Month: October 2024

The Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) registered a case on Wednesday against five officials, including a former director, along with several private individuals, for their alleged involvement in misappropriating funds under the post-matric scholarship scheme for Scheduled Tribe (ST) students in Jammu Kashmir. The FIR, filed under the Jammu and Kashmir Prevention of Corruption Act, names the then director of tribal affairs, Mohammad Sharief Choudhary, former assistant director Muzaffar Wani, junior assistant Gulzar Hussain, in-charge computer assistant Javed Ahmed, and head assistant Shaheen Naqishbandi. Several private individuals associated with educational institutions in the Rajouri and Poonch districts are also implicated, according to an ACB spokesperson. The investigation uncover...

National Conference (NC) vice president Omar Abdullah on Wednesday said the party will not back off from its commitment to the restoration of Article 370, as outlined in its election manifesto. Omar acknowledged the challenges of asking the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) to restore Article 370, saying such a request would be “foolish.” “However, the NC will persistently advocate for the issue. The public has entrusted the party with this responsibility, and we must live up to their expectations,” he said, according to the news agency—Kashmir News Observer (KNO). He said the NC should first focus on forming a government, after which they would push for a cabinet resolution advocating for the restoration of Jammu Kashmir’s statehood. Responding to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s greeti...

The BJP continued its poor performance in the Kashmir Valley, failing to secure even a single seat despite a massive campaign effort and extensive preparations. Out of the 19 candidates fielded by the party in the valley, only one, Faqir Mohammad Khan from Gurez, managed to secure more than one-sixth of the votes, thus avoiding the forfeiture of his security deposit. However, even he lost narrowly by 1,132 votes. The remaining 18 candidates forfeited their deposits, reflecting the party’s struggle to gain traction in the region. In contrast, the National Conference (NC) emerged as the single largest party in Jammu Kashmir, winning 42 of the 90 assembly seats. While the BJP struggled in Kashmir, it retained its dominance in Jammu, securing 29 seats overall and improving its 2014...

Omar Abdullah, Vice President of the National Conference, on Wednesday reiterated that while it is "foolish" to expect the restoration of Article 370 from the party that revoked it, the fight for the region's special status will continue. Abdullah asserted, "We will not stop talking about 370, and we will not let the cause of special status die down. As I have stated earlier, it would be foolish to expect restoration of 370 from those who have taken it. However, when the political circumstances change in the country, we will get it back. Until then, we will not let the cause die." His comments reflect a commitment to keeping the issue of Article 370 alive, even as political dynamics shift. Omar Abdullah had previously, during elections campaign, in several rallies including those ...

Sorrow engulfed Anantnag’s Nowgam village when the news of local army jawan Hilal Ahmad Bhat reached there on Wednesday. Bhat was kidnapped by militants on Tuesday while he was on his way back to join duty after leave, according to a neighbor. “The entire village is in grief… Hilal was a nice person,” said Mohammad Shafi. Bhat is survived by his wife, a five-year-old son named Azaan, and an infant daughter. Shafi mentioned that the soldier had come home on leave to spend time with his family. “Yesterday, he returned to report to work, but later we heard that he had been abducted on the way,” he added. He appealed to the government to take special care of Bhat’s family, who have lost their breadwinner. According to the army, security forces recovered Bhat's bullet-ridden body...

Following the recent Jammu and Kashmir assembly election results, four independent MLAs who had earlier left the National Conference (NC) due to a dispute over ticket distribution are reportedly set to rejoin the party after the NC-Congress alliance's strong performance. In this election, the NC emerged as the largest party, securing 42 seats in the 90-member assembly, while the BJP won 29 seats, and the Congress took six. Among the independents, seven candidates won their respective seats. Notably, Muzaffar Iqbal Khan, a former judge, defeated BJP’s Mohd Iqbal Malik in the Thannamandi constituency by 6,179 votes. Meanwhile, the INDIA alliance candidate Mohd Shabir Khan, who ran on a Congress ticket, placed fourth with 7,508 votes. In Inderwal, independent candidate Payare Lal Sha...

The body of a Territorial Army soldier, who went missing during a reconnaissance mission on Tuesday evening in the Kokernag forest area of South Kashmir's Anantnag district, has been recovered. The soldier, a resident of Mukhdampora, Nowgam, Anantnag, was abducted by militants during the mission in the Sheikhpur-Chattragul forest area. One other soldier managed to escape the encounter. Earlier, the Chinar Corps of the Army stated, "Based on intelligence input, a joint counter-terrorist operation was launched by the Indian Army, Jammu and Kashmir Police, and other agencies in Kazwan Forest, Kokernag, on 08 Oct 24. The operation continued overnight after a Territorial Army soldier was reported missing. A massive rescue and search operation is in progress." Further details are awaite...

In Jammu Kashmir's Anantnag district, two jawans from the Territorial Army were abducted by militants in a forested area, according to reports from ANI on Wednesday. Official sources said that two territorial Army jawans were abducted by militants in the Sheikhpur-Chattragul forest area of Anantnag district, on October 8, 2024. According to reports, the jawans were conducting reconnaissance when they encountered a group of militants. One jawan managed to escape, while the other was captured, as per the report. Security forces have launched a coordinated operation to locate and rescue the abducted jawan, cordoning off the area to prevent further movement.

Iltija Mufti, a leader of the People's Democratic Party (PDP) and daughter of party chief Mehbooba Mufti, addressed her loss from the Bijbehara seat in South Kashmir. On Tuesday, she dismissed the claim that the PDP's alliance with the BJP was the reason for the party's decline, asserting instead that there was an assault on the PDP that led to its setbacks. In her electoral debut, Iltija lost to National Conference (NC) leader Bashir Ahmad Veeri. She cited multiple factors behind her defeat, emphasizing the internal fractures within the PDP that benefited the NC. “Our party was broken, and we lost seats to the NC because, in the valley, people choose between either the NC or the PDP. This time, they decided to give NC a chance, capitalizing on our weakened state,” she stated. ...