Category: Community

Return of power projects not CM’s only issue, make stand public: Oppn to GOI

Editor

The opposition mainstream parties on Friday said that New Delhi as well as the state government should come clear on Government of India’s stand over the return of two power projects to JK. Earlier, Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh who is on two-day visit to Jammu and Kashmir had said that New Delhi has apprised Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti about its stand on the state’s demand for return of two power projects. Talking to reporters, National Conference (NC) provincial president, NasirAslamWani said that they don’t have any hope over the…

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To arm new recruits, ultras out to snatch weapons, Two gun snatching bids foiled

Editor

When a group of four militants barged into the house of the state’s Advocate General, Jehangir Iqbal Ganai, they were focused on what to do: snatch weapons and escape. The incident took place last night in south Kashmir’s Anantnag district and is the latest in a series of attempts to steal weapons from the police to fill the militant armoury. In search of weapons for the new recruits, the militants are making attempts to steal rifles from policemen stationed for guard duty at shrines and residences of protected persons across…

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Farooq Ahmad, Kashmir’s ‘Human Shield’ declines Big Boss offer

Editor

Artisan Farooq Ahmad Dar, 29, who hit the headlines in April last year after an Army Major tied him to a jeep as a human shield, has claimed to have rejected a ₹ 50 lakh offer to be on Colours’ reality show Big Boss, as he continues his fight for compensation with the State Human Rights Commission (SHRC) in Kashmir. Mr. Dar, who hails from the nondescript and far-off Chill village of Budgam, said: “I was offered ₹50 lakh by Big Boss producers in July last year. They even told…

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Police writes to CRPF, seeks details on why paramilitary vehicle was moving in non-deployment area

Editor

The Jammu and Kashmir Police have written to the CRPF seeking an explanation that why a lone CRPF vehicle moved through the Nowhatta area of Srinagar where it was decided that there will be no deployment of security forces on last Friday after clashes left at least 20 youth injured on 25 May. Two youths were run over by an armoured vehicle of the CRPF which left one of them dead and another wounded and the family of the deceased has sought that a murder case should be pressed against…

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Just 3 days went without violence during last 3 weeks

Editor

Since the announcement of the Ramadan ceasefire by the Union Government, the Kashmir valley has witnessed 43 incidents of violence, including 18 grenade attacks and 22 killings. In the first three weeks of the holy month of Ramadan, which started on May 17, only three days have passed when militants did not initiate any action. The militants made their intentions clear on the very first day of Ramadan when they struck in the heart of the city and stole three rifles from a police post near the venue where Prime…

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Sajad Mir & Shahid Bhat arrested for spreading fake news

Editor

Two administrators of these self-styled news groups — Sajad Ahmad Mir and Shahid Ahmad Bhat, residents of Pampore — have been identified and apprehended. Two administrators of social media groups were arrested today for allegedly spreading fake news with the intention of harming the reputation and safety of some youth in Kashmir, police said. “The Awantipora Police received information through reliable sources that some self-styled news groups viz ‘Kashmir Zone’, ‘Hamza Hizbi’ and ‘Quick News’ have circulated photographs of some youth with malicious intention on social networking sites whereby rumours…

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How Kashmir’s youth are caught between a bullet and a CRPF vehicle

Editor

On Friday, three youth were mowed down by a paramilitary forces’ vehicle, which came under heavy stone throwing, just outside Srinagar’s Grand Mosque. One of the injured – Qaiser Ahmad Bhat, all of 21 years of age – succumbed to his injuries later at a hospital. The incident sparked a debate on social media over whether this was an accident — or a murder even. As the debate grew heated, I received hundreds of abuses for sharing a photograph of Bhat getting mowed down under the vehicle. A majority of…

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‘A cult has been born’- former J&K Police chief Kuldeep Khoda on rising militancy

Editor

Former Jammu and Kashmir police Chief Kuldeep Khoda has warned of a “cult” being born in the state with more educated young people joining terrorism and picking up the gun becoming an “attractive and glamorous” option. The “dimensions and dynamics” of terrorism are changing, Mr Khoda, the longest serving and the most successful police chief of the state, said in a blog. Examining the reasons for increasing number of youths joining terrorism, he said, “When political grid is inactive, even if security grid gets results, a common man on many…

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Ultimate wake-up call for New Delhi

Editor

The happenings in the ongoing month of Ramadan should serve as an ultimate wake-up call for New Delhi about the enormity of the situation in Kashmir. It is headed towards a catastrophe. The place is becoming immune to all sorts of measures initiated to help it come out of the vortex of violence and bloodshed. And, the simple reason is that the anti-peace forces are violently jolting the structure of peace and normalcy that the Centre so painstakingly attempted to build by announcing ceasefire during this month of prayers. New…

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Local recruitment in militant groups rising: Agencies

Editor

The unilateral ceasefire during the holy month of Ramzan may have brought a halt to anti-militancy operations in Kashmir but security agencies have warned of a rise in recruitment of local youth into militant groups, that has crossed 80. Security officials said more youth from the highly-volatile Shopian and Pulwama districts in south Kashmir continued to join militant groups, including ISIS-Kashmir and Ansar Ghazwat-ul-Hind, a group which claims support of the Al-Qaeda. As many as 20 more youth have joined the militant groups in May, the officials said. The officials…

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