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  • AAP elections campaign reaches Budgam

    Srinagar: In connection with its election campaign Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) organized a public meeting here on Wednesday in Budgam.
    According to a statement issued to KNS, while addressing people at Budgam chowk AAP leader and lok sabha candidate for Srinagar Dr Raja Muzaffar Bhat  said that present dispensation headed by Omar Abdullah has totally failed to address the basic requirements of the people of the state. Bhat said that Government machinery has crumbled aftermath of recent snowfall and it seems that no civilian Government exists in J&K .
    He appealed people that they must strengthen his hands by electing him to Lok Sabha in the upcoming parliamentary elections so that dynastic  rule which has been imposed upon the people of this state comes to an end. Earlier AAP leader addressed a volunteers meeting at town hall Budgam which was attended by large number of party volunteers from various parts of Budgam and Srinagar districts.
    AAP leader expressed his concern over the situation which has arisen in Dreygam , Kanira , Chararisharief  due to power crises in the area. He criticized the authorities for making this matter a political issue. AAP leaders have expressed concern over the continuous erosion of land in Frestwar and Brenwar areas of Budgam. Among others who spoke on the occasion included AAP leaders  Muzamil Wani  , Dr Mushtaq , Shahnawaz Sultan , Malik Asif. (KNS)

  • Don’t play with future of Kashmiri youth: Mirwaiz to authorities

    Srinagar: Hurriyat Conference (M) Chairman Mirwaiz Umar Farooq Wednesday stressed upon the state authorities not to play with the future of Kashmiri students studying in the Swami Viveknanada Sabrmati University, Meerut and instead make every effort to save the academic future on priority basis.
    According to a statement issued to KNS, Mirwaiz said Kashmiri students studying in Meerut were living under constant fear and harassment. He asserted that it was the duty of government that instead of politicizing their forcible expulsion from university it should make all arrangements to  help them to pursue their education.
    Mirwaiz who was placed under house arrest for several days after the Naid Khai incident today met various delegations from different walks of life. While meeting a delegation of students from Swami Viveknanada Sabrmati University, Meerut, Hurriyat Conference Chairman expressed his serious concern over the mistreatment meted out to these students. He said that Kashmiri youth were the future of Kashmir and any carelessness towards their educational career would have a negative impact on  Kashmiri society. Mirwaiz told students that Hurriyat would utilize its all resources to address the problems and issues faced by them.
    Sternly condemning the continuous imposition of curfew in Naid Khai and Hajan area of Bandipore district, Mirwaiz said due to such inhuman restrictions residents of these areas were facing immense hardships. In a bid to crush the peaceful protests over the killing of a young student at Naid Khai, Mirwaiz said authorities were using wanton force which was highly condemnable and an open example of naked aggression.
    Expressing profound grief and regret over the death of four Kashmiri traders in a traffic accident in Himachal Pradesh, Mirwaiz condoled with the family of deceased and prayed for the speedy recovery of injured.

  • Nasir declares party office slots

    Akhoon made senior vice president
    Srinagar: After completion of party elections, National Conference Provincial President Kashmir Nasir Aslam Wani has officially assigned different slots to his colleagues in the party office.
    According to a statement issued to KNS, Mohammad Syed Akhoon has been made Senior Vice President, Abdul Rashid Shaheen as the Vice President In-charge Kupwara, Baramulla, Bandipora, Syed Abdul Rashid as the Vice President In-charge Anantnag, Kulgam, Pulwama & Shopian, Sheikh Abdul Rehman as the Vice President In-charge Srinagar, Ganderbal & Budgam, Showket Ahmed Mir as the Provincial Secretary, Ghulam Nabi Bhat as Joint Secretary (Office Affairs), Abdul Rashid Haroon as Joint Secretary for (Public Relations), Raja Nasir Khan as Organizer, Gujjar Affairs, Deen Mohammad Cheetah as Organzer, Pahari Affairs and Mohammad Amin Khan as Organizer for Workers and Employees Unions.
    Wani has congratulated his colleagues and senior office bearers and implored them to leave no stone unturned to continue the party’s commitment to work for the ultimate welfare of the people of the State.
    He said that National Conference has a golden and glorious history, the cornerstones of which are public service and national dignity. With its strong ideological grassroots presence and dedicated cadre, National Conference will continue to grow and will emerge victorious in the forthcoming elections.
    Wani also expressed grief and sorrow on the death of the 4 Kashmiri traders in Himachal Pradesh. He also expresses sympathies with bereaved family members. (KNS)

  • Congress to field Azad from Udhampur, Sharma from Jammu: Saroori

    ‘Sharma to file his nomination papers tomorrow’
    Srinagar: Pradesh Congress Committee (PCC) President Prof Saif-u-Din Soz on Wednesday said that the list of candidates for Jammu-Udhampur and Ladakh the three Lok Sabha seats has been finalized and the party is waiting for a final call to be taken by its president Sonia Gandhi.
    However, talking to KNS, G M Saroori, congress senior leader and MLA Inderwal said that Ghulam Nabi Azad’s name has been finalized for Udhampur Lok Sabah seat after hectic deliberations on Tuesdayevening. He said that Madan Lal Sharma’s candidature has been declared from Jammu Lok Sabha seat and he will submit his nomination papers tomorrow at 2:30 pm.
    “Azad sahib’s and Mr Sharma’s names have been declared by the Congress high command. People here in Jammu province have already welcomed the party decision. Fire crackers were set off at Thatri, Kishtwar, Bhalesa, Chatru and other adjoining places besides that sweets were distributed in Udhampur, Kathua and Reasi by people irrespective of with which religion they belong to,” Saroori described the scene.  
    He said that the party is still indecisive about Ladakh parliamentary seat and no official or unofficial announcement has been made in that regard. (KNS)

  • HCJK visits Naidkhai, expresses solidarity with Farhat’s family

    Srinagar: A delegation of Hurriyat Conference Jammu Kashmir (HCJK) led by its senior leader Mushtaq-ul-Islam today succeeded in reaching Naidkhai, Sumbal. Apart from Mushtaq ul Islam the delegation sent by Shabir Ahmad Shah included Muhammad Yusuf Naqash, Muhammad Yasin Ataai, Aijaz Ahmad, Bilal Ahmad Shah and other Hurriyat activists.
    According to a statement issued to KNS, the delegation while expressing sympathy and solidarity with the family of Shaheed Farhat Ahmad Dar strongly condemned the use of force on the people protesting over the inhuman killing of Shaheed Farhat. Mushtaq ul Islam, Muhammad Yusuf Naqash and Muhammad Yasin Ataai addressed the people.
    On the occasion, Mushtaq ul Islam said that police not only brutally killed Shaheed Farhat Ahmad Dar but also used undemocratic force against the peaceful protesters by resorting to teargas shelling, lathi charge and other repressive measures. 
    “It is a sheer autocracy to use force on peaceful protesters. I applaud your courage to register your protest against the brutal killing. It is the sign of living nations,” Mushtaq said.
    He also expressed satisfaction over the solidarity and sympathy showed by all corners of Valley with the family of Shaheed Farhat. “The sacrifices of our martyrs will never go waste and India has to change its bloody attitude towards the people of Kashmir,” Islam said, adding that freedom struggle will reach its logical conclusion at any cost. (KNS)    

  • Power protests at Budgam- teargas shells fired

    It was a mere feud between two villages: SP
    Srinagar: Scores of people Wednesday staged a protest demonstration at various areas of Budgam against the erratic power supplies and dearth of ration.
    According to the reports received by KNS, people in large numbers took out a protest demonstration against PDD and staged protest sit-in outside the office of the deputy commissioner of the district.
    The protesters accused that various areas of Budgam are reeling under the darkness- affecting children and aged people at large. “We have been witnessing most troubled times here and so far the authorities have turned blind eye towards the plight of the inhabitants.”
    However, Superintendent of Police (SP) Budgam Irshad Ahmad told KNS over phone that there were no protests in the area over ration and electricity crises and that there was only a feud that erupted between two villages of the district. He further maintained that there were clashes between the two groups and to disperse the unruly mob, police had to fire teargas shells. (KNS)

  • Dal Khalsa Delegation Visits Geelani In Delhi

    New Delhi: A five member delegation of Dal Khalsa visited the pro- Pakistan Hurriyat leader Syed Al Geelani at his Delhi residence on Wednesday.
    A press statement issued by Geelani’s party said the five member delegation led by Dal Khalsa president Kanwarpal Singh visited Geelani at his Malviya Nagar residence to inquire about his health. The ailing Hurriyat leader was suffering from severe respiratory infection following which he was taken to Delhi for treatment. The Dal Khalsa members prayed for the well-being of Mr Geelani and extended their support to his political struggle for the freedom of Kashmir, the statement said. 

  • Lok Sabha polls have to be viewed above routine power calculations: Mehbooba

    “There is need of sincere, bold voices in parliament”
    Srinagar: Maintaining that the coming Lok Sabha elections have to be viewed above the routine power calculations Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) president Mehbooba Mufti has expressed confidence that the people would break the past practice of sending politicians on lookout for employment to the highest forum of the country.
    According to a statement issued to KNS, addressing largely attended workers’ convention at Pulwama, wherein workers from Pulwama and Rajpora constituencies participated, and at Awantipora where workers from Pampore and Tral constituencies participated, she said we need to have strong and sincere voices in the parliament who can take-up the Kashmir issue and the issues of Jammu & Kashmir with rest of the country inside the parliament and outside of it. “Unfortunately till now those, who have taken votes in the name of state’s dignity, autonomy and other emotional issues always collaborated with the tormentors of the people of the state”, Mehbooba said.
    Mehbooba said even the 65years after the independence the people of J&K are facing uncertainty and instability in every sphere of the life. This fact should always have been articulated in the parliament effectively, not just for striking alliances but for finding actual remedy to our problems. Four members of Lalu Yadav’s party could stop an important legislation in the parliament while parties from Bengal and Tamil Nadu effectively intervened in the foreign affairs of the country but half a dozen MPs in UPA from J&K even did not open their mouth when blood is being spilt in Kashmir every day. No MP from J&K even asked a question about any issue related to this state as has been brought out in the Lok Sabha record recently. Mehbooba said the only objective of elections for NC has been to find jobs for their leaders in Delhi and in the state.
    Mehbooba said she herself and her senior colleague and Former deputy Chief Minister Muzaffar Hussain Baig as well as Tariq Hameed Karra and Yashpal Sharma were fielded by the party with the expectation that they would effectively bring Kashmir into focus at national level. She said our effort would be to create awareness among the people of the country about the injustice meted out to us in Jammu & Kashmir, denial of rights, human rights crisis in the state, democratic deficit promoted by the NC-Congress alliance and most importantly the loot of natural resources which has plunged the state into poverty and darkness.
    Mehbooba said keeping in view the repeated betrayal by NC, the PDP expect the decisive mandate, not just in Kashmir but in Jammu province as well so that a strong voice from the state is emerged  in the parliament which has the support of the people.
    She said it is not the numbers alone that give a party its strength and moral authority to represent the people but it is the credibility of its leadership, clarity of its vision and honesty of its purpose. “That is why Mufti Mohammad Sayeed with just sixteen members could bring about a major change not just in J&K but was able to script a new agenda of peace for the whole subcontinent.  We will carry forward that agenda to its logical conclusion by facilitating the resolution of Kashmir”, Mehbooba said.
    The PDP President said whatever the achievements of previous PDP-led government are; they were registered without any agitation, loss of life or appointment of committees and interlocutors. She said whether it was the opening of roads across LoC, internal connectivity like extending of national highway up to Srinagar,  new links like Mughal road are very important measures to bring relief to the people like disbanding SOG and disciplining of Ikhwani’s, the Mufti government did it without creating a hype.
    She said the PDP believes that resolution of issues and problems is a duty that elected representatives owe to their people and voters and that is why it has emerged as a feasible and preferred alternative to NC. Party senior leaders, Mohammad Khalil Bandh, MLA and district president; Syed Bashir Ahmad, MLA; Zahoor Ahmad Mir, MLA; Mushtaq Ahmad Shah, MLA; Zaffar Iqbal Manhas, state secretary; Mohammad Shafi Banday; Waheed-ur-Rehman Parra, youth wing in charge and youth leaders Showkat Gayoor and Dr Shanti Singh were also present on the occasion. (KNS)

  • 9-year-old girl Allegedly raped in Srinagar

    Srinagar: In a shocking incident, a 29-year-old ‘pervert’ allegedly raped a nine-year-old girl in Bemina locality of Srinagar city.
    Police sources told CNS, that 29-year-old male (name with held) resident of Hamdania Colony Bemina forcibly raped a minor girl in Bemina area.
    Reports said that the said pervert called the innocent girl into his house when she was somewhere through his locality.
    “After receiving a complaint from the family of the victim, we arrested the accused and he is right now behind the bars,” a police official from Parimpora police station said, adding that a case vide FIR number 39/2014 under section 376 has been registered against the accused.
    The police official said that the medical examination of the victim has confirmed the rape.
    Meanwhile, locals alleged that the area is becoming hub of immoral activities while scores of youth addicted to drugs and wine roam freely in the area. They appealed to the police to start a drive against these drug addicts at an earliest

  • NDA better than UPA: Mirwaiz

    Srinagar: Hurriyat Conference Chairman Mirwaiz Umar Farooq Wednesday said that BJP led NDA government was better than present UPA Government as the NDA leader Atal Bihari Vajpayee tried his best to resolve Kashmir issue.
    In an interview with an Indian TV channel, Mirwaiz Umar Farooq hoped that if this time NDA comes to power at the Centre, it will take steps in resolving Kashmir issue, a local gathering news agency said.
    Mirwaiz said that during NDA regime various initiatives were taken by Vajpayee that had sent a positive signal among the people of Kashmir. “As far as Kashmir issue is concerned, NDA took many initiatives while no major development took place during the present UPA government,” he said.
     He expressed hope that in case NDA forms government at Centre, it will take positive steps and will respond to the wishes and aspirations of the people of Kashmir valley.