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  • Hope Modi will address alienation, trust deficit in Kashmir: Mufti   

    Expresses gratitude to people of J&K for party’s historic win;  

    ‘People of Kashmir have spokesman decisively’

    Srinagar: Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) patron Mufti Mohammad Sayeed, on Sundaysaid that people of Kashmir through their clear mandate in favour of PDP has further strengthened the party’s resolve to work towards accomplishing its unfinished agenda of securing dignified peace, lasting stability and inclusive prosperity for the people of Jammu and Kashmir.

    According to a statement issued to KNS, Mufti while congratulating Narendra Modi for his overwhelming success across the country hoped that Modi’s developmental agenda will be intensive and political agenda inclusive. “We congratulate Mr Modi and his party on their outstanding victory. We hope his developmental agenda is intensive and his political agenda is inclusive.  That is what is needed and expected of him in his new role,” Mufti said.

    He hoped that the new Government at the Centre, under the leadership of Modi, will take tangible measures to address the causes of alienation and trust deficit in Kashmir and work towards finding long-lasting solution of the problem plaguing the region for the past more than six decades.

    “At the national level also people have voted and given a decisive mandate to the BJP for a strong and stable government at the Centre. Mr Narendra Modi has got the political and electoral legitimacy to head the new Government as the Prime Minister. We must all respect this legitimacy that has been accorded to him by the people of the country.”

    Meanwhile, the PDP patron and the former chief minister said that the people of Jammu and Kashmir have spoken– and ‘spoken decisively’. “As I extend my gratitude to the people for reposing their faith and trust in Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and ensuring a remarkable and historic victory for the party, I am in no doubt, at all, as to what it means.

    I am especially humbled by the overwhelming endorsement of my party’s political and economic agenda by the State’s young population who have started playing decisive role in democratic exercises as is evident from the results of the recent Lok Sabha polls. Time has come for the State’s youth to fully assert themselves to become active partners in political decision-making processes.”

    Mufti said: “I compliment the PDP cadres from the core of my heart for having successfully and effectively carried the party’s political and economic agenda to the grassroots level. They sacrificed their personal interests for the larger objective of ensuring peace and dignity for the State and its people and it is because of the untiring efforts of the PDP cadres that their party has today become a real people’s movement across Jammu and Kashmir. I also express my appreciation for the Election Commission of India (ECI) for ensuring by and large free, fair and peaceful elections in Jammu & Kashmir with the endorsement of the Central Government led by Dr Manmohan Singh. Equally commendable is the role played by the State Administration in accomplishing this drawn-out and massive democratic exercise smoothly.”

    The PDP patron said that the results of the Lok Sabha polls make it amply clear that the people of the State have come together with their powerful voice and expressed their will in un-ambiguous verdict. They have affirmed our course. They have told us to move forward.

    Jammu & Kashmir is at the threshold of a momentous transformation and it today needs, more than ever before, a caring government, which only a truly committed political party can provide. I reiterate my party’s resolve to work hand-in-hand with the progressive and democratic forces in the country and the region to facilitate dignified resolution of the Kashmir issue and the issues confronting Jammu and Kashmir.

    “I visualize a space of dignity, opportunity and prosperity for the people my people in the paradigm of friendship and cooperative relationship between India and Pakistan as envisioned in PDP’s Self-Rule document.  The State can’t remain aloof from the massive economic progress taking place in the country and the region and our enterprising young generation has to be provided a more congenial atmosphere to flourish and assimilate into the free and flourishing global market economy.”

    The statement added: “I assure my people that PDP would work towards accomplishing its unfinished agenda of securing dignified peace, lasting stability and inclusive prosperity for the people of Jammu and Kashmir, who have suffered countless miseries over the years. It would be our endeavor to carry the voice of Jammu & Kashmir to all parts of the country and use all forums including the Assembly, Parliament and other democratic platforms to secure the political and economic rights of the State and its people.”

    Mufti said that he urged everybody, cutting across the political divide, let us make a new beginning, and move forward to confront the great challenges people of Jammu and Kashmir are facing. Let us rise as one to meet these defining challenges of our time, so that our future generations, thank us and say truly this was the turning point in J&K’s turbulent history. (KNS)

  • Lest We Forget Mubina Ghani : When BSF troopers ‘raped’ bride

    By Abdul Majid Zargar

    Speaking in a seminar at the UN in Geneva, titled, “Defending the Democratic Processes” the British parliamentarian, George Galloway once said that India is using rape as a weapon of occupation in occupied Kashmir. It has made rape as an instrument of State Policy to subjugate & coerce People of Kashmir into submission. If any proof was needed to Gallowaly’s charge it was provided by New-Delhi in ample measure when it refused to implement Justice Vema Panel’s recommendation to take out crime of rape out of the protective shield provided by the ambit of AFPSA law.

    Thousands of rapes have been committed by security forces in Kashmir since 1990 and one such rape of a young bride, Mubina Ghani of Muhripora, District Islamabad, Kashmir is & will be remembered for long because it changed the whole tradition of celebrating the marriages & transporting “Barats”during night time.

    It was Just before the fateful midnight on 18 May 1990 that a bus carrying 27 members of a family wedding party approached a roadblock manned by soldiers of the Border Security Forces (BSF) near Badasgam village in Kashmir, India. As the bus rolled to a halt, the soldiers opened fire, killing the bridegroom’s brother and wounding at least nine others, including the bride – 18-year-old Mubina Gani – and her husband. “We lay down under the seats and pretended to be dead,” she said. “After the shooting they came inside and started to beat everyone.” Some of the soldiers dragged me and my pregnant aunt into a nearby field. We were crying bitterly. I told them that I had not yet seen my husband. But they didn’t listen. They took off our clothes…and then we were raped. Four to six men raped me, I think.” Suffering from shock and gunshot wounds, Mubina Gani was taken away and held in military custody for 48 hours. Indian officials initially claimed that the bus had accidentally been caught in a cross-fire. However, the Superintendent of the Anantnag police later confirmed that the BSF had fired on the bus indiscriminately and that the two women had been gang-raped.
    Recalling the horrific event, Mubeena’s sister, Shaheen, who was nine then said, “I cannot forget that fateful night and those images continue to haunt me. From that day onwards, my heart beats fast as soon I see any one in the khakis and even I don’t pass by the place where the incident occurred.”

    There are two unusual thing about this rape. First is the fact that it has been publicly reported and the second is that the bridegroom, Mr. Abdul Rashid did not desert his bride but showed exemplary courage & valor in owning her as his better-half

    Our salutes to the brave Couple!

    (The author is a practicing chartered Accountant. E mail: [email protected])

  • Youth will make congress bounce back: Nizami

    “Azad lost due to religious polarisation”

    SRINAGAR MAY 18: Pradesh Congress Committee Joint Secretary, Salman Nizami today said that Congress is a movement that will surge back. The utterances of leaders of regional parties are inconsequential; it’s time for involving youth in the party, their involvement will regenerate the hollowed pillars of the congress Institution. He said that we cannot do away with the contribution and sacrifices made by our elders but at the same time we have to realize the writings on the wall. By way of their involvement we will infuse a new energy to the congress party. He said you need to get back the trust and faith of the people by involving more and more people in the party, we need to deeply introspect what went wrong and we lost the trust of people. We need to understand that congress is the party which has got freedom for India and the leaders had sacrificed their lives for the unity of the country. Congress is the only party which has a vision, strategies for the progress of the Country; we will come back because there is no other choice for the people for secular India. We are a party who believes in development and peace, Our genda is economic empowerment, our dream is India to be a permanent seat in the UN’s security council that is by way of peaceful, prosperous and Secular India. He further said that Our Health Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad had done a lot of development work in his constituency Udhampur, but we lost the seat as we failed to inform the people about it,” Nizami said. He added that polarisation also influenced the susceptible minds of the young voters. “In many constituencies, it was an election between two different communal sentiments, thanks to Modi openly exhorting religious sentiments of voters of one particular community,”. He said unfortunately our nation has been exploited on religious sentiment and generations to come will never forgive us as India is not in safe hands under BJP’s rule.

  • Yasin Malik To Participate in the Proposed people’s court organized by civil society

    Necessary to reply questions that have a direct bearing on freedom movement: JKLF

    Srinagar: Chairman Jammu Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF) Mohammad Yasin Malik will participate in People’s Court program organized by civil society (KCDCS). This was announced by JKLF spokesman in a press statement issued after a JKLF meeting held in this regard. Spokesman said that after the successful election boycott campaign in Kashmir pro-India circles started a malicious campaign against resistance parties and leaders. This was done to divert attention of people and international community from successful boycott and to make it doubtful. In this regard an Indian journalist and intellectual Prem Shankar Jha wrote a column in many news papers and which he leveled false and fabricated allegations on resistance circles especially JKLF. After this Pro-India PDP leader advocate Muzafar Ahmad Beigh in a press statement leveled Concocted allegations against hurriyat leaders of conspiring against PDP. Spokesman said that JKLF leaders and elders held a meeting in this regard in which the issue was discussed threadbare and participants submitted their opinions vis a vis participation in The proposed people’s court. Speakers in the meeting said that JKLF is an organization whose cadres and leaders are symbols of resistance and sacrifices. It will need volumes to compile these sacrifices and acts of resistance and the history of JKLF bears a witness to this fact. Speakers said that right from its founder father of Kashmiri nation martyr Mohammed Maqbool Butt till date, this organization has been striving and sacrificing for the sacred cause of freedom without the fear of Pain, sufferings and blames of accusers. Speakers said that JKLF has been doing its efforts openly, without ambiguity and we have never shied away from facing questions and queries regarding our political activities. Speakers said this is the organizations whose founder Mohammad Maqbool Butt stood firm before courts in India and Pakistan and replied the questions of people with confidence and it is this organization whose chairman Mohammad Yasin Malik chased a Pakistani American Mansoor Ajaz to Pakistani Supreme Court after he had leveled some fabricated accusations. In the meeting it was said that in public life questions are asked and most of the times enemies pose fabricated queries to defame and harm ones personality, organizations and movements and the allegations that have direct bearing on ones collective social life and political and freedom  movements often need a firm reply. Keeping this in view JKLF leadership decided that Chairman Mohammad Yasin Malik will himself participate in the proposed people’s court organized by civil society (KCDCS) and will give JKLF perspective In this regard.

     

  • Indian man builds mini Taj Mahal for late wife

    Uttar Pradesh: Stories about the marble wonder Taj Mahal have inspired millions over the years. It’s a tale of exemplary love and unflinching loyalty the Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan had for his wife Mumtaz Mahal. Now, many centuries later, 78-year old Faizul Hasan Qadri has done something similar for his wife. The retired postmaster has built his own version of “Taj Mahal” in memory of his late wife. After the death of his wife, Tajamulli Begum, in December 2011, Faizul Hasan Qadri, who has earned a sobriquet of modern-day Shah Jahan in his village, decided to build a replica of the iconic tomb for his beloved wife in Dibai village of Bulandshahar district in northern Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. The original Taj Mahal at Agra took 22 years to build and was completed in 1653. With little resources and manpower, Qadri has managed to construct this mini Taj over 5,000 square-feet land in just 16 months in the back garden of his house. Every day, people from nearby villages flock to Dibai to visit the mini Taj. Barely able to walk, Qadri spends most of his time in his 10×12 feet room, peeping through iron grilled window at the monument where he wants to be buried next to his beloved wife.

  • Noora Hospital brings Phillips 128 CT scanner to Kashmir

    Radiation-free technology will strengthen pvt health sector

    Srinagar: Srinagar-based Noora Hospital Saturday launched ‘Phillips 128 Slice ingenuity CT scanner’, first of its kind facility in the private health sector in Jammu and Kashmir.
    CEO Noora Hospital, Manzoor Wagay on the launching ceremony said: “It is a moment of great felicitation, gratitude and prestige for the hospital to introduce the new CT scanner, which is going to offer cutting edge technology in quick diagnosis and treatment to the patients in Kashmir.”
    He said the facility will not only benefit the patients through low dosage of radiation, “it will also enable the doctors at Noora Hospital to undertake new procedures which were not possible till now.”
    He said they have fulfilled promise to get the best CT scanner to the people of Valley.
    “The best feature of this CT scanner with its outstanding performance is that it emits less radiation and provides high clarity results. So, now people of the Valley need not worry about the hazards of radiation and the clarity of the scans,” he said.
    He said the patients from the Valley go to the hospitals outside state because they do not get effective treatment in the state and the treatment outside the state is very expensive.
    He said that Noora Hospital has embarked on a journey of providing best health care services to the people and that is the factor which motivates “us to invest in the best technology.”
    “We want people get an effective and a low cost treatment while sitting here,” he said.
    Wagay said that Noora Hospital has built a strategic plan to ensure its mission endures, which is to provide best quality health care services to every individual at an affordable cost, which is consistent with the highest customer satisfaction, transparency and ethical medical practices.
    “NOORA Hospital has also procured Carl’s Opmi Vairo microscope and this tool is currently available only in this institute. This microscope is known throughout the world for microsurgeries like ENT, SPINE etc.” he added.
    “We believe that to achieve our mission, the only way ahead is to upgrade our infrastructure which not only includes building, but more importantly advanced medical equipment. We need to provide our doctors with the latest tools to reach their full potential and care for the patients, and those tools include advanced medical technology. The road ahead is full of challenges, but  Noora will continue its growth path with a strong focus on patient care and up gradation to newer and better technology. We are also planning to procure the MRI machine and install Cath lab,” he said.
    Wagay said that he would like to take this opportunity to thank his father who is also the chairman of “the hospital for always being there to support and guide us.”
    “Without him it would not have been possible to achieve this milestone. He has been a guiding force, a mentor and an inspiration both on personal as well as professional front,” he said.

  • Girl kidnapped in Srinagar

    Srinagar: Fayaz Ahmad Sheikh son of Abdul Gani resident of Mehjoor Nagar reported in Police Station Saddar that his 19 year old sister Rozi jan was kidnapped by Altaf Ahmad Deega son of Ghulam Mohi-ud-Din resident of Mehjoor Nagar on 15-05-2014. Police has registered a case in this regard. (KNS)

  • PDP cadres celebrate party’s victory in LS polls

    Srinagar: The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) cadres Saturday celebrated the party’s thumping win in the parliamentary polls all across the Valley, a party Spokesman said.

    According to a statement issued to KNS, he said soon after the results were declared on Friday afternoon, people in large numbers came out in open to celebrate the party’s historical victory in the Lok Sabha elections and the celebrations later continued till late in the evening. He said in this connection various rallies and functions were also today held in different parts of Kashmir to rejoice the win of the party president Mehbooba Mufti, former deputy chief minister, Muzaffar Hussain Baig and former finance minister, Tariq Hameed Karra.

    The official Gupkar residence of Mehbooba Mufti was today abuzz with the activities where senior politicians and people from different walks of life came in large numbers to congratulate the party president.  And similar scenes were also witnessed at the residence of Mr Baig and Mr Karra, the Spokesman added.

    The party leaders expressed gratitude to the people for reposing trust in the electoral process and said it is only through the sensible use of vote that we can find solution to our issues and problems. “We are overwhelmed by the kind support you have given us in the elections to represent your aspirations and sentiments at the national level,” the leaders told the visitors. (KNS)

  • Dir Agri Kashmir lays foundation of seed storage at Sopore

    Rs. 2 cr utilized for enhancing agri productivity in Distt    

    Baramulla: The Agriculture Department has spent Rs. 2 crore in district Baramulla for enhancing the production & productivity of various crops during the year 2013-14. The amount has been spent under various Centrally Sponsored Schemes like RKVY, Vegetable Initiative, Horticulture Mission & ATMA under District Plan.

    This was revealed at a review meeting held here today under the chairmanship of Director Agriculture Kashmir, Mushtaq Peerzada.          The meeting was informed that 3000 quintals of paddy seed and 1100 quintals of Hybrid Maize was supplied to the farmers at subsidized rates to achieve the seed replacement rate of 33 per cent in respect of paddy & 25 per cent in respect of Maize. In addition, Hybrid seeds worth Rs. 20 lakh were also distributed among the vegetable growers of the District on 90 per cent subsidy. The  meeting was informed that during the year 2013-14, seven tractors, 51 tillers, 190 irrigation pump sets, 60 tool kits, 32 power sprayers, 51 tool sprayers, 60 poly house structures, 100 vermi-compost units, 12 motorized carts & 50 manually operated carts were distributed among farmers.

    Earlier, Director Agriculture Kashmir laid foundation stone of 1000 MT capacity seed storage building at Peth Seer, Sopore. The project is coming up at a cost of Rs. 38 lakh to strengthening the seed infrastructure facilities in the district. Among others Joint Directors Inputs/Extension, District & Sub Divisional officers of the department were also present in the meeting. (KNS)

  • NC post-poll analysis soon

    ‘Farooq likely to take charge of the party, may be projected an CM candidate’

    Srinagar: National Conference after getting routed in all the three Lok Sabha seat in Kashmir Valley is going to held a post-poll meeting in coming week. Almost all the National Conference senior leaders and Legislative members visited residence of Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Saturday where the party cadres held daylong deliberations over the failure of the party in Parliament elections. The meeting was presided by Omar Abdullah.

    Reliable sources told CNS that important political decisions would be taken in the post-poll meeting that is going to be held in coming week. Sources said that in order to instill confidence amoung National Conference workers Dr Farooq Abdullah would be elected as the president of the party and if insiders are to be believed, the party will also declare him as the Chief Ministerial candidate for the State Assembly Elections that are going to held in November this year.

    Source said that after the debacle of Congress in New Delhi, Farooq Abdullah is likely to concentrate its full focus and attention of state politics. Highly placed sources told CNS that the party president Omar Abdullah in consultation with party patron Dr Farooq Abdullah is mulling to reshuffle the party in a bigger way. “You will see a lot of changes in the party in coming days. I don’t know what is going to happen but whatever will happen, that will have greater political significance,” a party leader on condition of anonymity told CNS.

    Party insiders told CNS that the political leadership of party believes that besides anti-incumbency factor, ‘dissension’ factor also played a major role in the debacle of the party in the Parliament elections.

    Highly placed sources told CNS that there are at least six top leaders including five legislators who are not happy with the party as according to sources party sidelined them ever since it assumed power in December 2008. (CNS)