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  • U.S. will meet same fate as Soviet, says Taliban

    KABUL: The Taliban called on Afghans to expel the United States from Afghanistan on Saturday just as they said Afghan mujahideen fighters had done to Soviet forces 25 years ago to the day.
    In a statement issued on the 25th anniversary of the final Soviet withdrawal from Afghanistan, a national holiday for Afghans, the Taliban sought to conne

    t the steady departure of U.S. and NATO troops ahead of a year-end deadline to the end of the decade-long Soviet occupation.

    “Today America is facing the same fate as the former Soviets and trying to escape from our country,” the Taliban said in a statement emailed to reporters by Qari Yousef Ahmadi, a spokesman for the group.
    “The Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan is calling on its people to deal with today’s invaders the same they did with the yesterday’s invaders,” he said, using the name the Taliban government used during its repressive 1996-2001 rule.
    In line with the so-called Geneva accords, a last convoy of Soviet soldiers crossed a bridge connecting northern Afghanistan with the then-Soviet Union on February 15, 1989.
    “We want to remind the Americans that we did not accept invaders with their sweet and nice slogans in the past. We eliminated them from the world map. God willing, your destiny will be the same,” the statement said.
    While U.S. and NATO forces in recent years have pushed Taliban militants out of many areas of their southern homeland, they appear to be dug in across remote areas along the rugged Afghanistan- Pakistan border and insurgent violence continues.
    The United Nations said last week that civilian deaths rose in 2013 as fighting intensifies between Taliban militants and government forces that are taking over from foreign troops.
    Uncertainty about whether a modest force of foreign troops will stay beyond a year-end deadline continues due to Afghan President Hamid Karzai’s refusal to sign a security deal with the United States that would permit some troops to stay.

  • Police allows ‘Tainted’ Khan to leave Srinagar

    SRINAGAR: Police on Saturday, allowed ex-Health Minister of State, facing molestation charges to leave Srinagar.

    Shabir Khan recorded his statement in Police Station Shahid Gunj, on Wednesday and was bailed against a personal bail bond of Rs 25,000 as per the court directions.

    “Khan requested to leave Srinagar and leave for Jammu, citing some genuine reasons so he was allowed by the Investigating Officer,” SDPO Shahid Gunj, Imran Farooq, told Kashmir Life.

    Sources said that Khan in his plea has wished to attend the ongoing budget session in the winter capital. They added that Khan will attend the Assembly on Monday.

    Pertinently, Khan is facing the charges of molesting a lady doctor in his office chamber in Srinagar. A case FIR no 9/2014 u/s 354 and 509 is registered against him in the Police station Shahid Gunj, Srinagar.

    MLA, Rajouri had to resign from his ministerial birth on the direction of Party High Command.

  • Crèches’ ‘competing’ crash on childhood

    SRINAGAR: With the dawn of modern age children are laden with heavy burden called ‘competition’ in Kashmir. Inception of educational odyssey has inculcated the notion of staying one step ahead in them. Even for admission in elementary classes, their innocent faces are countenanced with the colossal competition. To prepare and mould these children into a strong rival, Parents admit them in the crèches.
    Since the last decade, crèches are mushrooming at a fast pace in the valley. These institutes claim to provide quality preliminary education and over all personality development which would help them to cope up with the cut-throat competition lurking in the corners of their future.
    Although it is a novel concept of educating the tender ones but it has its own ‘dark shades’. Under the brightness of education, experts say, children are gloomed with the deprivation of the childhood.
    “Mother’s lap is the first school for a child,” says Mushtaq Shah, a crèche teacher from Srinagar’s Qamarwari, “but due to paucity of the time by working mothers presently, they send their kids to crèche for care and education.”
    We try our best to provide them the same love and care which a mother would provide, continues Shah, “but there is no debate that mothers love is irreplaceable.”
    Parents pass on the hat of responsibility to these crèches so that their hands are vacant for doing jobs.
    “If we consider the current inflation in the market, we have no other option but to work so as to make ends meet,” says Ateeqa, mother of crèche going child. “Therefore sole option for us is to send our children to these crèches during our working hours. But it is not the sole purpose, as a responsible parent we believe that our children gets proper guidance there and are well prepared for facing the school admission interviews.”
    But experts claim that sending a very young child to these crèches is squarely affecting their mental and physical health.
    Prof Aadil Bashir of Kashmir University’s Social Welfare Department says introduction of crèches is a novel concept but it is a wrong way to educate children at a very tender age. “It is better if child gets his early moral and religious education from their parents rather than crèches, because it’ll also strengthen the bonding between them,” he says.
    Childhood is now replaced by the crèche-hood, Prof Bashir continues, children’s brains are not yet ready to read and learn, crèche system is like forced education.
    “The moral and religious teaching which a child can learnt from their parent’s at home will not leant in these crèche schools,” he says.
    Prof Bashir says, the individual attention which a child needs at this age will not be provided by the teachers which have to take care of lot of students studying collectively there, mostly not being aware of the child psychology.

  • 25 cases of child molestation and rape registered in J&K in three years

    SRINAGAR: 13 Child Molestation and rape cases were registered in Jammu and Kashmir during 2012 while as there were 38 such cases pending at the end of the said year.

    Data provided by National Crime Record Bureau, (NCRB) New Delhi, suggests that rapes on minors in J&K are on a rise.

    According to NCRB, 8 cases of molestation and rape on minors were registered during 2010 in J&K while as the number of such cases was 9 and 11 in 2011 and 2012 respectively.

    5 such cases were charge sheeted during 2010 while as charge sheets were submitted in 7 and 13 such cases during 2011 and 2012.

    NCRB says that the investigation of 4 such cases was pending during 2012 while as during 2011 and 2012 the investigation was pending in 4 and 2 such cases respectively.

    According to NCRB, trial of 3 cases regarding molestation and rape of minors in Jammu and Kashmir was completed in 2010 and in 2011 and 2012 trial was completed in 1 and 5 cases respectively.

    However, according to NCRB only one accused was convicted during last three years (in 2012) involved in the rape of a minor in Jammu and Kashmir.

    According to data provided by NCRB, 32 and 38 such cases were pending at the end of 2011 and 2012 respectively.

  • Devotees offer prayers at the Dastgeer Sahib Shrine

     Head priest of the shrine shows the holy relic to the devotees during the annual Urs in Srinagar on Friday

  • Khan gets permission to attend Assembly

    Srinagar: The J&K Police have permitted former health minister Shabir Khan, accused of molesting a doctor, to attend the ongoing Assembly session in Jammu.
    Khan, who presented himself before the Investigating Officer (IO) at Shaheed Gunj police station in Srinagar on Thursday, had moved an application before the police, seeking to attend the ongoing Assembly session.
    “After he had presented himself for questioning at the police station, Khan also moved an application for permission to leave Srinagar to attend the Assembly proceedings at Jammu. He was granted permission to leave for Jammu by the police today,” said a top police source.
    Khan had been evading arrest since an FIR was registered against him.

  • High Court orders reopening of Tufail Mattoo killing case

    Directs Director General of Police to hand over the case to state crime branch

    Srinagar: The High Court ordered reopening of the Tufail

    Mattoo killing case, directing the Director General of Police (DGP) to hand over the investigation into the case to the crime branch.

    The Single Bench of Justice Verinder Singh, in its judgment today, further directed the crime branch of the Jammu and Kashmir Police to complete the probe within eight weeks.
    “(The) Director General of Police, J&K, is directed to handover the present case to the state crime branch, with a further direction that an officer of the rank of the Superintendent of Police only shall conduct the investigation into the case and submit the status report within eight weeks,” the High Court said in its judgment today.
    In June 11, 2010, Tufail Mattoo, a teenager, was returning home from tuition when the police allegedly fired a teargas shell near Gani Memorial College in the old city which hit him, killing him instantly.
    Mattoo’s death triggered a cycle of violence in the Valley. More than 120 youths were killed in subsequent incidents of firing by the police and security forces.
    The High Court had reserved its judgment in the case on July 8, 2013, following a petition by the relatives of the slain teenager, where they had challenged the trial court order, which had accepted the final report of the police in the case and closed the case as untraced.
    “The court will be reluctant in extending the time, except on bona fide grounds, as the incident relates to June 2010,” the HC observed in its orders today.
    “The state crime branch will also be at liberty to move a formal application before the Special Mobile magistrate (PT&E), Srinagar, for taking into possession the entire record of the investigation submitted before it by the Special Investigation Team (SIT), resulting in the closure of the case, as it may facilitate the crime branch to proceed with the investigation afresh,” the High Court said.
    The SIT, in its final report, which was later accepted by the Special Mobile magistrate (PT&E), Srinagar, had submitted that “all possibilities of collecting evidence in this case were explored to reach some conclusion”, adding that it (SIT) “was not able to find any conclusive evidence”.
    Case file
    * In June 2010, Tufail Mattoo was returning home from tuition when the police fired a teargas shell near Gani Memorial College which allegedly hit him, killing him instantly
    * Tufail’s death triggered violence leading to unrest across the Valley
    * His family approached the J&K High Court, petitioning it to appoint a SIT to probe the case
    * The SIT, in its final report to the HC in December last year, said the case was closed and the culprits remained “untraced”

  • India’s Haj quota fixed at 1,36,000 in 2014

    Jeddah: India’s Haj quota in 2014 has been fixed at 136,000, the same as last year when Saudi Arabia slashed it by 20 per cent for all foreign pilgrims citing expansion work at holy sites.

    A total of 136,000 Indian pilgrims will perform Haj this year, Saudi Haj Minister Bandar Hajjar told an Indian delegation yesterday.

    Under the India-Saudi Arabia bilateral agreement on Haj in 2013, the quota for India was fixed at 1,70,025 seats – comprising 125,025 seats for the Haj Committee of India and 45,000 for pilgrims going through private tour operators.

    But later in the year, Saudi authorities announced a 50 per cent cut in the Haj quota on local Saudi applicants and 20 per cent on foreign Haj pilgrims, due to which India’s quota went down from 1,70,025 seats to 1,36,020 seats.

    The quota for 2014 was fixed after the Indian Haj delegation led by Minister of State for External Affairs E Ahamed met Hajjar, a Haj Ministry spokesperson told Arab News.

    Hajjar reiterated that the reduction was necessary to facilitate the easy movement of pilgrims inside the Grand Mosque.

    The Indian Haj delegation included Ambassador Hamid Ali Rao, Consul General Faiz Ahmed Kidwai and other senior officials while the Saudi side included Hajjar, Undersecretary Hatem Qadi and other senior officials.

    The Indian delegation, which arrived on Saturday, discussed accommodation and transportation arrangements with the Saudi authorities besides several other issues related to Haj operations.

    India has emphasised upon the introduction of an electronic service from this year’s Haj season to expedite the Haj process, sources said.

    Last year, about 1.5 million pilgrims from 188 countries performed the Haj to Mecca, Islam’s holiest site. 

  • Iran Majlis speaker urges unity among Muslims

    Tehran: In an address to the executive committee of the Parliamentary Union of the Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC) Member States in Tehran on Friday, Larijani said the meeting should contribute to more solidarity, progress and justice among Muslim nations.

    He pointed to the challenges facing Muslim nations and said the Union can act as a center to pursue the demands of the member states.

    “Today, waves of sowing discord in Islamic countries have led to many problems and the killing of many Muslims,” Larijani said, adding that the Islamic inter-parliamentary union can play a major role in addressing such woes and preventing rifts among Islamic nations.

    Larijani also warned against the terrorist activities of extremist Takfiri groups in the region and said such moves have given rise to problems in Muslim countries.

    The 9th meeting of the Parliamentary Union of the OIC Member States, which started on Friday, is scheduled to continue until February 19.

    The union is composed of the parliaments of the OIC member states.

    Hossein Sheikholeslam, Larijani’s adviser on international affairs, said earlier that the participation of 47 countries in the conference had been finalized and 15 other countries had also expressed readiness to attend the event as observers.

    He added that representatives from Syria, Egypt, Turkey, Turkmenistan, Sudan, Tajikistan, Palestine, Saudi Arabia, Senegal, the UAE, Iraq, Afghanistan, Algeria, Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Indonesia, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Libya, Malaysia, Morocco and Jordan will be present in the meeting.

  • Back to Aam Aadmi. Arvind Kejriwal quits as Delhi Chief Minister

    New Delhi:  Less than two months after Arvind Kejriwal rode the metro to take his oath as Delhi’s Chief Minister in a large park packed with tens of thousands of people, the man who delivered a seismic shift in Indian politics has shaken things up again. By quitting. (10 latest developments) | (Live updates)

    He has resigned after his push for the anti-corruption Jan Lokpal Bill was blocked in the state legislature by law-makers from the Congress and the BJP.

    “They know that if this law is brought in, their leaders will end up in jail,” Mr Kejriwal said to a cheering group of supporters at his party office this evening. His trademark muffler was wrapped around his head. (Amid talk of Kejriwal’s resignation, a growing crowd at AAP office)

    Earlier, in the raucous Delhi Assembly, he declared, “I will give up the chief minister’s office not once but 1000 times to fight against corruption.”

    The legislators from the Congress and BJP who voted today to prevent him from tabling the Jan Lokpal Bill say they support the proposal, but cannot ignore the fact that it has been vetoed by Delhi’s constitutional head, Lieutenant Governor Najeeb Jung. The chief minister had firmly rejected the opinion that before it is presented for review in the legislature, the bill must be vetted by the Lieutenant Governor as a representative of the centre. (Read: Kejriwal’s family watches as Congress, BJP launch attack)

    The Jan Lokpal Bill has been described by Mr Kejriwal as the raison d’etre of his Aam Aadmi Party, which was set up a little over a year ago. The party and its leaders said their mission was to cleanse the polity of deep-rooted graft and self-serving officers.

    Other parties dismissed AAP as an upstart that had neither the experience nor the vision to offer governance.

    In December, Delhi voters pointedly disagreed. In the first election it contested, AAP delivered a result of astonishing proportions, placing second. The Congress, decimated to third place, offered its support to AAP which then formed a minority government.

    AAP leaders have warned that they have no interest in power; they have repeatedly disowned the Congress as an ally, frequently describing its union ministers as “India’s Most Corrupt.”  Earlier this week, Mr Kejriwal ordered a criminal investigation against Union Oil Minister Veerappa Moily for allegedly colluding with India’s richest man, Mukesh Ambani, to inflate gas prices.