Month: June 2018

J&K Police withdraws plea to shift Kathua accused to Pathankot jail

Editor

The Jammu and Kashmir police on Monday withdrew its application requesting that the seven accused in the Kathua rape and murder case be moved to a Pathankot jail after the Punjab government told the court that their prisons were overcrowded, officials said. The issue came up as daily hearing in the case of the rape and murder of an eight-year-old girl from a minority nomadic community in Kathua resumed in the court of District and Sessions Judge Tejwinder Singh after the weekend. The counsel for the Jammu and Kashmir police…

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Infinite quest for permanent solution in J&K: An unconventional roadmap towards a permanent solution

Editor

Well, as a fiction author, I often am in a position to take liberties which policy makers and people in decision making positions can’t. This ‘wishful thinking” it the audacity of hope and optimism. My latest book, “When The Chief Fell in Love” has a maverick futuristic chapter set in the Kashmir of 2030. It imagines a Kashmir where all is well and working backwards, spells out a broad roadmap towards achieving that utopian solution to the Kashmir dispute. Peeling off some of the surreal elements of the roadmap and…

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4 Cops, 12 Civilians injured in Shopian grenade attack: Police

Editor

Police on Monday said that 16 persons were injured when militants lobbed a grenade at Batapora area of south Kashmir’s Shopian district. A police spokesperson said the grenade exploded inflicting injuries to several civilians and few policemen. He said the grenade exploded along the roadside amid the civilian population. “Around 12 civilians are reportedly injured in this explosion. A young girl has received critical injuries in this explosion while four policemen also sustained injuries in this incident,” he said. He said the injured have been shifted to nearby hospital for…

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Poplar: The devil of Kashmir

Editor

Poplars locally called cottonwood tree are fast-growing, weak-wooded trees that lack ornamental flowers and fruits. Many species are native to the U.S. and prefer moist soils. Some poplars grow more than 70 feet tall and the deciduous leaves are alternate, simple and usually have coarse toothed margins. The trees have a yellow fall color. Wind-pollinated flowers usually appear in the spring before leaves unfold during March to May. Trees have either male (staminate) or female (pistillate) flowers that are located in drooping catkins. When fruits mature, the capsules split open…

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Ultimate wake-up call for New Delhi

Editor

The happenings in the ongoing month of Ramadan should serve as an ultimate wake-up call for New Delhi about the enormity of the situation in Kashmir. It is headed towards a catastrophe. The place is becoming immune to all sorts of measures initiated to help it come out of the vortex of violence and bloodshed. And, the simple reason is that the anti-peace forces are violently jolting the structure of peace and normalcy that the Centre so painstakingly attempted to build by announcing ceasefire during this month of prayers. New…

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Local recruitment in militant groups rising: Agencies

Editor

The unilateral ceasefire during the holy month of Ramzan may have brought a halt to anti-militancy operations in Kashmir but security agencies have warned of a rise in recruitment of local youth into militant groups, that has crossed 80. Security officials said more youth from the highly-volatile Shopian and Pulwama districts in south Kashmir continued to join militant groups, including ISIS-Kashmir and Ansar Ghazwat-ul-Hind, a group which claims support of the Al-Qaeda. As many as 20 more youth have joined the militant groups in May, the officials said. The officials…

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CRPF terms ‘Run over’ charges ‘Baseless’ even as victim’s family presses for murder case

Editor

Ahmed died on Friday after being run over by a CRPF vehicle outside Jamia Masjid—Kashmir’s largest mosque—after he offered prayers. Meanwhile, Ahmed’s family has demanded that CRPF personnel, including a senior officer who was in the vehicle, be booked for murder. Even as Kaiser succumbed to his injuries on Friday, Mohammad Younis Bhat was wounded and is undergoing treatment at the Sher-I-Kashmir Institute of Medical Sciences (SKIMS). Ahmed’s family said he had not been pelting stones and was heading home to the nearby Fatehkadal area on his motorbike. Jammu and…

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Time right, Talk to save Kashmir, separatists must join: Mehbooba Mufti

Editor

Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti on Sunday said now was the right time for separatists to come forward for dialogue. She said the unilateral ceasefire and dialogue offer “opportunity does not come every day”. “We always say that J&K is a political problem and needs a solution. The Army, CRPF or the police cannot resolve it. It can only be resolved politically through dialogue and when there is an offer of dialogue from the Centre, I request all stakeholders to come forward to save J&K and its economy,” Mehbooba said while…

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Ceasefire means no guns so use jeeps: Omar Abdullah

Editor

National Conference Working President Omar Abdullah on Saturday asked the Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti to explain if driving jeeps over protesters was the new standard operating procedure of her government. “Earlier they tied people to the fronts of jeeps & paraded them around villages to deter protestors now they just drive their jeeps right over protestors. Is this your new SOP @MehboobaMufti sahiba? Ceasefire means no guns so use jeeps?” tweeted Omar Abdullah. He was reacting to the pictures of youth being run over by a CRPF…

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Internet suspended in Srinagar, Budgam after youth run over by CRPF vehicle dies

Editor

Mobile Internet service was suspended in Srinagar and Budgam districts early Saturday after a youth run over by a CRPF vehicle yesterday succumbed to his injuries. Kaiser Ahmed, 21, was ploughed down by the Central Reserve Police Force vehicle in the old city area of Nowhatta during protests on Friday. Ahmed was admitted to Sher-e-Kashmir Institute of Medical Sciences (SKIMS), here. He succumbed to critical internal injuries early on Saturday. Internet services in Srinagar and Badgam districts have been suspended as a precautionary measure, a police officer said. The speed…

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