Year: 2017

Schools across valley to remain shut today for next two days

Editor

To prevent violent clashes, the district administration has decided to suspend the classwork at Government Girls Higher Secondary School, Kothi Bagh, and SP Higher Secondary School on Wednesday. Both the institutions are situated at commercial hub Lal Chowk. “The classwork in these two schools will remain suspended while other institutions, including colleges, will remain open on Wednesday,” said an official from the office of Srinagar Deputy Commissioner. The official said the step had been taken to prevent any law and order problem. The institutions witnessed violent clashes between students and…

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BJP men told to prepare report cards, Ahead of Amit Shah’s visit

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Party national president to review govt performance After getting a “discouraging” feedback about the performance of party ministers in the coalition, the BJP high command has asked party nominees in the coalition to prepare reports of their achievements. The reports will be presented before party national president Amit Shah, who will be in Jammu for two days to review the performance of the government and the party functioning. Shah is visiting Jammu for the first time after the formation of the coalition government in 2015. He will reach Jammu on…

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After eight weeks Mirwaiz Umar Farooq released from house arrest

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The authorities in Kashmir on Monday night lifted the restrictions on the movement of Moderate Hurriyat Conference chairman Mirwaiz Umar Farooq, who had been confined to his Nigeen residence for the past eight weeks. Soon after his release, Mirwaiz, who is also a religious head, addressed a gathering in downtown Srinagar on Monday evening and lashed out at the government for its “anti-people” policies, saying the authorities had “unleashed a war” against the Kashmiri people. Mirwaiz, along with other separatist leaders, was put under detention ahead of the byelections in…

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Kashmir Inc questions govt decision to provide 24X7 power to Jammu industries only

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Senior President, Federation Chamber of Industries Kashmir (FCIK), Javeed Ahmad Bhat in a statement termed the recent announcements as “partiality within the regions of the state”. At a time when Industrial Estates in Kashmir continue to suffer from unscheduled and pesky power cuts, the Deputy Chief Minister Nirmal Singh’s announcement of uninterrupted power supply to Jammu industry has been termed as “selective and biased towards the three districts of Jammu region” by valley based business leaders. The Deputy Chief Minister, while addressing a function in Samba recently has said that…

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If collateral loss feared, don’t carry out operation: Mehbooba to Forces

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Stresses adherence to standard operating procedures After a spree of civilian killings in the past three weeks, Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti today asked the top security forces officers to prevent collateral damage and strictly follow the standard operating procedure (SOP) while dealing with any situation. “If there are apprehensions of collateral damage during an anti-militancy operation then it should not be carried out,” she said. Mehbooba issued the directions while chairing a crucial Unified Headquarters (UHQ) meeting to discuss the security situation in the region. The UHQ is the topmost…

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Demand for splitting J&K into 3 regions gets louder

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Jammu pushes for separate statehood, Ladakh insists on UT status The prolonged unrest in Kashmir has deepened the regional divide in the relatively peaceful Jammu and Ladakh regions as the demand for separating the two regions from the Kashmir valley has gained momentum. The Jammu region has been pushing for statehood while Ladakh has been demanding UT status. People and representatives of Jammu and Ladakh contend that they have been suffering “immensely” due to the recurrent violence, uncertainty and “growing radicalism” in Kashmir. “We have been suffering due to the…

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New Generation Stone Pelters from Kashmir Valley

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Schools and colleges in Kashmir were opened on Monday, a week after they were shut to curb the student protests, in hope that normalcy would return. Shopian/Srinagar: Schools and colleges in Kashmir were opened on Monday, a week after they were shut to curb the student protests, in hope that normalcy would return. But soon, violence erupted at a school in Srinagar’s Lal Chowk, and spread across the Valley. The students hurled stones and attacked vehicles of police, who, in turn, used tear gas and water cannon. Among the things…

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Mehbooba Mufti says Narender Modi amenable to talks to ease Kashmir situation

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“Modi ji said he is following the footsteps of Vajpayee ji. Vajpayee ji’s policy was reconciliation, not of confrontation,” Mehbooba added. Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti on Monday said the prime minister appears amenable to holding talks with stakeholders in a bid to arrest the deteriorating situation in the Valley. However, she cautioned, that “an atmosphere needs to be created” for a dialogue. “Talks cannot happen amid stone pelting and firing of bullets,” she told reporters after a 20-minute meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi at his residence.…

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‘Public Sena’ formed in Kanpur to ‘Take On’ stone pelters in Kashmir

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Head priest of the Siddhnath temple, Kanpur has formed a “public army” to “fight stone-pelters” in the Kashmir Kashmir Valley, Hindustan Times reported on Tuesday. As per the report, Balyogi Arun Puri Chaitanya Maharaj, who has formed the “Jan Sena”, has said that 13,000 people had registered themselves and were ready to give “a befitting reply to the stone throwers” in Kashmir. “I appeal to Prime Minister Narendra Modi to permit the Sena to go to Kashmir and teach the separatist forces there a lesson,” quoting Arun Puri, the report…

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PDP makes “Goodbye BJP” noises post Mehbooba, Modi meet

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The People’s Democratic Party “will not hesitate” to pull out of the alliance with the Hindu right-wing BJP in Jammu and Kashmir if the Centre led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi doesn’t initiate dialogue to resolve the political dispute over Kashmir, sources said. In a meeting of the PDP’s core group at Srinagar following her parleys with Modi and Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh in the national capital, J&K Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti is believed to have said that dialogue is important for restoration of peace in the state. “Dialogue…

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