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Srinagar, Jul 27: The bail application of PDP leader Waheed-ur-Rehman Parra, a close aide of former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister Mehbooba Mufti, has been rejected for the second time in five months by a special court which said “prima facie” terror charges levelled against the accused seem to be “true at this stage”.

The 24-page bail order passed by the special NIA court here, however, rejected the contention of the prosecution that a fresh bail application should not have been entertained by the court as no fresh development has taken place since the last rejection in February.

While rejecting Parra”s bail application, the special judge said the contention raised by the defence counsel “herein cannot be considered at this stage and the good grounds do not exist at this stage which would warrant the release of the accused herein on bail in view of the given facts and circumstances governing the matter in hand”.

“… And at present I am satisfied in view of the material placed on the record that the alleged offences leveled against the accused/applicant (Parra) herein appears to be prima facie true at this stage,” the order said.

The order rejecting the bail was given earlier this month but it was made available on Monday.

Parra”s counsel Shariq Reyaz had urged for cancellation of the FIR under which the PDP leader had been arrested and contended that the same case was being probed by the National Investigation Agency, therefore rendering the probe by police as “void ab-initio and non-est” (having no legal validity from the beginning) in law.

The counsel said the material relief by the police against Parra was the sum and substance of the NIA charge sheet filed in a Jammu court from where he has already been granted bail.

The counsel contended before the court that Parra comes from a respectful family with a clean track record and being a political figure of eminence having deep roots in the soil will not jump the bail or fleeing from justice, in case the court grants it.

The defence counsel stressed on the fact that his client was a political worker and a member of a regional political party –PDP — who was duty bound to interact with the general public. Listening to “the grievances of the public is the job of politicians irrespective of the fact whether the interacting person is a good citizen or a criminal or whatsoever. The interaction of the politician with party members or voters does not amount to any offence”, he contended.

Countering the argument of defence counsel, the prosecutor pointed out that there have been statements recorded of some of the witnesses during the course of investigation conducted so far have brought out a “startling revelation of the tapestry of direct and willful quid-pro-quo between the accused and active militants”.

The prosecutor again highlighted that Parra “had contacts across the border, suspected to be his associates and handlers in Pakistan as well with anti-national elements which includes secessionists/terrorists as well as in the UK and other parts of the world.

It also surfaced that he had funded various anti-national outfits through different conduits and having them on his side and using their illegal power and influence in the society to his personal and political benefit.

The judge in his order rejected the contention of the Parra”s counsel for quashing of the FIR and said “to the understanding of this court quashing of FIR is out of the jurisdiction of this court and the issue raised can only be properly addressed after the trial of the case and it is premature stage to assess and decide” whether the two cases — one probed by the NIA and the second by police — are the same or not.

The judge said that the points raised by the defence counsel can only be addressed during the course of the trial.

The designated court has also framed charges against Parra which included allegedly being a

Srinagar, 27 July: The heat wave conditions remained unabated in parts of Jammu and Kashmir on Tuesday, even as the summer capital recorded its hottest July day in 8 years at 34.6 degrees Celsius.

As per Kashmir Weather, an independent weather forecaster, Srinagar recorded its hottest July day since 2013 when the maximum temperature had reached 35.2 degrees Celsius.

The all-time highest July temperature is 38.3°C recorded on 10 July 1946.

Similarly, Kupwara also recorded its hottest July day since 2013 at 35.2°C.

On 29 July 2013, mercury had reached at 35.8°C.

The ski-resort of Gulmarg, famous for its beauty and heavy snowfall during winters, recorded a maximum temperature of 25.0°C.

The other parts of the Valley also witnessed similar weather conditions.

Qazigund recorded 32.6°C, Pahalgam 29.6°C and Kokernag 31.7°C as the day’s highest temperatures.

Kashmir Weather has forecast a relief from present hot weather conditions from tomorrow with chances of rain and thundershowers at widespread places.

Pulwama: An enthusiastic woman from Southern Kashmir’s Pulwama district is emerging as a role model for potential women entrepreneurs of the valley, with her success of running a dairy farm.

Named Shahzada, the 26-year-old woman from Mitrigam village of the district set up the cow farm some five years ago with the assistance of Rural Development Department, by taking advantage of a Self-Help Group (SHG) scheme.

“I have a totally different perspective about the state of unemployment now. I feel like I started the dairy farm with a single cow, young people who are searching for employment can also start their own venture and work for its success, which will be only theirs at the end of the day,” Shahzada told news agency Kashmir News Trust (KNT).

She has successfully run the dairy farm while the number of cows in her dairy farm has increased with over 20 cows. On an average, 300 litters of milk are produced on a daily-basis and transported to all the four districts of south Kashmir and even the capital city of Srinagar.

“I studied up to Class 8th only but couldn’t continue further. However, I have learnt to keep track of the accounts and have been successfully maintaining all records. I mean, you learn things as you work,” Shahzada adds.

With high on hopes, the woman entrepreneur now wants to lay her hands on a cheese-making equipment, so as to diversify her business on the one hand and fight the ill-effects of pandemic on the other hand.

She, however, says that it needs a lot of support from the family, relatives and friends, especially when it is a female entrepreneur. “If people are supportive, things become easier,” she expresses.

While asking for help from the Department of Animal and Sheep Husbandry, she says that there are loopholes in allocation of subsidies and other related schemes. “Officials of the department need to bring in more transparency and accountability in this connection,” she goes on to say.

It is pertinent to mention here that official figures for the year 2020 show that Pulwama produced 31 crore litres of milk, which was supplied across J-K, and in 2017-18, it produced 28.04 crore litres. Every day, 8.5 lakh litres of milk is produced in the south Kashmir district.

The abundance not only motivated entrepreneurs to set up dairy farms but consequent processing units as well with the district having five large milk plants on the cards, slated to come up in a decade. (KNT)

Srinagar, July 27: A local “gangster” of “16 Gujjar Gang” was on Tuesday shot dead in Nawa Kadal area of Srinagar following a rivalry between two local gangs in the area, police said here.

A top police official told Kashmir News Service (KNS) that Meeran Ali son of Shabir Ahmad Sheikh of Bulbul Lanker locality of Nawa Kadal was shot dead as there was rivalry between two local gangs in the area.

“There was rivalry between two local gangs–Downtown Itehad and Gujjar Gang in the area and Meeran was part of Gujjar Gang and he was a known gangster of the area and today morning he was shot at and was later rushed to a nearby healthcare facility, where he succumbed,” the top official said.

He said that further investigation has been taken up regarding the incident and apparently this is a gang fight between two local gangs. (KNS)

Srinagar, Jul 27: The President of India Ram Nath Kovind on Tuesday said that violence was never part of Kashmiriyat but has become a daily reality now.

According to the news agency—Kashmir News Observer (KNO), Kovind in his address at Sher-I-Kashmir-International Convention Centre (SKICC) during the 19th convocation of University of Kashmir (KU) said, “Violence which was never part of Kashmiriyat but has become a daily reality now.”

He said, “It was most unfortunate that the outstanding tradition of peaceful coexistence was broken but now, there is a new beginning to regain this land’s lost glory.”

In the meantime, Kovind congratulated the young students of the KU who are being conferred with the respected degrees in this convocation.

“I have been told that nearly three lakh students are receiving degrees today and I am impressed by the number with more 2.5 lakh bachelors and more than one thousand doctorates, the university has made remarkable progress,” he said—(KNO)

Srinagar: A month after Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s outreach to mainstream leaders of J&K, National Conference president Farooq Abdullah said on Sunday that there had been “no follow-up results” on the ground.

Grant Statehood

All major parties have demanded statehood and the Centre should prove its bona fide by agreeing to that. – Farooq Abdullah, NC President

Abdullah said this in reference to the PM’s remarks at the June 24 meeting in New Delhi that he wanted to win the hearts of the people of J&K and remove “Dilli ki doori” (the distance from Delhi) and “dil ki doori” (distance between hearts). “That was a welcome statement but there is no effort on the ground to win the hearts of the people. People continue to be locked up and dissent is not tolerated. We want to see the change on the ground, a visible effort to win back the people who went through the trauma of their state being dismembered, its special status removed in one sudden blow,” the three-time former chief minister said.

“We are yet to see any follow-up results even after a month… Trust is something that has been missing from both sides (Delhi and Srinagar). Successive PMs—Jawaharlal Nehru, Narasimha Rao, Atal Bihari Vajpayee—made promises but the trust deficit has persisted,” he added.

The 83-year-old veteran politician said that he and his party had attended the Delhi meeting because it was an invitation from the PM, although he had no expectations from it. Yet, he said he had hoped for steps to win the hearts and minds of people but nothing had happened.

Abdullah insisted that restoration of “full, undiluted” statehood to J&K should precede the elections to its Assembly. “All major parties have demanded that and the Centre should prove its bona fide by agreeing to that,” he said.

Asked if his party would take part in the elections if the statehood was not granted before that, the National Conference president said, “We will decide at that time when the bugle is blown. We will then sit down and decide what we should do.”

In reply to a question about the fate of the People’s Alliance for Gupkar Declaration (PAGD), a conglomerate of six mainstream political parties including the NC and its arch rival PDP, Abdullah said the alliance stands and “we are together…we all are there. We haven’t left.”

He said the alliance was cobbled up together in a hurry when the special status of Jammu and Kashmir was abrogated on August 5, 2019. — PTI

Drass, Jul 26: Stating that the Indian Amry is more capable, the Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) General Bipin Rawat on the 22nd anniversary of operation Vinay said that such kind of success is very difficult but only the Indian army can do it. He was addressing at the war memorial in Drass, Kargil of Ladakh.

Notably, July 26 is celebrated in the memory of, “the Indian armed forces defeating Pakistan back in 1999 in Operation Vijay”.

According to the news agency—Kashmir News Observer (KNO) the Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) in presence of Lieutenant Governor RK Mathur, Member Parliament Jamyang Namgyal Ladakh UT, and CEC’s of twin districts besides other top officials from different quarters installed the victory flame at the Kargil war memorial and paid tributes to the soldiers who lost their lives during the Operation Vijay in 1999.

In every brief interaction with the reporters on the sidelines of the event, the CDS said that this day we remember all those who lost their lives while defending the country.

Rawat while replying to a query said that this is a very historic day since it is very difficult to achieve the success of this kind and only the Indian army can do it

About the infrastructure work in Ladakh, the CDS said that the work is going on and it will continue in a much better way.

MP Namgyal while talking to the reporters said that it’s a day of pride for the entire nation and everyone should remember them besides the younger generation must have enough knowledge about the importance of this day.

He paid tributes to all those soldiers who have laid their lives saying the whole nation remembers them.

Reports said that in the majorly celebrated program missed by the president of India Ramnath Kovind due to the bad weather besides, CDS, LG, MP top Army officials, and other officials were present including the Chief Executive Councillors (CEC’s) of Leh and Kargil districts who laid a wreath on the occasion at Kargil war memorial.

As per official details available with KNO, the 22nd year of the Kargil was celebrated in different parts of Jammu and Kashmir including Ladakh Union Territory paying tribute to the soldiers of Operation Vijay.

Meanwhile, the Indian Army in a tweet informed that General Bipin Rawat CDS received the Swarnim Vijay Mashal at the Kargil war memorial in the presence of Army Commander, Northern Command, Formation Commander, Gallantry Awardees, Veer Naris, and Next of kin of the Brave Hearts.

On the 22nd year of the victory, the Prime Minister of India Narendra Modi, Defence Minister of India Rajnath Singh, and other leaders besides other wings of India remembered them and paid tribute on the occasion—(KNO)

Massive drop in demand, price in last 7 years: President KRSDA

Srinagar, Jul 26: Once a famous trade is struggling to survive in Kashmir as the demands as well as the prices of animal hides has no longer helping in earning livelihood.

The people associated with trade that the price of a sheep or goat skin has declined to a large extent in the last seven years.

According to the news agency—Kashmir News Observer (KNO), almost 400 families have got badly affected due to the decline in raw skin trade in Kashmir.

Due to the less demand in the market, the traders are unable to find takers.

President of Kashmir Raw Skin Dealers Association (KRSDA), Mehraj-ud-din said that the price has reduced from Rs 400 to Rs 80 while as the demand too is declining with each passing day.

“The families, who are directly or indirectly involved with this trade are struggling to meet their daily needs,” he further said.

Meanwhile, President of Kashmir Raw Skin Dealers Association appealed government to help in promoting the business so that the people associated with the trade can earn their livelihood again—(KNO)

SRINAGAR, JULY 24: There is no immediate threat of the Taliban moving to Kashmir, but there are fears that the overall Afghan situation could increase Pakistan-based Militant groups operating in Kashmir, a Defence official said, The Hindu reported.

“What could happen is that Pakistan-based Militants may get excited by the way out of US forces in Afghanistan and the strengthening of the Taliban. They can do something with confidence,” said a senior defense official. “In the next 4-5 years, we don’t see any Taliban coming,” the official said.

With US forces almost pulling out of Afghanistan, the Taliban have made great strides and gained new ground in the past few weeks, raising fears of their possible influx into Kashmir.

As far as counter-insurgency operations in Kashmir are concerned, India is very strong along the Line of Control (LoC), the official said, adding, “be it army, sensors or drones, we have the LoC fully covered.” (PTK)