Kargil region in Ladakh records coldest night of season

Kargil in Ladakh region of Jammu and Kashmir experienced the coldest night of the winter so far as the mercury there witnessed a steep fall and settled over 10 degrees below the freezing point, even as most places in the valley continued to record sub-zero minimum temperature. Kargil recorded a low of minus 10.4 degrees Celsius, nearly six degrees down from the previous night’s minus 4.6 degrees Celsius, an official of the Meteorological Department here said. He said this was the lowest night temperature of the season so far in…

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Kashmir Valley abuzz with debate on possible IS footprint

Union home minister Rajnath Singh, too, dismissed reports about the presence of the IS in J&K, let alone a base in India. Has the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) succeeded in making inroads into Jammu and Kashmir? The authorities here say a categorical “no” when asked. “I don’t think the IS has any footprint here,” said Jammu and Kashmir’s DGP Shesh Paul Vaid. The Centre is also downplaying IS’s claim that it was involved in an attack in which a police officer and a militant were killed in…

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Woman dies of H1N1 at SKIMS taking Swine flu death toll to 8

A 72-year-old woman from central Kashmir’s Ganderbal district, who had tested positive for H1N1, died at Sheri-Kashmir Institute of Medical Sciences, Soura, officials said. “The woman was H1N1 positive and died on Friday. She was 72 and was a case of comorbidities Ca-Esophagus with Sepsis,” a doctor at SKIMS told Kashmir Post. With her death, the death toll due to Swine Flu in Valley has reached to eight. The woman is the third patient from Ganderbaldistrict and fifth female to have died of Swine Flu in the valley. Doctors said…

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Families being forced to ask sons to return home: Hizb Commander Riyaz Naikoo

Top Hizbul Mujahideen commander Riyaz Naikoo has alleged that government forces are forcing families of militants to make appeals to their sons to return home. In an audiotape that went viral on social media on Saturday, Naikoo said that militant outfits do not “force any Kashmiri youth to join their ranks, nor do they force anyone to stay with them.” “The Indian forces are going to the homes of militants to press them for the return of their kin. They are being pressurised to make appeal to their sons in…

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Bookies see BJP victory in Gujarat elections, say likely to win 118-120 seats

The bookmakers are offering Rs 1.25 for every Rs 1 placed on a BJP win, and Rs 3 for every Rs 1 placed on a Congress win. The Bharatiya Janata Party will most likely win between 118 and 120 seats in the upcoming Gujarat assembly elections, although it is possible that it could win just around 100 with the Indian National Congress winning up to 80 seats in the 182-member assembly, according to bookmakers in Gujarat and Mumbai. Although betting is illegal in India, a huge underground betting business sprouts…

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Sopore has traces of 5000-year-old civilisation: Heritage Expert

Atiqa Bano paid tributes for contribution to redefine vernacular heritage Traces of Sopore being a civilisation have been found, a noted heritage expert of Kashmir said Sunday. Delivering Atiqa Bano memorial lecture to mark the heritage week, heritage expert and former Director General (DG) Tourism, Saleem Beg said in the north Kashmir’s apple-rich town of Sopore and adjoining areas, traces had been found that prove it was a 5000-year-old civilisation. Beg said “this makes it imperative to explore it further with new dimensions.” “This is important to know our past…

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Resistance Camp asks people to observe shutdown, Admin places restrictions across Srinagar

Reiterating shutdown call for 27 November (Monday), the joint resistance leadership on Sunday stated that “gruesome atrocities committed by Indian forces across North and South Kashmir are crossing limits.” A joint statement issued by JRL comprising Syed Ali Geelani, Mirwaiz Muhammad Umar Farooq and Muhammad Yasin Malik said that “condition of thousands of innocents languishing in jails and police stations is also worsening with each passing day.” “Kashmiris are always protesting against these human rights violations and strike call for Monday (27 November 2017) is also intended to highlight these…

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GoI’s Interlocutor Dineshwar Sharma reaches out to Kashmir’s protest hotbed

Meets 14 delegations amid tight security The Government of India’s (GoI) Interlocutor, Dineshwar Sharma, Sunday reached out to the people of the Pulwama-the district which remained epicentre of protests after killing of HM militant commander, Burhan Muzafar Wani, last year and subsequently during anti-militancy operations this year. Sharma paid his maiden visit to Pulwama district in South Kashmir after being appointed as special representative by GoI last month. The visit was seen important as the area was the epicentre in last year’s unrest in the Valley which was triggered after…

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GoI’s U-turn on rehab plan leaves displaced Kashmiri Pandits disappointed

The U-turn by the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) over setting up of transit camps for displaced Kashmiri Hindus in the Valley has raised a major question: Has the BJP abandoned Pandits to make way for separatist and radical elements in the dialogue process? There is general perception among the minority community that the BJP-led Central government and the PDP-BJP coalition in J&K have for the first time delinked the Pandit issue from the peace process initiated in 1996 when Inder Kumar Gujral was the Prime Minister. The plan to…

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Hafiz Saeed’s release ‘Celebrated’ in Begum Bagh Uttar Pradesh

Police were on their toes in Lakhimpur city on Friday morning after members of a community allegedly celebrated the release of Mumbai terror attack mastermind and co-founder of Lashkar-e-Taiba Hafiz Saeed in Pakistan. Some residents of Begum Bagh colony in Shivpuri area allegedly decorated their houses with green flags and also raised slogans like ‘Hafiz Saeed zindabad’ and ‘Pakistan Zindabad’. The issue was immediately brought to district magistrate Akashdeep’s notice after which police force was rushed to the colony. Officials said that the administration acted promptly as members of some…

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