Category: Union Territory

Srinagar: Divisional Commissioner Kashmir Baseer Ahmad Khan on Monday said that Divisional Administration is fully prepared and ready to deal any kind of weather eventuality.

The Divisional Commissioner made these remarks while addressing the media persons here today at a function organized by JKSHRC.

He said that after receiving weather advisory from Indian Meteorological Centre, Rambagh keeping in mind the inclement weather conditions, Government had prepared a zone and location wise action and management plan across the Valley to prevent any kind of interruption in services due to the bad weather. Zonal teams from concerned departments have been constituted to meet any exigency during the inclement weather period. Joint control rooms have been set up in every zone that will be monitored by the main control room established at every Deputy Commissioner’s office to review daily operations. Men and Machinery are in ready to tackle any kind of eventuality. Essential Commodities and medicines were already stocked in far-flung and cut off areas.

People residing in far-flung and avalanche prone areas are advised to pay to heed the weather advisories seriously, which are issued by the Divisional Commissioner’s office from time to time.

Srinagar, Dec 10: Putting the speculations to rest about his being the next probable Governor of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), Dr Haseeb Drabu Monday evening said that “he was not in the race.”

Responding to Ziraat Times question about the possibility of him being the next Governor of the RBI, Dr Drabu said that he was not running for the position.

On Monday, Reserve Bank of India’s present Governor Dr. Urjit R. Patel resigned from his position citing ‘personal reasons’ for his decision. He was serving the RBI September 4, 2016 onwards, after his predecessor Raghuram Rajan stepped down from the post.

Dr. Raghuram G. Rajan served the central bank for three years, between September 4, 2013 to September 4, 2016.

Dr Haseeb Drabu has previously served as the Finance Minister for J&K government.

He has also been involved with national economic policy making in India for a decade, including in the Planning Commission, Finance Commission and the Economic Advisory Council of the Prime Minister. He was instrumental in writing of the report of the Tenth Finance Commission which changed the fiscal federal relations in India.

He has also served as an editor at Business Standard.

Srinagar: The Association of Parents of Disappeared Persons(ADDP) led by Pervena Ahanger Monday held a silent protest against the continuous disappearance of their loved ones and the callous approach of New Dehli and the State government in tracing out their family members, subjected to enforced disappearance since 1989 across the state.

APDP Chairperson Parveena Ahangar while talking to Valley Media Service said that the main aim of their protest is to make the world community aware of the plight of people of Kashmir.

“We don’t want money or anything. We only want our disappeared. We have no hope from the government, and we will continue to seek the whereabouts of our disappeared till we are alive,” Ahanger said.

“We want to draw the attention of international rights groups for intervening and mounting pressure on India to provide whereabouts of our missing family members,” she added.

She said that despite being a signatory to the international conventions against human rights violations, India seems less bothered to deliver justice to those families whose loved ones were arrested and then subjected to enforced disappearances by security agencies here

The family members of disappeared youth castigated the successive governments for being indifferent towards their pain and agony. “Neither National Conference nor PDP did anything for them to trace their missing loved one. If BJP will trace our loved ones dead or alive, we will certainly then support this party,” said an elderly woman whose son according to her was picked by Border Security Forces during a crackdown 18 years ago and since then she doesn’t know about his.

Wearing white head bands with names of disappeared people written in black, the relatives participated in APDP’s proposed sit-in program to draw attention of the government and the media to seek information about their loved ones, who have vanished, presumed dead or imprisoned without trial or record.(VMS)

Srinagar: BJP’s state president, Ravinder Raina on Monday said that the 40 minutes address by National Conference Vice-President Omar Abdullah at Jammu office of NC was nothing but mere display of frustration being out of power and fear of future defeats in Lok Sabha and Assembly elections.

“Baseless allegations and false claims were arrows in wrong directions in an attempt to win over the confidence of the people of Jammu in particular. In nutshell it was an old wine being served in new bottle, which might have intoxicated the audience for few hours,” Raina said as per a statement issued.

He also termed Omar’s address as ‘a sign of acceptance of defeat by none other than NC State Vice-President himself’. Ravinder Raina said that whatever has been uttered by Omar Abdullah is bundle of lies with no logic or proof. “Dragging the names of country’s prestigious investigation agencies like NIA and CBI in the alleged threatening of MLAs is a serious matter and Omar Abdullah should come out with proof or seek public apology for indulging in such level of politics,” he said.

“Before raising finger on BJP-PDP coalition in the state, Ravinder Raina reminded that it was BJP in Jammu and PDP in Kashmir which got maximum seats on their own and the mandate was honoured by both parties by forming alliance government, which remained an eyesore for NC during three and half years,” he added.

“How funny it is that Omar Abdullah is now shedding crocodile tears for Jammu and its people but he should first explain why this region remained neglected and discriminated during decades of rule by his party,” he said.

“Today Omar Abdullah is questioning BJP on the issues of refugees, Kashmiri Pandits, UT status for Ladakh, he must get himself acquainted with correct information that only BJP has taken up these issues and more or less the fact is that these issues have surfaced with the active participation from the senior members of his own party at some point of time,” he said.

“Before talking of corruption, Omar should tell as to who is involved in JKCA case,” Raina said, saying BJP do not need any certificate from NC or its leadership as the people of Jammu are best judges and can differentiate between the pro-Jammu and anti-Jammu political dispensations.

“BJP was always on roads for the cause of Jammu and the NC governments always silenced our voice by use of force on agitating karyakartas and putting them in jails,” he said.

We are checking why it has happened: IGP Kashmir

Srinagar: Jammu and Kashmir Police has sought the feedback from the its district heads about the fresh trend of teenagers joining the militant ranks so that appropriate measures are taken to plug it before “situation goes out of hand.”

Islamabad: Pakistan would continue to lend full diplomatic, political and moral support to the people of Jammu and Kashmir, Prime Minister Imran Khan said Monday.

Khan’s remarks came in a message on the Human Rights Day which is observed every year on December 10.

This year, the Human Rights Day marks the 70th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

“On the 70th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, we reaffirm our full diplomatic, political and moral support to the people of Jammu and Kashmir in their just struggle for human dignity, respect and inalienable right to self-determination, he said.

He said this year is also significant for Pakistan as it has joined the UN Human Rights Council.

“Pakistan’s membership of the Council, for the fourth time, is a testimony to the confidence of the international community in Pakistan, as a consensus builder within the international human rights policy framework,” he said.

SRINAGAR: The killing of a minor militant in Srinagar gunfight has evoked sharp criticism from different quarters of society. Senior political leaders and People’s Conference Chairman Sajad Gani Lone has advised establishment to call off operations when any minor is trapped in a cordon and search operation.

Mudasir Rashid Parrey (14) and Sakib Bilal (17), the two minor militants from Lashkar-e-Taiba were killed in Mujhgund fierce gun battle. A Pakistan militant Ali Bahi was also killed in the same gun fight.

While reacting over the killing of a minor boy, Sajad Lone tweeted: “The killing of a fourteen year old is sad and scary. The administration should exhaust all non military options when a minor is involved. Calling off such an operation is a better option. And the involvement of minors in non state military activity merits thought from the society.”

Sajad Lone
@sajadlone
The killing of a fourteen year old is sad and scary. The administration should exhaust all non military options when a minor is involved. calling off such an operation is a better option. And the involvement of minors in non state military activity merits thought from the society

Majid Hyderi
@majidhyderi
Labeling a 14-yr-old as “Terrorist” is contemptuous and killing him even bigger abuse of Child Laws in India, to say the least.
Because at least kids deserve a chance to live.#KashmirNeedsDialogue#Kashmir#KashmirBleeds #Srinagar #MJH

Srinagar: Former Indian spymaster AS Dulat has claimed that Pakistan has given up on Kashmir and the message coming out from Kashmir is that the stakeholders want peace and a dialogue with New Delhi, Tribune India reported.

Stating that the Kashmir problem cannot be solved by force because it is not an military issue but a political one, Dulat said the only way forward is to engage and talk with the stakeholders.

“Today we have a situation where a former Norwegian Prime Minister goes to Kashmir and speaks to the Hurriyat, but the Hurriyat cannot speak to the Pakistani High Commissioner or to New Delhi’s special representative in Kashmir. However, the message from the Hurriyat is clear that they want peace and dialogue,” he said at a session on “Kashmir Quandary: Diagnosis and Remedy” at the Military Literature Festival in Chandigarh.

“While we continue to exaggerate the role of Pakistan in the Kashmir issue, today the Kashmiri has no interest in Pakistan. It was only till about 1994-95 that Pakistan was a real player and was behind virtually everything that happened,” Dulat, who headed India’s external intelligence agency, Research and Analysis Wing, in 1999-2000, remarked.

“Today things are in control, but the political process has to start. The question, however, being raised in several quarters is how to start the political process as they don’t have any political workers on the ground level,”

Lt Gen Gautam Banerjee (retd), former Chief of Staff, Central Command, said.

Things in Kashmir were fine till about 1989 and thereafter, the military created a situation four or five times where the political or ideological process could have been started, but it was never done and the situations were abandoned for the armed forces to handle, he added.

He also said the Kashmiris know that they can never get separated from India but they act in a rebellious manner because it has become a culture due to a societal breakdown. A social and political transformation process has to be initiated.

Stating that the situation in Kashmir is more dangerous today than it was earlier, Lt Gen MC Bhandari (retd) said Kashmir is not a security problem but an amalgamation of historical, political, ideological issues and a clash of egos on both sides. The military can only be a part of the solution, he added.

Srinagar: Hurriyat Conference (M) chairperson Mirwaiz Umar Farooq has said that former Norwegian Prime Minister to Kashmir had a go ahead from New Delhi.

In an interview to New Delhi based Hindustan Times, Mirwaiz while responding to a question whether “centre had given him the go-ahead”, he said: “Definitely, there has been some interest on Kashmir recently in the international arena, especially after the UN (human rights) report on Kashmir. We hope the initiative will continue and there is some movement forward.”

Mirwaiz said that it was after 5-6 years that a visit by any foreign dignitary happened. “Mr Bondevik and particularly Oslo Center (founded by Bondevik) have some experience in conflict regions. He came here, went to Delhi, and went across to Islamabad. The important thing is that he talked about involvement of Kashmiris and secondly that there can be no military solution. Definitely his visit must have the blessings of certain powers; otherwise he would not have been allowed to come here.”

He said that there has been a change in policy as far as New Delhi is concerned as compared to the policy adopted by then NDA (National Democratic Alliance) government under Vajpayee.

“I think the basis of that engagement then was the realisation that Kashmir is a humanitarian problem. That is why Mr Vajpayee said we are willing to engage within the ambit of humanity. That opened a way for us to engage with Delhi and also go to Pakistan… This was a triangular approach where every party was talking to the other party. That approach is totally missing now. We have seen hardening of stand and extreme repression. That Vajpayee doctrine has been replaced by Doval doctrine. Now the state is engaging people through cordon-and-search operations. While Vajpayee was talking about peace, Mr Modi and his team are talking about war.”

Mirwaiz also brushed off the presence of Al-Qaeda or Islamic State in Jammu and Kashmir.

“As far as the Kashmir militant movement is concerned, you can’t label it as al-Qaeda or any other thing. There is absolutely no trace of that. Even parties like Hizbul Mujahideen and others, they have been very clear about what their goal is. They are limited to Kashmir. There are certain aberrations, certain youth; when you are pushed to the wall, there is a possibility that certain sections tend to see things from a different picture. As a Mirwaiz, as a religious head, we have always maintained that it is a political problem. We have never said that it is Hindu India versus Muslim Kashmir.”