geelani’ Hurriyat conference and has reportedly accumulated huge wealth over period of 29 years of militancy in Jammu and Kashmir through various sources, including the Hawala channels, the official sources alleged. A police team led by the…

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India rejects OIC resolutions on Kashmir, calls them ‘Incorrect and Misleading’

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In a statement, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) made it clear that the OIC has no locus standi on India’s internal affairs. India on Tuesday outrightly rejected the resolutions passed by the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) on Jammu and Kashmir and pointed out that these resolutions contained “factually incorrect and misleading” references to internal matters of India. In a statement, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) made it clear that the OIC has no locus standi on India’s internal affairs. India’s sharp response came after the the 56-member…

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GST a Tsunami for local industry: FCIK

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Terming the union GST Act as tsunami for the yet-to-evolve the industry in the valley, the Federation Chamber of Industries Kashmir (FCIK) has demanded its immediate rollback. In an executive council meeting held under the chairmanship of speaker Syed Fazal Illahi, the members resolved to work in tandem with the newly formed Jammu and Kashmir Coordination Committee (JKCC) in order to mount pressure on the state government for the roll back.of this draconian law clandestinely extended to the state. The members observed that extension of this 47th amendment was yet…

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Mushtaq Zargar’s 2 nephews among 20 held in DSP’s Lynching case

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Two close relatives of Mushtaq Zargar, one of the three militants released as part of the 1999 Kandahar hijack prisoner swap, are among the 20 accused who have been arrested by the J&K Police in the lynching of Deputy Superintendent of Police Mohammad Ayub Pandith in old Srinagar last month. The police on Monday claimed that it had so far arrested 20 accused in the lynching case and one more accused, Sajad Ahmad Gilkar, had been killed in an encounter in Budgam on July 12. Police sources on Tuesday said…

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