Category: Kashmir

Kashmir

Shutdown over ‘Sainik Colony’ affects life in Valley

Editor

A separatist called protest shutdown on Thursday affected life in the Kashmir Valley although authorities did not impose any restrictions. “There will be no restrictions anywhere in the city today,” a senior police official told IANS. “Adequate deployment of security forces has been made in sensitive areas to ensure peace.” Authorities placed senior separatist leaders, Mirwaiz Umer Farooq and Muhammad Yasin Malik under detention on Wednesday. While Mirwaz Umer was placed under house arrest at his uptown Nigeen residence in Srinagar, Malik was arrested from his party`s office in Abi…

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Militants kill cop, snatch weapon from another in Pulwama

Editor

A policeman was killed on Wednesday when militants attacked a National Conference (NC) leader’s security guard and snatched his service rifle in south Kashmir’s Pulwama district. “The militants attacked the security guard of NC district president Ghulam Mohiuddin Mir in Manghama village today (Wednesday) afternoon and decamped with his service rifle,” a senior police officer told IANS here. The deceased policeman Riyaz Ahmed Ganai was in civies and standing alongside the NC leader’s security guard at his (Ganai’s) cousin’s marriage when the guerrillas struck. The NC leader had gone to…

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Not against return of Pandits, but won’t allow separate enclaves: Umar Farooq

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Chairman of moderate All Parties Hurriyat Conference (APHC) Mirwaiz Umar Farooq on Tuesday asked people to follow the joint programme issued by the separatists leaders to “safeguard the identity of J&K.” Mirwaiz Farooq said this while addressing party gathering in Singhpora Pattan in north Kashmir’s Baramulla district yesterday. “We will not allow government to make demographic changes in J&K. Tactics are being used in the name Sanik Colony, industrial policy or separate townships to grab the land. We cannot remain silent on these anti- Kashmir policies and will safeguard the…

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Two SMC officials booked for allowing illegal construction

Editor

The Vigilance Organisation Kashmir (VOK) has registered a case against two officers of the Srinagar Municipal Corporation (SMC) for allowing an illegal construction of a commercial complex in a residential area. The case was registered under the Prevention of Corruption Act against Ward Officer Bilal Ahmad Baba, then Building Inspector Bashir Ahmad Bhat, and then Enforcement Officer Mohammad Ashraf Warsi. A Vigilance Organisation Kashmir spokesman said that the case was registered after a joint surprise check revealed that the commercial complex was being raised illegally. “An RCC structure up to…

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Kashmiri Pandit Trade Union opposes separate colonies for Pandits

Editor

Opposing the demand of separate colonies for Pandits in the Valley, Kashmiri Pandit Trade Union leader Sampat Prakash on Wednesday dubbed the call as “a conspiracy” of the Hindu nationalists of India, adding that members of the trade union will be holding a hunger strike for a day against the nationalists’ “design” at Pratap Park here on June 4. “The demand for separate colonies for Pandits is a conspiracy of the Hindu nationalists of India, who had launched the infamous Praja Parishad movement in Jammu in 1952, which was rejected…

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Rain brings respite as mercury dips in Valley

Editor

Incessant rainfall that has continued since midnight brought respite from an increasingly hot weather in the region today as mercury registered a steep fall across the Kashmir valley. Rain that lashed all 10 districts of the Valley since yesterday was continuing till late in the evening today. The downpour caused a significant fall in the mercury, which was nearing a record high in recent days. In the city here, where 10 mm rainfall was received in 24 hours, the maximum day temperature was registered at 15.7 degree Celsius, according to…

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Kashmir Fort Festival saw an overwhelming response

Editor

The Kashmir Fort Festival saw an overwhelming response today as the participants wearing traditional turbans walked through the interiors of the old city in Srinagar as part of its heritage walk program. The 3-day festival began yesterday with Sufiyana Musial Performance at Hari Parbat Fort in downtown. Today, scores of youth from downtown including senior citizens wearing turban participated in the heritage walk which began from historic Badamwari at Rainawari. The walk was flagged off by Deputy Director Tourism Kashmir (Publicity) Peerzada Zahoor. The participants walked through downtown’s famous routes…

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No Devanagari script for Kashmiri: Civil Society

Editor

Kashmir’s civil society today rejected the reported move by the Ministry of Human Resource Development (MHRD) to introduce Devanagari as an alternative script for Kashmiri language. In an emergency meeting organised by Adbee Markaz Kamraz (AMK), a group of writers, poets, artists, academicians, social activists and businessmen, unequivocally resolved that the proposal to introduce Devanagari script was unacceptable. “The move is politically motivated aimed at bifurcating the Kashmiri community in the name of the script,” said a resolution passed unanimously at the meeting. “It is aimed at demolishing our cultural…

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Curfew-like restrictions in Srinagar to foil ‘Eidgah chalo’

Editor

Separatists including Mirwaiz Umer Farooq, Syed Ali Geelani, Muhammad Yasin Malik and others have called for a public rally to the martyrs graveyard in Eidgah area of old city Srinagar on Saturday Authorities on Saturday imposed restrictions in parts of summer capital Srinagar to prevent ‘Eidgah Chalo’ rally. “Restrictions have been imposed in areas falling under the jurisdiction of seven police stations in Srinagar city today. The police stations whose areas shall remain under restrictions include Khanyar, Nowhatta, M.R. Gunj, Rainawari, Safa Kadal, Maisuma and Nigeen,” Farooq Ahmad Lone, district…

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Kashmir a highly politicized issue, third party involvement difficult: US research

Editor

At a time when most of the separatist groups in Kashmir call on the international community to resolve the Kashmir issue, a US based research finds any third-party involvement in Kashmir a difficult proposition which “lacks capacity” to help resolve the matter. A team of experts from School of International and Public Affairs, Columbia University, USA in their research paper Civil Societies: Empowering Peace Constituencies in India & Pakistan call Kashmir a “highly politicized issue” where third-party involvement is difficult as it lacks the ability to support regional partners in…

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