August 2017 | Kashmir POST

The endless wait for disappeared Kashmir’s to return

August 31, 2017 Editor

Victims gather in a Srinagar park to remember their loved ones, some of whom have not been seen for decades. In a central park in Kashmir’s Srinagar, relatives of the disappeared gather for a day of remembrance and mourning. Some burst into tears as they hold photographs of their lost loved ones, some of whom have been missing for years and whose fate remains unknown. It is the International Day of the Disappeared and these families have one simple question: are their loved ones dead or alive? They have waited…

Omar Abdullah ‘Creating Hype’ on Article 35A: J&K BJP

August 31, 2017 Editor

Jammu and Kashmir BJP spokesperson Virender Gupta said that people of Jammu and Ladakh regions always opposed Article 35A and Article 370 right from the day of their inception in the Constitution. The BJP on Wednesday accused former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister and National Conference leader Omar Abdullah of “creating hype” over Article 35A and trying to divide people on regional and religious basis. “There is nothing anti-national if any person is defending Article 35A. However Omar is creating hype on Article 35A, when the case of its legality…

Police enter Handwara college beat Teachers, Students to pulps

August 31, 2017 Editor

Government forces on Wednesday used teargas to disperse students of the Government Degree College, Handwara, who were protesting against the killing of their fellow student Shahid Bashir Mir by the forces a few days ago. The protesters accused the forces of entering the college premises and beating up several teachers and students after trying to subdue the protest by firing teargas canisters. Several girl students who fainted after inhaling tear gas were taken to the sub-district hospital Handwara for treatment, the protesters said. One of the teachers sustained minor injury,…

Jammu Bar Association to oppose Article 35A

August 31, 2017 Editor

As their counterparts in the Kashmir Valley are openly defending Article 35A, the J&K High Court Bar Association, Jammu, is seriously considering participation in the ongoing legal battle in the apex court on this provision of the Constitution. The High Court Bar Association is likely to support those NGOs and individuals, who have challenged the constitutional validity of Article 35A. “Although no decision to become a part of Article 35A has been taken by the association, a majority of our members are of the opinion that we should not remain…

Centre open to talks, but wants no preconditions: Home Secy

August 31, 2017 Editor

Says Pakistan sponsoring terrorism, ensuring infiltration into Kashmir Talks with separatists in Jammu and Kashmir are a possibility but these have to take place without any pre-conditions, Union Home Secretary Rajiv Mehrishi said today. Mehrishi, who is demitting office tomorrow, also refused to blame the Haryana Government for its alleged failure in handling the law and order situation after the conviction of the Dera Sacha Sauda chief, saying that it was not proper to judge any situation sitting in Delhi as law and order was a “live and dynamic situation”.…

Wailing Zohra’s viral picture depicts many realities of Kashmir Conflict

August 30, 2017 Editor

The latest viral picture of a wailing school girl, Zohra has again depicted the many realities of Kashmir conflict. Zohra lost her father, an Assistant Sub Inspector of Police, Peer Abdul Rashid when suspected militants shot at him at Mehandi Kadal area of south Kashmir’s Anantnag district on Monday. The press photographers, who had gone to cover the wreath-laying ceremony of the slain police officer at District Police Lines in Srinagar, could not ignore Rashid’s daughter in tears. Soon Zohra’s picture went viral on the internet and the netizens expressed…

Expect rain on Eid, says Meteorological Department

August 30, 2017 Editor

The Meteorological Department has forecast rain and thunderstorm in Srinagar city and other parts of the Kashmir valley on Saturday, the first day of Eid-ul-Azha. In a forecast bulletin issued today, the Meteorological Department said wet weather was expected in the region for three days beginning Friday later this week. The department said rainfall was expected at a few places in the Kashmir valley on Friday and Saturday. The downpour is also likely in Srinagar, the department said, where light rain is expected on Friday while thunderstorm with rain is…

Prayers mark annual Urs of Shah-e-Hamadan(RA)

August 30, 2017 Editor

The annual Urs of revered Sufi saint Mir Syed Ali Hamadani was observed with traditional fervour today at the Khanqah-e-Moula shrine on the banks of the Jhelum in old city. After night-long prayers (shab khawani) at the shrine that had started after ‘Isha’ prayers last night at 10.30 pm, the devotees today offered prayers and supplications at the shrine throughout the day on the Urs of the saint, popularly known as ‘Shah-e-Hamadan’. “The devotees thronged the shrine from all over Kashmir in large numbers on the occasion of the Urs.…

After Doklam, Line of Actual Control in Ladakh a worry for Army

August 30, 2017 Editor

Even as the two-month-long standoff at Doklam between soldiers of the Peoples Liberation Army (PLA) and the Indian Army near border tri-junction in Bhutan has ended, Chinese threat along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in eastern Ladakh in Jammu and Kashmir continues to remain a worry. J&K shares 826-km long LAC with Chinese-occupied Tibet. While the recent scuffle and stone-throwing between border guards near Pangong Tso (lake), 165 km from Leh, on August 15 during the Doklam crisis holds a great significance in the border dispute along the 3,488-km…

Supporters, Opponents intensify campaign over Special Status

August 30, 2017 Editor

As the Supreme Court has accepted the plea of the J&K Government to hear the petitions challenging Article 35A after Diwali, supporters and opponents of the Article have intensified their awareness campaigns to mobilise support for their respective causes. The Peoples Democratic Party and the opposition National Conference (NC) have already started educating people on the benefits of Article 35A, which ensures special status to J&K. Former Chief Minister Omar Abdullah is on a tour of the twin border districts of Poonch and Rajouri to educate people about the Article.…