REGIONAL

A driver in the Pahalgam area of south Kashmir's Anantnag on Tuesday returned gold worth Rs 10 lakh to a Hyderabad tourist. Abdul Rashid Wani, president of Taxi Stand Movera Pahalgam told the news agency—Kashmir News Observer (KNO) that Akash Farooq Wani, a Tavera driver, returned gold worth Rs 10 lakh to a Hyderabad tourist, who was on a visit to Pahalgam and forgot the gold in Akash’s vehicle yesterday. He said the tourist had already informed the stand that he had forgotten the gold in the vehicle. “When we informed the driver, he searched his vehicle and found the gold, and the same was returned to the tourist,” he said. He added the tourist from Hyderabad came back from Srinagar airport to collect the gold. Meanwhile, the tourist expressed his gratitude to the driver for r...

Stating that National Conference (NC) will never opt to go for a poll boycott, party’s president Dr Farooq Abdullah on Monday warned security forces and administration not to interfere in the election process in Jammu  Kashmir. Addressing a gathering on the 117th Birth anniversary of party founder Sheikh Muhammad Abdullah, Dr Farooq as per the news agency—Kashmir News Observer (KNO) said that boycotting Panchayat polls earlier in Jammu Kashmir was a mistake. “I don’t believe in boycotting elections. We will contest every election,” he said. He also asked his son Omar Abdullah to reconsider his decision of boycotting the polls, saying that “I as a president am telling you to fight elections, come forward to win. Elections are to be fought. We have to come in the field and defeat the f...

Two samaritans from Punjab on Monday came forward to help a Kashmiri man whose cartons of apples were stolen after his truck overturned in Fatehgarh Sahib district. Rajwinder Singh from Patiala and Gurpreet Singh from Mohali gave a cheque of Rs 9.12 lakh to Shahid, a resident of Sopore in Baramulla district of Jammu Kashmir, to compensate for the loss he suffered. As many as 1,200 cartons of apples were stolen by villagers and passersby after the fruit-laden truck overturned on the Delhi-Amritsar highway in Fatehgarh Sahib district on Saturday. The truck was coming from Srinagar and heading to Bihar. The video of cartons of apples being taken away went viral. Rajwinder Singh and Gurpreet Singh approached the police and expressed their wish to compensate for the loss to the o...

All Parties Hurriyat Conference (APHC) said that today its Chairman, Mirwaiz Umar Farooq completed 40 months of arbitrary and extra-judicial house detention. In a press release, Hurriyat said, Mirwaiz was put under detention on August 4 2019 at his residence and has since continued to be incarcerated. "All his rights stand suspended. He is not allowed to come out of his house nor can visitors meet him. Police and paramilitary troops are permanently stationed outside his residence," Hurriyat said in its statement. APHC said that this extra-judicial incarceration of Mirwaiz, without being informed of reasons for it or any charges levelled against him, is a gross violation of the fundamental human rights of a person and is in complete violation of the Human Rights Convention of which...

A 10th-class student alleged that she was harassed at a government school after she denied "sexual favours" to a teacher in the Reasi area of Jammu Kashmir. Speaking to the media, the father of the minor girl said that on October 12, a teacher posted in the school invited the teenager to his room and after she denied the teacher forced his entry into her classroom during the lunch break when the other students were out for lunch break. "I was doing my homework when he forced himself upon me and tore my clothes and also bit me on my body," the 15-year-old girl said. She said that when the teacher bit her, she shouted loudly. "When I shouted, the students and the teachers rushed to the classroom. Upon noticing that people had gathered outside the classroom, he pulled me out of the clas...

Jammu Kashmir is planning to create a pool of cyber security analysts under the recently launched Cyber Security Policy (CSP) to combat cyber militancy and cyber attacks. The CSP also talks about setting up computer energy response team (CERT), a nodal agency which will ensure safer and stronger internet by responding to major incidents, analysing threats and exchanging critical cyber security information with trusted partners. According to the official document, the government is also mulling over establishing a think tank for policy and decision inputs, an information security management system to manage sensitive data and a Centre of Excellence to combat modern-day security threats. Further, the Union territory administration is working towards introducing cyber insurance. The...

Scores of Kashmiri Pandits staged a protest on Monday to reiterate their demand for relocation from Kashmir Valley. Scores of PM package employees under the banner of All Migrant Employees Association Kashmir (AMEAK), assembled in Jammu holding banners that read, ‘Don’t rehabilitate us at the cost of our blood’, only solution relocation anywhere outside valley’. For months, the PM package employees have been on a protest demanding relocation, and attachment, besides restoration of their fundamental rights. Expressing their strong resentment against the J&K admin for its failure to address the demand of employees for the last six months, these employees said, "The admin has completely failed to provide any of these facilities to them, even failed to provide security."

BJP spokesman Altaf Thakur expressed concern over the blog linked to The Resistance Front (TRF), an offshoot of the Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), publishing the list of 56 Kashmiri Pandit employees working under the prime minister’s rehabilitation package (PMRP). Thakur appealed the police to probe how the list was leaked and asked the administration to ensure the safety and security of the Kashmiri Pandit employees in Kashmir. He said it was surprising to see the fresh list being leaked and reaching TRF’s blog Kashmir Fight. “This is a security breach as terrorists have a clear idea who is posted where,” he said. Thakur said that government must take strong note of it and find out who has leaked the list at a time when targeted killings are taking place in the valley. A fresh list...

Under the ongoing 'My Town, My Pride' programme launched by the Jammu Kashmir administration, the Jammu Kashmir Bank (JKB) distributed 22 loan sanctions under various Government sponsored schemes in the Aishmuqam area of south Kashmir's Anantnag district. In an official communique issued to The Kashmiriyat, JKB said, On Monday, a loan was sanctioned to twenty-two (22) individuals under various Government sponsored schemes during the 'My Town, My Pride' programme in the south Kashmir area. "The sole intent of granting the sanctions is to fight the unemployment crisis in the region. JKB has always tried to cater to the needs of society and the sanction of today's loans was a step towards achieving that very motive," the press release read. Those who attended the attended other than ...

Hajin (A) DDC constituency recorded a polling percentage of 34.43 till 11 am and Drugmulla 15.7%, officials said. The State Election Commission (SEC) had declared the polls of both the District Development Council (DDC) seats as “null and void” after two women from PaK contested the elections. Spanning across 30 Panchayats, a total of 32,000 voters would decide the fate of 10 candidates contesting elections on the Drugmulla seat.