Category: Kashmir

Kashmir

Schools remain Shut, Curbs cripple Downtown: Ismail killing fallout

Editor

Friday prayers disallowed at Jamia Masjid for 2nd week A day after Lashkar-e-Toiba chief Abu Ismail and his aide were killed in a gunfight with government forces, most educational institutions in Kashmir remained closed while authorities didn’t allow congregational Friday prayers at Jamia Masjid to thwart possible protests against the killing of militants. The government also imposed strict curbs in majority of Downtown areas and placed Hurriyat Conference (M) chairman Mirwaiz Umar Farooq under house arrest. Meanwhile, JKLF leaders and activists staged a protest in uptown here against the NIA…

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Trauma, Memory loss, Anxiety; Inside the ‘Dark World’ of pellet victims, Amnesty calls for immediate ban

Editor

For them, the world is dark. It’s been almost a year since they lost their vision to deadly pellets fired ‘indiscriminately’ by government forces during the 2016 uprising in Kashmir. Aged between nine to 20 years, the pellet victims are in the midst of a dangerous conundrum: fast losing their memory due to psychological trauma they have gone through in the past more than a year. The victims, including girls, have remained confined to the four walls of their homes since the pellets snatched their eyesight. They say they only…

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Won’t go against sentiments of Kashmiris on Article 35A: Rajnath Singh

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The Kashmir Valley has been hit by agitation against attempts to abrogate Article 35A of the Constitution, which gives special rights to permanent residents of the state. Union home minister Rajnath Singh said on Monday the BJP-led government at the Centre will not go against the wishes of the people of Jammu and Kashmir on constitutional provisions that guarantee special privileges to the restive state, amid a debate over articles 35A and 370. Singh is on a four-day visit to the state which comes at a time when the valley…

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Kashmir observes Shutdown over Rajnath’s visit, Srinagar parts under curfew for 3rd day

Editor

Kashmir observed a complete shutdown on Sunday as Home Minister Rajnath Singh reviewed the security situation in the Valley, even as strict curfew remained in place in parts of Srinagar for the third consecutive day. The call for shutdown was given by the joint separatist leadership comprising Syed Ali Geelani, Mirwaiz Umar Farooq and Muhammad Yasin Malik against the Home Minister’s visit to the state. All commercial establishments remained closed while minimal public transport was seen on the streets. The commercial hub LalChowk wore a deserted look, but the weekly…

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Release separatists so that they can speak to Rajnath: Farooq Abdullah

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Farooq Abdullah alleged that senior journalist Gauri Lankesh was killed because she wrote about how the RSS was weakening the country. Former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister Farooq Abdullah said on Friday that the NIA should release the separatist leaders so that they can tell Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh what they want during his forthcoming visit to the state. Speaking to the media here on the sidelines of a function to remember his father and founder of National Conference, late Sheikh Muhammad Abdullah on his death anniversary, Abdullah alleged…

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Mirwaiz, Malik arrested ahead of their planned protest in Delhi

Editor

JKLF chief Yasin Malik was on Thursday arrested while Hurriyat leader Mirwaiz Umar Farooq was put under house arrest, a day ahead of the planned sit-in by the separatists outside the NIA headquarters in Delhi. Malik was taken into custody from here and shifted to Central Jail till September 11, officials said. They said the Mirwaiz was placed under house arrest to prevent the separatist leaders from going to Delhi tomorrow. Hurriyat hawk Syed Ali Shah Geelani is under house arrest for the past several years now. Malik, Geelani and…

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PDP puts off its Srinagar rally ahead of Rajnath Singh’s visit

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The ruling Peoples Democratic Party has put off its scheduled public rally in Srinagar on September 10 that was expected to be addressed by Home Minister Rajnath Singh who is visiting the state this weekend. “We were told late on Wednesday evening that the rally has been put on hold,” said a senior PDP minister. Amid the ongoing debate over protection of Article 35-A and the fresh “outreach” by Prime Minister NarendraModi to people of Kashmir during his I-Day speech in which he talked of embracing Kashmiris, the rally had…

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First phase of Jehangir Chowk-Rambagh flyover to be completed by Oct: Govt

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Government on Wednesday said the construction work on Jehangir Chowk-Rambagh flyover was going on in “full swing” and the first phase of the project—from Rambagh to Amar Singh College—will be completed by October 2017. Economic Reconstruction Agency (ERA)—responsible for construction of the flyover—had earlier said the first phase would be thrown open for vehicular traffic in September. Reviewing the project during a city tour, Divisional Commissioner Kashmir, Baseer Ahmad Khan, said the work on the flyover is being done on double shift basis. A statement issued by the government said…

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‘I cannot see my conscience dying’ Policeman quits job

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A video of a police constable announcing his resignation from the police force on the “call of his conscience” against the violence in the Valley has gone viral on social media even as the police said they are checking its veracity. “I have resigned from police department so that my conscience does not keep on asking me questions whether I am right or wrong as a policeman to see the bloodshed here,” a young man, who identifies himself only as Rayees, said in the video. He said he was working…

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Braid cutting incidents cause panic among residents, Anantnag girl first victim from Valley

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The mysterious phenomenon of braid chopping, which has created panic in Jammu region and several areas of northern India, registered its first victim in Kashmir on Tuesday. A schoolgirl, Naira Nazir, of Gud Draman village of Kokernag in Anantnag district, found her braids chopped off at her home. She fell unconscious due to the shock, her family members said. “The family registered a complaint and we have recorded their statement and started investigation,” a police official said. The incident has created panic in Kokernag villages. Frightened girls stayed home in…

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