Category: Community

India using torture as ‘Instrument of control’ to quash rebellions in Kashmir

Editor

Prisoners in Indian-administered Kashmir have been subjected to abuse and torture, including “water-boarding, sleep deprivation and sexualised torture”, according to a report by two rights bodies. The 560-page report released on Monday mentions solitary confinement, sleep deprivation, and sexualised torture including rape and sodomy, used as torture techniques against Kashmiris. Other torture methods included electrocution, hanging from a ceiling, dunking detainees’ head in water (which is sometimes mixed with chili powder), said the report by Association of Parents of Disappeared Persons (APDP) and Jammu and Kashmir Coalition of Civil Society…

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Police crackdown across city leaves migrant beggars staring at an uncertain future

Editor

“Walaiy bobai’y traavi niyaazah,” pleaded Anisur Rahman, in flawless Kashmiri, as he sat on the steps leading to the shrine of Hazrat Sheikh Hamza Makhdoom in Srinagar’s Old City. “Come, mother, show some generosity.” Nearly every morning, Rahman, 50, leaves his rented room in the Old City and makes his way to the shrine. He gets by on alms from devotees who throng the shrine every day. “I have been sitting here each day for 10 years now,” he said. “No one who visits the shrine returns empty handed. People…

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As many 43% newly elected LS MPs have criminal record: Association of Democratic Reforms

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Nearly half of the newly-elected Lok Sabha members have criminal charges against them, a 26 per cent increase as compared to 2014, according to the Association of Democratic Reforms. Of the 539 winning candidates analysed by the ADR, as many as 233 MPs or 43 per cent have criminal charges. The BJP has 116 MPs or 39 per cent of its winning candidates with criminal cases, followed by 29 MPs (57 per cent) from the Congress, 13 (81 per cent) from the JDU, 10 (43 per cent) from the DMK…

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As BJP returns to power, Kashmiris fear demographic change

Editor

With the BJP returning to power in the Centre, the people in Kashmir fear that the party may bring demographic change in the Valley by removing Articles 370 and 35A, which provide constitutional safeguards to the region within the Union of India. A majority of Kashmiris may have stayed away from the polls, but they kept track of the results. More than results of the Valley, they were keen to see who will come to power in the Centre. And as the day progressed, with the BJP emerging the clear…

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Zakir Musa’s journey from tech student to most-wanted rebel from Valley

Editor

From an engineering student to one of the most wanted militants, Zakir Musa’s journey had all ingredients of a Bollywood potboiler. Zakir Rashid Bhat, alias Zakir Musa (25), had joined the militant ranks in 2013 and four years later he parted ways and founded the Ansar Ghazwat-ul-Hind, an affiliate of Al-Qaeda. Musa, a close aide of Hizbul Mujahideen commander Burhan Wani, whose killing in 2016 sparked nearly five-month-long unrest and led to the killing of nearly 90 civilians, was gunned down in south Kashmir’s Tral sub-district. Musa was trapped inside…

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Engineer Rashid credits Facebook for getting over a lakh vote in Kashmir

Editor

He ran the election campaign on his Facebook page and surprised everyone with over 1 lakh votes in his kitty. Engineer Rashid, an independent candidate from Jammu and Kashmir’s Baramulla constituency has become a challenger to regional parties in the Valley. “I’m extremely thankful to Facebook. Without Facebook, it was impossible for me to connect with people and ask for votes. Reaching everywhere across three districts of north Kashmir was not possible. I had no money for campaigning. Facebook became an effective medium,” said Engineer Rashid. His effective use of…

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Modern “Halal” meat is a mockery of Islam

Editor

Eating meat in Islam is not a right or a duty. Eating meat is a privilege, extended to us by Allah with responsibilities attached. Unfortunately, many Muslims today don’t seem to care about the food they eat, at the expense of their akirah. This article is a warning to Muslims around the world to start paying attention before its too late. Industrial meat, egg and dairy operations operate under a capitalist system, not the Shariah. Consequently the only important component is money, not animal welfare or health. Under the Shariah…

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Jehangir Chowk-Rambagh flyover phase II inauguration today

Editor

After a long wait, the second phase of Jehangir Chowk-Rambagh flyover will be thrown open for vehicular traffic today. It will be inaugurated by J&K Governor Satya Pal Malik. For the past four years, residents were waiting for the flyover to get complete. With the second phase to be thrown open tomorrow, people are overjoyed, as Eid is also near, which may provide them some relief from traffic congestion. “Traffic congestion has been a big problem for everyone. With flyover’s second phase being inaugurated today, it will come as a…

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Mohammad Jammal, PDP worker paid by his life as his family cast 5 of 7 votes in south Kashmir

Editor

Police officials said militants were behind Mohammad Jammal’s killing as they want to create fear among the people for the next elections to the assembly for which dates are yet to be announced. PDP worker Mohammad Jammal from South Kashmir’s Kulgam district knew casting his vote would not be easy this time, yet he insisted he and his family would not stay away from the polling booths. On April 29, the polling day, the 65-year-old from Zungalpora was unwell and could not go out to vote. But he made sure…

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Ready to support India-Pakistan dialogue: Hurriyat

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Urging India and Pakistan to take confidence-building measures (CBMs) or adopt a “step-by-step approach” over Kashmir, moderate Hurriyat chairman Mirwaiz Umar Farooq on Sunday said the Hurriyat was ready to support the dialogue if India and Pakistan initiated a fresh process over the issue. Mirwaiz said this while addressing a seminar. “The importance of dialogue in the backdrop of strained Indo-Pak relations” at the Rajbagh Hurriyat headquarters, organised by the amalgam to commemorate the anniversaries of Moulvi Muhammad Farooq and Abdul Gani Lone. “We ask the BJP leadership to change…

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