General News Archives | Page 195 of 361

Dineshwar Sharma terms J&K visit ‘Very Fruitful’, meet Kashmiri Pandits in Jammu

November 11, 2017 Editor

Says all Indian citizens stakeholders, promises to come to the state again Kashmiri Pandits meet Dineshwar Sharma in Jammu Wrapping up his meetings with stakeholders in the state, Centre’s interlocutor for Jammu and Kashmir Dineshwar Sharma today said his visit was “very fruitful” and he would come to the state again and again. “It is just a beginning. As I have already said all Indian citizens are stakeholders. I will be visiting J&K again and again,” Sharma said while replying to a volley of questions of media persons at the…

Will do my best to meet Resistance Group: Dineshwar Sharma

November 9, 2017 Editor

On Day 3, interlocutor meets political leaders in Kashmir; to go to Jammu today Hoping for return of peace to Kashmir soon, the Centre’s interlocutor on Kashmir, Dineshwar Sharma, today said he would do his best to talk to the Hurriyat leaders in Kashmir. Speaking to the media first time since his arrival here on Monday, he said, “My meetings went well. I met a lot of people.” Sharma, who was last month appointed as New Delhi’s representative for dialogue with all stakeholders in Jammu and Kashmir, will conclude his…

Dineshwar Sharma meets youth groups as big names stay away

November 8, 2017 Editor

The big names stayed away but the Centre’s special representative on Kashmir Dineshwar Sharma held a series of meetings with civil society and youth groups on Tuesday, day two of his visit to the Valley. Sharma, the former director of the Intelligence Bureau who is on a five-day visit to the state, is expected to meet political leaders here tomorrow as part of efforts to talk to various stakeholders and find lasting peace in Jammu and Kashmir. He is spending three days in the Kashmir Valley and two days in…

Autonomy only solution to resolve Kashmir Issue: Farooq Abdullah

November 7, 2017 Editor

The former Union minister said it was time for both the countries to accept the realities of the present times and initiate the process which was acceptable to all, including the people of the state. Opposition National Conference (NC) president Farooq Abdullah today asserted that autonomy to both sides of the erstwhile princely state of Jammu and Kashmir was the “only solution”, saying that India and Pakistan could not keep people of the region hostage to their ego. He urged both the countries to take concrete political steps for resolving…

BJP working hard to make inroads in Kashmir and Muslim pockets of Jammu

November 6, 2017 Editor

The killing of BJP youth wing’s district president, Gauhar Ahmad Bhat of Bonagham village of South Shopian proves that the militants are getting apprehensive of the national party’s influence in the valley. The BJP is working hard on the ground to connect the Muslim youths to the mainstream. The police, which recovered Gauhar’s throat-slit body from a Shopian orchard on Thursday, blamed the killing on the militants. The BJP has been able to bring some youths from far off villages of Kashmir into the party fold in the recent months.…

Who’s ‘Sabotaging’ Kashmir’s power import capacity?

November 4, 2017 Editor

Despite availability of funds and New Delhi’s nod, 2 major transmission projects grounded It appears that a certain section of bureaucracy derives pleasure from restricting Kashmir’s capacity to import power. How? At current, the peak demand for power in Kashmir Valley is more than 1700 MW. But the existing transmission system has the capacity to import only 1250 MW. In 2006, under the Prime Minister’s Reconstruction Programme, then Congress-led UPA government in New Delhi approved construction of several grid stations across the state to enhance its transmission and supply capacity.…

Article 370 should remain intact, PM can create history by changing narrative on J&K: Mehbooba Mufti

November 4, 2017 Editor

Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti’s statements come at a time when some state BJP leaders have demanded removal of Article 370. Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti has reiterated that Article 370, that grants special autonomous status to the state, should remain intact. In a series of tweets, Mufti demanded for autonomy and self-rule in the Valley, saying “Democracy is a battle of ideas and dialogue is the only way forward. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has an unprecedented mandate and can create history by changing the narrative…

Article 35A was never part of Indian constitution: J&K Advocate General

November 4, 2017 Editor

Jammu and Kashmir Advocate General Jehangir Iqbal Ganai on Friday said Article 35A, which is being contested in the Supreme Court (SC) through a number of petitions, “is not a part of the Indian Constitution.” “There is an argument projected that the President has no powers to amend the Constitution. The fact of the matter is Article 35 (A) is not part of the Constitution of India. It’s a part of the Constitution only applicable to J&K. There is a difference. So there was no requirement of Parliament amending it,”…

Rights panel wants DNA profiling of 2,080 ‘Unidentified and Unmarked Graves’

November 3, 2017 Editor

The J&K State Human Rights Commission (SHRC) has recommended identification of the victims buried in 2,080 ‘unidentified and unmarked’ graves, found in Rajouri and Poonch districts of the Jammu region, using DNA profiling and other forensic examinations. The state government, in its report to the SHRC, has already accepted the presence of 1,486 and 594 unidentified and unmarked graves in Poonch and Rajouri districts, respectively. The recommendations are similar to those issued by the SHRC on October 19, 2011, for the identification of 2,156 unidentified bodies discovered in ‘unmarked graves’…

Landslide briefly blocks Jammu-Srinagar National Highway

November 1, 2017 Editor

A landslide on Wednesday briefly blocked the Jammu-Srinagar National Highway, the only all-weather road linking Kashmir with the rest of the country, a traffic department spokesman said. The landslide took place around 3.15 am in Ramban district Rattanbas area, blocking the 300-km road’s Banihal stretch, he said. The spokesman said men and machines were immediately pressed into service and the highway was cleared for traffic by 6.30 am. He said that as work at the site was still going on, the movement of traffic on the stretch was slow.