Month: January 2018

Two dead as vehicle rolls down gorge in Kishtwar

Editor

Two persons were killed when a vehicle they were travelling in skidded off the road and rolled down into a deep gorge in Kishtwar district. The incident took place around 10 km from the district headquarters yesterday in the Bandarkote area of Kishtwar. Locals and a police team rushed to the spot and started the rescue operation and shifted the bodies to a hospital. The deceased were identified as Mohammed Ayoub (22) of Gundana, Doda and Adil Hussain (21) of Oakhyarbad, Kishtwar. The police have registered a case in this…

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Multiple funerals for Jaish militants in Pulwama

Editor

16-yr-old Fardeen’s video recorded before attack on CRPF camp goes viral Manzoor wanted his property to be distributed among his kin Multiple funeral prayers were held for two Jaish militants Manzoor Ahmad Baba and 16-year-old Fardeen Ahmad Khanday, who were killed in fidayeen attack on CRPF camp at Lethpora in Pulwama district yesterday, at their native places in south Kashmir on Monday. Manzoor, 19, son of late Ali Mohammad Baba, was laid to rest in his native village of Drabgam in Pulwama this afternoon. Despite restrictions, thousands of people participated…

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Non-locals take away major chunk of jobs across Kashmir Valley

Editor

Even as unemployment level has increased in Kashmir the non-locals are doing most of the jobs here and have turned to shop keeping and vending as well. Most of the workforce of carpenters, painters and masons is now being provided by outsiders. In Lal Chowk non-locals could be seen running vends as well as working as salesmen. The trend raises questions on whether Kashmiri youth are only looking at government jobs as means of employment. At Sarai-Bala, near the Dastageer Sahab shrine, almost every stall owner is a non local.…

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With 124 Armed Forces, 217 Militants, 108 Civilians killings 2017 was deadlier than 2016

Editor

The year 2017 witnessed a surge in human rights abuses in Jammu and Kashmir as compared with last year; the year witnessed a total of 450 killings which included civilians, militants and armed forces, reads the annual human rights review prepared by Jammu and Kashmir Coalition of Civil Society (JKCCS). As many as 450 persons including 124 armed forces, 217 militants, 108 civilians and one pro-government gunman were killed in 2017. “This year witnessed a spike in the killings of local militants. At least 84 militants belonging to different parts…

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The return of Kashmiri Fidayeen, Youngster pull a rare mark of fidayeen attack

Editor

The bloodied start to the New Year in Kashmir has also made an alarming re-introduction to a dangerous element to the region’s insurgency as Kashmiri militants have been identified as the fidayeen attackers. Class X student Fardeen Ahmad Khanday and cab driver Manzoor Ahmad Baba were identified by the police as the two of the three gunmen who carried out the fidayeen attack on a CRPF camp at Lethpora, outside Srinagar city. The two militants were residents of Pulwama district. Even as fidayeen attacks have continued with frequent pauses in…

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Rare role of Kashmiris in suicide attack sparks concerns, 16-year-old Pulwama attacker urges Kashmiris to fight India

Editor

Jaish-e-Mohammed, the terror group responsible for the Pulwama attack, justified using a minor as a suicide attacker saying the trio offered themselves for “the mission.” Two young Kashmiris, aged 16 and 21, were among the three suicide attackers who targeted the CRPF camp at Lethpora in Pulwama in the Valley on Sunday, resulting in death of five troopers — a fact people in law administration and security forces find worrying because instances of direct local involvement in such attacks is rare. The people added that instances of such involvement are…

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Clashes erupt ahead of slain militant’s funeral in Drubgam, Youth hit by bullet during clashes

Editor

Massive clashes erupted in Drubgam village of Pulwama in south Kashmir on Monday after mourners were prevented from taking part in the last rites of slain Jaish militant Manzoor Ahmad Baba. Baba was killed along with an associate Fardeen Ahmad Khandey after they mounted an attack on CRPF training centre in Lethpora area of Awantipora yesterday. Eye witnesses and reports said that forces had laid an outer cordon to prevent militants from reaching the village to offer gun salute. Soon, clashes erupted as the people staged massive protests. Witnesses said…

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Getting militants to mainstream part of ‘Operation All-out’: DGP Vaid

Editor

Claiming that ‘Operation All-out’ is a holistic strategy to bring back normalcy, J&K Police chief Shesh Paul Vaid today disclosed that they had been able to dissuade at least 70 youth from joining militancy this year. Outlining the achievements of 2017, Vaid said the “fight against terrorism will continue till lasting peace is restored in the state”. “But at the same time, our priority will be to bring the local youth (who have joined militancy) back on the right path. With the collective efforts of parents, civil society and the…

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Spring of Kashmir

Editor

The word spring comes from the German word springer, which refers to “leaping from the ground”. Without going much in scientific definitions, in simple terms it is any natural situation where water flows to the surface of the earth from underground. During my Ph. D work, I have surveyed almost all the areas of Kashmir valley for collection of aquatic plants. In all the districts of Kashmir valley, I have experienced that small springs were the primary source of drinking water and even in most parts small springs water channels…

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At -15.2 degrees, Leh coldest in J&K

Editor

Srinagar city recorded a minimum temperature of minus 3.6 degrees Celsius on Saturday night, while the mercury in Qazigund in south Kashmir settled at a low of minus 4.0 degrees Celsius Leh experienced the coldest night of this winter with the minimum temperature there settling around 15 degrees Celsius below the freezing point, as the mercury continued its downward trend in Kashmir valley and Ladakh region. Leh town, in the frontier Ladakh region of Jammu and Kashmir, recorded a minimum temperature of minus 15.2 degrees Celsius on Saturday night, against…

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