Category: Union Territory

Srinagar, Sep 08: Doctors Association Kashmir (DAK) on Wednesday urged parents to get their children vaccinated against flu ahead of third Covid wave which is predicted to happen sometime in the fall of this year and is expected to affect kids the most.
“Receiving a flu shot could make it easier to tell if your child has Covid-19 in the event he/she gets sick as both illnesses have similar symptoms,” said DAK President and influenza expert Dr Nisar ul Hassan.
“This year’s flu season will likely coincide with the predicted third Covid wave. Administering flu vaccine would reduce the number of unnecessary Covid-19 tests that would limit the burden on hospitals and healthcare workers,” he added.
Quoting a recent study conducted at the University of Missouri School of Medicine Columbia, Dr Hassan said flu vaccination may offer some protection against Covid-19 in the pediatric population.
“The study found that those Covid-19 positive patients who had been administered the flu vaccine in the 2020 flu season had reduced odds of experiencing symptoms, respiratory complications and severe disease,” he said.
The DAK President said we would be facing a double whammy of flu and Covid this fall.
“You can catch the flu and Covid at the same time which could increase your risk of ending up in ICU or on a ventilator. That makes this season’s flu vaccine vitally important,” he said.
“Everyone 6 months and older should get an annual flu vaccine before the start of flu season which begins in October and can last late into May. Since it takes 2 weeks for the flu vaccine to become fully effective, it is best to get the vaccine in September,” said Dr Nisar.
“This season’s flu vaccine has been updated to better match currently circulating viruses. This year a quadrivalent influenza vaccine containing H1N1, H3N2 and two B viruses – Victoria and Yamagata is recommended,” he said.
“While the vaccine is recommended for all, it is especially needed in young children, elderly, pregnant women and people with underlying medical conditions.
Vaccination to expectant mothers is critically important to protect their new born babies’ upto 6 months who are too young to receive the vaccine,” he added.

Srinagar, Sept 8: Weatherman on Wednesday said that there is no forecast for any major rainfall in next ten days in Jammu and Kashmir.

While it rained at many places of Jammu and at scattered places of Kashmir, Director of local meteorological department Sonam Lotus said that intermittent light to moderate rain was likely to occur especially in morning and evening during next two days and mainly dry thereafter.

“There’s no forecast for any major rainfall for next 10 days,” he added.

Meanwhile a meteorological department official here told GNS that Srinagar recorded a low of 19.2 degrees Celsius against normal of 13.7 degree Celsius.

He said Qazigund, the gateway town of Kashmir, recorded minimum of 15.8 degrees Celsius against 11.7 degrees Celsius.

Pahalgam, the famous tourist resort in south Kashmir’s Anantnag district, witnessed a low of 11.8 degrees Celsius.

Kokernag had a low of 15.2 degrees Celsius against normal of 12.1 degrees Celsius, the official said.

Northern Kashmir’s Kupwara town recorded minimum of 15.5 degrees Celsius while Gulmarg, the world famous skiing resort in Baramulla district had a low of 12.6 degrees Celsius.

Srinagar, September 7 : Hardline Hurriyat Conference has elected incarcerated leader Masrat Alam as its chairman following the death of Syed Ali Shah Geelani last week.

In a statement issued to media on Tuesday, the hardline faction of the Hurriyat said the people of Jammu and Kashmir look up to the amalgam’s leadership with great expectations.

Shabir Ahmad Shah and Ghulam Ahmad Gulzar were elected as vice-chairmen.

The amalgam said the appointments were temporary till elections are held according to the Hurriyat constitution.

Geelani, who died last week, was elected as the lifetime chairman of the amalgam, but he stepped down and dissociated from it last year.

He was avowedly a Pakistan supporter and had spearheaded the separatist movement in Jammu and Kashmir for over three decades. PTI

During intervening night of 5th/6th of September an information received at Police post Tote Sahri (Reasi) that one Chamail Singh S/O Gheeka R/O Sarhi was stabbed and killed by his real brother Lehar Singh over a petty issue.

J-K police said its officers were made to wait for 3 hours at Geelani’s home when they went there for his burial

The Jammu and Kashmir Police on Monday said its officers were made to wait for three hours at separatist leader Syed Ali Shah Geelani’s home when they went there for his burial after his death, and that the family resorted to anti-national activities “probably under pressure from Pakistan and miscreants”.

Video shows Geelani’s body draped in Pak flag, FIR filed Refuting rumours allegedly being floated from across the border, the Jammu and Kashmir Police also released four videos through its twitter handle to show that 91-year-old Geelani was laid to rest as per the rituals in the intervening night of September 1 and 2.

“After the death of SAS Geelani, IGP Kashmir Shri Vijay Kumar met both of his sons at their residence at 11pm, condoled them and requested for burial in the night for the larger interest of the general public due to potential major L&O (law and order) situations. Both agreed and asked to wait for two hours until relatives reached,” the police said on its Twitter handle. 

The IGP Kashmir personally spoke to a few relatives and assured them of safe passage, it said.

“However, 3 hrs later probably under the pressure from Pakistan and miscreants they behaved differently and started resorting to anti-national activities, including wrapping dead body in Pakistani flag, making loud sloganeering in favour of Pakistan and instigating neighbours to come out,” the police said.

It said that after persuasion the relatives brought the body to the graveyard and performed all rituals “with due respect in presence of members of Intizamia Committee and local Imam”.
“The refusal of both his sons to come to the graveyard indicated their loyalty to the Pakistani agenda rather than their love and respect for their departed father,” it added.

The sons had later offered Fathia (prayers offered at the funeral) at 11 AM on September 2.

The J&K police has already filed a case under the stringent UAPA over the draping of Geelani’s body in a Pakistani flag and the alleged raising of anti-national slogans at his home.

PTI

Disclaimer: This video is not a work by Kashmir Today Staff.

No copyright infringement intended.

Srinagar, Sept 6: Police on Monday said that it had requested sons of Syed Ali Shah Geelani, chairman of Hurriyat Conference (G) for burial of their father in the night for larger public interest to avoid any potential law and order.

In a series of tweets Kashmir Zone Police said, “After death of SAS Geelani, IGP Kashmir Vijay Kumar along with SP & ASP met both of his sons at their residence at 11pm, condoled them & requested for burial in the night for larger interest of general public due to potential major L&O situations. Both agreed and asked to wait for two hours until relatives reach.”

IGP Kashmir personally spoke to a few relatives and ensured them of “safe passage”, police said in the tweets.

However, 3 hours later “probably under the pressure from Pakistan & miscreants they behaved differently & started resorting to anti-national activities including wrapping dead body in Pakistani flag, making loud sloganeering in favour of Pakistan and instigating neighbours to come out”.

Kashmir Zone Police further tweeted, “After persuasion the relatives brought the dead body to the graveyard and performed last rites with due respect in presence of members of Intizamia Committee and local Imam. The refusal of both his sons to come to graveyard indicated their loyalty to Pakistani agenda rather than their love & respect for their departed father”, ends the tweets.

Srinagar, Sep 06: A family had a narrow escape on Monday wee hours after a houseboat, they were living in, sank in the river Jhelum at The Bund Sheikhbagh, Srinagar.

Locals told the news agency—Kashmir News Observer (KNO), that the houseboat namely New King Suleman, belonging to Ali Muhammad Shagoo and Abdul Khaliq Shagoo capsized on Monday wee hours, rendering the family homeless.

Farooq Ahmad Dharma, a local, said that the houseboat sank in the river Jhelum in wee hours on Monday, however, the family heads managed to rescue all their members.

He said the houseboat has suffered a damage of Rs four to five lakhs in the incident. Dharma along with other locals appealed the government especially Lieutenant Governor, Manoj Sinha, Director Tourism G N Ittoo and Deputy Commissioner (DC) Srinagar, Muhammad Aijaz Asad to visit the affected family and provide assistance to them.

“The family should be immediately compensated so that they can renovate their houseboat, which is the sole source of income for the family,” they said.(KNO)

SRINAGAR Sept 6: Taking the security agencies by surprise, foreign militants outnumber local militants in north Kashmir — comprising three districts of Baramulla, Bandipora and Kupwara — in a changing trend, according to official figures.
The sudden spike in numbers has forced the police to restrict the movement of mainstream leaders and elected grassroots representatives because of fears of an increase in attacks on them, top police sources said.
According to the latest data of the police, there are between 40 to 50 foreign militants active in north Kashmir compared to just 11 local militants.

It is for the first time in a decade that north Kashmir is witnessing heightened militant activities compared to south Kashmir, which remained the hub of militants after the hanging of Parliament attack convict Afzal Guru in 2013.
“The foreign militants’ build-up was taking place for a long time and cannot be connected with the recent situation in Afghanistan. The changing trend was visible in the past two months,” a police officer said.
The presence of foreign militants in the ranks of the groups such as the Jaish-e-Muhammad, Al-Badr, Lashkar-e-Taiba and The Resistance Front (TRF) had dried up in the first quarter of 2021. In fact, the first foreign militant, Hamas alias Asrar alias Saria, who was active since March 2018, was killed on May 4 in north Kashmir’s Sopore, according to the police.
Against 32 foreign militants killed in 2020, only nine foreign militants have been killed this year so far, according to official figures.
A total of 102 militants, “mostly commanders”, were killed, 88 youth recruited, 30 arrested and 425 over ground workers held this year, according to the police data.
“The biggest success against foreign militants in Kashmir this year was the killing of Saifullah alias Adnan alias Lamboo, an IED expert who played a role in the 2019 Pulwama attack on July 31,” a police officer said.
The rising numbers of militants in north Kashmir, which is already over 50 militants, has forced the security agencies to re-strategise their response.
A senior official said most mainstream leaders and elected grassroots representatives have been asked to lie low and provided with dos and don’ts when they plan to move around.
“I have been asked not to visit Sopore during the daytime, not to take the interior routes in Handwara and Rafiabad and ensure that police personnel remain on alert after the sundown,” a north Kashmir-based mainstream leader said.
In fact, the police investigation into the grenade attack on a sarpanch, Narinder Kour, on August 22 in Baramulla’s Shrakwara Kreeri area was traced to TRF’s non-local recruit Ali Bhai.
The police said the two suspected attackers held in the case were “in contact with LeT terrorist Hilal Sheikh and Usman, a foreign militant”. (The Hindu)

Srinagar Sep 06: Criticising the authorities for the filing of a first information report over the draping of Syed Ali Shah Geelani’s body in a Pakistani flag, former chief minister and PDP president Mehbooba Mufti Monday claimed that authorities did not even spare the dead.
Talking to reporters here according to news agency Kashmir Indepth News Service (KINS), Mehbooba said what happened to Syed Ali Geelani on his death has hurt the people.
“You should have given respect to the dead body. You can fight with a person when he is alive, not with a dead person. We could have differences with Geelani sahib but his last rites should have been allowed as per his wishes. He had wished to be buried at a particular place. If you don’t agree with a person that does not mean you will take revenge after his death at the barrel of the gun,” Mehbooba said.
Syed Ali Geelani, 91, died on Wednesday night at his residence in Srinagar after a prolonged illness. The body was laid to rest at a graveyard in a nearby mosque. His family said he had wished to be buried at the martyr’s graveyard in downtown Srinagar.
The PDP president said she had had differences with Geelani but he deserved a different treatment after his death. Criticising the filing of the FIR, Mehbooba Mufti also said, “In Kashmir even the dead are not spared. A family isn’t allowed to mourn and bid a final farewell as per their wishes. Booking Geelani sahab’s family under UAPA shows GOI’s deep rooted paranoia and ruthlessness,” she said. “Draping the dead in a particular flag is not big issue. Even a chief minister had wished to be draped in the flag of a particular party.”
The Budgam Police registered the FIR against unnamed people under various provisions of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act and the Indian Penal Code, taking cognisance of a video clip which showed Geelani’s body draped in a Pakistani flag.
Mehbooba Mufti had offered her condolences on his demise, saying that she admired him for “his steadfastness & standing by his beliefs.” She wrote that while they had not agreed on many things, she was saddened to hear the news of his death. (KINS)

Srinagar, Sep 06 : Authorities on Monday evening said that the mobile internet services will be restored in Kashmir districts shortly. However, they said that the services would continue to remain suspended in Srinagar and Budgam districts.

Talking to the news agency (KNO), Inspector General of Police (IGP) Kashmir Zone, Vijay Kumar said that the mobile internet will be restored at 7pm in all districts except twin Central Kashmir districts including Srinagar and Budgam.

He said that they will take review about the restoration of mobile internet services in Srinagar and Budgam districts tomorrow afternoon.