Category: Union Territory

Another legislator accuses senior leader Naeem Akhter of ruining party

Srinagar: Though Basharat Bukhari took over charge of his new ministry today, the woes of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) seem far from over.All does not seem well in the party as MLA and former minister Abdul Majeed Padder is holding a workers’ meeting to decide the “future strategy”. Another MLA from the Zadibal constituency in Srinagar has accused Cabinet minister Naeem Akhter of ruining the party.The differences in the party leadership surfaced after two ministers Basharat Bukhari and Imran Raza Ansari resigned hours after another senior party leader Altaf Bukhari was inducted into the Cabinet on Friday.Abdul Majeed Padder, the MLA from Noorabad in Kulgam, said he had called a meeting of the workers on February 25.“A district development board meeting is being held on February 23 and I have called a meeting of the workers two days later,” Padder said. “My workers are perturbed that their representative has not been inducted into the Cabinet. So, we will all sit together and discuss things and the future strategy,” he added.Padder, who was Minister of State in the Cabinet of late Mufti Mohammad Sayeed, said some of his workers were angry and were considering boycotting the upcoming bypoll to the Anantnag parliamentary seat.Incidentally, Noorabad has been witnessing high voter turnout in past elections.MLA Abid Ansari, who represents the Zadibal constituency in Srinagar, and is the uncle of Imran Ansari has also levelled serious allegations against senior party leader and minister Naeem Akhter.“Naeem has ruined the party and he is influencing the Chief Minister in every decision. Tomorrow, we will have to go to people for vote, but Naeem has no constituency and that is the reason he is ruining the party,” Abid said.Roads and Buildings Minister and government spokesman Naeem said he would not respond to the MLA’s allegations.A senior party leader, however, said that there were certainly issues in the party.“But such issues are everywhere and will be resolved. It is, however, very unfortunate that some party leaders rather than helping the leadership in difficult times are creating problems,” said a party leader who did not wish to be identified.

Mehboob Beg nominated to PAC 

The PDP on Monday nominated MP Mehboob Beg to the Political Affairs Committee (PAC) of the party. The party also nominated Shafi Ahmad Wani, former MLA from Beerwah in Budgam, as the party treasurer. Wani was appointed a day after Congress leader from Beerwah Nazir Ahmad Khan joined the PDP. Wani’s nomination as the treasurer is being seen as the party’s bid to assuage frayed nerves.

‘Party workers mull bypoll boycott

’Abdul Majeed Padder, the MLA from Noorabad in Kulgam, has called a meeting of the workers on February 25. “A district development board meeting is being held on February 23 and I have called a meeting of the workers two days later,” Padder said. “My workers are perturbed that their representative has not been inducted into the Cabinet. So, we will all sit together and discuss things and the future strategy,” he added. Padder said some of his workers were considering boycotting the upcoming bypoll for the Anantnag parliamentary seat. 

Tribune News Service

Srinagar: Joint resistance leadership comprising of Syed Ali Geelani, Mirwaiz Umar Farooq and Muhammad Yasin Malik Monday cancelled the shutdown call for February 24.

The decision was taken to facilitate Hindu community a hassle-free Shivratri festival.

A spokesperson of the Joint Resistance Leadership said, “Hindu festival Shivratri falls on the same date so the leadership has decided to cancel the shutdown call.”

Pertinently, the resistance leaders, spearheading what they call the movement for right to self-determination had called for a complete shutdown on February 24.

Abhishek Saha – Hindustan Times

He is a stranger in his town.

Back home after 12 long years, Mohammad Hussain Fazili is still taking in the changes around him.

Buchpora, his locality, is an unrecognisable maze of lanes. But, for the 43-year-old shawl weaver from Srinagar, the biggest shock is the way his parents have aged.

A stroke has left his mother partially paralysed and his father is battling a heart condition.

Fazili spent 12 years in Delhi’s high-security Tihar Jail and that, too, for doing nothing.

On February 16, Fazili along with Mohammed Rafiq Shah, also from Kashmir, was acquitted in the 2005 Delhi blasts case, the worst terrorist attack on the Capital that left 67 people dead and more than 200 wounded.

“We were accused of something we had not done. Who will return me the lost 12 years of my life? Can anyone undo what my parents have suffered?” Fazili said, sitting with his parents at his home on Sunday morning.

A day earlier, he reached Srinagar on a flight from Delhi.

It is not just the city that has expanded, his family has grown too. When Fazili was arrested he had only one nephew. But, now all his three brothers are fathers – each has two children.

But the relief of being back is tempered with the reality of home.

“My mother is very sick. Like my mother, the mothers of those killed in the blasts, too, have suffered. But does that mean you take away the sons of others and frame them?” Fazili said.

The cold November night of 2005 still haunts him. He had come back from the mosque after evening prayers and was working on a shawl when the knock came.

Rest of the evening was a blur. A police team came and took him away for questioning, saying they wanted information on Delhi blasts. That was the last his parents would see of him for 12 years.

During his years in jail, Fazili didn’t meet his parents even once. There was not enough money.

“The moment my mother saw me walk through the gate, she started screaming with joy. Three people had to hold her back. We were scared she might suffer another stroke,” Fazili said.

“She was telling everyone she felt as if she had given birth to me all over again.”

The years have taken a toll on Fatima.

Her health is poor and she can’t move on her own. “I am very worried about her, her health and treatment,” Fazili said, as he helped her sit up on the bed.

Fatima, who is on heavy medication, said she was happy beyond words, her eyes shining bright, lighting up her wrinkled face.

His father struggled to control tears as Fazili talked about the arrest, the beatings and the other torture he suffered in Tihar.

“All I can say is I am very happy. Beta barah saal baad ghar aa gaya. (My son is back home after 12 years),” was all that 76-year-old Ghulam Rasool could say, his voice barely above a whisper.

Fazili said police wanted information about the blasts he had nothing to do with. “They kept saying ‘Aap militant hai (you are a militant)’,” he said.

What next?

Fazili has a lot on his mind. He hasn’t slept well since his release. “I have to take care of my mother, my father. Have to stay with them, take care of their treatment,” he said.

Money is a big worry. Fazili plans to look for a job as he has not weaved in years.

“There is a pressure to earn. I have to find a job I can do. Prices are high and a person needs to earn his sustenance.”

Picking up the threads of his life after 12 years is not going to be easy but Fazili has seen worse.

Srinagar: The army has lost 26 soldiers in the line of duty in Jammu and Kashmir in the first two months of 2017, while the security forces have stepped up the heat against militants, killing 22 ultras in 50 days — the highest since 2010.While 20 Army personnel including an officer lost their lives in avalanches in the valley, six soldiers were killed during counter-insurgency operations across the state that led to the killing of 22 militants as well, security officials said here.Among the security force personnel killed was an officer of the rank of Major who laid down his life while battling militants in Handwara area of Kupwara district on February 14.Three militants were killed in the operation, the officials said.Earlier that day, three soldiers were killed in a gun battle with militants in Hajin area of Bandipora district while one ultra was also killed, they said.The valley had witnessed a bloody day two days earlier on February 12 when four militants were gunned down in an encounter in Kulgam district of Kashmir, while two soldiers also laid down their lives.One civilian was killed in the exchange of firing between the militants and security forces while another civilian died in security forces firing on protesters who were pelting stones after the operation ended.Intelligence reports suggest that many youths — approximately 100 — have joined militancy after the killing of Hibzul Mujahideen commander Burhan Wani last year, prompting security forces to launch proactive operations in recent times.Out of the nearly 50 operations conducted in Kashmir since January 1 this year, 16 operations have resulted in either killing (22) or arrest (three) of militants, the officials said.The security forces have also been able to bust the module of overground workers of militants, especially in north Kashmir.More than 40 overground workers (OGWs) have been arrested since the start of this year, they said.”These OGWs do the ground running for militants, acting as their eyes and ears — identifying soft targets, carrying out recce before striking and organising logistics like food and hideouts.””These workers might not be high on the priority list of security agencies but their arrest means crippling of the militants, particularly the foreigners,” a senior police official from north Kashmir said. — PTI

Srinagar: J&K’s new education minister Syed Altaf Bukhari on Saturday said the tensions in the party is “just a small issue in the family.” He was talking to reporters on the sidelines of a function that Chief Minister Ms Mehbooba Mufti presided.

“It is a family issue. Members in a family do have small issues,” Bukhari told reporters. “You can quote me for saying that we will settle it within the family.”

A day after his take over, Bukhari flew to Srinagar where he was part of the function about the high-density apple planation scheme that Ms Mufti launched. He is possibly staying back for a few days.

Earlier reporters tried to talk to Ms Mufti about the crisis that started with the resignation of two cabinet ministers but she evaded the queries. She, however, talked about the apple scheme and drove away.

Two senior cabinet ministers Syed Basharat Bukhari and Imran Ansari put in their papers on Friday after the mini-reshuffle in the cabinet. Nobody in the party was in a position to offer any idea whether the resignations are being forwarded to the governor or not. A media report had earlier suggested that Chief Minister will be sending the papers to Raj Bhawan but party leaders, mostly second rung, suggested there might be a reconciliation effort. (CNS)

According to former Professor of Medical Physics and Physiology at the University of California, Berkeley, Dr. Hardin B. Jones, it’s chemotherapy that kills people rather than cancer. As the professor explains, patients who refuse chemotherapy live, on average, 12 ½ years longer than patients who take the treatment. In his point of view, chemotherapy is only prescribed for profit taken that treatments cost between $300,000 and $1,000,000.

Statistical data reveal that on average 1 in 2 men and 1 in 3 women develop cancer during their life. What’s worse is that present-day cancer treatments are often unsuccessful and only aggravate the symptoms of the disease. According to the Berkeley doctor, chemotherapy is ineffective in 97% of the cases.

Dr. Hardin B. Jones has studied the life expectancy of cancer patients for more than 25 years, after which time he has come to the conclusion that chemotherapy does more harm than good. The research made the professor realize that ‘leading edge’ cancer treatment is a sham.

On the other hand, Dr. Jones is well-aware that cancer is a billion-dollar industry. “People who refused chemotherapy treatment live on average 12 and a half years longer than people who are undergoing chemotherapy,” said Dr. Jones of his research, published in the New York Academy of Science.

“People who accepted chemotherapy die within three years of diagnosis, a large number dies immediately after a few weeks.” As seen by Dr. Jones, the only reason chemotherapy is prescribed to patients is because the medical industry can profit from it, which is quite plausible as cancer treatment runs, on average, from $300,000 – $1,000,000.

“Patients with breast cancer who reject conventional therapy live four times longer than those who follow the system. So this is something that you will not hear in the mass media, which will continue to carry the myth that the best chemotherapy drug in the fight against cancer!”

The US invests more in healthcare than any other high-income nation in the world. Still, ‘costly’ diseases continue to rise in prevalence, resulting in a shorter life expectancy. On the other hand, the importance of preventative medicine is completely disregarded by both mainstream media and the allopathic healthcare system.

Overall health and longevity largely depend on a healthy diet, regular exercise, positive thoughts, no stress, and fulfilled social life. Plus, there are powerful natural medicines, including cannabis oil, that have been more effective in treatment of life-threatening diseases than conventional treatments.

Statistics at a Glance

• In 2016, an estimated 1,685,210 new cases of cancer were diagnosed in the United States, 595,690 of whom will die from the disease.
• The most prevalent cancers in 2016 are breast, lung and bronchus cancer, prostate cancer, colon and rectum cancer, bladder cancer, skin melanoma, non-Hodgkin lymphoma, thyroid cancer, kidney and renal pelvis cancer, leukemia, endometrial cancer, and pancreatic cancer.
• Cancer incidence – the number of new cancer cases is 454.8 per 100,000 annually (based on 2008-2012 statistics).
• Cancer mortality – the number of cancer deaths is 171.2 per 100,000 on an annual level (based on 2008-2012 statistics). Cancer mortality is higher in men than women (207.9 per 100,000 men and 145.4 per 100,000 women).
• Cancer mortality is highest in African American men (261.5 per 100,000) and lowest in Asian/Pacific Islander women (91.2 per 100,000). The evidence is based on 2008-2012 statistics.
• In 2014, the number of people living beyond a cancer diagnosis reached nearly 14.5 million and is expected to rise to almost 19 million by 2024. Approximately 39.6% of men and women will be diagnosed with cancer at some point during their lifetimes.
• In 2014, an estimated 15,780 children and adolescents, ages 0 to 19, were diagnosed with cancer and 1,960 died of the disease.
• National expenditures for cancer care in the US totaled $125 billion in 2010 and could reach $156 billion in 2020.

New Delhi: The Aligarh Muslim University Students’ Union (AMUSU) has filed an FIR against former Jawaharlal Nehru University Students’ Union (JNUSU) Vice-President Shehla Rashid Shora for allegedly disrespecting Prophet Mohammad in a Facebook Post.

“JNU student Shehla Rashid Shora made objectionable remarks against Prophet Mohammad in a Facebook post on January 9. She wrote insulting things about other religions as well,” AMUSU member Ghazal Ahmed said in the complaint filed at the Civil Lines police station in Aligarh.

“Her post has disturbed students and could spoil the atmosphere of AMU campus,” the complaint further said.

Rashid, however, denied the allegation, saying she had posted about some “right-wing persons”, who had abused her by making objectionable statements against the Prophet. “The post was about the hate speech in which I mentioned some right-wing trolls were abusing me by abusing the Prophet. If I’m quoting those tweets as an example of abuse, how does it become my statement?” she asked.

The AMUSU has also postponed the All India Students’ Leader Meet scheduled to take place on Saturday, where Rashid and five other JNU students were invited. “The meet has been postponed due to some unavoidable circumstances and a fresh date will be announced shortly,” the AMUSU said in a notice.

Rashid, who was also attacked in 2013 when some people took offence to her article published on an online portal, where she argued that Prophet Mohammad was a feminist, said that some people were trying to instigate AMUSU against her. “I don’t want to defend myself because anyone who is acting outraged has either not read the article or is trying to divert the attention from the Najeeb issue,” she said. “I refuse to allow myself to be targetted for giving a scholarly opinion on hate speech,” she added.

Meanwhile, several JNU students came forward in Rashid’s support. “I read that post and then re-read it at the risk of being accused of the same thing that Shehla is being accused of right now, but I did not find it offensive at all,” student leader Umar Khalid said.

“The ‘hurt sentiments’concept is largely used by the dominant majority to silence and even kill the minority communities. It thrives on lies and rumour-mongering,” he added.

New Delhi: Two days after stone-throwing youth had interfered with Army operations in Handwara, a high-level review committee has laid down fresh guidelines to deal with stone-throwers.The review committee that met on February 15 has circulated a fresh set of rules for all stakeholders – Army, Central forces like the CRPF, J&K Government and the J&K Police. This comes against the backdrop of Army Chief General Bipin Rawat’s warning that people obstructing Army operations would face tough action.Top sources confirmed to The Tribune that a four-step procedure had been laid down.First, a joint control room (located within an armour protected vehicle) will be set up at the encounter site. Encounters, mobilisations to end ‘mopping up’ can usually last for few hours. The joint control will ensure greater coordination between the Army, CRPF and the J&K Police.Second, Deputy Commissioners of the state have been asked to prevent the assembly of people at the encounter site where the security forces engage with militants. In Handwara, where four soldiers, including Major Satish Dahiya, lost their lives, a huge crowd pelted the Army convoy with stones. This aided the militants, who opened fire on the soldiers. In the ensuing melee, two Militants escaped.Third, the police will pro-actively start identifying people who are providing shelter to militants in urban areas. Due to the severe snowfall and cold in the Valley, militants cannot remain holed up in their jungle hideouts and take shelter in villages and towns.Fourth, the police will earmark and identify the stone-throwers and further action under law will be taken.

Tribune News Service