Category: Today

Boycott Continues: 3% Turnout in Kashmir, 78.6% in Jammu

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Kashmir Valley recorded just three percent voter turnout in the second phase of urban local body elections on Wednesday as parts of summer capital Srinagar and southern Anantnag town witnessed a near-total boycott of the electoral exercise. However the areas that went to polls in Jammu province witnessed brisk polling throughout the day. According to J&K’s chief electoral officer Shaleen Kabra, the overall voter turnout in the second phase was 31.3 percent. “78.6% polling was witnessed in 214 wards of Jammu while Kashmir division witnessed average 3.4% polling in its…

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Boycott Beats Ballot, 8.3% turnout in Kashmir, Jammu 65% and Ladakh 62.1%

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Amid heavy security and looming militant threat, the first phase of polling to 30 urban local bodies in Jammu and Kashmir were conducted peacefully on Monday, even as the Kashmir region recorded an abysmally low voter turnout. While the Jammu and Ladakh region recorded a turnout of 65%, only 8.2% votes were cast in the Kashmir region in the first of the four-phase polls held after 13 years. The overall turnout was 56.7% and, barring one incident, was conducted peacefully, said the state information department in a statement. The regions…

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Ahead of Poll Kashmir Valley turned into garrison, Voters ‘Clueless’ about candidates

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Amid tight security arrangements, the government is all set to conduct first phase of Urban Local Bodies (ULB) polls in Jammu and Kashmir on Monday. Senior Police officials said fool-proof security arrangements had been made for the smooth conduct of civic polls. They said the deployment would be made at polling stations around midnight while contingency plans were also in place in all districts to deal with any abrupt situation. Additional Director General of Police (ADGP), Law and Order and Security, Munir Ahmad Khan told Kashmir Post that no “classification”…

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BJP bags 60 wards unopposed in Civic polls, No candidates in 177 municipal wards

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NC, PDP have boycotted the polls accusing Centre of not defending Article 35A in apex court The Bharatiya Janata Party has made a headway in the urban local body election in the Kashmir Valley by winning 60 municipal wards unopposed, mainly in the volatile south Kashmir, while the Congress has won only 26 wards. Of the 624 wards scheduled to go for the four-phase polls from October 8 to 16, the BJP claimed to have won at least 60 unopposed in the three phases and expects the tally to cross…

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UN Chief Guterres concerned over Kashmir Situation

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UN secretary general Antonio Guterres has voiced concern over the situation in Jammu and Kashmir while encouraging “positive dialogue” to resolve the disagreements peacefully. He also said that the UN welcomes a greater role for India in addressing regional peace and security challenges. “On the development front, India already is, and can become an even greater regional development force, helping other countries of the region forge a better future,” Guterres told PTI in an email interview here ahead of his visit to India beginning Monday. He said the UN welcomed…

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Day began with Abductions, ended with Funeral; Three Cops abducted, shot dead in Shopian

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On Thursday evening, Firdous Ahmad, 28, a police follower from Batagund — a sleepy village in Shopian — had returned home to announce his public resignation during the Friday congregational prayers at Jamia Masjid in the district due to the constant militant threats. But hours before he could do that, he was abducted by militants along with two other policemen from adjacent villages and shot dead. The killings of the two police employees and a special police officer have sent shock waves across the country. Villagers say the toll could…

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BJP didn’t stay course… Atal’s vision was missing: Mehbooba Mufti

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Former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister Mehbooba Mufti has said that she and her party suffered significantly from the alliance with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), which was broken abruptly in June following three turbulent years in power. “Of course, I did,” Mufti remarked when asked if the alliance’s collapse left her and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) as the bigger losers. “We had to bear the wrath of the people. The love and affection they showered on me when I was in the Opposition turned into anger and hatred…

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Will boycott local polls unless assured protection for Article 35A: National Conference

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Days after National Conference appealed the people to vote in the upcoming municipal and Panchayat elections, the party Wednesday said it will not participate the elections unless the government of India and the state government assure protection for Article 35A. President of NC, Farooq Abdullah announced the decision after chairing a meeting of the core group, the party’s highest decision making body in which challenges to article 35A were also discussed. “The core group unanimously decided that National Conference will not participate in these (Panchayat and ULB) elections unless and…

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Kashmir On Edge: Strike halts life across Kashmir, Chenab Valley, Pirpanjal

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Article 35A Row: Protests across Kashmir, restrictions in Srinagar parts, Separatists caged, SC hearing today Normal life was badly hit in Kashmir, Chenab valley and Pir Panjal region on Thursday due to the unprecedented shutdown following a strike called by Joint Resistance Leadership (JRL) against the challenging of Article 35-A, the hearing of which is scheduled for Friday in the Supreme Court (SC). While authorities imposed restriction in Srinagar downtown, people largely observed civil curfew in protest against the attempts of tinkering with Article 35-A that provides special rights and privileges…

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Supreme Court to hear Article 35A case on Friday, Guv, State to urge SC to defer hearing

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A bunch of petitions challenging the constitutional validity of the Article 35-A has been listed for hearing on Friday. The petitions would be heard by a three-judge bench headed by Chief Justice of India DipakMisra in the court No. 1, commonly known as Chief Justice’s court. Two other judges of the bench are Justice A M Khanilwar and Justice Chandrachud. The petitions figure at serial number 18 among the cases listed for August 31. The petitions are being heard at a time when new Governor Satya Pal Malik has taken…

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