Kashmir.Watch

Author: hamid

  • Schooling and arrests can’t go together, says Kashmir traders’ body

    Taking a dig at Education Minister, Khan said Naeem Akhter is acting like a “programmed-robot” who knows only to issue provocative statements for reopening of schools.

    Khan concerned over Yasin Malik’s health

    Srinagar: Stating that arrests and schooling of youth cannot go together, the Kashmir Economic Alliance Chairman, Muhammad Yasin Khan on Wednesday accused the government of unleashing “terror across the Valley through daytime siege and nocturnal raids.”

     Khan, who also heads the Kashmir Traders and Manufacturers Federation said, as if unleashing worst ever humanitarian crises in Kashmir was not enough that Mehbooba Mufti led government has been giving sleepless nights to the people of Kashmir and Chenab Valley through arrests and nocturnal raids.
    “Muslims of Kashmir and Chenab Valley are living under continuous fear whereas in the same territory armed Bhakts of RSS are given police protection to carry out marches, which are aimed at frightening the majority community of the state,” Khan said.
    Taking a dig at Education Minister, Khan said Naeem Akhter is acting like a “programmed-robot” who knows only to issue provocative statements for reopening of schools.
    “No doubts education is must for life. But let the minister be informed that education is subject to life and conducive environment. How will the youth who is wounded in government action, or arrested, or is into hiding to avoid arrest attend school or college?” Khan asked adding the motive behind running school bell was nothing but to pretend normalcy before outside world.
    Khan said the arrest spree was pushing people to wall and could have far reaching consequences.
    He appealed to the international community and the Indian civil society to intervene.
    Khan also expressed serious concern over the detention of Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front chairman Muhammad Yasin Malik at an interrogation center. “Why is he not being sent to central Jail? What if something untoward happens to him at interrogation center?” Khan asked.

  • Govt beefs up security of Education Minister Naeem Akhter

    Srinagar: The state government has heightened the security of a senior Cabinet minister in the wake of threats by the Lashkar-e-Toiba. The security of Education Minister Naeem Akhter, who was recently threatened by the Lashkar, has been augumented, sources said.

    The Lashkar had recently threatened the minister, who has ‘Z’ category security cover, of “dire consequence if he continues to force people to resume work”.The government has built a fresh bunker outside the residential quarters of legislators and Cabinet ministers at Tulsi Bagh in Srinagar to ensure their security.

    Meanwhile, security was beefed up across Srinagar and south Kashmir after intelligence inputs of possible fidayeen attacks. Intelligence agencies have alerted the armed forces that two suicide squads from south Kashmir and central Kashmir’s Budgam district may sneak into the city to strike security establishments.

    To foil the militant attacks, the security forces set up check posts at several places in the city. “I had to wait for several minutes to get my vehicle checked by policemen at Hyderpora as all vehicles plying on the road were stopped for checking,” said a senior government official. Check posts were also established at Abdullah Bridge, where security forces stopped pedestrians and motorcyclists and vehicles for security check. (Tribune News Service)

  • Om Puri accused of insulting soldiers, complaint filed

    The 65-year-old actor was speaking on the controversy over the ban on Pakistani actors by a Hindi film producers” association in the aftermath of the Uri terror attack, in which 19 soldiers were killed.

    A complaint has been filed against veteran actor Om Puri for comments on Indian soldiers that many said were insensitive.
    During a TV debate on Monday, Puri said: “Did we force them to join the army? My father was also in the army… We are proud of them (soldiers)… I am asking you: Do you want India and Pakistan to become Israel and Palestine?

    The 65-year-old actor was speaking on the controversy over the ban on Pakistani actors by a Hindi film producers’ association in the aftermath of the Uri terror attack, in which 19 soldiers were killed.
    “I don’t give a damn to Salman Khan or some other Khan… Go to Modiji (Prime Minister Narendra Modi) and cancel their (Pakistani actors’) visas. Prepare 15-20 people as suicide bombers and send them to Pakistan,” the actor said
    Reacting to his comment, filmmaker Ashoke Pandit tweeted: “Om Puriji, Pak artistes banned isn’t a solution, but show of solidarity to our martyrs. We can’t be lighting pyres while continuing to perform with them.”

    Anupam Kher wrote that while he respected Mr Puri, “watching him on the TV show and hearing his views related to Indian soldiers was very sad”.
    Puri visited Pakistan in August to promote the Pakistani film “Actor in Law”, in which he plays a key role.
    The actor had said during the debate that the ban on Pakistani artistes will not change the situation and that it will only cause immense losses to Indian producers.
    While he has won some support for this view, his comments on soldiers has left many on social media seething. IANS

  • US refrains from commenting on India’s surgical strikes claim across LoC

    The US has refrained from commenting on the “surgical strikes” Indian army claimed to have carried out on aleged terror launch pads across the Line of Control (LoC) in Jammu and Kashmir last week while calling for calm and restraint.
    “We’re not going to speak to specific reports of incidents along the border,” Elizabeth Trudeau, Director of the US State Department Press Office, said at the daily press briefing here on Monday.
    “We urge calm and restraint on both sides,” she said, adding that the Indian and Pakistani armies were in touch with each other .
    “We believe that that continued communication is vital to reduce these tensions.”
    In her briefing, Trudeau said that “conflicts or issues or rising tension are not contained to any specific region”.
    “We are in favour of any reduction of tensions that both sides agree to in this particular instance,” she stated.
    “We have strong ties with both Pakistan and India, and we’ll engage on that basis.”
    Reiterating that the US position on Kashmir has not changed, Trudeau said, “I would remind you that we are having conversations with both (India and Pakistan) on the importance of reducing the tensions in the region.”

  • Muslims host tea party on Hindu marriage in Budgam

    The locals suspended a proposed candlelight march to ensure the marriage ceremony is not disturbed, he said. Amid ongoing unrest in the Valley, residents of Ichgam village here facilitated Hindu marriage at a local temple on October 2. Demonstrating religious harmony, the locals rushed to Sharika Bhagwati Temple in the village as the news of marriage reached their ears.

    On October 2, some non-locals working on a brick kiln in the district visited the village to perform the marriage of Ritu and Rajiv (a couple from Bareli, UP), a local said.

    The locals suspended a proposed candlelight march to ensure the marriage ceremony is not disturbed, he said.

    The locals (Muslims) arranged all the necessary items meant for a marriage ceremony and remained there to felicitate the couple.

    Sandesh Bhat, a Pandit, who was present at the marriage said, “Such marriages were reminding of the early 1990s when our Muslim brothers remained by our side in our grief and happiness. It still continues.”

    Locals on the occasion hosted a tea party for the guests at the marriage amid shutdown, said a non-local who was part of the ceremony. (GK)

  • In unison, Kashmiris slam Minister in Delhi

    People got offended after Minister used derogatory remarks about Kashmir
    Srinagar: Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader and Delhi Tourism Minister Kapil Sharma was ridiculed in unison by Kashmir’s tour operators for making objectionable remarks about Kashmir and its tourism sector.

    According to eyewitnesses, as Sharma was trying to corner the Jammu and Kashmir chief minister Mehbooba Mufti and making derogatory remarks about Kashmir- saying ‘terrorists walk like tourists in Kashmir’, the travel and tour operators hailing from Jammu and Kashmir stood from their seats and cautioned Sharma to retract from his statement. “Tour operators from JK all in unison castigated Delhi tourism minister and raised objections to his instigative speech,” eyewitnesses told KNS over phone from New Delhi.
    It was informed further that Shrama had to leave the stage half way after facing such a public wrath. “Not only JK tour operators objected to Sharma’s remarks. There were people from Delhi also who asked Sharma to shut up,” says a tour operator.
    He added that the Delhi tourism minister got offended by the speech of the Union Toursim Minister Mahesh Sharma who termed JK as number one tourist destination in entire India. “It was a kind of insecurity that Delhi tourism minister got after JK as a prime tourist destination was praised by one and all in the function. All he tried was to divert attention,” says the travel operator who attended the function of the Bharat International Travel Bazaar (BITB).
    The chief minister Mehbooba Mufti who was the chief guest of the function said in her speech: “Any place in the world, including Delhi, women are safest in my Kashmir. They move around in shikaras and houseboats. That’s the biggest thing my state can offer. As compared to any place in the world, including Delhi, women and girls are safest; there is no fear of getting raped in a car.”
    Around 400 tour operators hailing from various countries and states were present in the function. There were also 50 tour operators from JK present on the occasion. (KNS)
     

  • JK Bank officers’ fraternity organizes farewell party for outgoing chairman

    Parvez Ahmed praises Mushtaq Ahmad’s leadership qualities

    Srinagar: J&K Bank officers posted at Corporate Headquarters today organized a farewell party for its out-going Chairman and CEO Mushtaq Ahmad, who will complete his term on October 5, 2016.
    The party was attended by the in-coming Chairman and CEO Parvez Ahmad along with Executive Presidents Abdul Rauf, S S Sehgal and Vagish Chander.
    Speaking on the occasion, the in-coming Chairman Parvez Ahmad paid glorious tributes to Mushtaq Ahmad for his leadership and guidance that oversaw many of the great achievements of the bank during last many years.
    He said, “In growth and development of J&K Bank as an institution, the role played by Mushtaq Ahmad has been remarkable. He has been the essential part of the evolution of this bank from an unfamiliar organisation to one of the premiere institutions of the country. It is under his guidance, the bank achieved the business target of one lac crore during its platinum Jubilee year besides many other milestones.”
    “I have personally learned a lot from his nuanced understanding of banking and the consequent processes of his decision-making”, he added.
    Parvez Ahmad also highlighted deteriorating assets and weekend balance sheet of the bank.
    However he committed to improve the asset quality of the bank and also make the balance sheet strong.
    The outgoing chairman & CEO Mushtaq Ahmad in his address said, “I feel delighted today to have been able to pass on the baton of leadership to someone from within the bank’s family as I had desired while taking the charge six years ago here at the same place.”
    “And I am sure that the Parvez Ahmad will hold this sacred trust dear to his heart and build over the legacy and achieve higher goals for the bank in future”, he added.
    While expressing his concerns over the conditions of banking industry in general and the state in particular, Mushtaq Ahmad sounded a note of optimism, saying, “Amid all these conditions what reassures me is the resilience in character and the firmness in foundations of this institution besides the tested loyalty of our customers and continued support of our major stake holder i.e. state government.”
    However, all this confidence about the future of the bank is entirely premised upon my trust in the most valuable human resource of over 11000 employees of this institution, whose dedication remains unparalleled and unquestioned”, he added.
    Further, he thanked all the staff members for their cooperation and generous affection.
    Meanwhile the bank’s senior Presidents, S K Bhat & Mohammad Syed Wani, President, Vice-presidents/ zonal heads (Kashmir) and other senior officers were also present on the occasion.

  • CPJ seeks immediate revocation of ban order on ‘Kashmir Reader’

    Mir told CPJ he did not know what stories particularly concerned the government, but that he believed the “credible inputs” the magistrate referenced were from the state director of information”s office.

    Authorities in Jammu and Kashmir should immediately reverse an order to suspend publication of the Kashmir Reader newspaper, the Committee to Protect Journalists said on Tuesday.
    Police arrived at the daily newspaper’s office with an order to stop publishing on Monday.
    “Yesterday, around five or six policemen delivered the order at our office,” Hilal Mir, editor of the newspaper, told CPJ by phone on Tuesday. “The order invokes local press laws and says that law and order in the state will be disturbed if the newspaper is allowed to be published.”
    Mir told CPJ he did not know what stories particularly concerned the government, but that he believed the “credible inputs” the magistrate referenced were from the state director of information’s office.
    More than 50 journalists from several publications yesterday protested the order in a march from Srinagar’s press enclave, which houses newspaper offices, to the office of the director of information.
    “Censoring the press will not put an end to the unrest in Jammu and Kashmir,” CPJ Asia Program Coordinator Steven Butler said from Washington. “The Kashmir Reader should be allowed to resume publication without delay.”
    The order is the latest in a series of attempts to censor the press in Jammu and Kashmir since protests erupted in July over the killing of Burhan Wani, a commander with the Hizbul Mujahideen, a pro-independence militant group.
    On August 29, two journalists from the English-language daily Kashmir Observer – managing editor Farooq Shah and sub-editor Muntazeer Yaseen — were attacked in separate incidents in Srinagar.
    Police in July raided the offices of newspapers, including most-circulated Greater Kashmir, Rising Kashmir, Daily Kashmir Images, Kashmir Observer, and Kashmir Reader, halting printing presses and confiscating printed newspapers due for delivery, CPJ reported at the time.

  • People will demand proof of ‘surgical strikes’: Chidambaram

    Talking to a TV news channel, Chidambaram said that unlike the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance government, the Narendra Modi government has deliberately taken political ownership of military action.

    Claiming that cross-border pre-emptive military actions took place during the UPA regime also, Congress leader P. Chidambaram on Tuesday said there will be public demands for releasing the video footage of the recent “surgical strikes carried across the Line of Control (LoC),” as the Narendra Modi government has taken political ownership of the military action.
    Talking to a TV news channel, Chidambaram said that unlike the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance government, the Narendra Modi government has deliberately taken political ownership of military action.
    “Such cross-border pre-emptive actions have taken place in the past. At least one such strike has been confirmed by then Chief of Army staff Gen. Bikram singh in January 2013. There have been others, but I don’t want to get into details,” Chidambaram told CNNNews18.
    “Having taken political ownership for the cross-border action and having publicised it so much, it is only to be expected that people will demand that the video be released. So I am sure the government has thought through about the consequences of taking the political ownership for a purely military action.
    “And having thought through the consequences, let the government respond to the demand for releasing videos,”said the former Union Home Minister.
    The Congress leader attributed “policy of strategic restraint” behind the UPA not publicising such military action conducted during its regime.
    “Our government took the call that cross-border action should be a military call and it is for (Army) Generals to say what they want to say. We did not take political ownership of military action. This government has taken that responsibility.”
    “We pursued the correct strategy, our policy was strategic restrain. It is of course the privilege of every government to adapt or modify policies. If the NDA government modified, altered the polices of strategic restraint, its their call, they have to face the consequences of that call,” he said.
    “As the Opposition we support the government but the consequences of that call to modify and to take political ownership of military action, entirely is the responsibility of the NDA,” he said, adding that during the UPA regime between 2004-2014, “more terrorists were arrested and killed” than in any other period.
    Indian Army’s Special Forces claimed that it carried out “surgical strikes on terrorist launch pads across the Line of Control (LoC)” on the night of September 28-29.

  • Police denies militant attack in Yaripora, says army opened fire after ‘suspicious movement’

    Panic gripped Yaripora area of south Kashmir’s Kulgam district on Tuesday evening as army opened fire after noticing some suspicious movement around a police station.
    Initial reports suggested that it was a militant attack on police station Yaripora, but police denied it.

    “It was not a militant attack. At around 8:00 pm, some army men guarding the police station at one end only noticed some suspicious movement and hence opened fire. There was however, no retaliation,” said a senior police official posted in the area.
    He said that the area has been cordoned off.
    Army and police jointly guard the police station Yaripora.