Year: 2018

Mass outpouring of grief and anger as mourners bury the dead

Editor

There was scarcely anyone in the village of Amshipora who had managed to sleep through the night. Songs of freedom and defiance playing on the mosque loudspeaker kept everyone up. In any case, the anguish of losing a bright young man of the village was so deep that somehow everyone felt that they must mourn with the Dars by staying close to them. AitimadHussain Dar was twenty-six-year-old with an MPhil from Hyderabad University. He was killed by the government forces with four of his comrades in a long gunfight in…

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Kashmir on edge again as resistance extend strike by a day

Editor

A day after the killing of 12 militants and four civilians in security forces operations, Kashmir remained on edge and the strike called by separatists and restrictions imposed by authorities paralysed normal life in Kashmir. Tension prevailed in south, central and north Kashmir today and authorities enforced curfew-like restrictions in parts of south Kashmir and Srinagar to foil anti-India protests and prevent youth from taking to roads and indulging in stone pelting. The police, paramilitary and army men were deployed in strength in the curfew-bound areas to enforce the restrictions…

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Killings of civilians in Kashmir ‘Needs to be Investigated’: UN Spokesperson

Editor

The recent killings of civilians in Kashmir “needs to be investigated,” Stephane Dijarric, the spokesperson for Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said Monday as protests swept the state. “Civilians have to be protected wherever they are, whether it is in Gaza, whether it is in Jammu and Kashmir, whether it is in Yemen; it is a basic principle,” he said in reply to a reporter’s question. “Any loss of civilians needs to be investigated wherever they occur.” Four civilians were killed in Shopian district during operations against militants on Sunday. Three soldiers…

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Pellet horror revisits SMHS Hospital, scores facing risk of blindness

Editor

Horror wreaked by pellet ammunition in 2016 has revisited the SMHS Hospital, where at least 41 youths who suffered pellet injuries in anti-government protests in Shopian on Sunday face imminent partial or complete blindness. In Ward No. 8, 14-year-old Murtaza Hussain writhes in pain. Both his eyes are bandaged shut. An unspecified number of metal pellets have penetrated his face and eyes. He couldn’t get a wink of sleep last night, his uncle Ghulam Ahmad said. But more than the pain, Hussain’s family is worried about the ultimate nightmare the…

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Students, Traders protest Shopian civilian killings, Complete shutdown across Kashmir

Editor

Local traders and students on Monday protested against the killings of civilians in south Kashmir’s Shopian district on Sunday. Carrying placards and raising slogans, a group of traders under the banner of the Kashmir Traders and Manufacturers Federation assembled at the Ghanta Ghar in the city’s Lal Chowk and raised slogans against the government. They demanded that the killing spree in the Valley should be stopped. “Killing of innocent civilians is a deep-rooted conspiracy ….this is unfortunate…we urge the Indian civil society and international bodies such as Amnesty International to…

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Don’t expect Kashmiris to buy our narrative: Sanjiv Bhatt on Shopian Civilian killings

Editor

Raising questions over use of bullets on protestors in Kashmir, a police officer who took on Narendra Modi government over 2002 Gujarat riots, on Monday drew comparisons between crowd control measures in the Valley and rest of India. Taking to Twitter, the 1988 batch Indian Police Officer Sanjiv Bhatt wrote: “Four civilians killed when police opened fire on stone-throwing demonstrators in Kashmir”. Bhatt said that Kashmiris “cannot be expected to buy our narrative” since two different approaches are used in Kashmir and rest of India. “Lethal bullets for crowd control…

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Life paralysed across Kashmir post Shopian encounter, Mobile Internet, Train Services Shut

Editor

Life came to a grinding halt across Kashmir on Monday in wake of 13 militant and four civilian killings in south Kashmir’s Shopian district yesterday which has led to massive anger among the population. The authorities apprehending large scale protests have put restrictions at numerous places across Kashmir. Internet services continue to remain suspended on second straight day. Commercial establishments and offices are also closed, while government ordered closure of all educational institutions on Monday. Joint Resistance Leadership has called for shutdown in the Valley today. All examinations scheduled on…

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4 Killed in clashes in MP, Violence reported from several states during Bharat bandh

Editor

Dalit protests turned violent in various parts of the country during ‘Bharat Bandh’ called by Dalit organisations against a Supreme Court order diluting The Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act 1989. Here are the live updates Four people were killed in Madhya Pradesh on Monday during ‘Bharat Bandh’ called by various Dalit organistaions to protest the alleged dilution of the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act 1989. While one person died during clashes in Morena, two protesters were killed and eighteen others injured in police firing in Gwalior.…

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Achee Din: Petrol price hits 4 year high, Diesel at highest level

Editor

Petrol price today hit a four-year high of Rs 73.73 a litre while diesel rates touched an all-time high of Rs 64.58 in the national capital, renewing calls for the government to cut excise tax rates. State-owned oil firms, which have been since June last year revising auto fuel prices daily, today raised petrol and diesel rates by 18 paise per litre each in Delhi, according to a price notification. Petrol in the national capital now costs Rs 73.73 a litre, the highest since September 14, 2014 when rates had…

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Single BJP MP from Jammu more active in Parliament than all Kashmiri MPs put together

Editor

An analysis of performance of Kashmiri MPs in the Parliament shows they were far behind their counterparts from other states in highlighting issues of the state. The review of their performance, based on key parameters like attendance, questions asked, participation in debates, shows they lagged even behind the BJP MPs from Jammu. Sample this: BJP lawmaker Jugal Kishore, who represents Jammu- Poonch parliamentary segment, has raised 217 state and constituency specific questions during the past four years. The number of queries brought into the notice of the Parliament by Kishore…

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