Community Archives | Page 38 of 184

Kashmir and Kangri

January 5, 2022 Editor

Kangri, the firepot, which has served the people of Kashmir for centuries now, is battling for its own survival in the wake of new heating appliances available to the people. In cold and freezing days of winter when the temperature drops below zero, it is kangri that thaws and makes life a little easier. The popularity and utility value of kangri can be gauged from its wide acceptance in Valley; the general percept being that in almost every home in Kashmir you can find a kangri. Its importance is also…

‘Lingering Kashmir conflict continues to consume lives’: Hurriyat (M)

January 5, 2022 Editor

All Parties Hurriyat Conference Tuesday said that 2021 was one more year lost to killings, bloodshed, and violence in J-K -a result of the lingering Kashmir conflict. In a statement issued here, a spokesperson said, “And as the year 2022 begins, each day since its beginning, precious human lives of young boys killed in gunfights are being lost, which is extremely sad.” APHC said that the lingering conflict continues to consume lives on all sides bringing only pain and sorrow with it. “It has been seventy-five years since J-K was…

For ‘Selling’ MBBS seats, Special Investigation Agency of JK Police files charge-sheet against Hurriyat leader and 8 others

December 30, 2021 Editor

The special investigation agency (SIA) of Jammu and Kashmir Police filed its first charge-sheet against nine people, including a Hurriyat leader, in a case related to “selling” of MBBS seats in Pakistan to Kashmiri students and using the money to support and fund terrorism, officials said on Thursday. The case was registered by the Counter Intelligence Kashmir (CIK), a branch of the police’s CID, in July last year after receiving information through reliable sources that several unscrupulous people, including some Hurriyat leaders, were hand in glove with some educational consultancies…

Kins, Relatives of slain ultras joining militancy in Kashmir: Study

December 27, 2021 Editor

The research further reveals that 68 percent of respondents in the study stated that before and after the death of the militant, they faced isolation from the society Zulfikar Majid The lingering conflict in Kashmir Valley is pushing people to quagmire as sons and close relatives of those militants, who were killed in the 1990s are joining militant outfits and subsequently getting killed. A recent Sociological study done by Dr. Asima Hassan from the University of Kashmir, reveals that in 21 percent of cases the second member of the family/extended…

Anjuman-e-Auqaf condemns closure of Jamia Masjid for Friday prayers for the 20th straight week

December 25, 2021 Editor

Anjuman Auqaf Jamia Masjid Srinagar has expressed strong resentment over the continuous closure and disallowing of Friday prayers at Jamia Masjid, Jammu & Kashmir’s largest place of worship, for the 20th straight week. In a statement issued here, the Anjuman said: “The Anjuman and the Muslims of Kashmir are unable to understand that on the one hand, all the places of worship, Mosques, Shrines, Imambargahs and Khanqahs in Jammu and Kashmir are open for Friday prayers, but only Jamia Masjid Srinagar continues to be selectively banned and restricted from holding…

Secret burials in faraway places denies kins of slain militants right to grieve

December 24, 2021 Editor

Since April of last year, the government has used COVID-19 as a premise to avoid returning the bodies of slain militants in Kashmir to their kin. By: Siddiqa Ahmed One sunny morning, we entered the modest home of Abdul Rashid Wani. Wani is a farmer from the Pulwama district in southern Kashmir. The wiry, middle-aged man directed us to his damp living room and began frantically puffing away at his jajeer (Kashmiri hookah). Then he began narrating the story of his son, Junaid Rashid. A former college student, 20-year-old Rashid…

Govt identifies 19 ‘Transit Accommodations’ across Kashmir for pandits

December 11, 2021 Editor

In order to rehabilitate the Kashmir pandits who have or will return to Kashmir for job opportunities, the government has identified 19 locations in the valley to build 6000 flats for their transit accommodation. The project is a part of the Prime Minister’s Development Package [PMDP] in which the Government of India [GoI] was supposed to provide 6000 state government jobs and the construction of 6000 transit accommodations to the displaced Kashmiri Pandits. The total cost of the package has been estimated at Rs 920 crore. Talking to NW, Nazim…

International bodies should help resolve Kashmir Issue: Hurriyat(M)

December 11, 2021 Editor

The Hurriyat Conference, led by Mirwaiz Umar Farooq, on Friday appealed to the international human rights organizations to play their part in “ensuring” that the “Kashmir conflict is resolved” and the fundamental human rights of the people of J&K are “respected and reinstated”. In a statement issued on International Human Rights Day, Hurriyat said that for the last three decades, the “abysmal” human rights situation in J&K due to the “lingering conflict” had shown no sign of improvement. “Instead, it has grown worse. Since August 5, 2019 (when the Centre…

506 Inquiries, Zero Reports: How Kashmir’s ‘Probes’ have little meaning

December 1, 2021 Editor

Around 506 magisterial probes have been ordered by the administration, of which only one is completed. Ishfaq Reshi Following the massive outrage over the killing of three civilians in an alleged Hyderpora gunfight on 15 November, Lieutenant-Governor (L-G) Manoj Sinha-led administration swung into action and ordered a magisterial probe into the killings on an immediate basis. This was not the first time that a probe was ordered to bring justice to victims killed by security forces. In the past, hundreds of such cases have been reported in the region, but…

Why is anger rising over secretive militant burials in Kashmir?

December 1, 2021 Editor

Families of militants killed by Indian forces are decrying a ban on returning the bodies. Authorities have cited COVID-19 and fears of new recruitment as reasons for burying those killed in remote border areas. Mushtaq Ahmad Wani cried out for public support after Indian security forces refused to return the body of his teenage son, who was killed in a controversial operation on the outskirts of Srinagar, Jammu, and Kashmir. “Today it’s about my son. Tomorrow it will be your son as well,” Wani shouted while he was being taken…