New Delhi: The Enforcement Directorate Tuesday filed a charge sheet before Delhi court against Pakistan-based Hizb-ul-Mujahideen chief Syed Salahuddin and 11 others for allegedly laundering money for financing terror activities in Jammu and Kashmir.
The prosecution complaint, ED’s equivalent to charge sheet, has urged the court for confiscating attached assets totalling to 1.22 crores in the case, besides other punishment under Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).
The matter is likely to be taken up by the court soon.
The central probe agency had filed a criminal case of money laundering in this instance after taking cognisance of a National Investigating Agency (NIA) charge sheet filed against Salahuddin, Shah and others under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Action (UAPA) and other sections of the Indian Penal Code.
Srinagar: Seven more patients, who were tested positive for COVID-19, died on Monday in Kashmir Valley, thus taking the toll of deaths due to Novel Coronavirus to 636 in Jammu and Kashmir.
An official told the news agency—Kashmir News Observer (KNO) that seven persons who died today include a 70-year-old woman from Noorpora Tral, a 65-year-old man from Kupwara, a 55-year-old woman from Naid Kadal, a 55-year-old woman from Khanda Budgam, a 70-year-old woman from Kupwara, a 45-year-old man from Pinglena Pulwama and an 87-year-old Chadoora Nagam Budgam.
An official from SMHS said a patient from Noorpora Tral who was admitted on 11 August with bilateral pneumonia, a patient from Naid Kadal Srinagar who was admitted on 19 August, a patient from Khanda Budgam who was admitted on 21 August and a patient from Kupwara who was admitted with bilateral pneumonia on 10 August died at SMHS on Monday.
He added that a 65-year-old man from Kupwara who was brought dead to SMHS was tested positive after death.
An official from CD hospital said that a 45-year-old man from Pinglena Pulwama who was admitted on 19 August died on Monday.
An official from SKIMS Soura said that an 87-year-old man from Chadoora Budgam who was admitted on 15 August died on Monday.
With seven more deaths, the death toll in Jammu and Kashmir has reached to 636 including 589 from Kashmir division and 47 from Jammu division—(KNO)
Kargil: A committee on Monday proposed establishment of a new territorial board in Ladakh, emphasising that the schools in the Union territory be affiliated to a board which fulfills the realistic needs of the students as per the natural conditions of the region .
The committee for review of educational boards for schools in Kargil met under the chairmanship of Executive Councilor for Tourism and Zanskar Affairs, Phunsog Tashi here, officials said.
It also suggested equal representation from both Kargil and Leh districts in the new ‘Ladakh Board of School Education’ in order to make the process more inclusive in the larger interest, they said.
It was also pointed out during the meeting that there is a provision in the Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation Bill, 2019 for continuing with the same board — J&K State Board Of School Education (JKBOSE) — but since the erstwhile state has been bifurcated into two Union territories, it would be difficult to manage the administrative affairs of the board.
Hence, the committee stated that an alternative plan should be placed for the future, they said.
“The committee members emphasised that schools in the Union Territory of Ladakh should be affiliated to a board which can fulfill the realistic needs of the students in every respect according to the natural conditions of the region which affect the academic session,” officials said.
The committee members also asserted that given the tough criteria laid down by the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) for affiliation, most of the schools cannot fulfill those criteria in real terms.
However, they said certain aspects from CBSE which may suit the purpose for establishment of a new board in Ladakh can be adopted.
The meeting proposed that it would be better if necessary steps are taken for establishment of a new territorial board in the form of Ladakh Board of School Education. However, the exit points for students presently studying under JKBOSE should remain the same, officials said.
The panel also suggested that local aspirations and values be given due space in subjects like social studies and literature to make the students aware about the local culture and ethos.
It was also advocated that the curriculum for the new board be framed according to the span of time affected by the climatic conditions of the region, they added.
New Delhi: Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Monday attacked the government over alleged rise in unemployment.
In a tweet, he also tagged a media report which claimed that about seven lakh people registered for employment in a week on a government portal, but only 691 got jobs.
Attacking the government, Gandhi said in his tweet in Hindi, “1 job, 1,000 unemployed. What has been done to the country.”
The former Congress president has been critical of the Modi government in the handling of the economy over the past few years.
PLA soldiers asked what they would write if war broke out the next day: TVBS
Taipei: China’s People’s Liberation Army (PLA) asked soldiers in the province of Fujian, opposite Taiwan, to write a goodbye letter to their spouses, giving rise to mutterings that war is near, cable station TVBS reported Friday (Aug. 21).
According to the report, soldiers were asked what they would write if war broke out the next day. One responded that since he had chosen to wear the uniform, he would follow orders.
Others told the “organization” not to worry, the “motherland” not to worry, and the people not to worry, because they would “return in glory,” according to a PLA video.
Despite the Wuhan coronavirus pandemic, Chinese fighter jets and warships have frequently approached Taiwan, with the warplanes increasingly crossing into the island nation’s Air Defense Identification Zone before being warned off by Taiwanese jets.
The impact of the virus and unprecedented floods across China have led to speculation that the communist regime might try to provoke a confrontation with Taiwan in order to distract the public from its own failings.
Welcomes political parties for their resolve, says stand with JK people
Srinagar: Former Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader, Yashwant Sinha on Monday said that Jammu and Kashmir must get the Statehood again and Article 370 and 35-A that were scrapped on August 5 last year, should be brought back.
In his twitter post, the former union minister, who is also the member of the Concerned Group of Citizens (CGC), welcomed the resolve of the local political parties here in Jammu and Kashmir to insist on the restoration of the status quo ante.
He stated that he stands with the people of Jammu and Kashmir and J&K must get Statehood again. The Articles 370 and 35-A must be brought back and in fact become the basis for more powers to all states, he said.
“I welcome the resolve of the political parties in J&K to insist on the restoration of the status quo ante. J&K must be a state again, articles 370 an 35A must be brought back and in fact become the basis for more powers to all states. I stand with the people of J&K,” Sinha tweeted—(KNO)
Beijing/Islamabad: China has launched first of the four advanced naval warships it is building for Pakistan, amid deepening defence ties between the two all-weather allies.
The launching ceremony for the first warship was held at the Hudong Zhonghua Shipyard in Shanghai on Sunday.
Pakistan-China defence ties turn a new chapter with the launch of the first ship of Type-054 class frigate, Pakistan’s state-run APP news agency reported.
The Type-054 class, equipped with the latest surface, subsurface, anti-air weapons, combat management system, and sensors will be one of the technologically advanced surface platforms of the Pakistan Navy fleet, the report said.
Pakistan signed a contract with the China Shipbuilding Trading Company Ltd. (CSTC) for the delivery of two Type-054 A/P frigates in 2017. Last year, the Chinese official media reported that under a major arms deal between the two all-weather allies, China would build four advanced frigates for Pakistan Navy.
The terms of the deal and the price of the ships were not revealed.
The launching of the ship coincided with the 2nd strategic dialogue between Foreign Minister of China Wang Yi and his Pakistani counterpart Shah Mahmood Qureshi held at the Chinese holiday resort of Hainan on August 21.
Srinagar: Bhartiya Janta Party (BJP) General Secretary Ashok Koul Monday said that Gupkar Declaration is an attempt to exploit emotions of innocent people in J&K.
“Some BJP leaders including Ravinder Raina has already issued a statement in this (Gupkar Declaration) regard. Local political parties call it Gupkar Declaration-2. This is nothing but an attempt to exploit the emotions of innocent people in J&K. This is what they had been doing for past 70 years,” Koul told local news gathering agency KINS.
On 22 August, this year, political parties in Kashmir unanimously resolved to fight for restoration of the special status of Jammu and Kashmir as it existed pre-August 5, 2019, saying the measures taken were “spitefully shortsighted” and “grossly unconstitutional”. The resolution was called as Gupkar Declaration-2.
On 23 August, thus year, BJP president Ravinder Raina said the Kashmir-based politicians are day-dreaming for the restoration of Article 370 and Article 35A of the Constitution which is next to impossible.
Koul told KINS that two BJP leaders from Kashmir have also spoke on the Gupkar Declaration and that is the “party line.” “These political parties who have come up with this declaration are speaking different languages. They are reopening their shops to exploit innocent people,” he said while replying to a query.
Koul said that several BJP leaders have been killed by militants and few are also injured. “Various BJP leaders have been taken confined to four walls by security forces. Our leaders are frightened but we are struggling with the situation,” he said.
In Gupkar Declaration-2, local political parties reiterated that they are bound, wholly, by the contents of the ‘Gupkar Declaration-1’, a resolution issued after an all-party meeting on August 4, 2019 at the Gupkar residence of NC president Farooq Abdullah.
The resolution at the end of the meet on August 4, 2019, a day before the Centre announced its decision of revocation of J&K’s special status and split it into two union territories, said the parties unanimously resolved that they would be united in their resolve to protect and defend the identity, autonomy and special status of Jammu and Kashmir against all attacks and onslaughts. (KINS)
Jammu: The Pakistan Army on Monday violated ceasefire twice by targeting forward areas in different sectors along the Line of Control (LoC) in Rajouri district of Jammu and Kashmir, a defence spokesperson said.
The Indian Army retaliated befittingly, he said.
He said there was no immediate report of any casualty on the Indian side.
The firing and shelling from across the border first started in Sunderbani sector at 1.30 pm and was followed in Nowshera sector at 4.45 pm, the spokesperson said.
“Pakistan initiated the unprovoked ceasefire violation by firing with small arms and shelling with mortars in both the sectors,” he said.
Ankara: Turkey says its natural gas find in the Black Sea will likely be followed by further discoveries, altering the geopolitics of energy trade in its region.
Photo Credits: Getty Images
“It’s just the beginning,” President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s spokesman Ibrahim Kalin said of Friday’s announcement that Turkey struck gas deep under its territorial waters. “The work will continue for exploration as well as drilling at the same time. We’re very hopeful that it will lead to other fields in the same area.”
Ankara’s state-oil arm TPAO will continue offshore exploration near the 320 billion cubic meter Sakarya field where officials see “much greater potential” for hydrocarbons, Kalin said in an interview at the presidential office in Istanbul on Saturday.
Black Sea Find
The discovery announced by Erdogan is already the largest of its kind in the Black Sea and proved the existence of sizable deposits deep under the seabed. Kalin said it also gave fresh impetus to Turkey’s search for more energy resources to be able to function as more than just a massive consumer and a conduit for cross-border gas trade.
“Turkey will be an energy producing country. That’s a new dimension, a very significant one,” Kalin said. “It puts Turkey at a different level in terms of its strategic location, relations, regional and global affairs.”
“Turkey is a premium gas market, which has never been significant on a global scale. The discovery really reinforces the country’s potential role as an energy producer in the region,” said Ashley Sherman, principal analyst on Caspian and Europe upstream at Wood Mackenzie.
Another prospective area nearby is the eastern Mediterranean Sea, where Turkey is conducting exploratory work with a seismic research ship.
Kalin said the Oruc Reis vessel will continue its survey in waters disputed by Greece and Cyprus, a conflict that’s fueling the tensions with Athens.
“Whatever we find in the eastern Mediterranean, we’d like it to be shared by all. We’d like it to benefit all neighboring countries which have a shore,” Kalin said. “We do not want to see this as a zero-sum game.”
Turkey is mired in territorial disputes with Greece and Cyprus in the Mediterranean Sea as it searches for oil and gas. France has temporarily increased its military presence to ward off Turkish steps, and German Chancellor Angela Merkel on Wednesday said the European Union was concerned over the increased tensions.
Disputed Waters
Turkey and Cyprus are at loggerheads over offshore gas reserves around the Mediterranean island of Cyprus, where the Republic of Cyprus is an EU member state and officially has sovereignty over the entire island.
But the island has been effectively divided into two since Turkey’s military captured the northern third in 1974, following a coup attempt in which a military junta in Athens sought to unite Cyprus with Greece. The Turkish minority’s self-proclaimed state in the north, recognized only by Ankara, also claims rights to any energy resources discovered off its coast.
Just a month ago, Turkey and Greece were set to begin exploratory talks to ease tensions. But that came to an abrupt end after Greece signed a deal with Egypt to draw maritime borders and Turkey accused Athens of acting in bad faith.
Still, Turkey says cooperation around energy resources is possible and would benefit all littoral countries.
“We can turn the natural resources in the eastern Mediterranean into opportunities,” he said. “That doesn’t mean that we just turn a blind eye to the issues, challenges out there. We address them. We try to find some creative ways to overcome them.”
(This story has not been edited by Kashmir Today staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
