Year: 2020

BJP, RSS will sink in game of communal politics: Farooq Abdullah

Editor

National Conference (NC) president Farooq Abdullah today said the BJP and Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) would “sink” in the “game” of “communal politics” played by its leaders. “If anybody is playing communal politics today….the BJP is playing, RSS is playing. We have never played this game. They are playing and they will sink in this game,” Farooq told reporters on the sidelines of a function held here to pay tributes to JKNC founder Sheikh Mohammad Abdullah on his 38th death anniversary. He said this when asked for comments over BJP…

Read More

UN calls for probe into rights violations in Kashmir

Editor

The UN has again called on India to probe alleged cases of forced disappearance and mass graves in Jammu and Kashmir. In a letter this week addressed to the Indian government, at least nine UN rapporteurs also asked New Delhi to reconsider the closure of the State Human Rights Commission (SHRC) in the disputed region. “We urge [India]…and local authorities in Jammu and Kashmir to undertake prompt, thorough and impartial investigations into all alleged enforced disappearances…and take measures to identify the remains in each of the thousands of unmarked graves,”…

Read More

Civil Society Kashmir opposes Centre’s move to promote Devanagri Script

Editor

The Group of Concerned Citizens (GCC), a Kashmir-based civil society body of former bureaucrats, vice-chancellors and academicians, on Friday expressed its concern over the promotion of the Devanagri script instead of the Nastaliq style for the Kashmiri language, and the threat posed to Urdu due to the new Bill introduced in the Parliament. The members of the GCC, in a joint statement, pointed out that the Common Locale Data Repository (CLDR), a project of the Unicode consortium for preparation of required data, is using the Devanagari script instead of its…

Read More

Amid border tensions with India, China throws open Pangong Tso Lake for international tourists

Editor

After facing pushback from the Indian army at the Line of Actual Control, China has now resorted to newer strategies to make their side stronger. China has now thrown open the Pangong Tso Lake to international tourists and domestic tourists as well. The move comes just days after India asked China not to escalate matters at the Line of Actual Control. A recent meeting took place wherein India’s Defence Minister met Chinese counterpart in Moscow, to discuss the India-China border standoff. The videos of opening Pangong Tso Lake to the…

Read More

J&K performs poorly in BARP ranking, secures 21st rank Andhra tops ‘Ease of doing Business’

Editor

Andhra Pradesh for the third time in a row has topped in the ease of doing annual business ranking of states and Union Territories by the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT). The ranking is based on the implementation of the business reform action plan 2019 by states and UTs, according to a report released by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Saturday. The exercise is aimed at promoting competition among states with a view to improving the business climate to attract domestic as well as foreign investments.…

Read More

Kashmir Issue to remain on UN agenda until resolution

Editor

The Foreign Office Saturday said it would ensure that Kashmir remained on the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) agenda until its resolution. “Pakistan will ensure that the India-Pakistan question remains on the agenda of the UN Security Council until resolution of Jammu and Kashmir dispute in accordance with relevant UNSC resolutions,” Foreign Office spokesperson Zahid Hafeez Chaudhri, told Arab News. Earlier this week, India was striving to convince the world body to permanently remove the Jammu and Kashmir issue from the council agenda, describing it as an outdated item since…

Read More

Experts warn China-India standoff risks unintentional war

Editor

Aijaz Hussain As a monthslong military standoff between India and China along their disputed mountain border protracts, experts warn that the nuclear-armed countries — which already have engaged in their bloodiest clash in decades — could unintentionally slide into war. For 45 years, a series of agreements, written and unwritten, maintained an uneasy truce along the border on the eastern edge of the Himalayan region of Kashmir. But moves and clashes over the past few months have made the situation unpredictable, raising the risk that a miscalculation from either side…

Read More

OIC Reiterates ‘Unstinting Support’ to Kashmiri’s right to Self-Determination

Editor

The Organisation of Islamic Cooperation’s Secretary General Dr Yousef Al-Othaimeen on Tuesday met Pakistan’s permanent representative to the OIC Ambassador Rizwan Saeed Sheikh in Jeddah and reiterated the organisation’s continuing support for the people of Kashmir in their right to self-determination, reported foreign media. Pakistan’s OIC mission said in a tweet the permanent representative briefed the secretary general on the worsening human rights abuses in the part of Kashmir administered by India. The disputed Himalayan valley is claimed in full by Pakistan and India, both of whom rule parts of…

Read More

PDP holding first meet post revocation of Article 370

Editor

The authorities did not allow the first-ever meeting of the People’s Democratic Party post August 5 last year without assigning any reasons, according to a senior party functionary who had convened the meeting on Thursday morning to discuss the political situation as a consequence of abrogation of Article 370. The PDP had sought permission for holding a meeting at its office in Srinagar, but without assigning any reason, the meeting was not allowed, according to PDP general secretary Ghulam Nabi Lone Hanjura. The meeting was scheduled for 11 am on…

Read More

Nine years on and missing several deadlines, Qazigund-Banihal tunnel yet to complete

Editor

Even as its construction was started nine years ago, the new Qazigund-Banihal tunnel is yet to complete despite missing several deadlines. The project was envisaged to avoid frequent closure of Jawahar tunnel that leaves Kashmir Valley cut off from rest of the country. Initially set to be completed by June 2016, the work on the Rs 2100 crore ambitious project has seen hiccups since its inception in 2011 due both to financial constraints and the concessionaire’s lethargic approach. In 2011, the National Highway Authority of India (NHAI) commissioned construction of…

Read More