Category: Today

Pellet Guns in Kashmir Valley goes up from 640 to 5,589

Editor

The idea is to adequately equip every unit of the paramilitary with the ‘low-intensity munition’ to deal with frenzied crowd in demonstrations and during counterinsurgency operations This summer, the use of controversial 12 bore pump action guns with pellet shots is set to grow in a big way in the Kashmir Valley. The weapon blinded and grievously injured many last year when it was used to disperse protesters hurling stones and lashing provocative slogans against security forces. Currently, the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) has 640 pump action guns, widely…

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Finally, Chenani-Nashri tunnel ready, PMO to finalise date of Inauguration

Editor

With the National Highway Authority of India (NHAI) conveying to the Prime Minister’s Office regarding the completion of the country’s longest Chenani-Nashri road tunnel, it is expected to be inaugurated after March 7. The exact date will be finalised after the PMO communicates the availability of Prime Minister Narendra Modi for the inauguration ceremony. Earlier, the PMO had sought clearance from the NHAI regarding the opening of the much-awaited 9.2-km tunnel. “The NHAI conveyed to the PMO that the tunnel was all set to be inaugurated as all work had…

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High Court constitutes five teams to inspect condition of roads across valley

Editor

The J&K High Court has set up five teams of lawyers to act as court commissioners and report about the condition of highways and roads from north to south Kashmir. The teams have been asked to present their respective reports in March while the matter has been posted for consideration in the first week of April. These orders were passed today by a division bench of Justice Sudhakar Ramalingam and Justice Tashi Rabstan in a PIL about the condition of highways in Kashmir. The lawyers’ teams have been constituted in…

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2 Years On, PDP-BJP Alliance a story of unkept promises

Editor

Agenda of Alliance, which laid roadmap for the coalition, is today a document of unfulfilled assurances On March 1, 2015, when the BJP first came to power in Jammu and Kashmir riding on the shoulders of the ideologically poles apart Peoples Democratic Party, the government could have fallen within one hour of its swearing-in. It has survived for two years, a marvel of political compromises that goes by the document called the “Agenda of Alliance”. Mufti Mohammad Sayeed on becoming the Chief Minister rattled the Hindu nationalist BJP leadership with…

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Infight within BJP overshadows developmental activities

Editor

Infighting among “disciplined” leaders of the BJP is badly affecting developmental activities in the Jammu region as party ministers are not ready to even share dais with each other due to their “egos”. Today, a high-level meeting was convened by Minister of State (MoS) in Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) Dr Jitendra Singh to lay online foundation stones of 222 roads projects, worth Rs 1,400 crore, under the Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana (PMGSY) for the Udhampur-Doda constituency. Foundation stones were laid for road projects from backward districts, including Kathua, Udhampur,…

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Would fight for justice till our last breath: Kunan Poshpora Victims

Editor

On the 26th anniversary, of the Kunan Poshpora rape incident, the victim survivors said they would fight for justice till their last breath. The victims, who were disallowed to attend the seminar organized by Jammu Kashmir Coalition of Civil Society (JKCCS) at local hotel here on Thursday castigated the state government for what they called “muzzling” their voice. “Since the state is headed by a woman Chief minister, we expected that the government will allow us to express our pain and sufferings we faced during the past 26 years,” the…

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Search operation again targeted, came under heavy stone pelting in Kulgam

Editor

Police fire tear-smoke shells to disperse over 200 protesters in Kulgam district Despite a stern warning from Army Chief General Bipin Rawat last week, protesters continue to hamper counter-insurgency operations in the Valley. In the latest such incident, a few hundred demonstrators attempted to disrupt a search operation on Wednesday in south Kashmir’s Kulgam district. A police official said the security forces cordoned off a village in Kulgam district following an intelligence input about the presence of militants inside a hospital. The search operation was launched in Tarigam village at…

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Reistance call Off Shutdown to facilitate ‘Shivratri’

Editor

The separatist leaders in the Kashmir valley have called off the protest and shutdown on this Friday to facilitate Shivratri festival. Three separatist leaders with Syed Ali Geelani, Mirwaiz Umar Farooq and Yasin Malik, who have been jointly issuing protest and shutdown calendars since July last year, decided to call off the protest and shutdown scheduled for February 24. The decision was conveyed by Mirwaiz in a tweet today. He said the decision to call off the protest and shutdown on Friday was meant to “facilitate Shivratri festival of Kashmiri…

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2 PDP Ministers Resign within hours after Cabinet Reshuffle

Editor

Senior People’s Democratic Party minister Basharat Bukhari on Friday resigned from Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti’s cabinet, hours after being inducted into the ministry. Mr Bukhari took the sudden step apparently irked over being stripped of important portfolios of relief, rehabilitation and revenue portfolio and allotted less significant portfolio of horticulture. “I have stated the reason behind my action in my resignation letter to Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti,” Mr Bukhari told Kashmir Post. Ms Mufti on Friday also re-inducted Altaf Bukhari, legislator from Amira Kadal, into her council of ministers. Altaf…

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Army Chief’s warning will increase hostility in Kashmir: Mainstream & Separatists

Editor

Mainstream politicians as well as separatists in Kashmir have criticized army chief General Bipin Rawat’s statement warning local youth against creating hurdles during anti militancy operations even as the government came to his defence. Both the camps said that such a statement would fuel a spurt in militancy in the state. The opposition National Conference expressed disappointment and dismay over the “belligerent remarks” of the army chief and said such posturing would compound the situation and increase the hostility in the Valley. “Youth rushing towards encounter sites and incidents of…

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