Islamabad: Pakistan has summoned India’s Charge d’Affaires here to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and handed over a demarche to him conveying Islamabad’s strong condemnation of the framing of fabricated charges against JKLF chief Yasin Malik.
The Pakistan Foreign Office, in a late-night statement on Wednesday, said that Kashmiri Hurriyat leader Malik is currently imprisoned in Delhi’s Tihar jail.
The Indian diplomat conveyed Pakistan’s grave concern that in a bid to suppress the voice of the indigenous Kashmiri leadership, the Indian government has resorted to implicating them in fictitious and motivated cases, it said.
The Indian side also conveyed Pakistan’s deep concern over Malik’s incarceration in Tihar Jail since 2019 under inhuman conditions, it said.
Pakistan calls upon the Government of India for acquittal of Malik from all baseless charges and immediate release from prison so that he can be reunited with his family, recuperate his health and return to normal life, the Foreign Office said.
Malik recently pleaded guilty to all the charges, including those under the stringent Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA), before a Delhi court in a case related to alleged terrorism and secessionist activities that disturbed the Kashmir Valley in 2017.
India has repeatedly told Pakistan that Jammu and Kashmir was, is and shall forever remain an integral part of the country. It also advised Pakistan to accept the reality and stop all anti-India propaganda.
—PTI
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Pakistan summons Indian envoy over framing of charges against JKLF chief
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Several feared trapped as under construction tunnel collapses in Ramban
Ramban, May 20: An under construction tunnel coming up along Jammu—Srinagar national highway at Khoni Nallah Makerkote in Ramban district of Jammu region collapsed, official sources said.
“Many workers are feared to be trapped under the debris as tunnel at Khoni Nallah Makerkote area of Ramban district has collapsed,” official sources told the news agency—Kashmir News Observer (KNO)
“As many as two workers have been rescued and were taken to a hospital for treatment, while many others are missing,” they said, adding that the workers who are trapped and rescued there belong to SARLA company.
Officials said that the work was going on to build an underground tunnel from Khoni Nallah to Makarkoot, adding that the process of taking out the workers trapped under the debris is going on.
Meanwhile, the traffic has been stopped from both the sides along the highway—(KNO)
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Fire In Kothibagh Police Station
The Kothibagh police station caught fire .The reasons for the midnight fire were not immediately known.
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Explained | Monkeypox Cases Rapidly Spreading In Europe, North America. What is the monkeypox virus? Can the virus lead to another pandemic?
United States became the latest country to detect a case of rare monkeypox virus. Apart from the US, the cases are rising in European countries- United Kingdomas, Spain and Portugal which detected over 40 suspected cases of monkeypox.
WHAT IS THE VIRUS
The monkeypox virus is an orthopoxvirus, which is a genus of viruses that also includes the variola virus, which causes smallpox. Monkeypox is a zoonosis, a disease that is transmitted from infected animals to humans.
According to the WHO, cases occur close to tropical rainforests inhabited by animals that carry the virus. Monkeypox virus infection has been detected in squirrels, Gambian poached rats, dormice, and some species of monkeys.
Human-to-human transmission of the virus is, however, limited. It can be through contact with bodily fluids, lesions on the skin, the respiratory tract or through the eyes, nose or mouth or by virus-contaminated objects, such as bedding and clothing.
The outbreaks are raising alarm because the viral disease, which spreads through close contact and was first found in monkeys, mostly occurs in west and central Africa, and only very occasionally spreads elsewhere.
‘HIGHLY UNUSUAL’
Monkeypox is a virus that causes fever symptoms as well as a distinctive bumpy rash. It is usually mild, although there are two main strains: the Congo strain, which is more severe – with up to 10% mortality – and the West African strain, which has a fatality rate of more like 1% of cases. The UK cases are least have been reported as the West African strain.
“Historically, there have been very few cases exported. It has only happened eight times in the past before this year,” said Jimmy Whitworth, a professor of international public health at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, who said it was “highly unusual”.
Portugal has logged five confirmed cases, and Spain is testing 23 potential cases. Neither country has reported cases before.
TRANSMISSION
The virus spreads through close contact, both in spillovers from animal hosts and, less commonly, between humans. It was first found in monkeys in 1958, hence the name, although rodents are now seen as the main source of transmission.
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), the virus is transmitted mainly to people from wild animals such as rodents and primates, but human-to-human transmission is also possible.
Human-to-human transmission occurs by contact with lesions, body fluids, respiratory droplets, and contaminated materials such as bedding. Eating inadequately cooked meat and other products of infected animals is also a possible risk factor, the WHO says.
Transmission this time is puzzling experts, because a number of the cases in the United Kingdom – nine as of May 18 – have no known connection with each other. Only the first case reported on May 6 had recently travelled to Nigeria.
As such, experts have warned of wider transmission if cases have gone unreported.
The UK Health Security Agency’s alert also highlighted that the recent cases were predominantly among men who self-identified as gay, bisexual or men who have sex with men, and advised those groups to be alert.
Scientists will now sequence the virus to see if they are linked, the World Health Organization (WHO) said this week.
IS MONKEYPOX FATAL?
Monkeypox can kill up to one in ten people who get it but the new cases have the West African variant, which is deadly for around one in 100.
Initial symptoms include fever, headache, muscle aches, backache, swollen lymph nodes, chills and exhaustion.
CAN THE VIRUS LEAD TO ANOTHER PANDEMIC?
Any disease that circulates in animals and can be passed to people has potential to cause a new pandemic, if it mutates to become more deadly or more easily transmissible. Also, Monkeypox virus has no specific treatment nor specific vaccine licensed for use.
WHY NOW?
One likely scenario behind the increase in cases is increased travel as COVID restrictions are lifted.
“My working theory would be that there’s a lot of it about in west and central Africa, travel has resumed, and that’s why we are seeing more cases,” said Whitworth.
Monkeypox puts virologists on the alert because it is in the smallpox family, although it causes less serious illness.
Smallpox was eradicated by vaccination in 1980, and the shot has been phased out. But it also protects against monkeypox, and so the winding down of vaccination campaigns has led to a jump in monkeypox cases, according to Anne Rimoin, an epidemiology professor at UCLA in California.
But experts urged people not to panic.
“This isn’t going to cause a nationwide epidemic like COVID did, but it’s a serious outbreak of a serious disease – and we should take it seriously,” said Whitworth.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by Kashmir Today staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
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Hyderpora ‘encounter’: HC reserves verdict on father’s plea seeking son’s body
Srinagar, May 19
Srinagar: The High Court of J&K and Ladakh on Thursday reserved verdict on a petition filed by the father of Amir Magray, one of the four persons killed in an “encounter” at Hyderpora area of Srinagar last year, seeking the return of his body for last rites. Amir’s father, Mohammad Latief Magray had filed the petition through counsel Deepika Singh Rajawat in December last year. A bench of Justice Sanjeev Kumar reserved the verdict after hearing the parties, according to the reports reaching GNS.
Referring to the exhumation and return of the bodies of two others, a building landlord and a doctor with whom Amir was working as an office peon on November 18, the petitioner pleaded the high court to direct the respondents, including the Union Home Ministry, J&K administration and the Director General of Police to hand over his son’s body for burial near his residence at Ramban.
Magray had met Lieutenant Governor on 7th of December 2021 to press for the demand of return of the body and making the magisterial probe public.
The petitioner said he and his wife are grieving and restless as the respondents have not even given them a chance to see the face of their son the last time.
Expressing his wish to bury his son close to his house in Ramban district, the petitioner wants to ensure burial of his dead son within a prescribed period after exhumation and in an atmosphere required to maintain peace.
Head of the SIT, DIG Sujith K Singh at a presser earlier this year said that investigation has revealed that Amir was closely associated with the foreign militant ‘Bilal Bhai’, “who was killed in the operation while trying to flee”. (GNS)
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Hurriyat Terror Funding Case: NIA special court convicts JKLF Yasin Malik
Srinagar: The special court of National Investigation Agency (NIA) New Delhi Thursday convicted separatist leader Muhammad Yasin Malik in connection with the Hurriyat-Terror Funding Case.
In a statement to news agency—Kashmir News Observer (KNO), the NIA spokesman said that NIA Special Court, Patiala House, New Delhi convicted arrested accused Yasin Malik alias Aslam, s/o Md. Ghulam Qadir Malik, r/o Yasin Gali, Mayasuma, Srinagar, UT of J&K under sections 120B, 121, 121A of IPC and sections 13 r/w 120B, 15 r/w 120B, 17, 18, 20 38 and 39 of Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act for his role in Hurriyat Terror Financing Case (RC-10/2017/NIA/DLI)
“The case pertains to the conspiracy by Hafiz Muhammad Saeed, Amir of Jammat-ud-Dawah and the secessionist and separatist leaders, including the members/cadres of the Hurriyat Conference, who had acted in connivance with active militants of proscribed organizations viz. Hizb-ul-Mujahideen (HM), Dukhtaran-e-Millat, Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) and others to raise, receive and collect funds domestically and from abroad through various illegal channels, including hawala, for funding separatist and terrorist activities in J&K to cause disruption in the Kashmir valley by way of pelting stones on security forces, systematically burning schools, damaging public property and waging war against India. The case was registered suo-moto on 30.05.2017,” the statement said, adding that “Charge sheet was filed against 12 accused persons including two absconding accused persons namely Hafiz Mohammad Saeed, Head of LeT and Mohd. Yusuf Shah alias Salahuddin, Head of HM, both based in Pakistan, on 18.01.2018. Subsequently, First Suppl. Charge sheet was filed against one accused person on 22.01.2019 and Second Suppl. Charge Sheet was filed against 05 accused persons including Yasin Malik on 04.10.2019.”
The statement said that investigation had established that Yasin Malik alias Aslam is the head of unlawful association Jammu & Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF), and is involved in terrorist and subversive activities in J&K. “In 2016, he along with other Hurriyat leaders formed a self-styled group called ‘Joint Resistance Leadership’, whereby they started issuing directions to the masses to hold protests, demonstrations, hartals, shutdowns, road-blocks and such other disruptive activities which would push the entire society into chaos and lawlessness,” the statement said, adding that “He was also involved in raising funds from LOC traders, various entities based abroad and distributing those funds among militants and stone-pelters for funding stone-pelting and demonstrations. Charges were framed against Yasin Malik alias Aslam on 16.03.2022 and he had pleaded guilty on 10.05.2022. The quantum of punishment will be announced on 25.05.2022.”
The NIA said that Further trial against the remaining accused persons in the case continues—(KNO) -
NIA court convicts separatist Yasin Malik after he pleaded guilty in the case.
The court also sought an affidavit from Yasin Malik regarding his financial assessment and asked NIA to submit a report related to his financial assessment. Argument on sentence to take place on the next date of hearing, on 25th May.
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Saudi Arabia bans carrying Zamzam water in baggage
The Saudi aviation authorities have banned carrying Aab-e-Zamzam in one’s checked-in luggage ahead of Zil Hajj, the holy month for the Islamic pilgrimage of Hajj.
Saudi General Aviation Authority has issued an official notification for the new guideline, restricting the pilgrims from carrying Zamzam — water from the well of Zamzam back to their countries.
All the airlines have been bound to ensure that none of the passengers travelling through Jeddah or any other airport in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia have bottles filled with Aab-e-Zamzam.
Action will be taken against the airlines in case of violation of the new orders.
Aab-e-Zamzam is the water from the well of Zamzam, located in Masjid al-Haram, Makkah, which is a miraculously generated source of water as per Islamic history. The water has great religious significance and people take it back to their countries in great amount after performing Hajj or Umrah.
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Woman Dies By Suicide After Boyfriend Blocks Her On WhatsApp: Police
Mumbai: A 20-year-old woman allegedly hanged herself to death at her boyfriend’s house located along the railway tracks in suburban Dahisar apparently after he blocked her number on WhatsApp following an argument with her, a police official said on Wednesday.
The woman, identified as Pranali Lokare, was found hanging on Monday morning, he said.“The deceased and her 27-year-old boyfriend knew each other for the last six months. On Sunday night, both of them attended someone’s wedding, following which the woman insisted that she wanted to stay at his place overnight. However, he did not entertain her demand and asked her to go home,” the official said.
She went away, but soon started calling her boyfriend and again insisted that she wanted to come to his residence. The man advised her against doing do, saying that several drug addicts roam in the locality at night and later blocked her number on WhatsApp, he said.
However, the woman later reached his house and questioned him for blocking her on WhatsApp, the police official added. “She stayed at his place, but allegedly hanged herself from the ceiling using her ‘dupatta’. When her boyfriend got up in the morning, he was shocked to find her hanging. On the basis of preliminary information, Borivali unit of the Government Railway Police (GRP) registered an accidental death report (ADR),” he said, adding that no suicide note was found at the spot.
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Three Srinagar girls injured in Scooty accident
Srinagar, May 19: Three young girls (name withheld) riding on a Scooty were injured after the Scooty they were riding met with an accident near Security Line in Srinagar uptown on Thursday.
Two among them are the residents of Bemina Srinagar and one is from Lawaypora.
Hospital sources told news agency Kashmir News Trust that three girls aged 14 and 15 respectively were brought to the SMHS Hospital after they had sustained injuries in a road accident.
A relative of one of the three girls said that the trio are stable and will be discharged from the hospital shortly. (KNT)