The Jammu and Kashmir government on Thursday said those pelting stones in the name of the eight-year-old victim of Kathua rape and murder case were only hurting the image and interests of the state, as the trial in the case was on and accused were behind the bars. “What is there to protest about? Case is solved, charge sheet filed, accused in custody, trial on. Those who still pelt stones in the name of the poor girl of Kathua are only hurting the image and interests of the state,” government…
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Kashmir
30 Students injured during anti-rape protests, Three hit by pellets face vision loss
Students’ protests calling for justice in the rape and murder of an eight-year-old child in January this year were held in several areas of the Valley on Wednesday. Some of these protests morphed into clashes in which at least 30 students were injured. At least 60 protesting students fainted after inhaling gases emanating from teargas canisters, chili grenades and PAVA shells. Anantnag Carrying placards and shouting pro-freedom slogans, students from various coaching centres along Khanabal-Pahalgam Road demonstrated and demanded punishment to the culprits of the crime. Soon government forces arrived…
Read More167% Increase in civilian deaths in Kashmir Valley
The home ministry’s annual report for 2017-18 also showed a 2.44% decline in the number of security personnel deaths over the previous year. Civilian deaths in Jammu and Kashmir rose by a staggering 167% last year compared to 2015, official data released on Wednesday showed, underpinning the high price paid by the state while battling a surge in insurgency in recent years. The home ministry’s annual report for 2017-18 also showed a 2.44% decline in the number of security personnel deaths over the previous year. The report comes amid growing…
Read MorePeace remains elusive in Kashmir as Valley remains on edge
Kashmir is the biggest internal security challenge that successive state governments and the Centre have had to grapple with. Modi promised to take Vajpayee’s formula of Kashmiriyat, insaniyat and jamhooriyat forward, but peace remains a serious casualty. April 1 this year was not an ordinary Sunday. That day, 17 local Kashmiri men died. Of them, 13 were armed local militants and four were civilians — killed when they rushed to the encounter sites to protest against military action. The bloody Sunday was a reminder of the festering insurgency in Jammu…
Read More100 Days and 90 Killings across Kashmir Valley
Like 2017, the year 2018 also appears to be heading for more bloodshed and violence. In 100 days since the beginning of the year, 90 people have been killed in the militancy-related incidents in the Kashmir valley till April 10. The dead include 45 militants, 20 security personnel and 25 civilians. The worrying statistics point towards a hot summer ahead as security forces step up their operations to flush out militants while more local youth are taking up the gun. Of the 45 militants killed, 25 were locals whereas the…
Read MoreBullets can’t tell difference, civilians responsible for their deaths at encounter sites: J&K Police Chief
Jammu and Kashmir police chief SP Vaid urged the state’s youth to stay away from encounter sites to avoid becoming casualties. Civilians thronging encounter sites are responsible for their deaths as bullets don’t distinguish between a stone pelter and a militant, Jammu and Kashmir police chief S P Vaid said on Thursday as he again urged youth to stay away from such places as they were not marriage venues. Nobody wants civilian deaths and the police and security forces are pained at such incidents, he emphasised. “We have been appealing…
Read MoreShopian repeated in Kulgam, 4 Civilians, Armyman killed, Over 60 injured in Khudwani
Army man, 4 civilians killed in Khudwani Over 60 injured in forces firing on protestors near encounter site Locals rescue 3 militants alive from debris of house Sharjeel was killed inside his house: Family An army man was killed in a gunfight with militants while four civilians died in forces firing on protestors during clashes near the encounter site in Khudwani area of south Kashmir’s Kulgam district on Wednesday. The three Lashkar militants, who were trapped in the area, were rescued alive by locals from debris of a house damaged…
Read MoreUN should play its part on Kashmir Issue, Pakistan PM tells secretary general
Pakistan Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi says UN should play its part in stopping “Indian atrocities” in Kashmir and accused New Delhi of “unprovoked ceasefire violations.” Pakistan Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi on Tuesday met United Nations (UN) secretary general Antonio Guterres in China and urged the world body to play its part in stopping “Indian atrocities” in Kashmir and accused New Delhi of “unprovoked ceasefire violations”, which he warned can dangerously escalate the situation along the LoC. According to an official statement from the Pakistan Prime Minister’s Office, Abbasi…
Read MoreBreakthrough needed to ward off conflict: Abdul Gani Bhat
Stating that India and Pakistan desperately need a breakthrough to ward off the ghosts of war, senior Hurriyat leader and Muslim Conference head Abdul Gani Bhat said an agenda with master strategy was must for generating “propitious political environment” in the region. Bhat made these assertions during a meeting of the executive council members of the Muslim Conference here on Sunday. He said if strategies don’t work out, no breakthrough could happen. “The Kashmir dispute involves two major countries of the South Asian region. Therefore, we will need an agenda…
Read MoreAfter Shahid Afridi, Shoaib Akhtar joins issue on Kashmir
Days after Shahid Afridi was roundly slammed for his controversial comments on Kashmir, former Pakistani cricketer Shoaib Akhtar also waded into the debate tweeting: “I wish one day in my life time I get a news of Kashmir, Palestine, Yemen, Afghanistan and all the troubled area of the world are free because my heart bleeds for humanity and loss of innocent life.” The tweet was later deleted. In another tweet, he urged the youth of India and Pakistan to stand up for the cause of peace between the two neighbouring…
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