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  • Will Defend Article 370 till my last breath: Dr Farooq

    Srinagar: National Conference President Dr. Farooq Abdullah addressed a large workers’ meeting for Srinagar District at NC Headquarters at Nawa-e-Subh Complex in Srinagar. Speaking on the occasion, Dr. Farooq Abdullah reiterated NC’s commitment to uphold Article 370 and continue to fight for Autonomy while transforming the State with landmark development and economic growth.
    According to a statement issued to KNS, Dr. Farooq Abdullah said that National Conference has always aspired for the appropriate resolution of the political issue and believes that NC’s Autonomy document is the best possible solution. National Conference has defended the special identity of J&K since 1947 and will continue to safeguard Article 370 for all times to come.
    Terming communal and divisive forces as the enemies of the country, Dr. Farooq Abdullah said that National Conference has always been an advocate of friendly and peaceful relations between India and Pakistan. There is a need to protect the secular fabric of India at a time when there is a concerted effort to polarize the nation along religious lines by those who believe in the politics of hate and division.
    Dr. Farooq Abdullah said that it was a recorded fact that National Conference had repeatedly asked the NDA government to consider and act on the Autonomy document so that the political issue in J&K could be resolved to the ultimate benefit of the people of this State. However, despite repeated proposals at the highest levels NDA refused to consider the Autonomy document and chose to summarily ignore it. Now the same party is out to launch an assault on Article 370 and dilute the State’s special status. However, National Conference will never allow this to happen.  
    Dr. Farooq Abdullah said that it was unfortunate that our opponents in the State, who speak about talking on behalf of Indian Muslims, have ironically chosen to join hands with those who have inflicted the most grievous wounds on the secular fabric of this country. How will the ink-pot brigade muster the courage to speak on behalf of the Muslims of India when they have been unable to show the courage to speak on behalf of their own people first? Such ridiculous statements will not help our opponents and they should know that their nexus with BJP and Modi is a historic act of insensitivity and opportunism that the people of this State will never forget.
    On this occasion, Dr. Farooq Abdullah welcomed Javed Kochak son of Ex-Minister and veteran political leader, Late Ghulam Nabi Kochak of Anantnag into the party fold. Dr. Farooq Abdullah garlanded Kochak and asked him to follow the footsteps of his father by dedicating himself to the service and welfare of the people.
    Those who were present on the occasion included all eight MLAs of Srinagar District – NC Additional General Secretary and MLA Hazratbal Dr. Sheikh Mustafa Kamal, NC Provincial President and MLA Amira Kadal Nasir Aslam Wani, Senior Leader and MLA Khanyar Ali Mohammad Sagar, Senior Leader and MLA Eidgah Mubarak Gul, MLA Zadibal Peer Afaq Ahmad, MLA Batamaloo Irfan Ahmed Shah, MLA Sonawar Mohammad Yaseen Shah and MLA Habba Kadal Shameema Firdous. 
    Also present on the occasion were MLA Karnah Kafil-ur-Rehman, MLC Ghulam Qadir Pardesi, MLC Ali Muhammad Dar, NC Spokesman Junaid Azim Mattu, Youth President Salman Ali Sagar, NC Provincial Secretary Advocate Showkat Ahmed Mir, NC Provincial Senior Vice President Sheikh Abdul Rehman, NC Provincial Secretary Women’s Wing Sabiya Qadri, Organizer Minority Cell Sardar Jagdish Singh Azad, Youth Senior Vice President Yunis Mubarak Gul and Youth Provincial Secretary Imran Nabi Dar, NCSU Provincial President Imran Pandit. (KNS)

  • Vote for PDP is support to BJP: NC

    Rajouri: Terming PDP as a spent force in ensuing elections, Provincial President Mr Devender Singh Rana and Minister for Planning Mr Ajay Sadhotra on Saturday said the real fight in Jammu-Poonch parliamentary constituency would be between secular NC-Cong alliance and communal BJP.
    According to a statement issued to KNS, while addressing workers meeting here this afternoon, they said: “The PDP has been assigned with the job of cutting secular votes by the Sangh Parivar which they are trying to do but they will not succeed in their machinations.” They said the ensuing Lok Sabha election is a battle of ideas, in which the PDP has volunteered to stand by the side of Narendra Modi’s BJP as per mutually agreed upon understanding with eye on grabbing the power after assembly elections. They referred to the brazen support of PDP President for Narendra Modi and said this has vindicated his party’s concerns. “Not that BJP-PDP combine is any threat for NC but their bonhomie is detrimental to the peaceful atmosphere of Jammu and Kashmir”, they said while referring to their clandestine role in sabotaging peace by clandestinely promoting disturbances in recent years.
     “However, all their designs have dashed to ground with the support of people and sagacious leadership of Chief Minister Omar Abdullah, which has resulted in peace for over four years”, the Provincial President said adding that this has to be maintained.
    Mr Rana lambasted Narendra Modi’s hypocrisy vis a vis Jammu and Kashmir, saying those pursuing Shyma Prasad Mukherjee doctrine on Kashmir cannot think beyond myopic prism.
    The Provincial President asked the people to see through the game plan of reactionary forces and vote for the alliance candidate Mr Madan Lal Sharma in a big way. This, he said, will be support to the progressive policies of National Conference led by Dr Farooq Abdullah and Mr Omar Abdullah.
    Speaking on the occasion, senior party leader and Minister for Planning and Development Mr Ajay Sadhotra expressed confidence about the massive victory of the alliance candidate, saying this is imperative for strengthening democratic and secular forces.
    The Minister castigated BJP for pursuing myopic agenda of polarizing the situation, saying this  too is not going to work, as their duplicity and political hypocrisy stands miserably exposed. The Provincial President and Mr Sadhotra said that vote for PDP will be a direct support to BJP.
    Vice President J&K NC Mr Rattan Lal Gupta, who is party’s election observer for the district also addressed the workers. In their addresses, Kr Rachpal Singh, MLA Ch Talib Hussain, former MP and Mirza Abdul Rasheed, former MP asked people to participate in the hustings in a big way, saying their support to Mr Sharma will be the endorsement of excellent work done by the coalition government under the stewardship of Omar Abdullah.
    Those present on the occasion included , Mohammed Aslam Khan, Mr Bashir Ahmed Wani, Mr Shafayat Khan, Mr Shafqat Mir, Mr Mushtaq Shawal, Mr Mohammed Ramzan, Mr Ayub Khan, Mr Rafiq Mir, Mr Shaffi Malik, Mr Mohammed Iqbal and others. (KNS)

  • Shah, associates arrested at Boh, Awantipora

    Srinagar: Hurriyat Conference Jammu Kashmir leader Shabir Ahmad Shah was arrested by a large contingent of police when he was on his way to Boh, Awantipora. Shah was on his way to Tral in connection with election boycott campaign where had to address a large gathering.
    According to a statement issued to KNS,  Shah was also to visit the residence of Javid Ahmad Kar to offer condolences with the bereaved family on the demise of her mother. The spokesperson while terming the arrest as government’s frustration severely condemned the act and said it is irony that government on one hand is talking of elections here and on the other is restricting the activities of its political opponents. “The democracy and dictatorship are two contrary terms and this government believes in dictatorship. It believes in using force on its political opponents and preventing them from meeting the people.”
    Terming the government’s seeking of assistance from police in preventing Shah from addressing people at Tral as “undemocratic, inhuman and immoral”, the spokesperson said that people will not accept the dictatorship at any cost. “The fate of these dictators will be the same as that of Afro-Asian dictators in recent past,” he said.
    On the sad demise of mother of Democratic Freedom Party member Javid Ahmad Kar, Shabir Ahmad Shah expressed condolences with the bereaved family and expressed condolences with them on behalf of Hurriyat Conference Jammu Kashmir (HCJK). Shah was also scheduled to visite there but was prevented by police to do so.
    Shah also expressed his grief over the demise of wife of noted journalist and member International Red Cross, Surinder Oberoi alias Lovely Singh. He said the whole nation is grateful to Lovely Singh for objectively using his pen while dealing with Kashmir issue. He said Hurriyat Conference prays for the deceased and for the bereaved family to bear the irreparable loss.   (KNS)

  • 76-year-old tourist dies in Gulmarag

    Cremation done at Batmaloo  
    Srinagar: After the temperatures in Kashmir valley witnessed a sudden fall from the last few days due to incessant rains and snow, a tourist breathed his last at Gulmarag   
    According to the reports received by KNS, a tourist Dev Chand Godha from Mumbai died near hotel Affarwat Gulmarag. The reports informed that the cause of his death was a sudden heart attack. He was reportedly 76 years old.

    Dev Chand along with his wife had recently arrived in valley on winter trip with the group of 80 other tourists. Soon after the death of Dev Chand, police carried out him postmortem and handed body over to his relatives.  The cremation was done by his son at Batmaloo who reached valley after he was informed about the death of his father. (KNS)

  • Stone thrower attacks police with Iron weight

    Srinagar: A stone thrower at North Kashmir’s Baramulla Saturday attacked two police personnel due to which one has been critically injured.
    According to the reports received by KNS, a police party went to arrest a youth in old town Baramulla. “When the police party approached to arrest him, the youth attacked them with the iron weight that injured two police constables,” a police official told KNS.
    The reports informed that one constable has been seriously injured during the attack. He was referred SKIMS. (KNS)

  • IED found in Bemina

    Srinagar: A day after a deadly gunfight was witnessed in Jammu region’s Kathua area wherein six persons including three militants were killed; police on Saturday detected an Improvised Explosive Device (IED) in Bemina area.
    According to the reports received by Kashmir News service (KNS), an IED was detected by army’s Road Operation Party (ROP) in the morning near power receiving station Bemina.  The IED planted inside the pressure cooker was found concealed beneath some shattering material outside a shop, a police official told KNS.
    The police was informed immediately that cordoned off the area. The reports informed that the roads linked to the spot were sealed by the security forces. The bomb disposal squad later defused the planted IED.
    Police sources told KNS that the IED was detected at 7.45 in the morning when army during its routine road patrol found some objectionable thing near the road side. Reports inform further that the planted IED was 750 grams in weight and that no damage was caused during its controlled explosion.
    Superintendent of Police (SP) South city told KNS that the IED was planted at an important spot wherein the expected target was the army convoy- as they generally pass through the bye-pass road that is near to the spot where the IED was planted. He stated further that the initial findings revealed that the militant outfit Hizbul Mujahieen had planed the attack. “The investigations into the matter is at full pace. Police is keenly examining the various aspects related to the incident.” (KNS)     

  • Militants hit constable in Kakpora-Pulwama

    Hizb takes responsibility
    Srinagar: Suspected militants Saturday carried out an attack on Police deployed in South Kashmir’s Pulwama area injuring one police personal.
    Reports reaching KNS said that a constable was fired at from point blank range by some unidentified men at Kakpora in Pulwama district. The constable was identified as Javiad Iqbal of 18 Bn IRP.  The police later cordoned the entire area and the search operation has been launched to nab the militants.
    The area was gripped with intense fear after the incident with the transport off the roads and shops and other business establishments were closed.  
    The inspector General of Police (IGP) A.G. Mir said that someone with the pistol fired at one of the constables deployed at Kakpora in Pulwama. The constable was injured in the leg. “He is stable and admitted in the hospital.”
    Meanwhile, the militant outfit Hizbul Mujahideen in a telephonic statement to KNS claimed responsibility of the Pulwama attack. (KNS)

  • Omar condemns Kuthua militant attack

    Jammu: Chief Minister, Omar Abdullah has condemned the ‘heinous act of terrorists’ killing one civilian and injuring three in Dayala Chak belt of Kathua district in the wee hours on Friday.
    “Such barbarian act of terrorists amply exposes their anti-human face,” Chief Minister said in a statement.
    The Chief Minister in his condolence message to the bereaved families has expressed solidarity with them and prayed for eternal peace to the departed soul and early recovery of the injured.

  • Gunmen attack Army camp in Kathua

    Jammu: Suspected militants this morning attacked an army camp at Janglote area of Kathua district. 
    One person identified as Jeet Ram has been killed in the encounter while the injured include Karamjeet Singh son of Prem Nath; Gurpreer Singh son of Satam Singh; Sahib Singh son of Santokh Singh of Guraspur Punjab.
    The militants, reports said, opened fire at Dayalachak on the Jammu-Kathua highway early on Friday.
    The militants then hijacked a vehicle holding the driver hostage and drove towards the international border. The vehicle has since been intercepted by the police and an encounter is on.
    More details are awaited. 

  • Excessive WhatsApping can lead to ‘WhatsAppitis

    LONDON:Are you a serial texter?  You could end up with a diagnosis of “WhatsAppitis”. 

    British medical journal The Lancet has recorded the first official case of “WhatsAppitis”. 
    A pregnant woman in Granada who arrived at hospital with sore wrists after over-using the mobile phone text message service is the first patient to suffer from this condition. 


    Ines M Fernandez-Guerrero of General University Hospital in Granada recorded the case in the latest edition of the journal. 

    “A 34-year-old emergency medicine physician, 27 weeks pregnant, presented with bilateral wrist pain with sudden onset upon waking up one morning. She had no history of trauma and had not engaged in any excessive physical activity in the previous days,” she wrote. 

    She went on to note, “The patient responded to messages that had been sent to her on her smartphone via WhatsApp instant messaging service. She held her mobile phone, that weighed 130g, for at least 6 hours. During this time she made continuous movements with both thumbs to send messages”. 

    “The diagnosis for the bilateral wrist pain was WhatsAppitis. The treatment consisted of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs and complete abstinence from using the phone to send messages”. 

    The doctor detailed the case of the 34-year-old emergency medicine physician who was pregnant and on duty on December 24. 

    Heavy cellphone users have earlier been found top suffer from ringxiety — a phenomenon in which users imagine their phone ringing or feel it vibrate when it actually doesn’t. 

    Heavy cellphone users hear this phantom ring more often than those using the phone in moderation. 

    India is home to over 300 million mobile phone users with six million being added to the list each month. Though no comprehensive study has been done in the country on the prevalence of ringxiety, doctors say at least 25% of all mobile phone users may be hearing false rings. 

    Fernandez-Guerrero wrote that a so-called Nintendinitis (a video game-related health problem classified as a form of repetitive strain injury) was first described in 1990, and since then several injuries associated with video games and technologies have been reported. 

    “Initially reported in children, such cases are now seen in adults. Tenosynovitis (a type of tendon injury) caused by texting with mobile phones could well be an emerging disease. Physicians need to be mindful of these new disorders,” the study said.