New Delhi: India on Thursday rejected a US government report that raised concerns over alleged attacks and discrimination against religious and ethnic minorities in the country.
“Our principled position remains that we see no locus standi for a foreign entity to pronounce on the state of our citizens’ constitutionally protected rights,” Spokesperson in the Ministry of External Affairs Anurag Srivastava said.
He was replying to a question on the report at an online media briefing.
Mandated by the US Congress, the ‘2019 International Religious Freedom Report’ that documents major instances of the violation of religious freedom across the world was released by Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Wednesday.
“India’s vibrant democratic traditions and practices are evident to the world. The people and government of India are proud of our country’s democratic traditions,” the spokesperson said.
“We have a robust public discourse in India and constitutionally mandated institutions that guarantee protection of religious freedom and rule of law,” he added.
The India section of the report said that the US government officials underscored the importance of respecting religious freedom, promoting tolerance and mutual respect with the ruling and opposition parties and religious leaders belonging to various communities.
In their engagement with government officials, media, interfaith harmony organizations and NGOs, US officials emphasised the need to address the legitimate concerns of the country’s religious minorities, condemn communal rhetoric, and ensure full protection of minorities, it said.
The report also referred to the revocation of the special status of Jammu and Kashmir last August and the parliament passage of the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) in December as major highlights for India last year.
“The report is published annually by the department of state as part of its legal requirement to the US Congress and is an internal document of the US government,” Srivastava said.
Pakistan’s iconic singer Atif Aslam has put speculation to rest, about him bidding adieu to the music industry.
During an interview with Hamid Mir on Geo News’ Capital Talk, the 37-year-old addressed the rumours going rife about his exit from Pakistan’s music scene.
Atif Aslam addressed the rumours going rife about his exit from Pakistan’s music scene
“The topic of leaving the music industry is one that’s quite personal. But I want to keep myself attached to my religion while still being part of the world. I won’t say I will be giving up on music entirely, but I want to highlight important aspects of religion like the 99 names of Allah and Tajdar-e-Haram.”
“I feel happy knowing that there are youngsters who are not just listening to my music but are also getting inclined towards these things. But I am still not quitting music.”
Speaking about the recitation of Azaan that recently took the internet by storm after the coronavirus broke out in Pakistan, Atif said he had a longstanding wish of reciting the Azaan at the Holy Ka’bah in Mecca, which is where the idea stems from.
گلوکار عاطف اسلم @itsaadee کی خواہیش ہے کہ انہیں خانہ کعبہ میں اذان دینے کی سعادت مل جائے ہم سب دعا کرتے ہیں کہ عاطف اسلم کی یہ دعا جلد از جلد قبول ہو جائے آمین #AtifAslampic.twitter.com/mCp4z2AZF8
“I had heard that during the times of our Holy Prophet Muhammad (PBUH), people used to go up to their roofs to recite the Azaan. That’s where the idea came from and I just went with it without a second thought,” he said.
“A day before recording it, I couldn’t sleep at night and couldn’t hold my eagerness. The feeling was beyond words. I never thought I’d be blessed enough to get a chance like this,” he added.
He further shed light on his recent Coke Studio performance of Asma-ul-Husna [the 99 names of Allah], which received massive acclaim from around the world.
“In life, we do a lot of things, some are virtuous some are sins. I was lucky enough to have performed Tajdar-e-Haram, and I consider myself very lucky to have gotten a chance to perform Asma-ul-Husna. I can’t explain the feeling I got while I was reciting the names.”
On Thursday last, my cameraperson broke the news to me that he has tested positive for COVID-19. He had been tested before a minor surgical procedure; doctors have made it a rule in the time of coronavirus.
I was shocked. Not just because a colleague had tested coronavirus positive, but also because it meant all of us at the Srinagar bureau may have been exposed to the infection. COVID-19 is a reality and we have to live with it.
The next morning, three of us from the office visited Srinagar’s government Chest Disease Hospital and gave samples. On Sunday, all three tests came back with positive results.
Again, a pang of shock.
I was officially COVID-19 infected. My thoughts instantly went to those I may have come in contact with.
I had met officers, a group of friends, journalists, doctors… the list kept growing in my mind. So did a tiny seed of doubt.
India has nearly 2.8 lakh coronavirus positive cases so far
In Kashmir, more than 90 per cent of COVID positive cases are asymptomatic. Almost, all of them turn negative within 14 days of hospital quarantine.
For me, a sleepless night followed. I was sure I had followed all virus precautions while meeting my contacts, yet there was a niggling worry.
I wore a mask, had washed and sanitised my hands frequently and had maintained safe distance.
If I could catch an infection despite all this, how can anyone I met recently be safe, I thought.
On Monday morning, calls started coming from the police, intelligence officials and the health department. I had to give details of my family and extended family. Even relatives I may not have met for weeks. Just protocol for contact tracing, they told me.
The next step was to take my family away and quarantine them at a centre. COVID times for us mean we are losing control of our lives even more. Governments try to tell us they care about our safety more than we do.
In Kashmir, it has been like the Orwellian playbook for long. Internet shutdown, restrictions, detentions, gag orders, all in the name of public safety. One of the most draconian laws used to jail persons for months without trial is also named “Public Safety Act”. The act was brought in by our democratically-elected leaders. As destiny would have it, some of them were recently jailed under the same law.
While the rest of the country is opening up, the lockdown is just getting longer in the Valley, which has been mostly under a shutdown since August, when Article 370 was abrogated.
They cite the growing number of virus cases in Kashmir. The last two weeks have seen a huge jump, so continuing the lockdown is imperative, they say.
Most of the coronavirus positive tests are from the Chest Disease Hospital Lab where my colleagues and I were tested. After I gave my sample for testing on Friday, the reporter in me woke up.
I tried to see the pattern of tests in Jammu and Kashmir. There are six COVID-19 testing labs in Jammu and Kashmir and some 2.4 lakh tests have been carried out in these. According to Samia Rashid, Principal, Medical College Srinagar, the Chest Disease lab has conducted around 35,000 tests. Of which around 2,300 were positive. So with 17 per cent of the tests, this one hospital accounts for more than 50 per cent of the virus positive tests in J&K.
Was it just coincidence? I tried to find out. I was stunned when I learnt that many people who tested positive at this lab subsequently tested negative at other facilities.
I decided to go for a second test at Sher-e-Kashmir Institute of Medical Sciences, the biggest health facility in J&K. Just to be sure, I sent a third sample to another facility. Hours after I gave my sample to SKIMS, I was informed that my test at the first lab had returned positive.
By evening, it had spread like wildfire – “the entire NDTV team in Srinagar has coronavirus”.
Only I was not willing to accept it. I was waiting for the second test.
The night was getting longer. I was constantly thinking about my family, friends and others I had met, whether they, too, would suffer because of faulty testing. My confidence that I’m not COVID-19 positive was not entirely because I was asymptomatic; a rational analysis of the test results from different labs in Jammu and Kashmir had given me reason to believe that all is not well at CD lab (Chest Disease Hospital).
Those wondering why I went for a second test, let me quote this beautiful couplet of Mirza Ghalib – “Qasid ke aate aate khat ek aur likh rakhoun; Main janta hun jo wo likhenge jawab main” (Let me write another letter before the messenger arrives, I know what their reply will be).
On Monday, as the test result arrived from SKIMS, I bowed my head in gratitude. I was relieved. All my contacts and family were safe.
Within 24 hours, everything had changed.
I’m happy to report, yesterday and today two more colleagues also tested negative in the second round. Both are in hospital quarantine. I hope they come out soon.
Our OB van driver was also declared negative after he tested positive at – yes, CD lab, on Sunday.
The good news from this entire episode is that it has propelled the government into action. The number of positive cases has suddenly dropped in Kashmir.
The Principal of Government Medical College, Srinagar, who oversees all associated hospitals of medical college, says while she stands by the report of CD hospital, she cannot rule out errors in any system and every step is being taken to fix it.
Personally, I believe there can be an aberration anywhere. There can be an odd false positive or false negative test.
But when there are multiple instances, there is a need for course correction. In the last 24 hours, at least 30 “Covid positive” cases tested at CD lab have returned negative in another round of testing at different labs.
Mind you, I repose faith in the same health system because I know we have the best of doctors who have always chosen service over self. Their sacrifice and commitment to people goes beyond being COVID-19 warriors.
Doctors and paramedics in Kashmir have been “frontline warriors” for 30 years. They have braved bullets, sticks and stones to reach hospital and save lives. In 2016, 13,000 people were injured during the Valley unrest. Over 7,000 of them had received pellet injuries. The same doctors restored the sight of hundreds hit in the eye by the lethal rubber pellets.
I went back to the same doctors for help.
And I “beat COVID-19” within 24 hours.
(Nazir Masoodi is NDTV’s Srinagar Bureau Chief)
Disclaimer: The opinions expressed within this article are the personal opinions of the author. The facts and opinions appearing in the article do not reflect the views of Kashmir Today and Kashmir Today does not assume any responsibility or liability for the same.
(This story has not been edited by Kashmir Today staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
Srinagar: Srinagar mayor Junaid Azim Mattu on Thursday said a no-confidence motion has been moved against him at the behest of the BJP, and asserted that he enjoyed majority in the municipal corporation and would take on the challenge democratically and legally.
When contacted, the BJP’s media in-charge for Kashmir, Manzoor Bhat, said 27 corporators affiliated with the party have moved the motion and that around 15 more members have extended support to it. The Srinagar Municipal Corporation (SMC) has 74 wards.
“Been informed that BJP has sought a ‘Vote of No Confidence’ in the SMC against me. Those who have submitted the motion are either elected members/office bearers of BJP or unambiguously associated with BJP. This is the second such motion by BJP against me within 6 months, Mattu said.
In a series of tweets, the SMC mayor said the BJP-led group in the civic body has also claimed they have support from the Congress and the National Conference, but both these two parties have clearly denied that.
“The incumbent Dy. Mayor @Parvaiz_Qadri has also denied these claims, he said.
Deputy Mayor Parvaiz Ahmad Qadri belongs to the Jammu and Kashmir National Conference, but election to the post was held on non-party basis.
The National Conference, on its official Twitter handle, said the party has no understanding with the BJP.
“JKNC has no understanding, or inclination to have an understanding with BJP. Neither in SMC Srinagar nor elsewhere, the party said in a tweet.
Mattu said there are also apprehensions of forged signatures on affidavits as well as attempts to break the law that bars anyone from seeking a floor test within six months of the previous one.
This is a repeat of what was attempted in SMC on 26th December, 2019, Mattu said.
The mayor said it was a travesty that something like that was being done in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic.
That this is being done in the MIDST of an unprecedented pandemic is another travesty. That it is being claimed and alleged that INC and BJP are on the same page is bizarre beyond comprehension and hints at some clear illegality and foul play, he said.
Mattu, who belongs to the Jammu and Kashmir People’s Conference, said he would fight the motion democratically and legally and he was certain of proving his majority.
We will fight this democratically and legally as this is yet another litmus test for the mainstream. This is the second such attempt in 6 months and we are certain of proving our majority and defeating this blatantly illegal, undemocratic maneuvering (sic), he said.
‘Burial management of militants also proving a success’
Srinagar: Jammu and Kashmir union territory police chief Dilbagh Singh Thursday said that there was no major law and order situation as people behaved in a very “matured manner post abrogation of Article 370”.
He also said that “top commanders of various militant outfits were killed post August 5 last year”.
According to news agency Kashmir Indepth News Service (KINS), DGP Singh said that “Credit for change in the situation goes to the people of Kashmir largely and then to the security forces, who ensured no harassment to the general masses and instead behaved with the people in a very compassionate manner.
“This has worked well,” he said. He said the change in people’s behavior has been witnessed since the past over a year. “Law and order situation is being dealt with effectively. We have reached out to the masses telling them that getting out of their homes and protests and stone pelting put their lives on the line and there is now Covid threat also and if they gather in large numbers at encounter sites that can be a health hazard for them. So far people have been cooperating with us,” the DGP said, adding that burial of local militants was also an issue where militants and militancy was being eulogized and “now with our burial management policy that issue is also over now.”
He, however, said that there were law and order situations during the encounters where Hizbul Mujahideen Chief Commander Reyaz Naikoo and Lashkar-e-Toiba top commander Burhan Koka were killed as their supporters came out and started pelting stones at the forces. “But law and order was dealt effectively by the law and order component of security forces,” he said.
He said that from the last one and half years the law the order situation in the UT has been very effectively handled.
“For the improvement in the situation the largest part of the credit goes to people as they were and are very cooperative and also the credit goes to security forces for their best approach towards the people on ground,” he maintained.
He added that after Abrogation of Article 370, there has been no harassment, no embarrassment to the people. “People have now faith on the security forces Ever since the abrogation of Article 370, forces conduct towards the people was good and the important part is that people have also cooperated and responded in a very positive manner, and that kind of response continues,” the DGP told national channel.
He said that the security forces had a large number of successful operations during the last four months. “We have been able to eliminate 70 plus militants so far which includes commanders of various outfits,” he added. (KINS)
Leh: Directorate of Health Services Ladakh Thursday said that twenty more people have been tested positive for Covid-19 in Ladakh. Four Covid-19 patients were discharged from Mahabodhi Covid-19 hospital Leh. With this, the number of Covid-19 active cases in Ladakh has gone up to 80; 39 in Leh district and 41 in Kargil district.
He informed that of the total 39 active cases in Leh, 22 positive patients are admitted in Covid-19 hospital while 17 positive cases are in home isolation. And all the 41 positive cases of Kargil district are in Covid-19 hospital of Kargil. It also informs that till date 41 numbers of patients got cured in Leh district while 13 positive patients in Kargil district were cured and discharged from Covid-19 hospital.
The official informed that 97 samples were tested at COVID-19 Laboratory Chuchot Yokma yesterday: 78 samples of Leh district and 19 samples of Kargil district. 02 repeated positive reports of two Covid-19 patients already admitted in the Covid-19 hospital, and 76 negative reports are of Leh district and 19 negative reports are of Kargil district.
“The Health Department Leh received 87 sample reports yesterday; out of these reports 20 positive ad 62 negative reports are of Leh district and 105 negative reports are of Kargil district.”
“Condition of all 80 active cases of Covid-19 in Ladakh is stable.” (KNT)
Srinagar: In a major achievement University of Kashmir has been listed, by MHRD, among top 50 Universities in the country, improving its rank from 53 to 48 this time.
In the all India Ranking for 2020, assessment by the Union Ministry of Human Resource Development, (MHRD), the University of Kashmir (KU) got the 48th rank with a score of 46.99 points among the Indian Universities. This means KU which stood at 53rd rank last year has improved five positions this time despite all the odds.
The ranking of Indian Universities and other educational institutions in 2020 under Institutional Ranking Framework was released by the Hon’ble Minster for Human Resource Development Shri Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank on Thursday.
While terming it as a very positive development Vice Chancellor, University of Kashmir, Prof Talat Ahmad said that this is another good news after the NAAC re-accredited KU as A+ University last year. “Being ranked among 50 best Universities of the country is a great achievement and the credit for this goes to joint efforts of all the teachers, scholars, students and administrative/technical staff of the University”, added VC. Prof Talat Ahmad congratulated the teaching and non-teaching staff, students, scholars of the university and also appreciated the efforts of Team DIQA for this achievement. In his message to all the stake holders he said, that “since we aspire to get recognized as an institution of excellence both at National and International level, we do not have to be complacent. We need to work harder to score higher rankings and make this institution one of the best”.
Registrar University of Kashmir Dr Nisar Ahmad Mir, while congratulating the University fraternity for achieving this milestone, expressed hope that the University community works harder to make KU an Institution of excellence in near future.
Prof Anwar Hassan, Director, Directorate of Internal Quality Assurance has also congratulated the University community and team DIQA for this great achievement. He thanked all the teaching and non-teaching fraternity of the university for their excellent cooperation during the assessment period.
Pertinent to mention that the National Institutional Ranking Framework was instituted by MHRD in 2015 and the first rankings were announced in 2016.
This was the 5th Edition of NIRF rankings and the number of participating institutions in the ranking competition increased by 20%.
NIRF outlines a methodology to rank institutions across the country.
The methodology is based on a well-defined set of metrics and parameters for ranking of academic institutions, approved by Core Committee of MHRD. The parameters broadly cover `Teaching, Learning and Resources”, “Research and Professional Practices”, “Graduation Outcome”, “Outreach & Inclusivity” and “Perception”.
The KU has scored percentile points of 60.25, 18.51,79.47.49.47 and 28.82 in the parameters respectively. (GNS)
Karachi: Spin consultant and mentor of the Pakistan team, Mushtaq Ahmed says more than the skills, the players’ mental strength will matter when top-level cricket resumes amidst the COVID-19 pandemic in England.
Ahmed, who recently joined the national set-up, said the series between England and the West Indies will provide lessons as the game is set to resume with that series, starting July 8.
“I think we are going to learn a lot from the West Indies and England series and in the Covid-19 conditions. More than the skills, the mental strength of players will matter a lot. In these difficult circumstances the role of mentors have become very important,” he said.
The Pakistan team is likely to reach England around June 25 to start preparations for their Test and T20 series in a bio-secure environment including remaining in a 14-days quarantine and having nets and practice drills and matches in isolated conditions.
Ahmed also made it clear that the new-look management of the Pakistan team including head coach Misbah-ul-Haq, bowling coach Waqar Younis, batting coach, Younis Khan and he himself were all on the same page and realised the importance of playing in England.
“Players and coaches will require some time to adjust to the new playing conditions and playing in front of empty stadiums. I think the time we have in England before the series will be spent on preparing the players mentally for these challenges.”
“For cricket activities to start in Covid-19 conditions is a tough ask of the players.”
Mushtaq who has worked as spin consultant with teams like England and the West Indies said if the upcoming two series in England go off well then world cricket can slowly get back to normalcy within this year.
“That is why these two series are so important. We have to see how players, especially bowlers, adjust to the new rules like not using spit to shine the ball. We have to see how this will affect performance of the bowlers,” he said.
Srinagar: Security forces on Thursday apprehended a suspected militant following a brief exchange of fire with ultras in Budgam district of Jammu and Kashmir, officials said.
A cordon and search operation was launched in Pathanpora area of Budgam in central Kashmir this morning after specific information about the presence of militants in the area, a police official said.
He said the search operation turned into an encounter after militants fired upon a search party of the forces, who retaliated.
“One suspect was apprehended during the search operation. One Chinese pistol, one grenade, six AK magazines and 147 rounds were recovered,” an Army official said.
However, the officials did not specify whether the suspect was arrested from the encounter scene or from the general area cordoned off for the operation.
