Category: Kashmir

Kashmir

Another day of anguish and despair as MHA defends Highway Ban; Protests continue in Kashmir

Editor

Underlining that the ban became necessary in the backdrop of the Pulwama terror attack, it issued a statement on Wednesday and said the step has been taken for ensuring safe movement of forces till May 31. The statement comes at a time when the ministry has to file its reply to the Jammu and Kashmir High Court which has directed it to respond by April 19 to a bunch of petitions challenging the decision. Facing criticism for closing down the national highway connecting Jammu with Srinagar, the Union Home Ministry…

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Anantnag Parliamentary seat has a Non-State subject candidate​ in the ​fray

Editor

For the first time in the electoral history of Jammu and Kashmir, a non-state subject is contesting Lok Sabha elections from the Anantnag parliamentary constituency. Shams Khwaja of Noida in Uttar Pradesh, a lawyer by profession is among the eighteen candidates whose nomination papers were accepted by the district election officer of Anantnag. Khwaja’s nominations as an independent candidate was contested by the opposition parties on the ground that his name was not in the electoral roles of the constituency. However, in his defense Khwaja argued that the constitutional requirement…

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As BJP vows to revoke special rights, Kashmir leaders warn of ‘Unimaginable Repercussions’

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Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)is widely expected to retain power after the Lok Sabha election that starts on Thursday, though with a much smaller mandate, hit by concerns over a shortage of jobs and weak farm prices. It pledged to spend Rs 100 trillion rupees on infrastructure in the next five years to help create jobs for the millions entering the workforce each year. Pollsters say BJP’s re-election bid got a boost from recent hostilities with arch-rival Pakistan, after the Jaish-e-Mohammed based in the country claimed a…

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Four PILs filed challenge National Highway Ban, Rajnath rules out rollback

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The J&K High Court has directed the state administration to file its response to four public interest litigations (PILs), which have termed the recent order banning the civilian movement on the Jammu-Srinagar-Baramulla highway “as arbitrary, illegal and unconstitutional” and sought its immediate quashing. Issuing notices to the state administration and also keeping the matter on board for further directions on Wednesday, a division bench of the High Court comprising Chief Justice Gita Mittal and Justice Tashi Rabstan on Monday directed Additional Advocate General Bashir Ahmad Dar, representing the state, to…

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Highway Ban: People Speak

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Defy the national highway banning and go wherever they want to: Mehbooba Mufti Lift travel restrictions or face agitation: Farooq AbdullahOmar Abdullah slams Govt over highway closureHighway ban collective punishment for people: Retired Justice Hasnain Masoodi Defy the national highway banning and go wherever they want to: Mehbooba Mufti Peoples Democratic Party President and former chief minister Mehbooba Mufti Sunday asked people to defy the national highway banning and go wherever they want to. “If Government of India thinks they can suppress the people of Kashmir by such things then…

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Outrage across Kashmir Valley over banning​ civilian traffic on the ​highway

Editor

Response in the form of a “joint line of action” will be worked out very soon: Syed Ali Geelani  Highway closure order ‘dictatorial’, govt should withdraw it, says MirwaizHighway open even during Kargil War, rights of people being tampered with: FarooqGovt should formulate a people-friendly strategy, says Azad Omar Abdullah asks the governor to review civilian traffic ban orderCivilian traffic ban on highway ‘unjust, uncalled’ for: MongaTraffic ban tantamount to intrusion on civil liberties: Altaf BukhariDisallowing civilian traffic during convoy movement will prove disaster for economy: KCCIHighway decision taken in…

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Modi, BJP responsible for ‘Worsening’ Kashmir situation: G N Azad

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Senior Congress leader and former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister Ghulam Nabi Azad Wednesday blamed the Bharatiya Janata Party-led central government for “worsening” the situation in Kashmir during its stint in power. Addressing a party workers’ convention in Lolab, Kupwara, Azad said: “The situation in the Kashmir Valley had considerably improved when there was a Congress government at the Centre till 2014. The situation deteriorated after the came to power and created a situation like nineties in the Valley. If anyone is squarely responsible for the deterioration of the situation…

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Asking for Kashmir Resolution no crime: Mirwaiz Umar Farooq

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Chairman Hurriyat Conference (M) Mirwaiz Umar Farooq on Friday said asking for resolution of Kashmir issue is neither terror nor crime. Addressing a Friday gathering at Jamia Masjid Mirwaiz said government of India should not criminalize political aspirations which are rooted in history and principle of justice. Mirwaiz said Hurriyat Conference have always taken a realistic and principled stand and advocated dialogue among stakeholders as a means to finding an acceptable solution for all parties involved in the dispute and for friendship between India and Pakistan. He said that his…

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European Parliamentarians call for the ban of pellet shotguns on Kashmiris

Editor

An enormous cross-party group of Members of the European Parliament have called for a ban on the use of pellet guns on civilians in India-controlled Kashmir. Wajid Khan, a Labour Member of the European Parliament representing the North West of England, has authored the letter to Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Wajid Khan has been championed the cause of Kashmir in the Parliament since his appointment 2 years ago. He secured the historic Kashmir hearing in the human rights committee in February. Speaking to this correspondent, Wajid Khan said that…

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Pulwama recruiting ground for LeT, JeM: Govt report

Editor

Pakistan-based terror groups like the Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) and Jaish-e- Mohammed (JeM) recruited the most number of locals from Jammu and Kashmir’s Pulwama both in 2018 and in 2019, according to a report prepared by security agencies and shared with the Prime Minister’s office, among others. Forty Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) men were killed in Pulwama on February 14 when a suicide bomber rammed an explosives-laden vehicle into a bus carrying the paramilitary troopers. JeM claimed responsibility for the attack.Describing the attack, the report, a copy of which has been…

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