Wednesday, February 26News and updates from Kashmir

Month: November 2021

41 Jammu Kashmir Administrative Services Officers to be Inducted into IAS

41 Jammu Kashmir Administrative Services Officers to be Inducted into IAS

REGIONAL
Ministry of Home Affairs approves 41 vacancies for induction of Jammu Kashmir Administrative Services (JKAS) officers into the Indian Administrative Services (IAS). After the green signal of 41 posts by the MHA and Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT), the matter will shortly go to the Union Public Services Commission (UPSC) for final approval. This induction exercise of JKAS officers into IAS has been initiated by the present government in Jammu and Kashmir. As per reports, the formal induction of JKAS officers into IAS will take some time as the UPSC needs to complete certain formalities before the meeting with JK government representatives. The GAD had initiated the exercise for induction of JKAS officers into IAS after nearly a decade following fixation of seniority of ...

Expect Rain/ Snow in Kashmir from Thursday: MET

REGIONAL
While the minimum temperatures continued to drop in Jammu Kashmir and Ladakh on Wednesday, the weather office has forecast widespread rain/snow beginning from Thursday night. “Widespread intermittent light to moderate rain/snow (over higher reaches) is most likely to occur during Thursday and Friday nights,” the Met Department said. “This may led to temporary disruption of surface transportation on Zojila Pass, Mughal road, Banihal-Ramban axis, Sinthan Top,” it added. The weather office added that there was no forecast of a major snowfall till November 10. On Thursday, Srinagar recorded 2.0 degrees Celsius, Pahalgam minus 2.0 and Gulmarg minus 1.6 as their minimum temperatures. Leh town recorded minus 0.7 degree Celsius, Kargil minus 2.0 and Drass minus 11.4 as the night’s lowe...

Mohan Lal, Muhammad Akram Chowdary appointed as High Court Judges

REGIONAL
Mohan Lal and Muhammad Akram Chowdary have been appointed judges of the High Court of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh. Additional Secretary to the Government of India, Ministry of Law and Justice, Rajinder Kashyap in this regard has issued a formal order stating that the President of India is pleased to appoint Mohan Lal and Muhammad Akram Chowdary as judges of the High Court of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh in that order of seniority with effect from the date they assume charge of their respective offices. Earlier in September both judicial officers-Mohan Lal and Muhammad Akram Chowdary were elevated as judges. (KNT)

Pak NSA Moeed Yusuf turns down India’s invitation to conference on Afghanistan

INTERNATIONAL
Moeed Yusuf, Pakistan's National Security Advisor (NSA) on Tuesday said he would not travel to India for an upcoming conference on Afghanistan on November 10 as he dismissed India's role as a "peacemaker" in Afghanistan. India had invited Pakistan to attend the regional conference on Afghanistan being hosted by NSA Ajit Doval. However, while talking to the reporters in Islamabad, Yusuf said that he will not travel to India to attend the conference hosted by India on Afghanistan on November 10. As per a report by The Express Tribune, in response to a question during the press conference, Yusuf said that a "spoiler" could not take on the role of a "peacemaker." Pakistan's Foreign Office had confirmed the invitation from India, earlier, but said that the decision would be taken at an...

Pakistan Declines the Use of its Airspace for Srinagar-Sharjah Flight

INTERNATIONAL, REGIONAL
Pakistan has declined use of its airspace for flights from JK's Srinagar to Sharjah, which was revived after 11 years. Due to the decision, the flight from Srinagar to Sharjah will be more than an hour longer as planes will have to fly via Udaipur, Ahmedabad and Oman. The flight will also be more expensive. On October 23, Union Home Minister Amit Shah flagged off the inaugural Srinagar-Sharjah flight from the Sheikh Ul-Alam international airport in Srinagar, reviving the direct airlink between the valley and the UAE after 11 years. The NC leader pointed out that because of Pakistan's objection to allowing flights originating from Srinagar, the Srinagar-Dubai flight had to make a "technical halt" in Delhi or had to fly south and go around Pakistan airspace, which made the flight co...

UNICRF chief expresses concern over attacks on muslims in Tripura

INDIA
On Monday, the chairperson of the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF), Nadine Maenza, has expressed concern over attacks on Muslims in Tripura, which took place last week and urged the Union government to “stop violence against religious communities." The attacks against the Muslims took place during a rally taken out by the Vishwa Hindu Parishad on October 26 in North Tripura in protest against the attacks on Hindus in Bangladesh. On Monday, USCIRF chairperson Nadine Maenza tweeted: “USCIRF is concerned about ongoing violence in #Tripura against #Muslims, which some regard as retaliation for attacks against #Hindus in #Bangladesh last month. The Indian government must stop violence against religious communities.” The message from Maenza was amplif...

Taken for Elections Duties in 2020, Unpaid Drivers Stage Protest in South Kashmir

REGIONAL
Suhail Dar Angry drivers, taken for a toss for several months on Wednesday  staged a protest inside the office premises of the Assistant Regional Transport office (ARTO) Anantnag to demand their pending wages for the District Development Council Elections-2020 election duties. The South Kashmir Transporters Association spokesman, Shabir Ahmed speaking to The Kashmiriyat said that the district administration approached them last year ahead of the elections and asked them for the assistance in providing vehicles for moving election equipment and officials from one place to the other during the elections. "We provided them nearly 450 vehicles, the drivers paid for the petrol themselves. The officials back then promised that the payments would be released within a month," Shabir said,...

HC quashes PSA detention of Budgam man

OTHERS
High Court of JK and Ladakh Monday quashed detention of a man from central Kashmir’s Budgam district who was booked under Public Safety Act ( PSA) in January last year. A bench of justice Sanjay Dhar directed the government to release from preventive custody Latief Ahmad Rather of Badipora Chadoora, Budgam forthwith provided he was not required in connection with any other case. In his habeas corpus petition, Rather through senior advocate S T Hussain had challenged the detention order passed by District Magistrate Budgam on January 27 last year against him on a multiple of grounds. The petitioner contended that the detaining Authority passed the order mechanically without application of mind as the grounds of detention were mere reproduction of the dossier. Citing a Supreme Court...

‘BJP Gave Free Hand to Hindutva Mobs’ Fact Finding Team Reveals; Says ‘Muslims Attacked at 51 Places, 12 Mosques Burnt in Tripura’

FEATURED
A fact-finding report on Tripura violence revealed that if the BJP government had wanted, it could have thwarted premeditated violence against Muslim minority in Tripura, but it allegedly gave free hands to the Hindutva mobs. The report reveals that Muslims were attacked in 51 places in the state and 12 mosques were ransacked and damaged. Titled as “Humanity under Attack in Tripura; #Muslim lives matter” the report was released at the Press Club of India by the team members who visited Tripura. The team includes the supreme Court lawyers Ehtesham Hashmi, Advocate Amit Srivastav (Co-ordination Committee, Lawyers for Democracy), Advocate Ansar Indori (Secretary, Human Rights Organization, National Confederation of Human Rights Organizations (NCHRO) and Advocate Mukesh, Civil Rights Org...

Kashmiris on the Receiving End, Suffering Beyond Economic Catastrophe: Dr. Farooq

REGIONAL
National Conference President and MP from Srinagar Dr. Farooq Abdullah on Tuesday said that the prolonged uncertainty in J&K is taking a heavy toll on every sector, saying the depth of Kashmir’s suffering goes beyond economic catastrophe. “Kashmir has subsided from memory of the rulers in New Delhi .The situation on the ground, however, contradicts the government’s claim. The uncertainty on all the fronts – political, economic and educational have only deepened since 2019. Our youth continue to be at the receiving end of it. Repeated assurances and promises by the government to create new jobs and fill the existing vacancies have not fructified," Dr. Farooq Abdullah said. Thousands of daily wage workers working in different departments are suffering but nothing substantial is bei...