Month: August 2018

Kashmir Inc begins protests in Srinagar against attacks on Article 35A

Editor

The business community of Kashmir on Wednesday launched its week-long protest programme with a silent protest march to “protect” Article 35-A from any onslaughts. Several business bodies took part in the silent protest march from Residency Road to Press Enclave here. Speaking on the occasion, president Kashmir Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Javid Ahmad Tenga said the people of Jammu and Kashmir are ready to sacrifice everything and will shed their last drop of blood to defend the Article 35-A. Mubeen Ahmed Shah, a senior member of KCCI said that…

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No presence of ISIS in Kashmir Valley, only cases of waving of flags: Hansraj Gangaram

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No militant of the ISJK, an outfit influenced by ISIS ideology, is active in Jammu and Kashmir and the extent of ISIS presence in the state was till recently limited to waving flags of the global group and Pakistan, Union minister Hansraj Gangaram Ahir said today. Appropriate action under law has been taken against those who were involved in cases of waving ISIS and Pakistani flags in Jammu and Kashmir, the minister said. There were eight such cases in 2015, 31 cases in 2016 and five cases in 2017. “Till…

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Much awaited night flights to operate at Srinagar Airport from Aug 10

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In a significant development, the Srinagar International Airport would operate night flights from August 10. “The much awaited night flights will operate from Srinagar airport from August 10,” Director Srinagar International Airport, Aakash Deep Mathur told reporters while addressing a press conference here. He said all the required night landing equipment has been installed at the Srinagar airport by Airport Authority of India (AAI). Mathur said two airlines — Indigo and Go Air — have agreed to operate night flights. “After installation of night-landing equipment, the decision to make night…

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Talib Hussain, Man who led stir for Kathua victim held on rape charge

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Talib Hussain, who was at the forefront of demonstrations seeking justice in the rape and murder of an eight-year-old Bakerwal girl from Rasana in Kathua district, has been arrested by the Samba police on the charge of raping a married woman in the Majalta forest area in Udhampur. “He was arrested from the Tral area of Pulwama district in south Kashmir on Tuesday and brought to Samba following a written complaint of a married woman who has accused him of raping her in a jungle about one and a half…

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Fugitive Vijay Mallya’s Kashmir connection

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Some 25 kms from Srinagar, a quiet and serene village on Srinagar-Bandipora Road, at first glance, looks unassuming. The village is nestled among beautiful fruit orchards. It is quiet. It was once home to one of Kashmir’s most cherished fruits – indigenous Kashmir melons. Close by flows the River Jhelum, in its broadest width in the valley. It looks majestic here. It is a place that Britishers and Indian travellers would stop by on their Jhelum boat journeys to north Kashmir. In the 1990s, the area was part of the…

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Kashmir’s political parties and separatists unite, threaten mass agitation ahead of Article 35A case hearing in SC

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Tensions are simmering in the Kashmir Valley where civil society groups and people across the political spectrum are threatening to launch a mass agitation in the wake of the hearing on Article 35A of the Indian Constitution before the Supreme Court on 6 August, amid apprehensions that the law may be struck down. Article 35A, the Jammu and Kashmir State Subject Law which defines permanent residents of the state and prevents non-locals from buying or owning property in the state, has been challenged by an NGO, ‘We the Citizens’, and…

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Tinkering with Article 35A won’t be tolerated: Joint Resistance Group

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Separatist leaders Mirwaiz Umar Farooq and Yasin Malik on Tuesday said any attempt to change the demography of the state by “tinkering” with Article 35A was “intolerable” and warned that Kashmiris would “spill their blood” to safeguard the identity and character of the state. Mirwaiz, who heads a faction of separatist amalgam Hurriyat Conference, said “no court, whether in India or in Pakistan, has any jurisdiction to take decisions that can in any way affect the disputed status of Jammu and Kashmir”. The Article 35A has been in the eye…

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Washington Post India head awaits permission to cover Kashmir since June 22

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Washington Post’s India bureau chief Annie Gowen has been denied permission to report on Kashmir, she tweeted on Tuesday. The Government of India recently asked foreign correspondents to seek permission in writing for travelling anywhere in Jammu and Kashmir, a move reminiscent of the early 1990s when the Indian government made it impossible for foreign journalists to report from the valley. Gowen said she had applied for permission on June 22 and called the delay “unacceptable”. “I am in Kashmir for a day to attend a friend’s wedding. I am…

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Kashmir parties whipping up emotions over Article 35A: BJP

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The BJP on Tuesday charged Kashmir-centric parties with instigating the masses over Article 35-A, which accords special rights to J&K citizens, just to reap political benefits. The party said the matter was sub judice and raking it up was not healthy for a democracy. “Shockingly, separatist groups as well as some mainstream parties are issuing threatening statements on Article 35-A, whipping up emotions and instigating people to observe protests to mount pressure on the judiciary,” said state BJP president Ravinder Raina while reacting to the announcement of Valley-based organisations to…

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Kashmir Inc announce marathon protest, Tourism, Trade, Transport bodies to hold demonstrations between August 1-7

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Representatives of 27 Kashmir-based trade organisations on Tuesday announced a week-long protest programme beginning Wednesday to “protect” Article 35-A from any tinkering The business associations that recently came together under an umbrella body said the protests will be held by business, transport, horticulture, tourism and industry associations on different dates across Kashmir. Members of the two apex chambers, Kashmir Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Federation Chambers Industries Kashmir along with Batamaloo traders will hold a peaceful sit-in on August 1. Fruit growers and transporters including auto and sumo drivers will…

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