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Srinagar, Oct 16: With the approval of Covaxin for children, Doctors Association Kashmir (DAK) on Saturday said the vaccine will pave way for reopening of schools.

“Vaccination will play an important role in getting children back to classrooms,” said DAK President and influenza expert Dr Nisar ul Hassan.

He said prolonged closure of schools due to Covid-19 has impacted education at all levels. Not only academic learning, school closure has resulted in loss of social and emotional learning which is important for holistic development of children.

“Now we have the vaccine that would help children to return to classrooms and ensure safe learning in schools,” he said.

The DAK President said subject expert committee on Tuesday recommended granting emergency use authorization to Bharat Biotech’s Covaxin for children in the 2-18 years age group.

“The vaccine has been found to be safe and effective in preventing Covid-19 in children,” he added.

“The pediatric vaccine can also prevent further waves of Covid-19,” Dr Hassan said.

He said while children mostly get mild illness, they can spread the virus to others.

“It is hard to defeat Covid-19 pandemic without vaccinating children,” Dr Nisar said.

He said we won’t be able to achieve herd immunity until children are vaccinated.

Herd immunity is achieved when most of the population in a community is immune to the disease so that the virus can no longer spread easily from person to person.

“In order to achieve herd immunity to Covid-19, 80-90 percent people need to be vaccinated. That is unlikely to be achieved, if children who constitute a huge proportion of the population are unvaccinated,” he said adding that there are around 4.8 million children in Jammu and Kashmir which constitute 38.4 percent of the JK’s population.

“Pediatric vaccine will not only help children, but it will be the basis of eventually eliminating Covid-19 in our population,” said Dr Nisar.

Sd/

Dr Riyaz Ahmad Dagga

Spokesperson DAK

—
(dak)

Militant killed in Pulwama was involved in killing of PDD employee at Batamaloo; Slain at Bemina encounter had killed SI Arshid at Khanyar, both slain locals; now only 3 militants active from Sgr district; 11 militants killed in 8 encounters this month: IGP Kashmir Vijay Kumar

Jammu and Kashmir police Friday said that two Lashkar-e-Toiba (TRF) militants were killed in two separate encounters in southern Pulwama and Srinagar, who were involved in the killing of a civilian and probationary sub-inspector.

A police officer told news agency—Kashmir News Observer (KNO) that based on a specific input, police, army and CRPF launched a cordon and search operation in village Wahibugh area of Pulwama. “During the search operation, when the suspected house where the militant was hiding, was zeroed-in, repeated offers of surrender were made. But the militant fired indiscriminately at the forces triggering a gun-battle,” he said. “In the ensuing encounter, one militant identified as Shahid Bashir Shiekh, resident of Habba Kadal, Srinagar was killed and his body retrieved from the site of encounter.” The officer said that slain militant had joined militancy recently and was linked with Lashkar-e-Toiba (TRF). Inspector General of Police (IGP) Kashmir Vijay Kumar told KNO that slain militant Shahid was involved in the killing of civilian and PDD employee Muhammad Shafi Dar of Batamaloo, Srinagar. “We have recovered an AK-47 riffle from the slain militant,” the IGP said.

About the second encounter, police said based on a specific input by police about the presence of a militant at Hamdaniya Colony Bemina area of Srinagar, an operation was launched by the police in the area. “During the search operation, the hiding militant was asked to surrender but he fired at the forces triggering an encounter,” a police official said, adding that “In the ensuing encounter, one militant identified as Tanzeel Ahmed, a resident of Haba Kadal, Srinagar.

He said that the slain Tanzeel was involved in the killing of Probationary Sub Inspector Arshid Ashraf at Khanyar, Srinagar on September 12. The Kashmir police chief said that Shahid and Tanzil were also “collaborators in recent killings of a chemist and two teachers in the city.” The IGP Kashmir said that after recent civilian killings, Srinagar based militants had shifted to South Kashmir “but we continued to track their movements and managed to zero in on them today.”

“Now only three militants are active as two have been killed today. We are after the remaining three and will soon get them,” the IGP said, both the encounters took place within a span of three hours. “Both operations are over and two-AK-47 rifles have been recovered from the two slain militants,” he said.

Says people of Kashmir have to be courageous and fight the killers together

Srinagar: Kashmir will never become Pakistan as we are a part of India and will remain so even if I am killed, National Conference (NC) president Farooq Abdullah said here on Wednesday.

Speaking at a condolence meeting for Supinder Kaur – the fallen principal of a government school in Eidgah who was shot dead by militants on October 7 – at a gurdwara here, Abdullah said the people of Kashmir have to be courageous and fight the killers together.

“We have to fight these beasts. This (Kashmir) will never become Pakistan, remember it. We are a part of India and we will remain a part of India come what may. They cannot change it even if they shoot me,” Abdullah, the Member of Lok Sabha from Srinagar, said.

Expressing grief over Kaur’s killing, he said the Sikh community did not leave the Kashmir Valley in the 1990s when others left due to fear and appealed to them to not get scared now.

We have to keep our morale high and be courageous, he said.

“We all have to fight them together with courage and not be afraid. You (Sikhs) were the only community which remained here when everyone left. I am proud of the fact that you did not leave from here. Killing a teacher who was teaching young students does not serve Islam. They were serving the devil,” he said.

Talking to reporters outside the gurdwara, the NC president said: “They (militants) will never succeed and will fail in their plans. But, we all – Muslims, Sikhs, Hindus, Christians—have to stand together to fight them”.

Abdullah said there is a “storm of hate” across India and communities – Muslims, Hindus and Sikhs – “are being divided”.

“This divisive politics has to be stopped, otherwise India will cease to exist. If we have to save India, then we all have to live together and only then will it move forward,” he said.

Asked about leader Devender Rana quitting the NC and joining the BJP, Abdullah said: “People come and go. It is not a big deal”. —PTI

Tral, Oct 13: A top Jaish-e- Muhammad commmander has been killed in an encounter between secuity forces and militants in Waggad area of Tral hamlet in South Kashmir’s Pulwama district on Wednesday, police said.

A senior police officer told the news agency—Kashmir News Observer (KNO) that a top JeM commander has been killed in the gunfight.

Kashmir zone police tweeted: “Top JeM Commander #militant Sham Sofi killed in Tral #Encounter.”

Earlier, an official said that a joint team of Police, Army and CRPF launched a Cordon and Search Operation (CASO) on specific information about the presence of militants in the area.

He said that as the joint team of forces approached towards the suspected spot, the hiding militants fired upon them, which was retaliated, triggering an encounter—(KNO)

Kashmiri Seminary Scholar says the flaws of Muslim communities in getting United is clearly visible,termed incident as cowardice

Srinagar: Strongly condemned the terrorist bomb attack in the Jamia Masjid in Kunduz Province, Afghanistan, Waseem Reza, a young Kashmiri Islamic scholar called the silence of the Muslim Ummah and the international community criminal and regrettable and emphasised for global unity to end takfiri ideology.
In a statement issued from Qom, the Holy city of Iran, the eminent Islamic seminary scholar of Al-Mustafa (Pbuh) International University Iran Waseem Reza Kashmiri furthermore said that the people of Afghanistan have long been under the siege of arrogant powers and terrorist groups. These powers created and used ISIS, Al-Qaeda, Jabhat al-Nusra and the Taliban to carry out their plans to spread chaos, distort the image of Islam and spread sectarianism in Muslim countries, but nationwide unity and resistance thwarted all their conspiracies and annihilated them before they were hatched.
He described the incident as a clear example of cowardice and said that targeting the Mosque is an open terrorism and a declaration of war against Muslims. Islam is a religion of peace and prosperity that guarantees security and safety not only to Muslims but also to followers of all other religions.
The young Islamic scholar of Jammu and Kashmir stressed that the international human rights organizations and head of Muslim countries and the United Nation should not remain silent spectators in the face of crimes and atrocities against humanity but the global unity must be established to end such inhumane atrocities.
An Alumni of Al-Mustafa(SAWW) International University Waseem Reza expressed deep sympathy with the families of martyrs and prayed for the speedy recovery of who were left wounded by horrifying bomb attack on a school in Kunduz Afghanistan.

Here is the full text of the letter.

Assalaamu alaykumMufti Menk is not Kashmiri. While we all stand for the rights of Kashmiris since we were born, we are not aware of the finer details of Kashmiri politics or even the names and details of current or past politicians and what they do or the reputation of each one.
Mufti Menk did not have a close relationship with any Kashmiris before his visit. He was simply asked while in Dubai if he would come over to officiate a Nikah . He immediately thought it would be a good opportunity to meet with Ulama and Muslims of Kashmir and get to know more about the conditions etc. He has visited many places in the same way. It is impossible to visit most places for Islamic lectures, due to local authorities etc, so a wedding ceremony is the next best thing in many cases.

He asked if the Nikah would be held in accordance with Islamic rules and it was confirmed.
He flew for one and a half days at his own expense to Kashmir and immediately met with Ulama and as many members of public who had previously emailed him on religious matters but based in Kashmir. This happened in an orderly fashion and people were very happy.
There was some murdering of teachers that happened the day the Mufti Menk arrived so he didn’t go out at all.

The next day too he met with some Ulama and members of public. In the evening he was taken to officiate the Nikah and didn’t spend much time there. He said a few words of advice and left immediately.
He spent a few hours that evening too with some Ulama who had come to see him.
Thereafter he left early morning. Just as he flew out, he was told that there are some negative comments about why he visited the wrong people in Kashmir.
For your information he met more than 350 ordinary Kashmiris approximately and he hardly knew anyone.

We still don’t know what the internal squabble is among the Muslims and definitely don’t know names of every politician and what he or she is accused of. Had he known in advance that Kashmiri Muslims are so divided within, he would never have visited.

With the type of comments, abuse and threats received, I doubt he would ever consider visiting Kashmir again.
May Allah Almighty have mercy on the Ummah and guide those who are astray.
There was no need to swear at our Mufti online and degrade him. People could have simply highlighted that our Mufti was totally unaware of who’s who in Kashmir and the reputation of each one, which is a fact.

Mufti Menk did not visit to divide the people or to solve any political matter or interfere or even comment. He simply wished to meet the Ulama and some members of the public to hear from them about their situation etc.

May Allah Almighty protect us from Kashmiri gatherings. You never know who might be sitting next to you and the whole of Kashmir will begin to swear at you.

And by the way, not a single penny was given to Mufti Menk. He doesn’t charge and doesn’t take money. He flies at his own expense. He has done the same with hundreds of poor families and he has sponsored many of their marriages. Subhanallah

That sums it up
Admin
Harare, Zimbabwe

Shopian, Oct 12 : An encounter broke out between security forces and militants in Feripora area of South Kashmir’s Shopian district, officials said on Tuesday morning.

An official told the news agency—Kashmir News Observer (KNO) that a joint of team of police, Army’s 34 RR and CRPF’s 14 battalion after receiving information about the presence of militants launched search operation in the area.

He said that as the joint team of forces intensified searches towards suspected spot, the hiding militants fired upon the party, which was retaliated, thus triggering an encounter.

He said that the exchange of fire is on in the area and two to three militants are believed to be trapped in the area.

Notably, it is the 5th encounter in Jammu and Kashmir in last 30 hours.

Five militants one each in Anantnag and Bandipora and three militants were killed in Shopian while as encounter is on in forests of Poonch area where five soldiers have been so far killed—(KNO)

Jammu, Oct 11: In another major jolt to the National Conference in Jammu, 17 more leaders including the former deputy mayor of Jammu, Dharanveer Singh Jamwal resigned from the basic membership of the party on Monday.

Pertinently, the development has come merely a day after senior leaders Devender Singh Rana and Surjeet Singh Salathia resigned from the NC on Sunday and joined the BJP today.

Sources told Kashmir News Service (KNS) that 17 more leaders including the former deputy Mayor of Jammu Dharanveer Singh Jamwal resigned from the basic membership from the party today.

“The other leaders who resigned from the party include vice-president Sucha Singh, public secretary Sanjeev Gupta, Sanjeev Handa, Ajeet Pal Singh, Dalbir Singh, Rahul Sharma, Sanjeev Dewan, Kuldeep Ghai, Jaswinder Singh, Sanjeev Mahajan, Gurvinder Singh and Ashok Kumar,” they said.

Sources said that five members from the block committee of NC have also submitted their resignation, who include Surinder Khanna, Rajindra Bandral, Chain Singh, Balram Singh Anthal, and Kulbushan Singh.

Sources said that the leaders are expected to be join the BJP in coming days. (KNS)

Srinagar Oct 11: Had we not good relations with Muslims then we might have left Kashmir say minorities in the valley while asking the majority to regain their trust.

There is a fear in Kashmir following the killing of seven civilians in five days by unknown gunmen.

Since October 5, seven civilians have been killed in Kashmir with six alone in Srinagar. Among them three were Muslims and four non-Muslims. It started on October 2 when two Kashmiri Muslims were killed in Srinagar.

This followed the killing of a prominent medical shop owner and a Kashmiri Pandit Dr Makhan Lal Bindroo in his shop on October 05 at around 7:30 PM. Within an hour a panipuri seller from Bihar Virender Paswan was shot dead by suspected militants in Lalbazaar area of Srinagar. After half an hour, Mohammad Shafi Lone, a taxi driver was killed in North Kashmir’s Bandipora district.

As people were living a fearful life, two government school teachers Supinder Kaur, and Deepak Chand were shot dead inside the premises of Government Boys Higher Secondary School at Iddgah Sangam in Srinagar’s Safa Kadal.

Supinder is from Alochibagh area of Srinagar while Deepak is from Jammu who was living at rented accommodation here.

“We never faced any threats in Kashmir. We have a very good relations with Muslims brethren,” says Ramesh Pal Singh, whose wife Surindar Kour, a college principal and her colleague Depak Chand were shot dead inside the premises of Government Boys Higher Secondary School at Iddgah Sangam in Srinagar’s Safa Kadal area on October 7.

Sanjay Tickoo, who represents a Pandit organization, Kashmiri Pandit Sangharsh Samiti (KPSS) said they have good relations with Muslims.

“Had we not had good relations with Muslims then we might have left Kashmir. But after the recent killings, there is a fear. So it is the responsibility of Muslims to regain the trust of minorities. Imams should say in Mosques that no civilian killing will take place in Kashmir and won’t be tolerated. This will increase our confidence and regain the trust on Muslims. There are 808 Pandits who did not leave Kashmir in 1990s because of Muslim brethren,” Tickoo told news agency Kashmir Indepth News Service (KINS).

All Parties Sikh Coordination Committee Chairman Jagmohan Singh Raina said that killings were part of the conspiracy to create a wedge between various communities. “Some people want to divide us and exploit the situation for their ulterior motives,” Raina said.

Raina said there is communal harmony between all communities. “There is communal harmony in Kashmir which you won’t find anywhere in the world. People from all religions live amicably here. It is because of Muslims, we feel safe here,” Raina added.

According to police, 28 civilians have been killed this year so far in Kashmir. Among them 21 were Muslims and 7 non-Muslims.

Meanwhile, Peoples Democratic Party President Mehbooba Mufti, National Conference leader Omar Abdullah and Congress have asked Kashmiri Pandits not to leave the Valley and blamed the administration for deteriorating the situation in the valley.

Meanwhile Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha in his recent statement said that perpetrators of recent terror attacks will be punished. He has warned those aiding and abetting terrorists that every drop of innocent civilians’ blood will be avenged. (KINS)