Category: General News

General News

Terror and Talks can’t go together: BJP to Farooq Abdullah

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The BJP today criticised National Conference (NC) president Farooq Abdullah for advocating dialogue with Pakistan, saying “terror and talks cannot go together”. J&K BJP spokesperson Brigadier (retd) Anil Gupta, in a statement, said Abdullah had time and again advocated talks with Pakistan as mandatory for return of peace in the Valley “knowing well that it is not India, but Pakistan that is avoiding talks”. He was reacting to Abdullah’s statement at a public meeting in Budgam district yesterday, suggesting India and Pakistan to initiate dialogue on outstanding issues, especially on…

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Centre’s mission Kashmir seems to be losing steam

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The visit to Kashmir this week by the Centre’s representative, former Intelligence Bureau Chief Dineshwar Sharma, has ended with even less hope that a way forward will emerge. In fact, commenting on the visit, former RAW chief and long-time IB operative Amarjit Singh Dulat remarked that ‘I hope they don’t reduce him (Sharma) to a zero.’ Dulat, who has led the Centre’s covert talks initiatives in the past, acknowledged that hope appears to have dimmed. Increased Numbers To be sure, a larger number of delegations met Sharma than during his…

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Amnesty to stone pelters leaves BJP legislators upset

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Wanted party brass to push cases of cadre, Jammu youth too A day after Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti had ordered the withdrawal of stone-throwing cases against 4,327 youth of the Kashmir valley, anger brewed in the local unit of the BJP as the party’s lawmakers cautioned that this action would prove disastrous in the Jammu region. The Chief Minister, reportedly on the recommendations of the Centre’s special representative Dineshwar Sharma, had announced amnesty for first-time stone throwers. Resentment shown by local party leaders, including lawmakers, is an indication that the…

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Will hoist national flag in Lal Chowk: J&K unit of Shiv Sena

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Farooq Abdullah had said, “They (centre and BJP) are talking about raising the flag in PoK. I ask them first you go and raise the tricolour at Lal Chowk in Srinagar. They can’t even do that here and they are talking about PoK”. Jammu and Kashmir unit of Shiv Sena (Bala Sahib Thackeray) said on Tuesday that it would hoist the national flag in Lal Chowk, the nerve centre of summer capital Srinagar. The outfit was reacting to a controversial statement by National Conference president Farooq Abdullah who dared the…

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Kashmir Valley abuzz with debate on possible IS footprint

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Union home minister Rajnath Singh, too, dismissed reports about the presence of the IS in J&K, let alone a base in India. Has the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) succeeded in making inroads into Jammu and Kashmir? The authorities here say a categorical “no” when asked. “I don’t think the IS has any footprint here,” said Jammu and Kashmir’s DGP Shesh Paul Vaid. The Centre is also downplaying IS’s claim that it was involved in an attack in which a police officer and a militant were killed in…

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Need to rediscover traditional routes of Kashmir: Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti

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Says they’ll open avenues for greater economic ties, cultural exchanges Days after Beijing envoy Luo Zhaohui suggested alternative routes through Jammu and Kashmir to address India’s concerns regarding the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti has favoured the need “to rediscover traditional routes of Kashmir”. “Reinforces the need to rediscover traditional trade routes of Kashmir. Will open avenues for greater economic ties and cultural exchanges,” Mehbooba wrote on Twitter while reacting to the China’s proposal for alternative routes for CPEC via J&K and Nepal. CPEC, flagship project of…

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Appointment of J&K interlocutor shows Centre’s intent to engage

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Government sources said the appointment of Dineshwar Sharma as interlocutor comes at a time when local support for militancy is on the decline. The appointment of an interlocutor for Kashmir does not mean the government would be lax on dealing with issues firmly but it shows the intent of the Centre to engage with civil society groups in the state, senior government sources said on Tuesday. The sources said the government is anticipating heightened support for disruptive activities from across the border, and 66 “terrorists”, trying to infiltrate across the…

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Dineshwar Sharma’s second visit to J&K from Nov 24

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Centre’s special representative Dineshwar Sharma will undertake his second visit to Jammu and Kashmir from Friday. During his nearly week-long stay in the state, he will meet youth and try to reach out to all sections whom he could not meet during his first visit early this month. Sharma would be landing in Jammu on November 24 where he would be meeting some of the groups. Sources said this time Sharma would be widening the ambit of his meetings with people of different walks of life, representing varying shades of…

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BJP seeks rotation of reserved Assembly seats

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In the first meeting of the re-constituted Coalition Coordination Committee, BJP’s representatives emphasised rotating Assembly constituencies reserved for Scheduled Castes (SCs) in Jammu province. Although many issues were discussed in the nearly two-hour meeting held today after a gap of over two years, the focus of BJP’s representatives was on the rotation of reserved constituencies, solving problems of West Pakistan refugees and enhancing quota for other backward classes. Sources said BJP’s representatives pointed out that Assembly constituencies were reserved after a delimitation exercise in 1996. After passing of 20 years,…

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Anti Terrorist Front India places Rs 21 lakh bounty on Farooq Abdullah’s tongue for remarks on PoK

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The Anti Terrorist Front India announced a bounty of Rs 21 lakh prize for cutting former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister Farooq Abdullah’s tongue, saying he has “insulted” the country with his pro- Pakistan remarks and was speaking “against” the RSS. Front national president Viresh Shandilya also demanded immediate investigation and arrest of the Srinagar MP. “Farooq has been speaking against the RSS and supporting Pakistan and insulted India in his recent remarks,” he said in a statement. “Farooq is a big traitor in India and the central government should…

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