Year: 2017

Big weddings Un Islamic: Mirwaiz Umar Farooq

Editor

Muttahida Majlis-e-Ulema patron and All Parties Hurriyat Conference chairman Mirwaiz Umar Farooq while expressing concern over the growing social evils in Kashmiri society said everyone was morally duty-bound to contribute in shaping a healthy society and saving it from deterioration. Terming the extravaganza in Kashmiri marriages and other related functions a dangerous menace which was un-Islamic, Mirwaiz said Islam encouraged to tend to guests within the limits of moderation but our marriage functions had become an exhibition of pomp and show and an occasion for crude display of wealth. “This…

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Jammu bandh evokes mixed response

Editor

The bandh called by the Chamber of Commerce and Industry, the premier body of traders and industrialists, evoked mixed response on Monday. Though most of the traders kept their shutters down, the call evoked little response elsewhere with commuter services, including matadors and auto rickshaws, plying as usual. However, traders had blocked the roads by burning tyres at different places. The Chamber leaders also led a procession in the city to highlight their demands. In support of the bandh, while Panthers Party held a demonstration at Dogra Chowk, Jammu West…

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Student groups clashed in Jammu varsity, five injured

Editor

At least five students were injured in a clash between two groups campaigning for the first-ever student elections at the Law School on the Jammu University campus today. According to the eye witnesses, Urvashi Raina, an ABVP candidate for the election to class representative, was pasting an election post on the wall that was objected by another student from the NSUI, which led to a heated argument. The NSUI student is the son of Congress leader Surinder Singh Shingari. Soon the verbal arguments took an ugly turn and a clash…

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Stick to project deadlines: Mehbooba Mufti

Editor

Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti today underlined the need for sticking to deadlines in case of mega projects as these involve multi-lateral funding and are meant for very large chunks of population. Chairing the board of directors’ meeting of Economic Reconstruction Agency (ERA) here today, the Chief Minister asked ERA officials to consider project deadlines seriously and discourage taking on board contractors who did not follow a strict schedule. For future, the Chief Minister advised the officials to identify projects in drinking water augmentation, drainage, solid waste management and other such…

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Jammu lawyers bat for continuation of Article 35A

Editor

Any tinkering with law will have adverse effect on Article 370: Ex-AAG People opposing Article 35-A can’t be well wishers of JK: Ex Jmu bar chief Article 35-A is soul of Article 370: Adv Kundal Jammu would be badly hit if Art 35-A repealed: Adv Qureshi In a major jolt to BJP and other groups opposing Article 35-A, the senior lawyers of Jammu have favoured continuation of the law, which grants special privileges to residents of Jammu and Kashmir, saying any tinkering with the law would have an adverse effect on Article…

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Geelani urges UN chief to intervene on Kashmir Issue

Editor

Separatist leader Syed Ali Geelani on Sunday sought the intervention of the United Nations (UN) for “peaceful settlement” of the Kashmir issue and also demanded setting up of a war crimes tribunal to identify and penalise the “culprits of human rights abuses.” In a letter to the UN Secretary-General, Geelani described Kashmir as a “long-pending issue waiting for the final dispensation in accordance with the agreed UN resolutions.” “The people of Kashmir demand the UN intervention for a peaceful settlement of the Kashmir issue, lingering for the past seven decades…

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Posters, Videos terming Zakir ‘Traitor’ surface in south Kashmir

Editor

A series of poorly scripted videos and dubious origin posters — attempting to cash on divisions between Al-Qaeda-linked commander Zakir Musa and his erstwhile group Hizb-ul-Mujahideen — have appeared in the region in recent weeks. The latest to appear is a poster written in Urdu with significant spelling errors. The contents of the poster accuse Zakir Musa of being a “traitor”, or “gaddar” — the word spelt wrongly, which has caused doubt about the origin of the message. The posters, which had the logo of Hizbul Mujahideen, appeared in Shopian…

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Ensure two juvenile’s granted bail in DSP’s killing are sent home

Editor

After taking note of apprehensions of the defense counsel that the police might re-arrest the two juveniles who were granted bail on Friday in connection with the lynching of a deputy superintendent of police and implicate them in false cases, a court directed the police and Harwan Juvenile Home authorities to accompany the duo the Home. Defense counsels Mushtaq Ahmad Dar and Arzaan Ahmad Dar moved an application to the in charge officer of the Juvenile Home, asking him to ensure proper handover and custody of the juveniles to their…

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Only secular forces can keep J&K United: Manmohan Singh led group

Editor

J&K Congress legislative party members on Sunday told former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh-led group that only “secular forces” can keep Jammu, Kashmir and Ladakh united, even as the group wrapped up its two-day Kashmir visit. The Congress policy planning group comprising Manmohan Singh, Ghulam Nabi Azad and Ambika Soni first held a meeting with J&K Congress legislative party and later met several delegations at Hari Niwas here on Sunday. The group was constituted in April this year after the situation in Kashmir worsened because of widespread protests and clashes following…

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Eight Kashmiri youths take to gun every month

Editor

Despite the government adopting a tough posture towards militants, which has resulted in the elimination of 148 militants in Jammu and Kashmir since January this year, young Kashmiris continue to take to the gun, averaging about eight a month. “From January to August, we know of at least 80 young Kashmiri boys who have joined the militant ranks,” a top official source in the government has told this newspaper. “The tragic part is that these young boys who join various militant groups are thrown into terror operations without much training…

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