Year: 2018

Haseeb Drabu, the man who helped stitch PDP-BJP Alliance in J&K

Editor

Known to be a ‘Sympathiser’ of the Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF) in its initial years, Drabu, a former Jammu and Kashmir Bank Chairman and a loyalist of then PDP chief Mufti Mohammad Sayeed, was appointed by the party to do the maths with the BJP over a possible government formation in the state. In 2015, history was created in Kashmir. For the first time, the BJP had made inroads into the valley and was about to form a government with the PDP. The alliance was about to be…

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Bail granted to Kashmiri photojournalist Kamran Yusuf

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Photojournalist Kamran Yusuf, arrested by the NIA in September for allegedly encouraging stone pelting and mobilising support against security personnel, was granted bail by a special court here on Monday, officials said. Without giving further details, the NIA officials confirmed that Yusuf had been granted bail. He was arrested by the agency on September 5 for allegedly indulging in stone pelting and mobilising support against security personnel through social media. According to the NIA, Yusuf was allegedly involved in stone pelting incidents besides organising groups of youths who would throw…

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For saying Kashmir isn’t a political issue Haseeb Drabu removed from cabinet

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Taking a tough stand, ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) on Monday dropped finance minister Haseeb Drabu from the council of ministers over his remarks that Kashmir “isn’t a political issue” but a society with “social issues.” Top sources said the PDP shot a letter to Raj Bhavan informing the governor NN Vohra about the decision. Drabu remark during a function in New Delhi that Kashmir “isn’t a political issue” had earned him ire of the party, opposition, separatist and trade bodies. On Sunday, the party had asked him to explain…

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Three suicides in four days

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Three soldiers, posted in Jammu and Kashmir, committed suicide in separate incidents over the last four days. Constable Prukha Sukhdev of the 79 Battalion of the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF), posted in the Sonwar area of Srinagar, shot himself with his service rifle inside the camp on Saturday morning, March 10. The jawan died on the spot, added a police officer. Sepoy Birender Sinha, who was posted at the 30 Rashtriya Rifles of camp at Langate in Jammu and Kashmir’s Kupwara district, committed suicide by shooting himself with his…

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Kashmir teaches ‘Art of leaving’ to Sri Sri Ravi Shankar, Welcomed with ‘Azadi’ slogans

Editor

Noisy scenes marred Art of Living founder’s peace conference in Srinagar on Saturday. Agitated participants from different parts of the Valley were allegedly ‘tricked’ to take part in the event  Sri Sri Ravi Shankar, founder of Art of Living (AOL), had to cut short his speech and a subsequent press conference in Srinagar as several people attending the function stood up and shouted slogans in favour of “Azadi” and militants on Saturday. Noisy scenes marred an otherwise well attended function organised by AOL at the Sher-e-Kashmir International Convention Centre as…

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Free Wifi, other facilities at Tulip Garden this year

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Visitors to Asia’s largest Tulip Garden on the banks of Dal Lake here can enjoy free wi-fi access, in addition to many other new facilities, when the garden opens to public later this month. The Tulip garden will be thrown open to public on March 25. “With the need of staying connected increasing by the day, the floriculture department, in collaboration with the BSNL, is providing free wi-fi connectivity to visitors,” Floriculture Director Mathoora Masoom told PTI. Masoom said several other initiatives have been taken to make the visitors, a…

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Dineshwar Sharma says he is hopeful of peaceful summer, but future holds risks

Editor

The government appears to be cautiously optimistic about the situation in Kashmir, but there are worrying portents on the ground. The Centre’s Representative for talks in Kashmir, Dineshwar Sharma, says he is `hopeful of a peaceful summer this year.’ He bases that hope on his ‘faith in the people of Jammu & Kashmir, particularly the youth,’ adding that ‘they understand that all their problems can be addressed only when there is peace.’ That sort of hope needs to be tempered with caution, however. To be sure, the government’s statistics of…

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Tamil superstar Rajinikanth in Reasi, pays obeisance at Shiv Khori

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Ahead of starting political career, Tamil superstar Rajinikanth on Sunday paid obeisance at Shiv Khori in Reasi district of Jammu and Kashmir. Rajini is on 15-day spiritual pilgrimage to Himalayas and in this regard he visited Shiv Khori cave located at Ransoo, a village in the Pouni block in Reasi district, 80 kilometers from here. Rajinikanth said, “I am on a pilgrimage here. It is so divine and different from routine”. “Earlier, I have been to Himachal, Kashmir, I am visiting Jammu for the very first time. After this I…

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Communalists won’t let Kathua minor rape victim rest in peace

Editor

She was an innocent Gujjar girl before her life was cut short by some monsters. The brutes also outraged her modesty. This horrendous crime took place in Rasana village in the Hiranagar belt of Kathua in Jammu where she used to take to the dusty streets like any other child of her age. She was just eight years old. This terrible crime has been communalised by political groups looking for electoral dividends in their respective areas of influence where they think that exploitation of this incident would fetch them Muslim…

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Angry PDP raps Haseeb Drabu after his controversial statement on Kashmir Issue

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Asks state FM to withdraw statement that goes against party’s agenda Explanation sought Two days after state Finance Minister Haseeb Drabu said “Kashmir should not be seen as a political problem,” his party today hit out at him saying that J&K was a political problem and its resolution formed the PDP’s core agenda. Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti’s uncle and party’s second in command Sartaj Madni asked senior PDP minister Drabu, credited with forging party’s alliance with the BJP in 2015, to “retract the statement immediately if it has been reported…

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