According to the Home Ministry, Wani had around a dozen cases with serious charges against him, mostly under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act. As Prime Minister Narendra Modi chaired a high-level meeting on Kashmir Tuesday and appealed for calm, Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti, in first public remarks following the protests and violence over the killing of Hizbul Mujahideen commander Burhan Wani, asked parents to dissuade their children from taking to the streets. She said security personnel and policemen “will be made answerable” for incidents where excessive force was used. Expressing…
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General News
Pellets take a toll, 92 eye surgeries and counting
Pellet guns have been regularly used to quell protests in Kashmir since 2010, when the state police introduced them as “non-lethal weapon”, their use has increased over the years. Eighteen-year-old Mohammad Yasin lies on a hospital bed, his vision smeared with a white haze. He is not sure if he will ever see properly again. All 72 beds in the ophthalmology ward of Srinagar’s SMHS hospital, where Yasin is recovering, are occupied — some by two patients. The patients are mostly young, many of them minors, including a 12-year-old girl.…
Read MoreProtests or no protests, forces to go full steam against terror
Unfazed by violent protests in south Kashmir in the wake of Hizbul Mujahideen terrorist Burhan Wani ‘s killing, the security establishment will continue to go full-steam in its fight against terror. The encounter in Handwara and the foiling of an infiltration bid in Keran on Monday exhibit the security establishment’s resolve to deal firmly with those who pick up arms and indulge in violence. According to a top officer of the security establishment, protests or no protests, there would be no compromise on crushing terror with armed action. Stating that…
Read MoreBan Ki-Moon United Nations chief concerned over Kashmir situation
United Nations secretary general Ban Ki-moon is concerned over the tense situation in Kashmir following the killing of Hizbul Mujahideen commander Burhan Wani, a spokesperson said on Monday. Stephane Dujarric told reporters the UN chief has noted with concern the situation unfolding in Kashmir. Dujarric strongly rejected remarks by a Pakistani journalist that the UN chief, who had earlier in the day addressed the press on the situation in South Sudan, has “brushed aside” the issue of Kashmir and is not sufficiently addressing it. “No one is denying that we…
Read MoreHelp govt end violence, appeals Chief Minister
Says she can understand anger of youth and is looking forward to better future for them Asserting that various measures are being taken to restore calm, Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti has sought people’s cooperation in restoration of peace and normalcy in Kashmir to prevent further loss of precious lives and destruction of public and private property. She said this while interacting with representatives of various civil society groups and prominent citizens here today. “I appeal to all sections of society, including political leaders, media, religious heads, business community and prominent…
Read MoreKashmir continues to remain tense: Major developments
Strict curfew continued on Monday in most parts of the Kashmir Valley following heightened tension over the death of 23 people during protests against the killing of a top Hizbul commander, Burhan Wani. Who was Burhan Wani Wani, a recruitment icon for Hizbul Mujahideen and its glamorous face on social media, was killed on Friday in a joint operation by the SOG, Rashtriya Rifles and CRPF at Kokernag, Anantnag. Two other terrorists were killed along with him, including Sartaj Ahmed Shaikh, who had earlier served a jail term in terror…
Read MoreBurhan Wani in life and death: an icon for Kashmir’s Gen Next?
Burhan Wani – the young militant from Kashmir who had gained iconic status among the vale’s Gen Next – is no more. Wani was killed in what the police have called an “encounter”. A heavy pall of gloom and a dense, emotionally fraught condition hangs over Kashmir after his death. If a parallel may be drawn here or a metaphor employed, it seems that a wound has been reopened in Kashmir’s heart and collective consciousness. This is evident and writ large on the visages of people and the outpouring of…
Read MoreGovt appeals Separatists to help restore normalcy
The J&K Government today appealed for help from separatists for bringing calm after holding an emergency Cabinet meeting in Srinagar. “I seek support of political stakeholders, including those who are not from mainstream, for helping restore calm in Kashmir,” Minister for Education Naeem Akhtar said here while briefing reporters after the Cabinet met under the chairmanship of Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti. “The violence has neither served any purpose in the past nor is it going to do so in the prevailing circumstances.” The Cabinet expressed deep grief and anguish over…
Read MoreSecurity agencies on tenterhooks after inputs of militant movement along Yatra route
The government agencies have received specific inputs about movement of militants in the areas that fall along the Amarnath Yatra route following which the security has been beefed up. Following the inputs about the movement of militants in Gund and Gutli Bagh areas along the yatra route in Ganderbal, officials said, multi-tier security arrangements have been put in place. Aerial surveillance has been carried out along both Pahalgam and Baltal routes due to the vast forest area to avoid any untoward incidents. The Gund forest area of Kachpathri and Surfraw…
Read MoreOmar meets Guv, says majority voice ignored in state legislature
National Conference working president Omar Abdullah today led a delegation of his party legislators to Raj Bhawan and submitted two memorandums to Governor NN Vohra in which they claimed that the government ignored “the majority voice” in the House. Omar led the delegation to protest the PDP-BJP coalition government’s referral of the Land Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2016, to the Select Committee of the House. In a statement, the NC said the delegation submitted two memorandums regarding “the government’s sabotage of the Land Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2016, and the regressive, overt…
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