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Says, ‘India spent billions on’ No harm in keeping relations with the Taliban

SRINAGAR, SEP 25: Urging India to start talks with the Taliban, National Conference president Farooq Abdullah on Saturday said India has invested billions in Afghanistan and has no way of engaging with the new regime in the war-torn country.

“The Taliban is now in power in Afghanistan. India spent billions on various projects during the previous regime in Afghanistan. We should talk to the current Afghan regime. When we have invested so much in the country, what is the harm in having a relationship with them?’ Abdullah said.

On Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s US visit, the National Conference leader said, “I am sure PM Modi will be taking all the leaders including US President Joe Biden. There is no doubt that terrorism is eating the whole world. But who started terrorism? Who annexed Iraq? Who bombed Libya despite UN warnings? Which terrorist nation has destabilized other countries?

Acknowledging that terrorism is a global threat, Abdullah said that to ensure that all countries are safe, “all powerful countries must collectively ensure that no nation is vulnerable.”

The National Conference leader also urged the Center to initiate dialogue with farmers and enact new laws for the agriculture sector with farmers’ inputs. (PTK)

SRINAGAR, SEPT 24: The Jammu and Kashmir government had sacked six of its employees for having links with terrorists and working as overground workers. Expressing anger at the administration’s move, PDP president Mehbooba Mufti said the central government was making the people of Jammu and Kashmir “powerless” and suspected them of having links with terrorists who were trying to “destroy” Kashmiris. There’s a new excuse to ‘humiliate and oust’.

Mehbooba wrote on Twitter that there is no end to the decree of the Government of India to make the people of Jammu and Kashmir powerless. The Government of India has been claiming that it is investing to generate employment while it is firing government employees knowing that people in Jammu and Kashmir depend on government jobs for their livelihood.

She said “hounding” Kashmiris endlessly deflates the Centre’s “fake narrative that all is well in J&K”. “Links to militants is the new excuse used to dispossess & humiliate Kashmiris,” she said.

The Union Territory (UT) Government has constituted a Special Task Force (STF) which will scrutinise cases of employees suspected of activities requiring action under Article 311 (2) (c).

According to order number 355 issued by J&K’s General Administration Department, the task force will be headed by J&K’s intelligence chief R.R. Swain, who served for a decade in the Research and Analysis Wing before returning to J&K.

The STF will compile records of such employees, wherever necessary and to refer it for action to a committee headed by the UT’s chief secretary. About 20 Government employees have so far been terminated on links with militants. (PTK)

Corona curfew imposed in Zadibal (Ward 55, 56, 63) and Lal Bazar (Ward 59, 60, 61) for a period of 10 days: Official Order

COVID-19 lockdown for ten days starting Friday has been reimposed in the particular ward numbers 55-Hawal, 56-Alamgari Bazar and 63-Kathi Darwaza in Zadibal, and SMC Wards, 59-Lal Bazar, 60-Botshah Mohalla and 61-Umer Colony in Lal Bazar except for essential activities.

London: Members of Parliament from the UK’s All Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on Kashmir have tabled a motion on ‘Human rights in Kashmir’ for a debate in the House of Commons, drawing a strong reaction from India which said any assertion made in any forum on a subject related to an integral part of the country needs to be duly substantiated with authentic verifiable facts.

The Minister for Asia in the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO), Amanda Milling, responded to the debate on Thursday by reiterating the UK government’s unchanged stance on Kashmir as a bilateral issue.

“The government takes the situation in Kashmir very seriously but it’s for India and Pakistan to find a lasting political solution, taking into account the wishes of the Kashmiri people. It’s not for the UK to prescribe a solution or to act as a mediator,” said Milling.

The Indian government expressed its dismay at some of the language used by participating MPs in the Backbench Debate, specifically Pakistani-origin Labour MP Naz Shah.

A minister from the Indian High Commission in London condemned the attack on Prime Minister Narendra Modi and highlighted Kashmir’s status as an integral part of India.

“It is with sadness that the High Commission of India notes that an august institution of a fellow democracy has been misused today to level abuse against the elected leader of the largest practising democracy in the world,” the minister said, referring to Shah’s remarks on the 2002 Gujarat riots.

“As on previous occasions, the High Commission of India reiterates that any assertion made in any forum on a subject related to an integral part of India needs to be duly substantiated with authentic verifiable facts,” the minister added.

The debate, which was scheduled to be held in March 2020 but had to be postponed due to the Covid pandemic lockdown, was opened by Opposition Labour Party MP Debbie Abrahams who recounted her visit to Pakistan-occupied Kashmir in February 2020.

“The Pakistani government allowed us unfettered access…we used our meetings to ask pointed questions related to human rights issues highlighted in United Nations reports,” said Abrahams.

“Kashmiris must be at the heart of a trilateral peacebuilding process,” she said, reiterating that Thursday’s debate was not “pro or anti” any country and only speaking in favour of human rights.

Over 20 cross-party MPs participated on both sides of the debate, with Labour MP Barry Gardiner highlighting the terrorist camps harboured by Pakistan in the region and drawing parallels with neighbouring Afghanistan.

“Over the years Pakistan has harboured Taliban leaders and the ISI, their security services, provided other forms of support to them and to other terrorist organisations,” he said.

Conservative Party MPs Bob Blackman and Theresa Villiers spoke about India’s democratic credentials and flagged the completion of local elections in Kashmir last December despite pandemic-related adversities.

“As a democracy where religious minorities have full constitutional protections and which places great value on the respect for the rule of law, I believe that India’s courts and institutions are well capable of properly investigating alleged human rights abuses,” said Villiers. PTI

5 AKs, 8 pistols, 45 grenades, 2 UBGL and huge ammunition recovered

Srinagar: Three heavily armed militants, believed to be those who reportedly infiltrated recently, were killed at Hathlanga area of Uri in north Kashmir’s Baramulla district on Thursday, officials said.

Official sources told GNS that three militants were killed in the gunfight which had ensued after days cordon-and-search-operation in the vast area. Authorities had also suspended mobile telephony and internet in Uri amid reports that some militants had infiltrated via LoC in Uri.

They further said that five AK-47, 8 pistols, 45 grenades, 2 UBGL and huge ammunition was recovered from their possession.

The identity and group affiliation of the trio was not immediately known. In initial phase of the gunfight, a soldier was also injured.

A press conference of GOC Chinar and IGP Kashmir is going on in BB Cant Srinagar regarding killing of three militants in Uri who recently infiltrated. (GNS)

Jammu, Sept 23: A pregnant woman was found dead with throat slit in the kitchen of her home in Darshipora Banihal in Ramban district, officials said on Wednesday.

They said the 39-year-old woman, a mother of three children, has been identified as Zubaida Begum wife of Mohammad saleem. A police official told GNS that the woman was found under mysterious circumstances and confirmed that her throat was slit open. Soon, the body was shifted to Sub District Hospital Banihal.

SHO Banihal Nayeem Matoo told GNS that police has launched proceedings under section 174 CrPC and investigations are going o. (GNS)

Kulgam, Sep 23: A 22-year-old Kulgam youth was found dead under mysterious circumstances in Moga city of Punjab on Wednesday afternoon, family members have left for Punjab on Thursday to receive the body.

The victim, Bilal Ahmad Malik (22), son of Mohammad Ayoub Malik was a native of D K Marg area of Damhal Hanjipora in south Kashmir’s Kulgam Bilal was working as Shawl seller in Moga city at present.

“He was found dead in Moga area of Punjab. His family members have left for Punjab. As of now we don’t have any other details with us,” Sarpanch of the village told the news agency—Kashmir News Observer (KNO)

SHO Focal Point told KNO over phone that Bilal ended his life by hanging self because of depression. “Subsequently, a case under 174 CrPc has been registered and further investigations were taken up,” the police officer said—(KNO)

Srinagar: Doctors Association Kashmir (DAK) on Tuesday said this year’s flu vaccine is even more essential for pregnant women because of Covid-19 pandemic.

Urging pregnant women to get vaccinated against flu as soon as possible, DAK President and influenza expert Dr Nisar ul Hassan said this season’s flu vaccine is particularly important for expecting mothers.

“We could be facing a double danger of flu and Covid this fall and winter. Getting both diseases at the same time can be serious and even deadly,” he said.

“While pregnant women are less likely to get serious illness from Covid, flu can increase their chances of getting serious disease from the novel coronavirus,” he added.

The DAK President said pregnancy changes the immune system, heart and lung function that makes pregnant women more prone to severe illness from flu as well as hospitalization and even death.

“The risk of premature labor and delivery increases when expectant mothers catch the flu and there is a greater chance of birth defects and even death of a baby in the womb,” he said.

“Preventing influenza during pregnancy is an essential element of prenatal care and the most effective strategy for preventing influenza is vaccination,” Dr Hassan said.

Quoting a study, he said pregnant women who received flu vaccination were 40 percent less likely to be hospitalized during pregnancy than pregnant women who weren’t vaccinated.

“Flu vaccine in pregnancy saves infants from dying in the womb,” said Dr Nisar.

Quoting another study, he said flu vaccination was associated with 51 percent reduction in stillbirths.

Spokesperson DAK Dr Riyaz Ahmad Dagga said flu vaccine is perfectly safe for pregnant women and can be given during any stage of pregnancy.

“It is the injectable flu vaccine that should be given to pregnant women and not the nasal flu vaccine as it is made from live virus that makes it less appropriate during pregnancy,” he said.

“The power of vaccination in pregnancy is a message that should be broadcast far and wide. It is imperative that obstetricians should advocate for influenza vaccination and provide flu vaccine to their pregnant patients,” he added.

Kulgam, Sep 22: The decomposed male body, which was found on Wednesday morning in Mohammad Pora village of Kulgam district has been identified that of missing rifleman of 162 Battalion of Territorial Army, Shakir Manzoor Wagey.

Talking to the news agency—Kashmir News Observer (KNO), Manzoor Ahmad Wagey father of missing TA soldier said that he has identified the body and it was his son Shakir Manzoor, who went missing last year.

Notably, Shakir Manzoor, a TA soldier of 162 Battalion hailing from Harmain village of Kulgam, went missing on the evening of August 02 last year. His vehicle was also found abandoned on that day in the area.

Earlier today, a decomposed male body was found near BSNL tower in Mohamad Pora village of Kulgam.

An official said that the body was taken into possession by the police for identification and later it was identified as that of missing TA soldier—(KNO)