Category: Union Territory

Srinagar: Police is cracking down on cyber militants, also known as “white-collar jihadis”, as it feels that they are the “worst kind of terrorists” who remain anonymous but cause an “immeasurable” amount of damage and brainwashing of youngsters, officials said here.

According to an assessment provided by Director General of Jammu and Kashmir Police Dilbag Singh, senior army officers and officials from the security establishment, there is a fear that these “white-collar jihadis” could trigger a communal clash or influence some youths by manipulating news on social media while they themselves live comfortably in faraway countries.

The battleground is new where conventional weaponry and the fighting zones of a warren of narrow streets and forests are replaced by computers and smartphones to wage war from just about anywhere — in Kashmir or outside, safe inside their homes or out on the streets, from a nearby cafe or even just a convenient roadside.

A senior army officer termed them “white-collar jihadis” who mislead the youth and general population by peddling lies on social media and twisting the situation to suit the separatists or militant groups.

The Jammu and Kashmir Police recently arrested five suspected “white-collar jihadis” who were behind a campaign to spread falsehood about the sovereignty of the country.

They, according to the police, were tasked with preparing a strategic hit list of government officers, journalists, social activists, lawyers and political functionaries to instil fear among people.

“A cyber terrorist is actually deadlier than an actual terrorist because first, he is in hiding and second, he is absolutely unknown — unknown till you get into certain very specific details,” Singh said.

“It is very difficult to find out those kinds of details to locate them and who is actually using that particular identity in the virtual world. People have taken advantage of anonymity in the cyber world and that is why they indulge in such kinds of activities,” he said.

Singh has been laying special emphasis on putting a check on cyber terrorists as he feels that they are the “worst kind of militants (as) they are not seen but the amount of damage they do and the amount of pollution of the mind of the youth they do are immeasurable.”

He says they are the people who are responsible for recruitment, they are the ones who would make some sort of comments and statements on social media which would create a communal wedge between various communities, between Hindus and Muslims and others.

“Therefore, taking care of them and hitting them is very very important so we are working on that front and achieved some success in some areas. More work and more focussed work is needed. We will continue to do whatever is needed in this regard,” Singh said.

The police chief cited an encounter earlier this year in Nowgam and said suddenly there was a tweet claiming that a minority community person had given information about terrorist presence there to the security agency. “It was absolutely false, fraud and nonsense,” Singh said, adding the use of social media was only aimed at creating a communal divide.

He referred to the recent cases wherein a jeweller, the son of the owner of a popular eatery and some others were targeted by terrorists and said “details suggest that these kinds of targets are picked only after some kind of misinformation is spread.”

However, senior officials in the security establishment say that it takes a long time to trace white-collar jihadis. “It is like finding a needle in a haystack. Millions of people are on social networking sites and it is too difficult to locate that one person,” an official said.

The Jammu and Kashmir Police has started registration of private citizens as volunteers to police the internet and report suspected cyber crimes to the government.

The initiative launched in February this year provides for three categories of volunteers — ‘Unlawful Content Flaggers’, ‘Cyber Awareness Promoters’ and ‘Cyber Experts’.

According to the police, unlawful content flaggers will play a role in “identifying online illegal/unlawful content like child pornography, rape/gang rape, militancy, radicalization, anti-national activities.”

Cyber awareness promoters will create awareness about cyber crime among citizens, including vulnerable groups like women, children and the elderly, rural population, while cyber experts will deal with specific domains of cyber crime, forensics, network forensics, malware analysis, memory analysis and cryptography among others. PTI

Urged Supreme Court to ‘expeditiously’ begin hearing pleas on Article 370 abrogation

Communist Party of India (Marxist) leader and spokesperson of the People’s Alliance for Gupkar Declaration M.Y. Tarigami has urged the Supreme Court to “expeditiously” begin hearing petitions challenging the Centre’s abrogation of Article 370 and bifurcation of the State of Jammu and Kashmir into Union Territories (UTs), saying the government was taking “irreversible actions” that may render the pending case “infructuous”.

Several petitions, including one by Mr. Tarigami, have been waiting in the Supreme Court for nearly two years. The petitions were referred to a five-judge Bench in August 2019 by the then Chief Justice of India, Ranjan Gogoi. The case was last listed before a Constitution Bench led by Justice Gogoi’s successor, Chief Justice S.A. Bobde (now retired), on March 2, 2020.

The other four judges on the Constitution Bench are Justices Sanjay Kishan Kaul, R. Subhash Reddy, B.R. Gavai and Surya Kant.

Presidential Order

The petitions challenged a Presidential Order of August 5 that blunted Article 370. The Article had accorded special rights and privileges to the people of Jammu and Kashmir since 1954 in accordance with the Instrument of Accession. The special status was bestowed by incorporating Article 35A in the Constitution. Article 35A was incorporated by an order of President Rajendra Prasad in 1954 on the advice of the Jawaharlal Nehru Cabinet. Parliament was not consulted when the President incorporated Article 35A into the Constitution through a Presidential Order issued under Article 370.

Following the abrogation, the Jammu and Kashmir (Reorganisation) Act of 2019 came into force and bifurcated Jammu and Kashmir into UTs “without a Legislative Assembly”. “Immediately after August 5, 2019, a strict security lockdown was imposed in Jammu and Kashmir that last over a year, along with a communication blackout and months-long Internet shutdown,” Mr. Tarigami, represented by advocate P.V. Dinesh, submitted.

Seeking an early listing of his writ petition, which was admitted in October 2019, Mr. Tarigami said the “irreversible actions” of the Centre included the constitution of a delimitation commission to mark boundaries for constituencies before an Assembly election could be held, the amendment to the J&K Development Act (allowing persons who are not permanent residents to buy non-agricultural land in the erstwhile State) and closing down institutions like the J&K State Women’s Commission, State Accountability Commission, State Consumer Protection Commission and the State Human Rights Commission.

“It is submitted that if the matters are not heard urgently, grave injustice will be caused to the applicant,” it said.

With inputs from The Hindu

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by Kashmir Today staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

“This is a playground and I do not want to comment about the outsiders. But remember, the security situation here is in our control and there is nothing to worry about it.”, General Officer Commanding of the Army’s 15 Corps, also known as the Chinar Corps, Lieutenant General D P Pandey, told reporters.

The statement comes amid concerns that the Taliban takeover of Afghanistan may impact the security situation in the Kashmir valley.

Did not have any disillusionment about the outcome of APM, was a social / political interaction, and an exchange of ideas : Sajad Lone

Srinagar: In a major boost to the Peoples Conference, Vice Chairman DDC Kupwara and senior leader Haji Farooq Ahmed Mir today joined the party in presence of PC Chairman Sajad Gani Lone at his residence.

Welcoming him into the party fold, PC Chairman said that Haji Farooq has a lot of struggle behind him and is widely respected by the people in his area.

“It is with great pleasure that we welcome Haji sahib along with hundreds of workers into the Peoples Conference family. This is a march; new people are coming into the Peoples Conference. Like me, Mr. Farooq has a lot of struggle behind him. He has a lot of goodwill and is widely respected for the work he has done for his people. He secured more than 10,000 votes, the highest by any candidate in the Kashmir valley in the recently held DDC elections. A number of prominent political leaders are joining the Caravan of Change. I am confident that our team will be able to navigate the people of J&K through these difficult and challenging times. We have already emerged as a formidable political force. Together, hopefully, we will write a new chapter in the frontier district. There are many more leaders who are going to join the party in the coming days and weeks”, he said

Responding to a question on the challenges faced by the leadership in J&K, Sajad said that the leaders can’t afford to act in a manner which will hurt the interests of the people of J&K.

Nothing started on August 5 and nothing ended on August 5. Safeguarding the interests of the people, especially the youth of J&K is the biggest leadership skill in the current times. It is a long game; the leadership will have to be patient if we want to achieve something for the people of J&K.

Responding to a question on disappointment in certain camps about the lack of delivery after the All-Party Meeting, Sajad Lone said that he did not have any disillusionment about the outcome of the meeting.

“Disappointment after August 5 has galloped. I did not have any disillusionment about the All-Party Meeting. It was a social interaction, a political interaction and an exchange of ideas. I personally did not expect anything from the meeting. I just hope the Centre follows up on it with something concrete. It is imperative that there is no communication gap between the Centre and the people of Kashmir. Continued engagement is the need of the hour”, he added

Speaking on the occasion, Haji Farooq Ahmed Mir said that It is a matter of satisfaction that the Peoples Conference is emerging as a formidable political force in J&K.

“I genuinely believe that Mr. Sajad Lone is the only leader capable to take the people of J&K out of the current impasse and deliver for the people of Kashmir. I will work alongside the party’s rank and file in ensuring that the party’s flag flies high across all regions of J&K”, he said.

Mr. Haji Farooq Ahmed Mir is currently the Vice Chairman District Development Kupwara (DDC). He contested the recently held DDC elections, as an independent candidate, from Wavoora segment of the Lolab constituency. He polled more than 10,000 votes, the highest in Kashmir valley and won by a margin of more than 5000 votes, the second highest margin of victory in the Kashmir valley.

PC senior vice president Abdul Gani Vakil, senior leaders Nazir Ahmed Laway, Fayaz Ahmed Mir, Bashir Ahmed Dar, Raja Aijaz Ali, Irfan Panditpori, Spokesperson Adnan Ashraf Mir, General Secretary Youth Mudasir Karim among others were also present on the occasion.

Srinagar, Aug 29: A local court in New Delhi has granted bail to a Kashmiri man, who was allegedly involved in planning to kill a religious priest in Delhi and was subsequently arrested by the police from a hotel in Paharganj area of New Delhi.

In a judgement, a copy of which lies with the news agency—Kashmir News Observer (KNO), court of additional sessions judge New Delhi granted bail to Jan Mohammad Dar on the grounds that trial in the instant case is expected to consume considerable time and considering the period of incarceration of the alleged accused person.

After hearing the prosecution and the defence counsel, the court observed that charge-sheet has already been filed and antecedents of the accused are reported to be absolutely blemish free.

“In the Instant matter, charge-sheet has already been filed. Recoveries have already been affected and except for the present case, the criminal antecedents of the applicant/accused are reported to be absolutely blemish free,” reads the court order.

It reads that considering the period of incarceration coupled with the fact that trial in the instant matter is expected to consume considerable time, accused John Mohammad Dar is ordered to be released on bail on his furnishing of bail bond of Rs. 50, 000.

The court while granting bail put the accused under the conditions that he shall appear on every date of hearing as fixed by the court concern.

“He shall keep his mobile phone on at all times and shall drop a pin on the google map to ensure that his location is available to the investigating officer. He shall commit no offence whatsoever during the period that he is on bail in present FIR,” the court said.

Earlier, defence counsel advocate Sarfaraz Wani submitted before the court that the accused was a resident of Kashmir and was falsely implicated and was in jail for the last three months.

He pleaded that the accused is the only bread winner of his family and a carpenter by profession. “The investigation has been completed and no purpose would be served by keeping him behind the bar,” he pleaded while praying for release of the accused on bail.

Meanwhile, the prosecution prayed that the accused was planning to assassinate the head of a religious institution in Delhi and NCR.

Notably, on May 18 this year, Delhi Police had claimed to have arrested a man, identified as 24-year-old John Mohammad Dar alias Jehangir of Pulwama, from a hotel in Paharganj for allegedly being contracted to kill Dasna Devi temple’s head priest—(KNO)

In a recent video uploaded on Instagram by a user named Niranjan Mahapatra, a bride is seen slapping the groom for chewing tobacco at their wedding

People are always excited about their wedding, they wait months in anticipation of their wedding day as it marks the beginning of their new life but sometimes it can also turn into a battleground between the bride and husband. In a recent video uploaded on Instagram by a user named Niranjan Mahapatra, the bride is seen slapping the groom.

Just as the ceremony was ready to begin, the incident occurred on the wedding pavilion. The bride and groom are shown in the video sitting next to each other, surrounded by close relatives. The bride begins a conversation with a wedding guest before becoming upset and assaulting him. She then yells at the groom and hits him as well.

Bride slapped groom because he was chewing tobacco

The conflict intensifies because no one at the wedding tries to stop it. According to the video, the bride becomes enraged after learning that her husband is chewing tobacco, which she despises. After she slaps him, he was compelled to stand up and spit the tobacco from his mouth. When he rises to do so, relatives and guests rush to one side to avoid being spat upon.

The video is gaining traction on social media, with some users praising the bride’s reaction while others denouncing the groom’s decision to eat tobacco at his wedding. Some even speculated that the video was scripted to raise public awareness. Since it was shared a day ago, it has received around 2 thousand likes and welcomed a lot of comments. Most people used emojis to comment.

Srinagar, Aug 29: A 43-year-old CRPF trooper from Bandipora was killed after hit by train near railway bridge Humhama in Budgam in central Kashmir, officials said.

They said trooper identified as Mohammad Ismael Mir of 35 battalion of G-company, from Bandipora, deployed at Railway Bridge Humhama was hit by the train, resulting in his on the spot death. He was referred to SMHS Hospital where doctors declared him brought dead on arrival, a police official told GNS. He said that proceedings have been initiated. (GNS)

Srinagar: National Conference president Farooq Abdullah on Friday expressed hope that militancy will get over soon in Kashmir and asked people to keep faith.

We will get over insurgency soon. Keep faith. We have to survive and we make our nation survive, he said at the closing ceremony of Greentech Foundation’s two-day meet on Safety and Energy at Sonamarg tourist resort in central Kashmir’s Ganderbal district.

On people afraid of travelling to Jammu and Kashmir due to militancy, Abdullah said, Yamraj (God of death) is everywhere .

“Though J-K is paradise on earth, still people have fear in travelling to this region. Due to the violence and insurgency, they are not sure whether they will go back alive or not. But, I am happy you (visitors) have come, you made it a point to come here. When you go back tell your friends what you have witnessed here,” he said.

Abdullah, the Member of Parliament from Srinagar Lok Sabha constituency, said he would like to see a new India, the India that stands for all.

“God is neither in temple nor in mosque. The God, the Allah, is in every one of us. It is an earnest desire for all of us to live together and progress together. We made a nation that stands for all,” he said.

The NC leader said COVID-19 crippled mighty nations like USA, but India fared well despite widespread poverty.

Our scientific and medical community made our country proud, he said.

Abdullah also said constructing tunnels in places like Sonamarg will pave way for people to travel to such regions even in winters and also open up another dimension to winter sports.

“We are constructing some major tunnels in Jammu & Kashmir. A section of it is going to be open this winter. This will pave a way for people to travel to region even in the winters, which otherwise was difficult so far.

“These tunnels also open up another dimension to winter sports. This may help us improve our medals tally in Olympics. Many smaller nations won more medals than us. We need tunnels. They are important not just for enabling travel in winter, but for strategic reasons for our army as well,” he added.

PTI

Leh: A joint strike call given by the Apex Body of People’s Movement for 6th Schedule and Kargil Democratic Alliance (KDA) disrupted normal life in Ladakh Saturday. The protest is against the Centre’s delay in holding talks with them regarding their demand for statehood and constitutional safeguards to the region.

Delegates meet Union minister

A delegation met Union Minister Nityanand Rai regarding their demands
They have been demanding statehood and constitutional safeguards to the region
Also a joint delegation of the Apex Body and the KDA met the visiting Minister of State (MoS) for Home, Nityanand Rai, on Saturday afternoon after accepting his invitation. Both the groups have also been demanding one more Lok Sabha seat and two Rajya Sabha seats besides a special recruitment drive for the local youth to fill up over 10,000 vacancies.

“The meeting with the minister took place in a cordial atmosphere. The Union minister heard our demands patiently,” said Qamar Ali Akhoon, former minister and co-chairman of the KDA.

Akhoon, who was flanked by other prominent leaders including apex body leader and former MP Thupstang Chhewang and Co-chairman KDA Asgar Ali Karbalai, said the union minister assured them that the dialogue with them would continue for the resolution of their demands.

He thanked the people of Ladakh for observing a “complete strike”. He said the delegation also raised the demand for filling up of vacancies to provide employment to the UT youth. — PTI

SRINAGAR, AUG 28: “India is an important country in the region and we want good trade and economic relations with it,” Taliban leader Sher Muhammad Abbas Stanikzai said in a recent interview.

“We want our relationship with India to continue as it was before,” he told TOLOnews today. He said that Afghanistan’s trade with India is very important along the way to Pakistan. “We also need to keep air trade open with India.”

“We attach great importance to India in our trade, economic and political relations and want to maintain relations with India.” During the interview, he expressed his desire to work with India on all these issues.

“I am very grateful to the people of Pakistan for sheltering the refugees and for allowing our refugees to live there for so many years,” he said.

“We also expect to have good relations with Pakistan, our neighbor. As we have been friends before, we still hope that our relationship will be positive and that we will both pursue non-interference politics. (PTK)