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Srinagar, Sep 04: National Conference (NC) President and Member of Parliament from Srinagar Dr. Farooq Abdullah and Vice President Omar Abdullah on Saturday expressed profound grief over the demise of prominent political leader Syed Ali Shah Geelani.

In his condolence message issued Dr Farooq said, “May Almighty Allah grant peace to the deceased and forbearance to the grief-stricken to bear the irreparable loss,” he said.

In a condolence message, Omar Abdullah said, “I pray to Almighty to bestow peace to the departed soul in Janat and give courage to the bereaved family members to bear the loss,” he said.

Srinagar witnesses significant increase in positive cases for 2 weeks

Srinagar Sep 04: Experts predict that the third wave looms large as people avoid COVID norms in Kashmir with Srinagar district witnessing significant increase in positive cases for the last two weeks.
A social and preventive medicine expert who is data analysis incharge in divisional control room Dr Rouf Hussain Rather said that people are not adhering COVID norms.
“It is for sure that the third wave will come. But we can’t say when it will come and what severity,” Dr Rouf told news agency Kashmir Indepth News Service (KINS).
He said that the impact of the third wave could be avoided if people take several measures.
“The biggest tool at present we have is vaccination. People should not hesitate in taking the vaccination. It does not impact one’s fertility. It is safe to take the vaccine. Then we have to wear face masks, avoid gatherings and frequent hand washing which will be helpful in avoiding the third wave. In the first two waves, immunity has also been boosted which will also be helpful. All these factors can help in mitigating the effect of the wave,” he said.
He said the virus is continuously changing its colours. “If variants of virus are severe they can break the earlier immunity also. Those who have been vaccinated should continuously wear face masks,” he said.
Dr Rouf said people should not worry much about the Delta virus. “Delta virus originated in India. In the second wave, Delta virus was a major contribution. It is now going to other countries. Here 70 to 80 percent in May, June, July were Delta virus cases.”
He said the government has taken several measures to mitigate the impact of the third wave.
“Vaccination process has been increased. Generation of oxygen in hospitals has increased. Earlier we would generate 5000 litres of oxygen and now it has gone to 30,000 and it is continuously increasing. New hospitals are being set up. All these measures will also help.”
He said over 30 lakh people in Kashmir have taken their first dose of vaccination. “People should go for vaccination. We can’t say when the third wave will come. But in Srinagar the positive cases are continuously increasing. There could be various factors like mixing of people, religious processions taken out and gardens thrown open. The increase in positive cases could also be an indication of a third wave,” he added. (KINS)

Srinagar September 04: Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) youth coordinator central kashmir Arif Laigaroo condoles the demise of Syed Ali Shah Geelani

Voice calling, broadband internet services restored after 2-days, mobile internet continues to remain suspended

Washington, September 4: India and the United States are closely watching Pakistan’s actions in Afghanistan, Foreign Secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla said on Friday.

In the limited engagement that India has had with the Taliban, the new Afghan rulers have indicated that they would be reasonable in addressing New Delhi’s concerns, the foreign secretary added.

“Obviously, like us, they’re also watching carefully and we have to watch Pakistan’s actions with a fine tooth comb,” he told a group of Indian reporters at the End of his three-day official visit to Washington DC, adding that the US would have a wait-and-watch policy with regard to how the situation evolved in Afghanistan.

India also has a similar policy. “That doesn’t mean you don’t do anything. It simply means that you have to… the situation is very fluid on the ground, you have to allow it to see how it evolves. You have to see whether the assurances that have been made publicly are actually maintained on the ground, and how things work out,” he said.

“Our engagement with them (the Taliban) has been limited. It’s not that we have (had) a robust conversation. But for whatever conversation we’ve had so far, they’ve been sort of. At least, the Taliban seem to indicate that they will be reasonable in the way they handle this,” Shringla said.

He was responding to a question about the recent meeting that India’s Ambassador in Qatar had with a senior Taliban leader in Doha.

“In our statement, we have said that we have told them that we want them to be cognisant of the fact that there should be no terrorism that emanates from their territory directed against us, or other countries; that we want them to be mindful of the status of women, minorities and so on so forth. And, and I think they have, also, you know, made reassuring… from their side,” he said.

The top Indian diplomat was in Washington DC for a series of meetings with his American counterpart and top officials of the Biden administration in addition to interaction with representations from the industry and think-tanks.

On Thursday, he had called on the Secretary of State Antony Blinken.

Observing that the situation in Afghanistan is very fluid and moving fast, Shringla said that both India and the US are keeping a close watch on it. “Look on 15th of August, you had a situation where (Afghan) President (Ashraf) Ghani suddenly left. You had the Taliban come in. The situation is moving so fast it’s so fluid that is difficult to comment at this point of time on anything,” he said. PTI

Say they don’t have a policy of conducting ‘armed operations’ against any country

Amid concerns in India that Afghan soil under the Taliban regime can be used for terrorist activities against it, the insurgent group has said it has the right to speak out in favour of Muslims anywhere, including in Kashmir, though it does not have a policy of conducting “armed operations” against any country.

Suhail Shaheen, Taliban spokesman for its political office in Doha, in an exclusive interview to BBC through video link on Thursday, said: “We will raise our voice and say that Muslims are your own people, your own citizens and they are entitled to equal rights under your law.”

As Muslims, it was the group’s right to speak out for Muslims living in Kashmir and any other country, Shaheen said while speaking from Doha.

While recalling the terms of the Doha agreement with the US, he said they had “no policy of conducting armed operations against any country”.

Shaheen’s remarks came days after the Ministry of External Affairs in New Delhi said Indian envoy to Qatar Deepak Mittal met Sher Mohammad Abbas Stanekzai, the head of the Taliban’s Political Office in Doha, at the request of the group.

In the meeting, Mittal conveyed to Stanekzai that Afghanistan’s soil should not be used for anti-Indian activities and terrorism.

It was the first publicly acknowledged formal diplomatic engagement that came two weeks after the Taliban seized control of Afghanistan.

MEA Spokesperson Arindam Bagchi said at his weekly briefing on Thursday that India’s immediate focus in Afghanistan is to ensure that Afghan soil is not used for terrorist activities against it and it was still “very early days” to talk about any possible recognition to the Taliban.

On a question on Mittal’s meeting with Stanekzai, he said: “We used the opportunity to convey our concerns whether it is in getting people out (from Afghanistan) or on the issue of terrorism. We received a positive response.” PTI

Srinagar: Hurriyat Conference on Friday expressed deep grief and sorrow over the demise of veteran and octogenarian resistance leader Syed Ali Shah Geelani who passed away after a prolonged house arrest.
In a statement, Hurriyat led by Mirwaiz Umar Farooq paid glowing tributes to Geelani for his immense contribution and sacrifices on political and resistance fronts saying the demise of Geelani Sahib has not only created a big void in the political corridors of Jammu and Kashmir but also marked the completion of an era.
“With inception of All Parties Hurriyat Conference (APHC) in 1992 under the leadership of young Mirwaiz Umar Farooq to represent the emotions and sentiments of the people of Jammu and Kashmir, Syed Ali Geelani Sahib extended every possible and sincere support to the young Mirwaiz to take forward the mission and programmes of the Hurriyat,” it said.
“It paid homage to the veteran resistance leader for his consistency, steadfastness and courage and enduring time and again imprisonments and tortures in interrogation centres, saying the continuous house imprisonment of Geelani Sahib despite his old age and various ailments became reasons for his ill health which ultimately led to his demise,” it added.
It said Mirwaiz Umar Farooq, who has spent a long time with the veteran leader could not participate in funeral prayers as he continues to be under house arrest for more than two years now.
“It also said that the people were not allowed to participate in the funeral prayers of Syed Ali Geelani as strict restrictions and curbs were imposed across the Valley which is extremely shameful and exposes the authoritarian mindset of the government,” the Hurriyat added.

Kevadia (Guj): Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Thursday said that other than Jammu and Kashmir, there has been no major militant attack in India after Prime Minister Narendra Modi assumed office in 2014, and asserted that militants were scared of the BJP government at the Centre.
Addressing Gujarat BJP leaders on the second day of the party’s three-day state executive meeting at Kevadia in Narmada district, Singh also slammed the Congress, saying the party was not sensitive enough towards the Army soldiers as it kept the issue of One Rank-One Pension (OROP) unresolved for 40 years.
“We have not let militants succeed in their designs. That is why other than Jammu and Kashmir and some nearby areas, there has been no major terrorist incident in the country in the past seven years,” Singh said.
“It seems that militants are now scared of the BJP government. This is not a small thing,” he said.
“Militants now realise that they are not secure even in their safe-havens. What we did (surgical strike in PaK) after the Uri attack gave a clear message to the world that we can kill militants on this side as well as by crossing the border if the need arises,” Singh said.
Had the previous Congress governments been sensitive towards Army soldiers, the issue of OROP, which the soldiers had been demanding for 40 years, would have been resolved, he said. The Congress did not accept their demand, he added.
“But Modiji implemented it (OROP) immediately. This shows the difference between a Congress government and a BJP government,” he said.
Singh attacked the Congress and its leaders, saying that they only used Mahatma Gandhi’s name, but failed to follow in his footsteps.
Issues like Ram temple at Ayodhya are not mere slogans but BJP’s commitment, he said.
“We always fulfil what we promise. These are not mere election slogans…it’s our cultural commitment. Now, no force can stop the construction of a grand Ram temple. We had sacrificed three of our state governments after the structure (Babri mosque) was razed. Though the Centre had dismissed three of our governments, we never diluted our commitment and movement,” Singh said. PTI

Says Situation Across Kashmir Valley Remained Peaceful, IGP Thanks People

Srinagar, Sep 3: Police on Friday said that mobile internet services would continue to be barred till Sunday afternoon.

“Like yesterday, today also the situation across Kashmir valley remained peaceful and no any untoward incident was reported from anywhere,” a police spokesman said in a statement to GNS.

“IGP Kashmir (Vijay Kumar) thanked the people for their cooperation with police & security personnel deployed on ground and in maintaining the law and order,” he said.
In view of the peaceful situation, he said, mobile service (voice call) and broadband of all TSPs shall open tonight at 10 pm.

“It is pertinent to mention that mobile service (voice call) and broadband of BSNL were never closed. However internet on mobile services shall remain shutdown till Sunday afternoon,” he said. IGP Kashmir told GNS that police will review situation for opening mobile internet after 4th of Hurriyat Conference (G) Syed Ali Geelani.

Meanwhile police said: “People are yet again requested not to pay any heed to the rumours being maliciously spread by the anti-national elements especially across the border with an objective to disturb the prevalent peaceful atmosphere in the valley.” (GNS)