Category: Union Territory

As per an official, a team of the SDRF has been deputed from Ganderbal district to assist the one already stationed at the cave shrine to tackle any eventuality.

Further details awaited

Srinagar, July 28: Mirwaiz-e-Kashmir Moulvi Umar Farooq, who continues to be under illegal house arrest for the last two years, has expressed deep sorrow and shock over the loss of lives and property caused by the cloudburst in Hunzar village of Kishtwar in Dachhan Tehsil of Chenab region.

Mirwaiz expressed his heartfelt condolences, sympathy and solidarity with the victims of the tragic death of seven people and the disappearance and injury of dozens of others in Hunzar, the destruction of half a dozen residential houses and other properties. He prayed to Allah Almighty to grant heavenly abode to the deceased. He also prayed for safety of the disappeared.

Mirwaiz appealed to the local people, especially the financially well off ones, to come forward for the possible relief and immediate rehabilitation of the victims in these moments of ordeal.

Mirwaiz also expressed concern over the damage caused in another cloudburst incident in Aloosa, Bandipora and expressed sympathy with the affected people.

Says J&K was made scapegoat for gaining votes, IGP must probe killings of three youth in recent encounters, youth must stay away from gun culture, follow peaceful path of Gandhi

Srinagar, Jul 28 : Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) president and former chief minister Mehbooba Mufti on Wednesday said that whatever was snatched from Kashmiris on August 05, 2019 will have to be returned with interest.

Addressing party workers on the occasion of 22nd foundation day of PDP at party headquarters, Mehbooba as per the news agency—Kashmir News Observer (KNO) said with the decision taken in August 2019, the Jammu and Kashmir was made scapegoat for gaining votes.

“It is unfortunate that the only Muslim majority state in India was split,” she said, adding that whatever people of Kashmir faced wasn’t done by India and its constitution, but by an individual party.

“The identity of J&K people was snatched illegally and whatever was snatched from people on August 5, 2019, will have to be returned with interests,” she said, adding that “when India can achieve freedom from British after 70 years, when BJP can snatch special status of J&K after 70 years, then why can’t we fight out rights.”

The PDP president said that the J&K people want to live with India and thus will continue to raise their voice and seek the restoration of special status.

She appealed to youth to shun the militancy, saying that some people want youth to take up arms, but “the youth should stay away from culture. We will raise our voice peacefully. We have to learn from Mahatma Gandhi. We need to learn from him.”

According to KNO, Mehbooba said that J&K people preferred to stay with India due to its democratic nature, but whatever was given to the people by India itself has been snatched.

“Today forces are not fighting enemies, Pakistan and China, but with the people of Jammu and Kashmir. They (forces) have created fear among the people,” she said, adding that people are being threatened for raising their voice.

On the formation of PDP, she said her father established this party with an intention to help Kashmiris to come out for the suppression they faced. “My father never sought votes for developmental issues. Although he did development during his tenure by constructing Colleges, Universities and roads as well, he always sought votes for the well being of Kashmiris in terms of helping them to come out from the situation they were facing,” she said.

Meanwhile, she appealed to the Inspector General of Police (IGP) Kashmir to probe the killing of three youth in encounters, saying that people are raising fingers on IGP after the killing of three youth in the encounters.

“IGP should probe the killings of Zakir, Imran and Azad Mushtaq. The facts in this regard should be made public,” she said—(KNO)

Srinagar, July 28 : The union home minister, Amit Shah on Wednesday said that he has spoken to LG Manoj Sinha and director general of police Jammu and Kashmir regarding the cloudburst incident in a village in Kishtwar.

Amit Shah on his official Twitter handle Tweeted in Hindi that rescue teams have been engaged to rescue the missing people and priority was to save as many lives as possible.

He also expressed condolences with the bereaved families.

“I have spoken to LG and DGP of Jammu and Kashmir regarding cloudburst in Kishtwar (J&K). SDRF, Army and local administration are engaged in rescue work, NDRF is also reaching there. Our priority is to save as many lives as possible. I express my condolences to the bereaved families,” he Tweeted in Hindi.

Earlier, Four people died while around 35 people were reported missing after a cloudburst hit Honzar village of Dacchan tehsil in Kishtwar district of Jammu and Kashmi.

Meanwhile, LG Jammu and Kashmir, Manoj Sinha in a Tweet said: “Saddened over loss of precious lives due to flash floods caused by cloud burst in Dacchan, Kishtwar. My thoughts are with bereaved families.”

In another Tweet, Sinha said: “Spoke to senior authorities and district administration. Army and SDRF team working on war footing to rescue people and trace the missing persons. I am continuously monitoring the situation.”

NEW DELHI, July 28: The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) has said full statehood will be reinstated in Jammu and Kashmir at an “appropriate time” after normalcy is restored.

In a written response to Shiv Sena MP Priyanka Chaturvedi in Rajya Sabha, MoS Home Nityanand Rai said statehood to Jammu and Kashmir would be granted at an appropriate time after normalcy is restored.

The erstwhile state of Jammu and Kashmir was stripped of its statehood on August 5, 2019 after the removal of Articles 370 and 35A. The state was bifurcated into two Union Territories — Jammu and Kashmir, and Ladakh.

In a separate response to BJP MP Sasmit Patra over the security situation in Jammu and Kashmir, Nityanand Rai stated that terrorist incidents were reduced in Jammu and Kashmir during 2020 by 59 per cent as compared to 2019 and 32 per cent up to June 2021.

Nityanand Rai said in the written response that the government has a zero-tolerance policy towards terrorism and has taken various measures such as strengthening the security, intensified cordon and search operations to effectively deal with the challenges posed by the terrorist organisation. The security forces also keep a close watch on persons who attempt to provide support to terrorist groups, the minister said in his response.

On the issue of rehabilitation of Kashmiri Pandits in the Valley, the MHA said currently, there are 900 families of Kashmiri Pandits and Dogra Hindus living in Kashmir. The government is taking all steps to ensure their safety, the MHA said. (India Today)

Srinagar, July 27: A youth was shot dead at Nawakadal area of Srinagar in an act of ‘gang rivalry’, police said on Tuesday.

The youth Mehran Ali Sheikh son of Shabir Ahmad was fired upon outside his home at Bulbul Lanker Nawakadal, officials said.

In this incident, Mehran sustained grievous bullet injuries and was shifted to SMHS hospital for the treatment. However, he succumbed to his injuries.

“Primary investigation into killing of a youth in a firing incident at Nawa Kadal area of Srinagar has revealed that the incident is an act of Gang rivalry,” a police spokesman said in a statement to GNS this evening. “The Preliminary investigations conducted into the matter revealed that the killed youth was a part of 16 Gujjar Gang and was killed following a rivalry between two local gangs in the area,” he said, adding, “There was rivalry between two local gangs –Downtown Itehad and Gujjar Gang in the area and Mehran was part of Gujjar Gang. Further investigation into the matter is in progress.”

Earlier police said militants fired had fired upon the civilian outside his home.

Srinagar, Jul 27: The bail application of PDP leader Waheed-ur-Rehman Parra, a close aide of former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister Mehbooba Mufti, has been rejected for the second time in five months by a special court which said “prima facie” terror charges levelled against the accused seem to be “true at this stage”.

The 24-page bail order passed by the special NIA court here, however, rejected the contention of the prosecution that a fresh bail application should not have been entertained by the court as no fresh development has taken place since the last rejection in February.

While rejecting Parra”s bail application, the special judge said the contention raised by the defence counsel “herein cannot be considered at this stage and the good grounds do not exist at this stage which would warrant the release of the accused herein on bail in view of the given facts and circumstances governing the matter in hand”.

“… And at present I am satisfied in view of the material placed on the record that the alleged offences leveled against the accused/applicant (Parra) herein appears to be prima facie true at this stage,” the order said.

The order rejecting the bail was given earlier this month but it was made available on Monday.

Parra”s counsel Shariq Reyaz had urged for cancellation of the FIR under which the PDP leader had been arrested and contended that the same case was being probed by the National Investigation Agency, therefore rendering the probe by police as “void ab-initio and non-est” (having no legal validity from the beginning) in law.

The counsel said the material relief by the police against Parra was the sum and substance of the NIA charge sheet filed in a Jammu court from where he has already been granted bail.

The counsel contended before the court that Parra comes from a respectful family with a clean track record and being a political figure of eminence having deep roots in the soil will not jump the bail or fleeing from justice, in case the court grants it.

The defence counsel stressed on the fact that his client was a political worker and a member of a regional political party –PDP — who was duty bound to interact with the general public. Listening to “the grievances of the public is the job of politicians irrespective of the fact whether the interacting person is a good citizen or a criminal or whatsoever. The interaction of the politician with party members or voters does not amount to any offence”, he contended.

Countering the argument of defence counsel, the prosecutor pointed out that there have been statements recorded of some of the witnesses during the course of investigation conducted so far have brought out a “startling revelation of the tapestry of direct and willful quid-pro-quo between the accused and active militants”.

The prosecutor again highlighted that Parra “had contacts across the border, suspected to be his associates and handlers in Pakistan as well with anti-national elements which includes secessionists/terrorists as well as in the UK and other parts of the world.

It also surfaced that he had funded various anti-national outfits through different conduits and having them on his side and using their illegal power and influence in the society to his personal and political benefit.

The judge in his order rejected the contention of the Parra”s counsel for quashing of the FIR and said “to the understanding of this court quashing of FIR is out of the jurisdiction of this court and the issue raised can only be properly addressed after the trial of the case and it is premature stage to assess and decide” whether the two cases — one probed by the NIA and the second by police — are the same or not.

The judge said that the points raised by the defence counsel can only be addressed during the course of the trial.

The designated court has also framed charges against Parra which included allegedly being a

Srinagar, 27 July: The heat wave conditions remained unabated in parts of Jammu and Kashmir on Tuesday, even as the summer capital recorded its hottest July day in 8 years at 34.6 degrees Celsius.

As per Kashmir Weather, an independent weather forecaster, Srinagar recorded its hottest July day since 2013 when the maximum temperature had reached 35.2 degrees Celsius.

The all-time highest July temperature is 38.3°C recorded on 10 July 1946.

Similarly, Kupwara also recorded its hottest July day since 2013 at 35.2°C.

On 29 July 2013, mercury had reached at 35.8°C.

The ski-resort of Gulmarg, famous for its beauty and heavy snowfall during winters, recorded a maximum temperature of 25.0°C.

The other parts of the Valley also witnessed similar weather conditions.

Qazigund recorded 32.6°C, Pahalgam 29.6°C and Kokernag 31.7°C as the day’s highest temperatures.

Kashmir Weather has forecast a relief from present hot weather conditions from tomorrow with chances of rain and thundershowers at widespread places.

Pulwama: An enthusiastic woman from Southern Kashmir’s Pulwama district is emerging as a role model for potential women entrepreneurs of the valley, with her success of running a dairy farm.

Named Shahzada, the 26-year-old woman from Mitrigam village of the district set up the cow farm some five years ago with the assistance of Rural Development Department, by taking advantage of a Self-Help Group (SHG) scheme.

“I have a totally different perspective about the state of unemployment now. I feel like I started the dairy farm with a single cow, young people who are searching for employment can also start their own venture and work for its success, which will be only theirs at the end of the day,” Shahzada told news agency Kashmir News Trust (KNT).

She has successfully run the dairy farm while the number of cows in her dairy farm has increased with over 20 cows. On an average, 300 litters of milk are produced on a daily-basis and transported to all the four districts of south Kashmir and even the capital city of Srinagar.

“I studied up to Class 8th only but couldn’t continue further. However, I have learnt to keep track of the accounts and have been successfully maintaining all records. I mean, you learn things as you work,” Shahzada adds.

With high on hopes, the woman entrepreneur now wants to lay her hands on a cheese-making equipment, so as to diversify her business on the one hand and fight the ill-effects of pandemic on the other hand.

She, however, says that it needs a lot of support from the family, relatives and friends, especially when it is a female entrepreneur. “If people are supportive, things become easier,” she expresses.

While asking for help from the Department of Animal and Sheep Husbandry, she says that there are loopholes in allocation of subsidies and other related schemes. “Officials of the department need to bring in more transparency and accountability in this connection,” she goes on to say.

It is pertinent to mention here that official figures for the year 2020 show that Pulwama produced 31 crore litres of milk, which was supplied across J-K, and in 2017-18, it produced 28.04 crore litres. Every day, 8.5 lakh litres of milk is produced in the south Kashmir district.

The abundance not only motivated entrepreneurs to set up dairy farms but consequent processing units as well with the district having five large milk plants on the cards, slated to come up in a decade. (KNT)

Srinagar, July 27: A local “gangster” of “16 Gujjar Gang” was on Tuesday shot dead in Nawa Kadal area of Srinagar following a rivalry between two local gangs in the area, police said here.

A top police official told Kashmir News Service (KNS) that Meeran Ali son of Shabir Ahmad Sheikh of Bulbul Lanker locality of Nawa Kadal was shot dead as there was rivalry between two local gangs in the area.

“There was rivalry between two local gangs–Downtown Itehad and Gujjar Gang in the area and Meeran was part of Gujjar Gang and he was a known gangster of the area and today morning he was shot at and was later rushed to a nearby healthcare facility, where he succumbed,” the top official said.

He said that further investigation has been taken up regarding the incident and apparently this is a gang fight between two local gangs. (KNS)