Month: September 2017

Right time for talks as peace returning to state: Mehbooba Mufti

Editor

“The shoots of peace have started sprouting. They have to be watered and fertilized, and I am sure that the fruits of peace will follow,” Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti said. Shoots of peace are “sprouting” in Jammu and Kashmir and the government is now working towards ensuring that the people in the state can be uplifted with dignity, state Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti has said. In an interview to news agency PTI last night, the 58-year-old chief minister welcomed recent attempts by the Centre and the ruling party to reach…

Read More

Kashmir to celebrate its chief fruit with ‘Apple Year’

Editor

A series of promotional activities are scheduled over the next two years as the Jammu and Kashmir Government prepares for the launch of ‘Apple Year’, dedicated to the chief fruit of region. The Apple Year, which was announced by Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti several months ago, will begin with the harvesting season later this week or next week. It is the first detailed initiative by the state government dedicated to the promotion of the fruit industry, which is the backbone of the region’s economy with an annual turnover of Rs…

Read More

Qayoom Najar longest surviving Hizb commander killed near LoC

Editor

A top militant commander of Hizbul-Mujahideen, chief of ‘Lashkar-e-Islam’ and a longest surviving militant in Kashmir Abdul Qayoom Najar was killed in a gunfight with the army soldiers near the Line of Control in Uri, Baramulla on Tuesday, officials said. Addressing a press conference here, general officer commanding of army’s 19 infantry division RP Kalita said: “Security agencies keep on receiving regular inputs about the infiltration of militants along the LoC in Uri. It was due to these inputs that troops foiled an infiltration bid at Maidan Nallah in Uri…

Read More

Negative publicity kept visitors away from Kashmir, Ladakh got tourism windfall

Editor

As Kashmir tourism fails to recuperate after being hit by unrest in 2016, Ladakh has recorded an increased footfall of foreign as well as domestic tourists. Although the turbulence in the Kashmir valley cast a shadow over the tourism sector in Ladakh, the unrest has turned out to a blessing in disguise for Ladakhi people as domestic tourists cancelled their trip to Kashmir and travelled to the cold desert. “The unrest impacted the Ladakh’s tourism in both negative and positive way. Due to the trouble in the Kashmir valley, this…

Read More

Tax reduction on Handicrafts, Walnut to benefit J&K traders: Haseeb Drabu

Editor

J&K Government’s proposal to slash taxes for protecting small traders of the state prevailed in the recent GST Council meet with the forum agreeing to reduction of tax on handicrafts and walnut. “Conceding the demand of the traders involved in the handicrafts sector of the state, J&K Government pleaded with the GST Council in its 21st meeting at Hyderabad recently to consider bringing down the tax rate on handicrafts and walnut from 12 percent to 5 percent,” an official spokesperson said in a written statement. According the spokesperson, Finance Minister…

Read More

BJP looking to Sangh for final call on Kashmir talks

Editor

To initiate dialogue after RSS meet at Bhopal in mid-October Contrary to the statement of BJP national general secretary Ram Madhav, the Centre will take the Sangh Parivar on board before initiating any meaningful dialogue on Kashmir. Instead of taking any hasty decision on talks, the Centre will look into all aspects before taking any step in the matter. Ram Madhav, while addressing media persons at Srinagar on September 21, had announced that the Centre was ready for a dialogue with separatists without any pre-conditions. “We are ready to talk…

Read More

Initiate dialogue with stakeholders in J&K: Concerned Citizens Group

Editor

The Concerned Citizens Group (CCG) today asked New Delhi to initiate dialogue with stakeholders in Jammu and Kashmir. “We have read with much hope the statements of the Prime Minister, the Home minister and the BJP leadership on a positive change in policy towards Kashmir’s citizens, as have many Kashmiris,” Sushobha Barve coordinator, Concerned Citizens Group said in a statement. “While looking forward to a concrete follow up, we would like to suggest that in order to operationalise the well-intentioned statements that have so eloquently been made, it is now…

Read More

‘Jammu & Kashmir seeks attention’ posters appear in Geneva

Editor

Posters demanding freedom for Jammu and Kashmir and Indian states Tripura, Nagaland, and Manipur have appeared on metro buses and trams in Geneva while the 36th session of the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) is underway in the city. The Pakistan Television Network (PTV) official Twitter account shared this information on Monday night with images. It has yet to be ascertained who put up the posters. Earlier in September, Ambassador Farukh Amil, the permanent representative of Pakistan to the UN had written to the Swiss authorities to bring attention…

Read More

60 Students identified behind April 2017 protests in Kashmir, Suspects Separatists role in fuelling crisis: NIA

Editor

The National Investigation Agency and Jammu and Kashmir Police are currently investigating nearly 60 students for taking part in stone-pelting and “provoking violence” during the students’ protests in April 2017, of which nearly 35 have already been questioned. The police and NIA also suspect that separatist leaders funded the April 2017 students’ protests, and the recent NIA summons to Aala Fazili, a PHD student in University of Kashmir’s pharmacy department, is part of the investigation. “The police have identified at least 60 students who took part in the April 2017…

Read More

Army supported the hair chopper in malwan Kulgam

Editor

People in Malwan Kulgam on late Monday claimed the army rescued an alleged braid chopper, whom they said they had apprehended near the nearby graveyard outside a mosque in the village. Civil administration said they have ordered investigations into the allegations. Local residents said that they had been following a suspicious man for the last two days, who they claimed was behind the mysterious braid chopping incidents in the village. The “man” in question is being refered to many as “bhoot”, the ghost. “As we were going towards Masjid to…

Read More