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  • Article 35A: I Will be First Person on Road,Says Dr Farooq

    “If 35A is fiddled, Farooq Abdullah will be the first person to hit the streets and lay his life for it. Those who are telling people in Jammu that 35A is affecting them negatively they are befooling them.”

    Srinagar: While stating that only friendly relations between India and Pakistan will resolve Kashmir issue, Opposition National Conference leader and MP Dr Farooq Abdullah Monday said that he will be the first person to “lay his life” if Article 35A is fiddled with.

    “If 35A is fiddled, Farooq Abdullah will be the first person to hit the streets and lay his life for it. Those who are telling people in Jammu that 35A is affecting them negatively they are befooling them. When Maharaja brought State subject law in 1927, it favoured people in Jammu more than Kashmiris. Because Kashmiris did not own the land then, they were its tillers only,” Abdullah said while addressing the party workers during a convention called to create awareness among people and mobilise support for Article 35A.

    He said that by abrogating Article 35A, Jammu will be the biggest looser compared to Kashmir as situation in Kashmir is not well and people will be afraid to come here.

    The NC patron said that he prays to give Mehbooba Mufti the strength to safeguard Article 35A and fight the BJP as she is the chief minister of the state.

    “Mehbooba Mufti called on me. She was worried about 35A. But I told her that ‘I congratulate you that you have understood what your alliance is upto’. Whatever I had to suggest to her as a father, I suggested. I pray to Allah to give her strength to safeguard Article 35A and fight against BJP as she is our chief minister,” he said.

    While saying that friendly relations between India and Pakistan are very important for the people of Jammu and Kashmir.

    “Friendship between the two countries will only take us out of the conflict and tragedy. Kashmiris are dying on both the sides of the Line of Control. And innocent soldiers die here and there as well. Until there is a friendly relation between the two countries, Kashmir issue will linger on. UN or US do not care about us. And they do not see what is wrought upon us daily,” he said.

    The MP said that India did not fulfill its promise made with people of Kashmir.

    “94 presidential orders were issued to make Article 370 hollow. And these Presidential Orders have not legal standing as constitutionally no order can be issued after Constituent Assembly of Jammu and Kashmir was dissolved,” he said.

    “But they did it thinking we are fools. But these forcible decisions will one day swallow them,” he said.

    He said that people of Jammu and Kashmir acceded with India that was flourishing and promoting Gandhi’s ideology.

    “We never went with Pakistan. We annexed with Gandhi’s India. But today they are disintegrating the same India with bad steps like Ghar wapsi etc. We are Muslims are we have never been against their religion. The constitution of India is same for all religions,” he said.

    Hinting towards BJP, Abdullah said that by their forcible decisions and steps, they will disintegrate the country.

    “The country will disintegrate by the forcible steps you are taking. If you want to keep this country untied you have to respect people of all religions,” he said.

    “You cannot divide this state. Let’s see how you will strengthen India by dividing Jammu and Kashmir,” he said.

    On extending GST to the state, he said that Finance Minister lied to the people. “He is dishonest and liar. He lied to us on GST and now its impact is on people and small shopkeepers,” he said. KNS

    NC to move SC as private party: Omar

    The opposition National Conference (NC) is in talks with top legal luminaries of the country to defend the Article 35A in the Supreme Court as a private party, its working president Omar Abdullah has said.

    Addressing a rally in Poonch district yesterday, he accused the PDP-BJP government in Jammu and Kashmir of putting up “weak defense” in the case while countering the challenge to Article 35A in the apex court.

    “The PDP-led government cannot be trusted on this crucial and sensitive issue that relates to identity, dignity and existence of people of the State,” the former chief minister said.

    He said the NC would not let Article 35A to go at the strength and commitment of the people of Jammu, Kashmir and Ladakh.

    “The machinations of the BJP to repeal this proviso through judicial process will not be allowed to succeed,” he said.

  • Cop gunned down by militants in Anantnag

    Anantnag: An Assistant Sub-Inspector was shot dead by militants in Anantnag town on Monday afternoon.The slain police officer has been identified as 55-year-old Abdul Rashid Shah.The Anantnag SSP, Altaf Khan, confirming the killing, said: “Yes, one of our officers has been shot dead this afternoon by militants. An investigation has been initiated. We will be able to pinpoint the attackers only after facts are ascertained.”The shooting took place about 12:30 pm in the busy Mahendi Kadal area of Anantnag, said sources.“The ASI was posted at the Sadder police station, which is less than 200 metres from the place of the shooting. He was busy regulating traffic at the Mahendi Kadal junction when he was shot at,” a senior police officer said. He said the militants shot at his chest before disappearing into the crowded market. The gunshot, said local sources, created panic in the area as people ran to take cover. Things however returned to normal after the injured officer was rushed to the nearby Anantnag district hospital.“The ASI had a bullet wound on the right side of his chest. He was given first aid and referred to Srinagar in a critical condition,” said Chief Medical Officer, Anantnag, Fazil Kochak. Shah was taken to the Sher-e Kashmir Institute of Medical Sciences in Srinagar, where he was declared brought dead. Following the shooting, a huge contingent of security forces reached the area and conducted searches to nab the militants. A wreath-laying ceremony was held at the Police Lines in Srinagar today.Shah is survived by wife, three sons and two daughters.

  • PDP MP’s Wife Threatens to Kill Newspaper Editor

    “You don’t know what I can do to you. I will get you skinned alive and hang you. How can you write this against my husband”, she said.

    Srinagar: The wife of a senior PDP leader and parliament member Saturday threatened to kill Shamim Me’raj, Editor of The Kashmir Monitor newspaper.

    The MP’s wife was upset with an editorial that the newspaper had carried about the MP.

    In a phone conversation lasting over 4 minutes, the MP’s wife not only abused the editor but also threatened to get him eliminated.” You don’t know what I can do to you. I will get you skinned alive and hang you. How can you write this against my husband”, she said.

    “If my husband wanted he could have become the CM in 2006. I know who runs this paper. You see what I will do to you”, she went on.

    The PDP Lok Sabha MP, Muzaffar Hussain Baig’s wife Safeena Baig Saturday threatened to get The Kashmir Monitor Editor, Shamim Meraj, “skinned alive and eliminated”.
    Safeena was upset over an Editorial ‘The Kashmir Monitor carried on August 13 over Muzaffar Baig’s affluent praise of PM Modi.
    Calling from Baig’s New Delhi Mobile number, the MP’s wife, sounding extremely agitated and upset, hurled volley of abuses at KM Editor before going on to say, “You don’t know who I am. I will come and skin you alive and then hang you. You are jealous of my husband. You don’t know who he is. I will come to your office and show you what I can do if you don’t apologise.”
    Baig’s wife then went on with a series of expletives which cannot be published. She also made references to other senior PDP leaders, abusing them and accusing them of hatching conspiracies against her husband.
    In the conversation that lasted over four minutes, the MP’s wife kept abusing KM Editor, his friends and family members. She went on to say that had Baig wanted, he would have become the Chief Minister in 2006.
    “You think my husband wants to become the CM? If Baig sahib wanted he could have become the Chief Minister in 2006. You think he needs that. How can you write all this! I will expose you. I know who runs this paper, I know you are all jealous of my husband. The Chief Minister is my sister,” Safeena said.
    “You think you run are a journalist. Let me tell me you no one reads your newspaper. It’s a piece of trash. Tell your father also. You are not running a newspaper, you are running a mafia. You and your father think you will run this state”, she ranted.
    The Kashmir Monitor, later in day, lodged a formal complaint against Safeena in police station Kothi Bagh. 
    This is perhaps for the first time in recent years that a politician’s wife is going about threatening to get people killed. 
    In the Omar Abdullah led National Conference –Congress alliance, the wife of a Congress Cabinet Minister from South Kashmir was known to abuse, threaten and harass party and government officials.

    KEG Aghast

    Kashmir Editors Guild (KEG) has taken a strong exception to a threatening phone call made by an MP’s wife to Editor, Kashmir Monitor.

    In a statement issued here today, a spokesman of KEG said that wife of a senior PDP leader and MP called Shamim Me’raj and threatened to ‘skin and hang him.’

    The lady in question was reacting to an editorial published in Kashmir Monitor.

    While describing the lady’s phone call as uncalled for and unacceptable, the spokesman said that any interference in the editorial policy of any newspaper by anyone, no matter how powerful he or she may be, will not be taken lying down.

  • If Humanity is Existing In World it is Only By Islamic Teachings: Moulana Hami

    All Stakeholders Meet On 28 August on Triple Talaq and Many Other Issues

    Srinagar: The Way Of Life Shown by Islam isn’t shown By any Other.Before the Arrival of Hazrat Muhammad SAW People Used to Bury the Girl Child at the time of their Birth but after the Arrival Of Hazrat Muhammad SAW not Only This Thing Stopped But many other rights were also given to Women.It Is Islam Which Says Jannah is in The Foot of Mother, Said Karwani Islami International Chairman Moulana Ghulam Rasool Hami while Addressing a Huge Gathering at Jamia Masjid Gulabagh Hazratbal. Hami Said that it is only by Islamic Teachings that humanity still exists, and According To Islam at the time of Nikkah a man is briefed about the rights of Women and after accepting those Rights then only they can live their Life happily. Hami Alleged that Some Anti Islamic Powers are Trying Malign the Image of Islam and Islamic Laws and are Spreading Vemon against Muslims. Moulana Hami Said That any harmful act towards Kashmir and Islamic Laws will Not be accepted on any Terms. Moulana Hami Said that all Stakeholders will Be Meeting On 28 August Monday in Srinagar To Put Their Views on Triple Talaq, Special Status and Many Other Issues.

  • Modi should give Justice to his estranged wife: Salman Nizami 

    NEW DELHI: Senior Congress leader Salman Nizami slammed BJP Prime Minister Modi, for taking credit of Trip Talaq verdit of Supreme Court, he said Modi should first give justice to his estranged wife Jashodaben. He alleged that the BJP’s policies about women empowerment were nothing but hypocrisy. He said Triple Talaq is the victory of Muslim women who fought, Govt didn’t file case, those women fought the entire battle so credit goes to them. Nizami said now Hindu women should also come forward & fight against evil like Dowry and girl child marriage. Also those who have been adondoned by their husband’s. BJP affiliates had undertaken Ghar Wapsi for people from other religions but Modi had failed to do justice to his own wife who was living a miserable life. By saying he fought for the rights of Women, and By launching initiatives like Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao, the BJP-led government at the Centre is boasting of women empowerment but all such programmes are only hypocrisy. Modi’s wife still travels by auto-rickshaws and lives a humble life. Modi should first bring his wife home,” he said.

  • ‘Regarding Kashmir you can only be either an Arnob or an Arundhati’

    In Conversation With Barkha Dutt

    ‘Media -The biggest disservice to the idea of Independence in the Valley’

    Perhaps the most well known Indian journalist of her generation, Barkha Dutt, left NDTV after 21 long years this January as she was “disillusioned by TV news among other things”.  The Padma Shri winner is currently an author for columns in various publications including, The Washington Post.  Barkha emerged as a star reporter after her frontline war reporting on the Kargil conflict in 1999. Later she extensively reported from the region and conducted countless programmes on the crisis in Kashmir.

    In a conversation with Nidhi Suresh, Barkha Dutt opens up about her relationship with Kashmir and how national media has dealt with Kashmir over the years.

    What is the term you would use to describe the situation in Kashmir?

    Tragic.

    I think beyond the violence there is just the tragedy of seeing this happen in a seemingly beautiful place where you’re only left with that sense of ‘what if’.

    What you think these words – ‘conflict’, ‘war’ or ‘terrorism’have done to the discourse of Kashmir?

    My biggest problem with the Kashmir discourse is that it’s shaped by journalists who are very far from the land. Even when they visit, it is for very short durations which are not long enough to report. I think, I can certainly speak as reporter on Kashmir because I’ve spent quite a long time in Kashmir. There was a time in my life where I lived two weeks a month there. Somy problem with the Kashmir discourse is that it is constructed within clichés. These clichés are either used by mainstream media journalists or by very ideologically, adamant Kashmiris themselves. So in reality, you can’t escape the framework you get pushed into. Something that I’ve tried to do is to unshackle myself from the expectation of my audience both from and outside Kashmir. And it is just damn difficult because everyone comes to your story, your view point, your every word with an expectation. If you meet their expectation you’re their hero and if you defy it, you’re the traitor for the day. So I think the discourse is part of the problem. One of the things, I’ve argued in my writings is that, we are at a point where we can’t have an honest conversation about the State. Regarding Kashmir you can only be either an Arnob Gowswami or an Arundhati Roy. With regard to my own experience in Kashmir, I certainly am neither. These extreme positions only lead to oversimplifications while your lived experience in Kashmir will prove that none of these sides are fully true.

    What do these ‘honest’ conversations involve?

    In a place filled with multiple truths, I think the problem is that, there is a singular truth enforced on the State. The fact is that, the boy or girl on the street today is much more violent than a boy or girl was 10 years ago. The fact also is that, the Macchil encounter which the army eventually set up as an example of its own fair play has just been undone by the army itself. It is also a truth that Kashmiri policemen, some of whom I’ve personally met, wear masks to work so that people from their villages don’t recognize and target them.These are all simultaneous truths that coexist in Kashmir. So an honest conversation would at least attempt to acknowledge the existence of all of these truths.

    What has changed for you over the time that you’ve spent in Kashmir?

    A lot.I have a dysfunctional attachment to the state. It is a state that formed me as a reporter. I have been vocal about my views and many of my friends don’t like the change and direction I’ve taken.

    How old where you when you first went to Kashmir for work?

    Early 20’s. Right out of college. I am 45 now and that’s how long my attachment has sustained with the place. And it has been and remains my magnificent obsession. But I must say, while I’ve got a lot of love there, I’ve also received a lot of hatred. I’ve been repeatedly called anti-national by people here, or jingoist by people there. And I think what neither side realizes is, how can one person be both? How can the same piece of work evoke both reactions? I’ve seen a marked generational shift in levels of anger. When I was in my 20s and I used to meet Kashmiri friends there, they had a political position; there was sense of being able to talk even if you came from a completely different political or ideological perspective. But now I find that there is a hardening of anger.

    And that’s dangerous?

    It’s dangerous, it’s counterproductive, and it’s less tolerant of any other view. So rest of India and the present generation of Kashmir have now mirrored each other.

    What was it like to be a woman reporter in Kashmir?

    Well, it is a relatively conservative society. I haven’t felt discriminated but as a woman, they would wait to see how my body of work would establish itself. I’m not sure if its gender specific. Or maybe, I didn’t experience it as much because I didn’t work in a local company. When you have young men in any conservative, angry society it requires you, as a woman, to cross a few more barriers than usual.

    You did a report called the ‘New Militancy’ where you said that most of the new militants from the Valley are young and educated.

    You know, there has been and is a view in Delhi and across parties, that if you give young Kashmiris education and jobs, this problem will go away or at least diminish. By travelling through South Kashmir and visiting these families, I was trying to make the point that one has nothing to do with the other. The PM had made this comment on how he’d like to see laptops and not stones in the hands of Kashmiris and I was making the argument that, that’s not going to change anything. It’s not about the quality of education. I’ve met families where their son who who’d joined militancy was a school topper or take the case of the most extreme, Musa. His father had sent him to Chandigarh to do his Engineering hoping that if he changes his geography, his mind set might change. But did it? My argument was to say that this is the wrong prism to see the problem through.

    How was the show received?

    Laughs.

    Well, let’s put it this way, my politics is certainly not secessionist. I don’t have a Roy’s view so I’m never going to be liberal enough for the Kashmiri. But neither am I going to be hawkish enough for our Prime Time channels either.

    So what is your position?

    Strengthen the moderates.

    My position has been consistent from the time I started reporting from Kashmir. I’ve seen people lose their lives for wanting to have a proper dialogue. Abdul Ghani Lone was shot dead right in front of my eyes. Why was he killed? Simply because he was a separatist who was ready to talk to Delhi. And I believe that you have to strength the hands of those who are loyal to the Indian Union but want some kind of political freedom too. Find a way to bring militants and separatists onto the table. After all, it has been done with Nagaland so why would you not do it with Kashmir?

     You mean the binaries cause the violence?

    Yes, the binary causes the tension, the unpleasantness. The truth is that India is not going to allow secession in the Kashmir Valley. If this is taken as ‘The Truth’, we can work backwards from it and ask ourselves about the possibility within this truth. We could look at what is possible within the framework of humanism and our own constitution? And I think there are many possibilities over there. You see, no one wants to hear the truth. In Delhi, people don’t want to hear the truth about depths of alienation. In Kashmir, Kashmiris of this generation do not want to hear or speak about the fact that there is a creeping Islamism. Nobody wants to hear it. The burka is not organic to the Kashmiri. A militant group declared that it was mandatory for all girls in Kashmir to wear a burka. I had gone into agirl’s school where I did a poll asking how many girls wanted to wear burka. And of course the girls said that if it was forced they wouldn’t want to. When I filed the report, there was a fatwa announced banning my entry into the Valley. And at that time, it’s interesting that Mirwaiz Umar Farooq issued a statement saying everyone is welcome into the Valley. He took that socially liberal position. Today, I feel people like him may not be able to be public with a similar position because of all extremes on all sides taking control of the conversation.

    Is it possible in Kashmir to make a distinction between a religious struggle and a political struggle?

    Kashmiris have always insisted that this is an ethno-nationalist struggle. So it is about ethnicity and not Islam. During the Burhan Wani protest time, I met an injured school boy in a hospital in Kashmir. When I asked him why he had been out in the streets he said he had been marching because he was a savior of Islam. To verify his answer I asked him if it was for ‘Azadi’ or ‘Islam’ and he said “Dono hi” (both). 10 years ago anyone asked this question would simply have said Azadi. The thing is, we’ve to ask ourselves in Delhi, how did it get to this point of creeping Islamism? And for that, I believe that the kind of political vacuum that currently exists is dangerous. If you don’t fill a political vacuum with a good idea, a bad idea will take its place. Also I feel that some of the wisest voices out of the valley have been the military. It may be vilified by Kashmiris but because they’re the ones who have actually lived and served there. The former Northern Army commander, the one who put away the soldiers involved in Macchil for life sentence is today, very upset that this was undone. When the Burhan Wani street protests were going out of control, instead of the politicians, it’s General Hooda who had a press conference saying all sides must come to the table. Militancy is not the problem today. The problem is that we’re facing a civilian protest cloaked over the militancy. So you have to find a political solution. Otherwise there is no solution to this.

    The National media often oversimplifies the problem of Kashmir. Is it fair to simplify such a complex problem?

    I know it does but isn’t everything on TV news like that? Nuance is dead in everything, not just in a Kashmir story. When was the last time you heard a story told in a complex way with all its multiple truths?

    Do you think the national media is doing anything different from what the State is doing in Kashmir?

    I call the media the single, biggest disservice to the idea of Independence in the Valley.

    Is that why you quit television?

    It wasn’t Kashmir specifically but I got very disillusioned and needed a respite from television. I’m not saying I’ll never go back to it but at the moment I just need a break.

    The words ‘militant’ and ‘terrorist’ are two different words for a reason. What does it mean when national media often uses them interchangeably?

    I use the words interchangeably as well. Although, there was a time when I used ‘militant’ for a local Kashmiri and ‘terrorist’ for a Lashkar or Pakistani. But now I do use them interchangeably because I think, gun for violence is a form of terrorism.

    So you don’t differentiate between the two?

    I walked with CRPF in downtown Srinagar and realized that the Kashmiri is no longer scared of dying. But I did not support the pellet guns because I felt that the visual of the mass partial blinding really eroded the moral legitimacy of the State.

    Well, let me put it this way. I can tell you the word I would not use is martyr, rebel or gunman. These men are not revolutionaries. They are weapon yielding men, trained or self-trained in the act of killing in support of what they believe is their cause. According to me there is an eroding of moral legitimacy on all sides. I was a full critique of the pellet guns. I walked with CRPF in downtown Srinagar and realized that the Kashmiri is no longer scared of dying. But I did not support the pellet guns because I felt that the visual of the mass partial blinding really eroded the moral legitimacy of the State. On the other hand, I also think that when pilgrims get targeted or when you have violent assault of civilians or security forces, the man you’ve made a hero actually called for a caliphate in Kashmir. People only condemned Musa for this but please pull out Burhan Wani’s videos. He called for a caliphate too. Such things only make the Kashmiri lose the legitimacy of their own genuine grievances.

    Do you think something changed with Zakir Musa called for a caliphate?

    Yes but Musa has been disowned by everyone. To me Wani is more worrying. He also called for a caliphate. Why didn’t anyone notice that? Also, what was more important was when the USA declared Salahuddin as a terrorist, the distinction between a local militant and foreign terrorist was over. There are these weird intertwined ironies in Kashmir and no one has the discipline in the media to untangle it. It’s all broad stroke reports.

    Do non-Kashmiri journalists feel a false sense of entitlement while discussing Kashmir?

    First of all, hardly any journalist even visits Kashmir before talking about it. There is no substitute for an on field reportage. The problem is with claiming expertise and yes that happens a lot.

    Would it help if national media journalists admitted to the fact that they don’t fully understand the conflict while reporting?

    Yes, to take sides on this matter would be idiotic.

    So a mere acknowledgement of a certain amount of incomprehensibility is enough to have credibility?

    Yes, absolutely.

    Where does the word anti-national feature in a country that calls itself democratic?

    See I cut my teeth as a reporter covering Kargil. I’m very sentimental about the military but that doesn’t stop me from saying that Macchil was a mistake and those who did it must be punished. Nobody should be caught between these false binaries of enforced codified nationalism.

    What direction do you think Kashmir is headed now?

    Kashmir is now like a pressure cooker. You keep putting a lid on it and it keeps bubbling over until you put the next lid and that’s what the State has been doing.

    What about women of Kashmir? Do you think it might make any difference if the women of Kashmir spoke more fearlessly about their thoughts?

    Women have surely suffered differently from men. I met some very outspoken women in Kashmir. I’m not sure if I put the conflict through a gendered prism.

    You conclude one of your articles by saying, “The bottom line: Kashmir is no longer an issue that Pakistan can get the world to take notice of.” Are you suggesting that the ‘Kashmir issue’ is an externally generated problem?

    Why isn’t there a non-violent icon in the Kashmiri movement? Where is the Irom Sharmila of Kashmir? Kashmiris are very angry that I ask this. I was told that Parveen Ahangar is the Irom Sharmila but I don’t think she’s been the face of that separatist rage on the street.

    I believe that the global response has changed after 9/11. There is no respect for an armed expression of anger, more so if it is rooted in Islam. When Nawaz Sharif gets up at the UN and invokes Burhan Wani as a hero while the West is not ignorant of what Wani suggested. This won’t get any kind of moral sympathy or support post 9/11. That’s one of my arguments. Also, why isn’t there a non-violent icon in the Kashmiri movement? Where is the Irom Sharmila of Kashmir? Kashmiris are very angry that I ask this. I was told that Parveen Ahangar is the Irom Sharmila but I don’t think she’s been the face of that separatist rage on the street. These are the things I’ve tried to raise, not construct a narrative that Kashmir is an externally generated problem.

    What do you think would happen if Kashmiris began producing their own television news?  Would it threaten national media?

    It would certainly have a very different conversation from national television but it would only widen the gap. I think the challenge is to ask – Where is that middle ground? We all need to accept that certain truths are empirical. No Indian government is going to grant secession to the Kashmir Valley.

    And that is because of geographical reasons?

    Yes and because there is no accepting that one part of one state should define the future of the rest of the country. Secondly, there is no definition of Azadi. If you push a Kashmiri, to define it, you’ll find different answers. Mehbooba Mufti had a great line by saying that Azadi had to be replaced with something better. You have to appeal to the young Kashmiri, who should look over his/her shoulder and say, ‘My god no, not Pakistan. Whatever I want, I don’t want Pakistan’. And how is an independent Valley going to exist between these two countries? Let’s get real.

    Do you look back at your body of work and wish you could undo something?

    I’ve never found myself ideologically dishonest on Kashmir. I come from a very empathetic perspective, except for the militants. Empathy has out of reporting from within Kashmir as well as from national media on Kashmir. And what I know for sure is that this ‘For’ and ‘Against’ game is not journalism.

    Courtesy: Kashmir Observer

  • Kashmir’s para cricket captain to play for India

    Anantnag: Captain of the Jammu and Kashmir para cricket team Amir Hussain Lone has been picked to represent India at the international level, making him the second cricket player from Kashmir to bag the honour.Lone, who is also the president of the Jammu and Kashmir Para Cricket Association, confirmed the news while talking to The Tribune.Coincidentally, Lone is also from Bijbehara town of south Kashmir, the home town of Parvez Rasool, who became the first cricketer from Jammu and Kashmir to play for India at the international arena.“It’s a great honour and apart from my family members, I think the media has played a huge role into making me what I am today,” Lone said.The 27-year-old is excited at the prospect his selection in the Indian national team is going to hold for other para cricketers of the Kashmir valley.“I hope and pray that this should be just the beginning and I should not be the last one to play for India,” Lone told The Tribune.At his home in the Waghama area of Bijbehara, people made a beeline to visit his family and congratulate them.“I had never even dreamt of this. When he became handicapped, I thought his life is over. Little did I know it has just begun. God has his own strange ways with us lesser mortals,” Lone’s father Bashir Ahmad Said.

  • Muslims welcome Yatris to perform Darshan in Tral

    Tral: Despite shutdown and tense situation in Tral town against the killing of local militants , Darshan of “Nawnag” , holy shrine of Hindus, was held as per schedule in Nowdal village of the town on Friday , in which scores of amarnath yatra  pilgrims participated.

    On the occasion ,locals Muslims once again show humanity by coordinating with the hindu pilgrims as usual and remained there for full day besides security forces who were safeguarding them.

    “On this day , We are always staying here with Yatri’s to make them aware that they are like our brothers. No matter how tense the situation is in Kashmir , we like to serve the guests as it is our duty and maintaining our identity,” a local Muslim told.

    Its pertain to mention here that a militant namely Zahid Ahmad, killed in fierce gunfight on Wednesday with security forces at Wanibatoo Village , was belonging to the same village , where this shrine is located.

    Meanwhile , the pilgrims have expressed gratitude towards the Muslim community for their courtesy.

    “We are very thankful to our Muslim brothers for their love and dedication. We have done Darshan here at “Nawnag” Shrine very happily  and without any inconvenience ,” A Yatri said.

    Earlier in the month of July , an example of communal brotherhood of Muslims and Sikhs were seen in Nagbal and Saimoh Village of the same sub district (Tral), when Sikh man were rescued by Muslims in one Village and Holy books of Muslims were saved in a mosque by Sikhs in another Village.

  • Why Sharif’s ouster is dangerous for Pakistan Writes Barkha Dutt

    Barkha Dutt

    In May 2013 after his electoral victory, Nawaz Sharif said something that for years, no Pakistani leader had dared to express. Sharif told me, “civilian supremacy over the military is a must.” He went a step further and said, “The prime minister is the boss, not the army chief. This is what the constitution says. We all have to live within the four walls of the constitution.”

    This week, Pakistan’s Supreme Court disqualified Sharif for life, ostensibly because his three children were named in the Panama Papers and were charged with having undeclared properties abroad through offshore companies. Ultimately, he was found guilty on a technicality unrelated to the Panama Papers.

    But was Sharif’s dismissal written into the script the day he asserted his civilian rights? Sharif seems to be paying the price for trying to restore some authority to the office of the prime minister. He also took on a foreign policy agenda that was inimical to the shadowy Pakistani security establishment that has often used terrorist groups as strategic assets against both India and Afghanistan. Earlier this year, amid spiraling tensions between India and Pakistan,  Sharif told me he was attempting a renewed rapprochement; his India policy is certainly one reason why he was disliked by his army.

    Sharif’s ouster is being celebrated by some as an example of Pakistan upholding the best democratic values of accountability. “It’s the biggest victory for the rule of law in Pakistan’s history,” said Naeem Ul-Haque, of the opposition party Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI). Haque is an aide to glamorous cricketer-turned politician Imran Khan — the main petitioner in the case demanding action against Sharif. “Rule of law is the spirit of democracy,” Haque insisted.

    In fact, this verdict is the exact opposite. It weakens the country’s tenuous democracy and allows its all-powerful army to grab power without having to formally seize it. Pakistan’s Supreme Court did not even permit Sharif the benefit of a legal trial, accepting instead the findings of an investigative panel, on which two of the six members were from the same military establishment that wanted his exit. “This is a judicial coup,” Husain Haqqani, Pakistan’s former ambassador to the United States, said to me in an interview. “Had this been about corruption, there would have been a trial, not direct intervention by the Supreme Court, which should only be the court of final appeal in criminal matters. The military in Pakistan knows the difficulties of a military coup, so now hidden powers are using the judiciary.” The Supreme Court of Pakistan has validated previous military coups citing what it calls the “doctrine of necessity.”

    Indeed, in Pakistan, the military is the ventriloquist and politicians are the puppets. No elected prime minister has completed a full term.

    When Sharif won in 2013, it was the first peaceful transition of power from one elected government to another. But even Sharif’s predecessor and opponent, Asif Ali Zardari, had to live with his government’s prime minister being ousted by the Supreme Court. Sharif himself has been sacked twice before as prime minister; in 1993, he was ousted by the president, and in 1999, his army chief, Gen. Pervez Musharraf, seized power in a brazen takeover. Musharraf’s hijacking of the government was the third successful army takeover in Pakistan. Since then, many Pakistanis have argued that their nation is “post-coup.”  Sharif’s ouster proves that claim is a lie.

    Sharif’s  has been sent home — not because of  “Panama Gate” but because, believe it or not, he failed to be “sadiq” and “ameen,” or truthful and trustworthy. These vaguely worded criteria, borrowed from Arabic, were brought into law by another military dictator, Gen. Zia-ul-Haq, under the contentious clauses of Articles 62 and 63 of Pakistan’s constitution. A godsend for military authoritarianism, these arbitrary provisions are meant to benchmark morally upright leaders and disqualify them if needed. Sharif, the court says, was untruthful about not drawing a salary of 10,000 dirhams a month (about $2,700) as chairman of a Dubai-based company (Capital FZE) owned by his son, until nearly a year after assuming office. Sharif’s lawyers argued that this involved an Emirati work permit procured during the years Musharraf forced him into exile. Investigators insist Sharif did not declare this additional income; the former Prime minister argued that he never used the money.

    Now contrast these relatively small charges with Musharraf,  who stands accused of high treason as well as having a role in the murder of Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto. The military weighed in, and Musharraf was allowed to leave the country with the permission of the courts.

    This glaring double standard is what undermines Pakistan’s democracy. “It is a populist judgment, which has opened the doors for the disqualification of politicians on flimsy grounds,” warns Asma Jahangir, one of Pakistan’s most respected lawyers. “It is highly flawed in procedure and substance.” Jahangir told me she understand the concern over corruption and conceded that the Sharif family — with huge business interests in steel and sugar — would have to address these questions, but added: “What  is the hurry; why the short cuts? He has a right to due process.”

    Sharif’s political opponents, such as Khan, may be rejoicing at his ouster. But Pakistani friends say he should know that this verdict sets a dangerous precedent. Tomorrow it could be Khan.  Pakistanis speak of the army’s “Minus-3 Formula,” meaning that the military has already pushed three major national leaders — Altaf Hussain, Sharif and Zardari — into oblivion.   It’s official: Pakistan’s military no longer needs martial law to control the nation.

    Barkha Dutt is an award-winning TV journalist and anchor with more than two decades of reporting experience. She is the author of “This Unquiet Land: Stories from India’s Fault Lines.” Dutt is based in New Delhi. Follow @bdutt
    Courtesy: Washington Post

  • Pakistan not creator of Kashmir trouble: Omar Abdullah

    Srinagar: Pakistan fishes in the troubled waters of Jammu and Kashmir but they are not the creators of unrest in Kashmir, former Chief Minister Omar Abdullah said on Saturday.

    Speaking at a Kashmir conclave here, the opposition National Conference leader said he was aware that it was popular to blame Pakistan for everything that is happening in the troubled state.

    “We know that Pakistan fishes in troubled waters, but we also know that they are not the creators of the sort of agitation that we have seen in 2008, 2010 and 2016,” Abdullah said.

    The former union Minister of State for External Affairs was referring to the three deadliest street protests Kashmir has witnessed in the nearly three-decades of separatist war.

    New Delhi has been blaming Islamabad for inciting and sponsoring trouble in Jammu and Kashmir — a charge Pakistan has been denying.

    Abdullah said the blame for shrinking space for mainstream polity in Jammu and Kashmir needed to be shared by all, including the central government.

    He said ruling Peoples Democratic Party’s (PDP) inability to deliver on promises like making peace between India and Pakistan and initiating talks between the central government and separatists has cost the mainstream politicians their credibility in the state.

    Abdullah said the case in point was the agenda of alliance between the PDP and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

    “I think what is important is that we as regional political players understand our limitations. The problem arises when in our desire to attract votes in elections, we sell promises far beyond our ability to deliver.

    “It is not within the scope of the Chief Minister of Jammu and Kashmir to decide whether India and Pakistan are going to engage with each other. When we fight election on the promise that we will make peace between India and Pakistan you are setting yourself up for defeat.

    “Similarly with the best of intentions, the Chief Minister of Jammu and Kashmir cannot arm-twist the Union of India to engage with the Hurriyat Conference.”

    He said the PDP fought the 2014 assembly elections promising they would facilitate a dialogue without a precondition between the central government and the Hurriyat.

    But the PDP-BJP has not delivered the promise despite it forming the “cornerstone of the agenda of alliance”.

    “When you enter into agreements like the agenda of alliance and find that it is gradually being dismembered and you see the developments as they have taken place over the last six to eight months, then obviously question marks arise against mainstream polity.”

    He said the mainstream politicians needed to focus on the things that they could deliver.

    “And here in lies my major grievance with (Chief Minister) Mehbooba Mufti. The fact is that set aside the things that she has not been able to do that are not within her control. Focus on the things that you can do,” Abdullah said.

    Abdullah said the blame for the shrinking space of mainstream political parties had to be shared by the central government as institutions like the Election Commission were also not in a position to show how much their writ run in the state.

    “It is not just mainstream political players that are responsible for what is happening, the Union of India is also responsible. Whether it was the UPA government or the NDA government,” he said.

    Abdullah cited an example of the cancellation of the parliamentary election in Anantnag following violent protests in Kashmir and said it was for the first time that the separatist Hurriyat Conference had been handed over an electoral victory.

    “This is the first election in Jammu and Kashmir which the Hurriyat Conference have won, because since 1996 whenever elections were called the Hurriyat Conference had a single point agenda that some how this election should not take place. This is the first time on the back of protests you cancelled an election and handed victory to them.”

    He said the cancellation of the south Kashmir election proved the inability of the Indian government and the Election Commission to make their writ run in Jammu and Kashmir. IANS