Year: 2017

Be ready for agitation if Article 35A removed: Joint Resistance leadership

Editor

With the Supreme Court set to hear pleas against Article 35-A on Monday, the joint separatist leadership comprising Syed Ali Geelani, Mirwaiz Umar Farooq and Muhammad Yasin Malik on Sunday warned of “mass agitation” if the apex court “delivers a verdict against the interests and aspirations of people of the state.” The leadership also said that any move to tinker with the state subject law will lead to a “Palestine-like situation” in the state. The pleas against Article 35-A that confers special rights and privileges on J&K’s permanent residents are…

Read More

Farooq, Omar lash out at Centre

Editor

Thousands of National Conference members converged at a stadium in Srinagar today to attend the party’s first state-level convention in 15 years as its top leadership reinvented its anti-Delhi rhetoric. Farooq Abdullah and Omar Abdullah, the two former Chief Ministers of the state and senior most leaders of the main opposition party, in their speeches lashed out at symbols of New Delhi: from Prime Ministers to the Army Chief to political parties. Addressing the Centre, Farooq said, “You snatched everything from us. You wonder why the people here don’t raise…

Read More

Kashmir Cop who went missing surfaces online with AK47

Editor

Ishfaq Ahmad Dar, who was posted at Police Training Centre in Kathua district in the state, was reported missing after he failed to return from his leave on Monday. A picture of a Jammu and Kashmir policeman holding an AK-47 assault rifle has gone viral on social media, confirming reports that he has joined a terrorist organisation, police sources have said. Ishfaq Ahmad Dar, who was posted at Police Training Centre in Kathua district in the state, was reported missing after he failed to return from his leave on Monday.…

Read More

Secretariat closes in Srinagar, to open in Jammu on Nov 6

Editor

The Civil Secretariat closed here today to reopen in Jammu, the winter capital, on November 6 as part of the bi-annual ‘Durbar Move’. “The Civil Secretariat and other Durbar Move offices that observe five-day week closed in Srinagar today and will now reopen at Jammu on November 6,” an official spokesman said. The offices observing six-day week will close tomorrow, he said. The Civil Secretariat and other Durbar Move offices function in Srinagar for six months of summer and in Jammu, for the remaining six months of the year. The…

Read More

BJP celebrates “Accession Day” as 2nd Diwali in Jammu

Editor

State unit of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Friday celebrated ‘Accession Day’ of Jammu & Kashmir with pomp and show, simulating the night of Deepawali in the evening and with lighting of fireworks. In this connection main function was held at its party headquarters, which was led by BJP, National Vice President, Avinash Rai Khanna along with state president & MLA, Sat Sharma and other senior leaders. As per press statement, programme started with the bursting of crackers and lightening of 71 earthen lamps before the portraits of Bharat Mata…

Read More

Champions Gujarat crush J&K by an inning and 64 runs

Editor

Hosts and defending champions Gujarat inflicted another crushing inning defeat on J&K in the Ranji trophy tournament as they wrapped up four day match in three days at Lalbhai Contractor Stadium, Surat Gujarat on Thursday. Gujarat won match by an inning and 64 runs, completely outplaying J&K in both the departments. Hosts earned seven points from the match including a bonus point. To some extent fate of the match was decided already on second day when Gujarat took first inning lead. But the manner in which J&K batting succumbed in…

Read More

Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti needs to stand taller

Editor

Since Monday greater responsibility has fallen on the shoulders of Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti for making the dialogue on J&K a success. There is no scope for any misstep. This time around Mehbooba is facing the most crucial test of her political career, when she should not only act but should also be seen as Chief Minister of the entire Jammu and Kashmir, Ladakh included. It is true that opening of talks with separatists was the core agenda of her party and the government for that holds a possible key…

Read More

Want to prevent Kashmir from becoming India’s Syria: Dineshwar Sharma

Editor

The biggest challenge and the top priority in Kashmir are to de-radicalise Kashmiri youth and militants and “prevent it from turning into a Syria of India”, Dineshwar Sharma, the newly-named interlocutor for talks in Jammu and Kashmir, has said. An old Kashmir hand, who headed the Intelligence Bureau for two years from December 2015, Sharma said that his mission to bring an “end to violence would also include talking to anyone, even a rickshaw puller or a cart puller who can contribute so that peace is ushered in the state…

Read More

Pakistan opens heavy fire in Poonch sector

Editor

According to police, Pakistani army started firing mortars at Sher Shakti and Mendhar areas in Kerni sector at 8.45 pm on Thursday. The gun-duel continued till 4 am on Friday. Pakistani army fired mortars targeting Indian posts and forward villages in Mendhar sector of Poonch district along the line of control (LoC) in Jammu and Kashmir on the intervening night of Thursday and Friday, prompting retaliation from Indian troops. According to police, Pakistani army started firing mortars at Sher Shakti and Mendhar areas in Kerni sector at 8.45 pm on…

Read More

‘Black day’ in Kashmir marks 1947 Indian army arrival

Editor

Seventy years ago on Friday, the Indian army landed in the Himalayan valley of Kashmir, giving rise to one of the world’s deadliest disputes. Every year the people in this divided region mark October 27 as a “black day” to protest the decades-old “Indian military occupation”. “You go to any home, and they tell you a story how their brother, son, and husband was killed and how they continue to face the atrocities of the army. We continue to live the repercussions of the day that gave birth to this…

Read More