Month: June 2022

The Border Security Force (BSF) opened fire at a suspected Pakistani drone along the International Border (IB) in Jammu district in the early hours of Thursday, forcing it to return, officials said. They said a massive search operation has been launched to trace any weapon or explosive that it might have dropped. “A blinking light suspected to be from a drone was observed in Arnia area (along the International Border) about 04:15 hours today,” a BSF spokesperson said. Alert BSF troops fired at the flying object which was at a height of about 300 metres, causing it to withdraw, he said. The security forces have been alert to attempts being made by Pakistan and militant outfits across the border to smuggle weapons, ammunition and explosives through drones via the International Bo...

Kashmiri journalist Shahid Tantray spoke out on Wednesday about his "continued" harassment by authorities in Jammu Kashmir. He sent a letter to the international and Indian press bodies and organizations seeking their help. "The officers said I had three options in front of me. They said my first option was that I could stay in Kashmir if I gave them a written agreement that I would not write anything that goes against the government. The second option was that I could stay in Kashmir and continue writing pieces that displeased the government, in which case, they said, I would either be shot or sent to jail. They said the third option was that I leave Kashmir immediately, " Shahid has said in his statements. Every Kashmiri journalist’s story these days is the same. These are the only...

The Jammu Kashmir Police on Wednesday said that an inquiry has been initiated against a reporter of a magazine following a complaint by many 'prominent personalities of Srinagar'. "Many prominent personalities of Srinagar have lodged complaint against one reporter of Caravan namely Shahid Tantray and his mischievous article 'false flags'," Police said in a statement to GNS, adding, " They have displayed apprehension that it is akin to giving targets to militant groups, something which has been done by similar articles in Kashmir fight blog etc". In past many personalities like journalist Shujaat Bukhari have been targeted in similar fashion when the names started coming in such "cryptic articles, police said further. "On the basis of this complaint, an inquiry has started into the...

KPs, Tourists flock temple; BJP leader Ashok Koul says number of devotees will increase by afternoon The annual Mata Kheer Bhawani Mela started on Wednesday at Tullamulla village of Jammu and Kashmir's Ganderbal district with Kashmiri Pandits and tourists flocking the temple to pay obeisance. As per news agency—Kashmir News Observer (KNO), Tullamulla shrine in addition to being the holiest shrine of the local Kashmiri Pandit community is also the symbol of centuries-old eclectic culture and brotherhood among different communities of Kashmir. The spring inside the shrine has historic significance as locals believe that the colour of its water on the festival day forebears the events that follow till the next year. Local Dharmarth Trust maintains the shrine complex spread over a lar...

Doctors at the Chest Disease Hospital here went on a strike Wednesday over an alleged assault on them by a patient's attendants including a “DDC member accompanied by security guards”. As part of the strike, which started in the morning, non-emergency services are currently shut, affecting patients at one of the main hospitals catering mostly to chest related diseases, sources told GNS. “Yesterday attendants of a patient attacked doctors and other staff besides vandalized hospital infrastructure. Also security personnel of one of the attendants who is said to be a DDC member had pointed out gun at the doctors on duty,” Dr Naveed Nazir Shah, Head of the Department at the Hospital told GNS. “They did not even allow doctors to see the patients by locking up them inside a room,” he sa...