A batch of about 1000 Kashmiri recruits who are undergoing training at the Police Training School (PTS) Kathua in Jammu region on Sunday alleged that they are being harassed by a police officer who is in charge of the training course. A group of trainees told Kashmir Post on the condition of anonymity that they are being thrashed, abused, threatened and called names. “For the past nine months we have been through hell. All the 978 recruits are undergoing basic training and all of us belong to Kashmir,” the trainees…
Read MoreYear: 2017
West Pak refugees fighting for identity since 1947
Humiliation being faced by Manohar Kumar, a West Pakistani refugee youth, during a recruitment rally on the outskirts of Jammu, has authenticated Union Minister of State (MoS) for Home Hansraj Gangaram Ahir’s observation that woes of these “helpless” people are mounting with every passing day. The Union minister, while reviewing the progress of various packages announced by the Centre for all categories of refugees and displaced persons on Thursday, had expressed his anguish over the delay by the state government in issuing “identity certificates” to West Pakistani refugees. “My son…
Read More19 Hour Pulwama gunfight ends after consuming 4 CRPF Men, 4 Policemen and 3 Militants
The 19-hour-long gunfight that broke out after ‘fidayeen’ militants stormed the Pulwama police lines here ended at about 11.30 pm after government forces killed the third militant, officials said, even as a spontaneous shutdown was observed in most parts of the district on Sunday to mourn the militant killings. Four CRPF personnel, four policemen and three non-local militants of Jaish-e-Muhammad died in the gunfight while at least eight forces personnel were injured, according to officials. Two of the slain police personnel Rafiq Ahmad Hajam and Muhammad Yousuf Hajam, residents of…
Read MoreReview detects ambiguity in land use structure in Srinagar Master Plan
The land use structure envisaged in the Srinagar draft Master Plan (2015-35) is incomplete as the proposal to put more than 64 percent of developed land under residential use is a “serious policy imperfection flaw”, states an expert review. These observations have been made in a technical and analytical review of the Draft Master Plan submitted to Srinagar Development Authority by Hamid Ahmad Wani, professional Urban planner and former chief town planner,Jammu Development Authority. According to the review, a metro city with a land use pattern having more than 64…
Read MorePakistan violates ceasefire in Poonch sector four civilians injured
Four civilians were injured on Sunday in unprovoked firing and shelling by Pakistan troops on the Line of Control (LoC) in Jammu and Kashmir`s Poonch district, officials said. Defence sources said here that Pakistani troops army resorted to unprovoked firing and shelling at two places on the LoC in Poonch, using small arms, automatics and mortars to target Indian positions at Karni and Degwar. “Pakistan ceasefire violation started at 6 p.m. Our troops have effectively and strongly retaliated,” a source said. Police said four civilians including a woman were injured…
Read MoreTracing the life of a ‘Half Widow’: Muslim director, Kashmiri pandit writer join hands for a film
Half widow is a term used extensively in Kashmir for women whose husbands have disappeared mostly in custody of security forces in the past 28 years of conflict. An upcoming film traces the story of one such woman. Kashmir has often attracted filmmakers for the beauty and conflict that the valley brings but an upcoming film will now showcase a Kashmiri perspective. Based on the lives of Kashmir’s ‘half widows’, the movie is generating a lot of buzz for something every native has yearned for – an insider’s view. Interestingly,…
Read MoreHold extra classes to complete syllabus: Edu Dept to schools
The Education Department has instructed all Valley schools to hold extra classes and complete the syllabus on time so as to compensate for the academic losses faced by the students in the past six months. Acknowledging that much of the students’ time had been lost due to the unfavourable circumstances in the Valley since July last year, the department has instructed the schools to devote maximum time to academics. “There is an immense need to dedicate more time to the academics in the educational institutions,” read a circular from the…
Read MoreDisplaced Kashmiri Pandits demand homeland, revocation of Article 370
Convener of Panun Kashmir, Agnishekhar called upon the youth of the community to keep working on “novel instrumentalities of struggle” for a homeland in exile, and to awaken the world against the “Jihad” being unleashed. Panun Kashmir, a representative body of migrant Kashmiri Pandits, on Sunday demanded revocation of the contentious Article 370 which gives special status to Jammu and Kashmir, and the creation of a separate homeland for the community within the state. At the body’s annual national convention at Jammu, several resolutions were passed which besides revocation of…
Read MoreNC calls for two-day bandh, protests across Doda against abrogation attempts
BJP rubbishes opposition parties’ claims The tug of war continues between the opposition parties and the Bharatiya Janata party over the attempts being made to abrogate the Article 35 (A) of Indian constitution. To gain public support against the abrogation of the provision, Opposition National Conference kick-started an awareness campaign in Doda district with its district senior vice-president, Doda, Dr Raiz Bhaderwahi asking party functionaries here to mobilise public support to defend the state subject laws. He also called for a two-day strike and massive protests across Doda district on…
Read MoreTariq Karra to defend ‘Article 35A’ in apex court
At a time when mainstream parties and separatist leaders are busy playing the blame game over the erosion of the special constitutional status of J&K within the Union of India, senior Congress leader Tariq Hameed Karra filed a plea in the Supreme Court to defend Article 35A. The Supreme Court accepted the application seeking Karra as a private party in the case of Article 35A of Indian Constitution, which empowers the J&K legislature to define permanent residents of the state. “I have filed the application today before the registry of…
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