Month: June 2018

President approves governor’s rule in Jammu and Kashmir

Editor

President Ram Nath Kovind today approved the imposition of governor’s rule in Jammu and Kashmir, a day after the BJP pulled out of its alliance with the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Jammu and Kashmir. Following the President’s approval, governor NN Vohra will be presiding over the state. He’s doing do for the fourth time, having overseen governor’s rule in 2008, 2015 and 2016. Vohra was set to complete his second term in a few days, butis now set to continue in Raj Bhavan at least till the conclusion of…

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Locals youth ‘Used as Human Shields’ during protest in Pampore

Editor

Residents of Samboora, Pampore, have accused army of harassment a day after a video showed soldiers using a few youth as human shields against a group of youth with whom they had been clashing in the same area. One of the youths told Kashmir Post on the condition of anonymity (as he apprehends reprisals) that they were playing cricket when the soldiers grabbed them by their collars and dragged them to the road, where people had been protesting. Local residents had prevented the forces from carrying out searches in the…

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BJP cuts ties with PDP: Mehbooba Mufti was lonely at the top, stays lonely at the bottom

Editor

Mehbooba Mufti had the chance to repair the damage after her father, Mufti Mohammad Sayeed, died while in office, but she took centre stage, and swiftly moved from being a soft separatist to being what many in Kashmir called an ultranationalist. Driving through the picturesque countryside in South Kashmir, where she was campaigning for the 2014 assembly elections, Mehbooba Mufti was clear about one thing. “There is no question of allying with the BJP. We have nothing in common,’’ she told me as she hopped in and out of the…

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A reluctant BJP & PDP alliance that wasn’t meant to be

Editor

Mehbooba Mufti was in her office in the Srinagar Civil Secretariat on Tuesday afternoon when news flashed that the BJP had ended the alliance with the PDP; also marking the sudden and surprising end to the 26-month rule of J&K’s first woman Chief Minister. An official at the Civil Secretariat said the CM was shocked and asked the officials to confirm the news. The alliance was a razor edge walk for both parties, which have opposing geneses, different vote banks, rivalling ideologies and no common ground. The PDP, a party…

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End of the affair in J&K: Why BJP dumped PDP

Editor

The scale of security operations in the Valley, a deteriorating law and order situation, increased cases of attack on security personnel and feedback from party leaders made the BJP decide to pull out, sources say. The decision of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) to withdraw from the Jammu and Kashmir government stemmed from its desire to protect its “core support base”, especially in Jammu, avoid future “political costs” at the national level that would have come with staying on in the alliance in the run-up to the 2019 general elections,…

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PDP & BJP era comes to an end, BJP pulls out of J&K coalition govt with PDP

Editor

BJP pulled out of the alliance with Mehbooba Mufti’s PDP in Jammu and Kashmir. The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Tuesday announced it was leaving the Jammu and Kashmir government, ending its alliance with chief minister Mehbooba Mufti People’s Democratic Party (PDP). “It has become untenable for the BJP to continue with the alliance in Jammu and Kashmir,” said senior BJP leader Ram Madhav at a press conference in Delhi. The two parties formed a coalition government in 2015 after elections threw up a hung assembly, but they were ideologically divided…

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Five point formula baseline for talks: Separatist Groups

Editor

With clamour rising over talks, an amalgam of separatist groups headed by Syed Ali Geelani said on Tuesday that the five-point formula of 2010 provides a “baseline” for dialogue with New Delhi. GA Gulzar, the chief spokesman of Geelani-led Hurriyat Conference, said the five-point formula which was presented by the separatist amalgam during the 2010 unrest provided “a baseline for any dialogue.” The five points proposed by Geelani in 2010 include repeal of “black laws”, demilitarisation of the populated area, release of political prisoners, recognition of Kashmir dispute and punishment…

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Kejriwal attacks Modi govt, sit-in protest at LG Baijal’s office enters 3rd day

Editor

Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal on Wednesday accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government of using senior civil servants to scuttle his work, commenting as his sit-in protestat lieutenant governor Anil Baijal’s office entered its third day. “Aren’t IAS officers merely tools being used by Modi govt to scuttle good work being done by Del govt (sic)? Is it possible for IAS officers to return to work without green signal from PMO?” said Kejriwal on Twitter about his allegation that civil servants of the Indian Administrative Service are not cooperating with…

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Caught between the limited resources, Kashmiri’s are forces to eat dog food

Editor

Punjabi poultry farmers have used politics to retain Kashmir as their main market to sell used layers and parents’ chicks’ that otherwise is dog food. We report the costs that consumers pay for making the cheap and sub-standard poultry as part of their food chain Caught between the limited resources and his family’s love for the meat, Rafiq Ahmad, a man in mid-forties, turned jubilant when one of biryani-selling kiosk owners in Lal Chowk informed him that he can get a kilogram of dressed chicken for Rs 840. The mere…

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Kashmir dispute above Indian constitution: Hurriyat (G)

Editor

Terming Kashmir dispute as above the Indian constitution, Hurriyat Conference (G) chief spokesperson G. A. Gulzar said that the only acceptable solution to this vexed issue lies in the compliance of the United Nations Resolutions on Kashmir. Elaborating the crystal clear stand of All Parties Hurriyat Conference, the spokesperson said that the five point formula presented by Hurriyat Conference in 2010, provides a baseline for any dialogue with India. The spokesperson further clarified that this formula lays down the criteria that unless India accepts Kashmir as a dispute, it would…

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