Showing posts with label Jammu and Kashmir. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Jammu and Kashmir. Show all posts

Tuesday, November 15, 2016

Has demonetisation stopped stone pelting, curbed terror financing in J&K?

In the last few days after PM's daring move there hasn't been stone pelting on security forces.

Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar has hailed the government's demonetisation decision and said it has let to decline in stone-pelting incidents in Jammu and Kashmir.
"Earlier, there were rates: Rs 500 for stone pelting (onsecurity forces in Kashmir) and Rs 1,000 for doing something else. PM has brought terror funding to zero," Parrikar said.
"In the last few days after PM's daring move there hasn't been stone pelting on security forces. I congratulate PM for it," Parrikar said.
According to a report in Deccan Herald, the incidents ofstone pelting have declines in the Valley ever since Prime Minister Narendra Modi scrapped Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 currency notes across the country.
While police handouts on the situation in the Valley stated that no incidents of stone-pelting were reported from anywhere in the past few days, officials said a major reason behind the sudden decline in violence was that the "money channels" of inciting violence have been sealed.
In the past, several complaints had cropped up that separatists were paying stone-pelters and other anti-national elements in big currency notes. Apart from taking on corruption, black money; the step by the Modi government has resulted in peace and calm in the Valley.
Security analysts believe that Kashmir will remain largely calm in the coming days as miscreants will run short of money to keep their network operational.
For the last four months, the Valley was brought to a standstill but now things are falling back into place with people carrying out their daily chores, schools being opened and students appearing for exams.
Barring a few law and order incidents at some places, hundreds of vendors put up their stalls at the weekly flea-market in the city on Sunday while banks across Kashmir witnessed a rush of customers in view of the demonitisation of 500 and 1000 currency notes, bringing some semblance of normalcy in the unrest-hit Valley.
Normalcy ceased to exist in Kashmir due to unrest triggered by the killing of Hizbul Majhideen militant Burhan Wani since July 8.
However, there has been increased movement of people and public transport, except buses, in Srinagar in the last month. Apart from private vehicles, auto-rickshaws and inter- district cabs were also plying in large numbers.
Defying separatists' call for protest, 95 per cent students appeared for class 12th board exams in Kashmir on Monday. About 94.88 per cent of the total 31,964 students appeared in the examination, an official of Jammu and Kashmir Board of School Education (BOSE), which conducts the examinations, said.(more)

Wednesday, October 5, 2016

Sell-by date of Pakistan's anachronistic approach over: India

Sell-by date of Pakistan's anachronistic approach over: India

The "sell-by date" of Pakistan's "anachronistic approach" is long over and the country should "abandon" its "futile quest" for Kashmir, India has said in a strong rebuttal to Islamabad's allegations that New Delhi is escalating the current situation.
India's Permanent Representative to the UN Ambassador Syed Akbaruddin strongly rejected remarks by Pakistan's envoy Maleeha Lodhi, who said during a General Assembly debate on 'Report of the Secretary General on the Work of the Organisation' that India has created conditions that pose a threat to peace and security in the region by its recent "declarations and actions."
Akbaruddin responded sharply by saying that Pakistan's claims in the UN are finding no resonance and it should abandon its quest for Kashmir, which is an integral part of India.
"Our response to Pakistan is consistent. Abandon your futile quest. The state of Jammu and Kashmir is an integral part of India and will remain so," Akbaruddin said asserting that no amount of "misuse" of international platforms by Pakistan will change that reality.
"The sell-by date of Pakistan's anachronistic approach is long over," he said on Wednesday.
Akbaruddin said claims by Pakistan, a global epicenter of terrorism, on Kashmir find no resonance amongst the international community, with Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif raising the Kashmir issue in his General Assembly address also finding no support.Read more

Tuesday, September 20, 2016

Uri attack: 4 stories that highlight the human cost of terror

Uri attack: 4 stories that highlight the human cost of terror

Sepoy KV Janardhan on Monday succumbed to injuries sustained during Sunday morning's attack on an Indian Army camp near the border town of Uri in Jammu & Kashmir by suspected Pakistan-based terrorists, taking the number of martyrs to 18.
The attack has left the nation reeling, and the kin of the martyrs have called upon the government to avenge the loss of the 18 soldiers.
Across the country, families spread across states, from Maharashtra to Bihar, are just beginning to deal with the personal cost imposed by terrorism in the region.
The human cost
Uri Attack :Janardhan, who joined the army in 2008, had got married just two years ago, reports the Indian Express. The report adds that he is survived by his 23-year-old wife, Sneha, a four-month-old daughter, his parents and a younger brother.
According to the report, Janardhan, who hailed from the Yavatmal district in Maharashtra, had been transferred to the Uri Camp just six months ago.
Lance Naik Rajesh Kumar Yadav's family lives in the Ballia district of Uttar Pradesh. Rajesh was among the original 17 martyrs who gave their lives for the country in the pre-dawn Sunday attack.
The national daily reports that people from Rajesh's village and his family members took measures to ensure that the news of his demise did not reach Parvati Devi, his eight months pregnant wife, and his ailing mother, who suffers from a heart condition.
Rajesh's youngest brother, Vikesh Yadav, told the daily that despite all their attempts, some journalists were able to contact Parvati and tell her the grim news.
Rajesh, who had served in the army for 18 years and had just returned to duty from a two-month visit home, is survived by his wife, mother, three brothers, eight-year-old daughter Radhika, and two-year-old daughter Preeti, the report added.Read more

Sunday, September 18, 2016

How India is isolating Pakistan within Saarc

How India is isolating Pakistan within Saarc

The terrorist attack at an army administrative base in Uri in Jammu and Kashmir on Sunday, which killed 17 soldiers, has reduced the political space for Prime Minister Narendra Modi to travel to Islamabad in November to attend the Saarc Summit. But, in recent months, New Delhi has shown uncharacteristic efficiency to reach out to Saarc members, other than Pakistan.
As part of the Modi government’s “neighbourhood first” policy, India has hosted or will be hosting the heads of states or governments of the six South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (Saarc) members.
Alongside its Saarc outreach, the PM has raised the issue of terror havens in Pakistan and its export of terror at international platforms, most recently at the G20 Summit in China and the East Asia Summit in Laos. The Indian side, led by Vice-President M Hamid Ansari, raised Pakistan’s complicity in protecting outfits at the ongoing Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) Summit in Venezuela.
While the PM will skip this year’s United Nations General Assembly, External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj is set to raise the involvement of terror outfits based in Pakistan in carrying out attacks on Indian soil — Pathankot last year and Uri now. She is also likely to tell the world how Pakistani government bombs its own people in Balochistan.(more)

Wednesday, August 24, 2016

Rajnath Singh's visit to Jammu valley: Do not expect much

Rajnath Singh's visit to Jammu valley: Do not expect much

Rajnath Singh has begun his 2-day visit to the Jammu valley where he is likely to meet a cross section of people and review the prevailing situation that is yet to come back to normalcy. So should one expect a lot of change in the ground situation post this visit. It all depends on what kind of message he is ready to send.
He is after all, the Home Minister of the country. All paramilitary forces report to him. These are the very forces that are the target of hatred and rage in the state. So won’t Singh be a bit conflicted? Isn’t what Kashmir needs right now the healing touch? A soothing, gentle presence that offers to be a bridge between the Chief Minister and the mobs?

Monday, August 22, 2016

PM Modi says those killed in Kashmir violence 'part of us', emphasises dialogue

PM Modi says those killed in Kashmir violence 'part of us', emphasises dialogue

Prime Minister Narendra Modi today expressed "deep pain" and concern over the prevailing situation in Kashmir Valley and emphasised on the need for dialogue to find a lasting solution within the framework of the Constitution.
He told a delegation of opposition leaders of Jammu and Kashmir that those who lost their lives during the recent disturbances are a "part of us" and it is a matter of "distress" whether the lives lost are of "our youth, security personnel or police," official sources said.
The Prime Minister said his government stands with the state of Jammu and Kashmir and suggested that all political parties should reach out to the people and convey the same.
During the meeting with the delegation led by former Chief Minister Omar Abdullah, the Prime Minister expressed "deep concern and pain" at the prevailing situation in the state and appealed for restoration of normalcy in the Valley which has been witnessing unrest for the last 44 days.(more)

Tuesday, June 7, 2016

Bus service from Delhi to Leh restarts

The bus service from New Delhi to Leh in Jammu and Kashmir has restarted for the summer season, an official of the Himachal Road Transport Corporation(HRTC) said here on Tuesday.
"We started plying the daily to and fro bus service between Delhi-Leh via Manalifrom Monday," the official told IANS.
The one side fare on this route is Rs1,365, he said.
The arduous 1,050 km non-stop bus journey from Delhi to Leh in Ladakh division takes 33 hours.
The route passes through four high mountain passes and remains snowbound from October to May or June.
Also, the luxury bus service linking picturesque tourist resort Manali in Himachal Pradesh with Leh will restart on July 1, more than six months after it was halted for the winter, Vijay Sharma, general manager of the Himachal Pradesh Tourism Development Corporation (HPTDC), toldIANS.
The 35-seater bus will leave Manali at 11 am on every alternate day and will arrive in Leh the next day in the evening after covering 475 km.
The bus will halt overnight at Keylong in Lahaul-Spiti district. From there, it will depart at 4 am. One-way fare, including a night's stay at Keylong, dinner and breakfast, is Rs 2,700.Read more.