AMU Scholar Mannan Wani joining militancy sends shock waves

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News Kashmir Desk

Aligarh Muslim University (AMU) Research scholar Mannan Wani decision to join militancy has send shock waves across length and breadth of the Kashmir valley. A photograph of Mannan Wani holding an under barrel grenade launcher was posted on Facebook with a message, claiming that he has joined the militant organisation on January 5, and the image became viral within no time on social media websites especially Facebook and Twitter.

 

On the otherhand, The family of a research scholar, Mannan Bashir Wani who joined the militant organisation  Hizbul Mujahideen, has urged him return home and made heartrending appeals in this regard.Mannan, my son, please come back. I appeal to you (reporters) to help me get my son back,” his mother said.

Mannan Wani has a rich academic background as he was pursuing PhD in Geology at Aligarh Muslim University (AMU).
Wani, who has an M Phil in Applied Geology. His father is reportedly a lecturer, while his brother works as a junior engineer in the Jammu and Kashmir government.

From the streets of Kashmir to its online world masses are expressing shock over decision of such brilliant mind to take up arms and calling on all the stakeholders to resolve Kashmir issue to end this cycle of hopelessness.

Hollow Hope

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News Kashmir Exclusive

 

 

The  lack of hope is all time high in the state of Jammu and Kashmir especially in the valley of Kashmir .Worsening situation with reference to escalating killings, very less growth in private sector , declining agriculture sector , downslide in tourism sector are defining the life of Kashmir these days and with these factors weighing heavily the youth are worst hit.

Reflecting on this lack of hope of people in Kashmir both expert voices as well as the common masses are  expressing deep anguish and calling upon all the stakeholders, leadership, authorities to engage in brainstorming sessions so as to develop effective policy that can bring back hope in the pain hit valley of Kashmir.

Young Journalist Bilal Bashir Bhat states –‘’ There is an absolute lack  of hope in our society. Recently When whole of the world was busy in  making certain resolutions on the arrival of New Year 2018, the downtrodden people of Kashmir are focusing, praying for long lasting peace and prosperity. The annual gory statistics based on annihilation, pain, tragedies, anger, suffocation and fear psychosis has become a routine which needs to be ended, dreams every Kashmir cutting across the political ideologies. With PDP BJP government taking the reins of power the hope has been dashed to large extent further as situation with every week is going from bad to worse . It was unfortunate to note that like last several years, the images emanating from Kashmir in 2017 were not of its picturesque resorts but wailing Kashmiris mourning the death of around 400 precious human lives, including those of over 200 militants. One hopes this current atmosphere of absolute hopelessness is put to end .”

Even in the year 2018 when the entire world is thinking of making new discoveries or undertaking some more leaps towards the scientific and technological advancements the Kashmir is  mourning and drenched in tears of blood .South Kashmir has emerged as synonym of pain and grief ,with relentless protests and bearing the worst brunt of atrocities perpetrated by all the sides .

The pulse on the ground zero is that there are not many lucrative opportunities for the youth to engage themselves  meaningfully “ We believe that this and all the former governments have not been able to create good number of employments opportunities and the worst impacted are we the unemployed youth of Kashmir. Uncertain , violent situation of Kashmir  and chronic unemployment is killing the hope of youth,” stated Manzoor Ahmad, a youth.

Realities are calling upon the state government to speed up the efforts to ensure hope is restored in Kashmir and smile is returned back to sad faces.

 

 

Press Club Kashmir : A Big Step

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In a big boost for the media professionals of the Kashmir valley, the Director Information & Public Relations, Mr Muneer-ul-Islam today formally handed over the possession of the 9-HB Building and the premises at Polo View, Srinagar to the office-bearers of the Press Club Kashmir.

Pertinently, the demand for press club was long pending demand of the journalists .The possession letter of the building was handed over to Mr Mohammad Saleem Pandit, President Press Club Kashmir, on the directions of the Chief Minister, Ms Mehbooba Mufti to make the maiden Aiwan-e-Sahafat in Srinagar functional at the earliest.

Pertinently, the President Press Club Kashmir alongwith the Director Information had earlier called upon the Chief Minister to finalize the modalities for transfer of the building to the Press Club Kashmir.

The Chief Minister expressed the hope that the Aiwan-e-Sahafat in Srinagar would not only come up as the first facility of its kind for the media fraternity in Srinagar but also become a hub of intellectual discourse.

She said the Government has initiated various measures for the welfare of the journalists in the State during the past three years and many more initiatives are in the pipeline.

One hopes with Press Club being set up the series of isasues faced by journalists of Kashmir will get due heed.

Government Social Media Gag on Employees Draws Flak

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News Kashmir Desk

In a move that is drawing widespread condemnation and outrage, The JK government recently has added a sub-rule in the Jammu and Kashmir Government Employees Conduct rules which states that no government employee shall engage in any criminal, dishonest, immoral or notoriously disgraceful conduct on social media which may be prejudicial to the government.

 

“They shall also not use their personal social media accounts for any political activity or endorse the posts or tweets or blogs of any political figure,” the rule states. The employees shall also not use their accounts in a manner that could reasonably be construed to imply that the government endorses or sanctions their personal activities in any manner whatsoever, it said. The order said that the employees shall also not post inflammatory, extraneous messages in an online community with the intent of provoking readers into an emotional response.

Kashmir and restrictions on social media are nothing new as internet services being snapped on several occasions to curb unrest has been a common feature . During the month of May the state government directed internet service providers to block 22 social networking platforms to clamp down on tensions spurring clashes between security forces and civilians.

Both on online and real world outrage against the order was witnessed. Shafat Farooq, a journalist wrote ”

Dear Netizens, in view of this recent government gag order for its employees, please brace up for more Angel Priya, Charming princess accounts. Remember: any Dady’s princess account could be Gafoor Bhai in real. Thanks”

Shah Faesal , the famed IAS officer in a comic tone criticized the order in comic tone on facebook articulating his feelings in critical  language  -”

“Heard that government employees will be subjected to foot whipping for operating Facebook (account). From now on I will use coded language to update,” Faesal, the first Kashmiri to top the civil services examination in 2009, wrote on his Facebook page, hours after the government issued the gag order

An employee pleading anonymity stated – ”The order of the government curbing our freedom of speech is an onslaught on democracy. It is  a bizarre 16-page order titled “Social Media Usage Policy for Government Employees” issued by the state’s general administration department on Tuesday, which invokes new ‘guidelines’ having been made into law by Governor NN Vohra, specifying how over we the more than 4.8 lakh government employees in the state must behave on social media. This is clear violation of democracy and killing freedom of speech.”

The  move to regulate Social Media activity of the government employees is drawing flak from every quarter.

Kashmir hopes better 2018

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As 2017 came to an end, people of Kashmir have pinned their hopes on a better and prosperous year 2018 especially speedy journey towards peace after witnessing much human killings in 2017 . Scores of families are still grappling to come to terms so as to deal with the havoc caused by unabated violence in Kashmir in 2017.

People of Kashmir are hoping that state and central government takes the concrete steps and takes restoration of peace process, dialogue  as priority number one.

Masses in Kashmir are also hoping that 2018 would see end to corruption prevalent in our society and system. The monster of corruption is as a matter of fact  one of the serious challenge to be faced by the new State government. Painfully enough , the power crisis in Kashmir in this harsh winter is reaching crippling proportions, with the supply-demand deficit reaching a record level. Every sector is facing problem due to frequent power cuts. The prolonged spells of load shedding has become a norm in Kashmir Valley. Ending power crisis in 2018 would be a big gift to people of Kashmir by the government.

On economic front the fiend of inflation continues to haunt a common Kashmiri, especially the rising food prices. The rise in the prices of vegetables and fruits, which shot up by two to three times in such a short time, is said to be the sharpest increase in recent nostalgia in the Valley of Kashmir.

Overall the hopes of having better 2018 are high.

J&k Govt Regulates Social Media activities of employees

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News Kashmir Desk

In an order generating outrage , The JK government has added a sub-rule in the Jammu and Kashmir Government Employees Conduct rules which states that no government employee shall engage in any criminal, dishonest, immoral or notoriously disgraceful conduct on social media which may be prejudicial to the government.

“They shall also not use their personal social media accounts for any political activity or endorse the posts or tweets or blogs of any political figure,” the rule states.

 

The employees shall also not use their accounts in a manner that could reasonably be construed to imply that the government endorses or sanctions their personal activities in any manner whatsoever, it said.

 

The order said that the employees shall also not post inflammatory, extraneous messages in an online community with the intent of provoking readers into an emotional response.

Within no time Netizens in Kashmir have criticized the order as being draconian.

 

 

2017 Year Global Memories

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As the year 2017 ends we are left with both sweet and painful memories. 2017 has been a long year. From incessant breaking news alerts to the collapse of the global terror outfit ISIS in terms of the area they hold  to a string of natural, manmade  disasters marked the year 2017.

The brutal campaign carried out against the Rohingyas in Burma by Burmese army hogged the limelight of global media. Following violence that broke out last year, more than 87,000Rohingya fled to Bangladesh from October 2016 to July 2017, according to the International Organization for Migration. At least 6,700 Rohingya were killed by Myanmar security forces in one month following a government-led crackdown in the country’s Rakhine state in late August, according to Doctors Without Borders (MSF).

Iran was struck by powerful earthquake in Mid November . At least 452 people were killed and thousands injured after a powerful earthquake struck near the border of Iran and Iraq .

The most heated news event of the year 2017 took place in month of December when defying the global outrage USA President Donald Trump recognised Jerusalem as the capital of Israel. The angry reactions to move are still pouring from many parts of the world. The deadly and damaging Syrian Civil war tilted towards Bashar al Assad regime in year 2017 with Russian airpower propelling him to many victories.

2017 year in India saw the ruling BJP propelling to many electoral victories in the State Elections. On 9 June – India became full member of Shanghai Cooperation Organisation. 20 July – Ram Nath Kovind won the 2017 Indian presidential election with 65.65% votes against Meira Kumar, the presidential candidate of the opposition. The year 2017 was a mix bag .

Flashback 2017

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News Kashmir Analysis

2017 remained another high-voltage year of happenings and sad developments that defined the buzz on street in Kashmir .We analyze the top five developments that impacted Kashmir in year 2017.

NIA raids against separatists and others

In June this year, NIA had carried out searches at 14 places in Kashmir and eight places in the national capital in connection with terror funding. Around eight hawala dealers and traders in the national capital were also raided. The raids and arrests related to it continued for several months.

 

Six Hurriyat members were arrested from Srinagar and one was nabbed from Delhi. Among those arrested, six of them including Hurriyat leader Syed Ali Shah Geelani’s son-in-law Altaf Ahmed Shah (also known as Altaf Fantoosh), Geelani’s close aides Nayeem Khan, Merazuddin Kalwal and Pir Saifulla, Tehreek-e-Hurriyat spokesman Ayaz Akbar, and Mirwaiz Umer Farooq’s close aide and spokesperson Shahid-ul-Islam were arrested in Srinagar. Farooq Ahmed Dar alias ‘Bitta Karate’ was arrested in Delhi.

At the yearend many leaders, businessmen continued to remain in Jail in what NIA termed its effort to curb terror and violence in Kashmir.

Braid chopping

Braid chopping was yet another burning issue faced by Kashmir in year 2017 and it remained intense in months of September and October.”Braid-chopping” attacks  had resulted in protests across the region.

At least 200 women in Kashmir had reported being attacked by masked men resorting to braid chopping.

The women had claimed that the attackers sprayed chemicals on their faces and left them unconscious. Upon waking up, they found their hair had been chopped off.

Review Of Article 35A, Key to J&K’s Special Status

The politics over the article 35 a which grants special status to the Jammu and Kashmir state was another dominating development defining debates on Kashmir. A case over whether Jammu and Kashmir can keep its right to decide who qualifies as a permanent resident of the state has  been taken for hearing by the Supreme Court  and would be taken again in January-end next year.

Intrestingly during last hearing The  Central government had cited the recent appointment of Dineshwar Sharma as its interlocutor for Jammu and Kashmir, saying the top court’s hearings in the politically volatile and emotive one could have some impact on the government’s initiative. The case is being heard by three judges including Chief Justice Dipak Mishra.

Operation  against militants

 

‘Operation All-Out’, an offensive launched by the security forces against militants in year 2017 that killed more than 210 militants  and security forces stated that it would continue till there was complete peace in the state.”The people of Kashmir will feel peace very soon,”. the top cops have maintained .

During these encounters scores of civilians also lost their lives in firing by security forces on protesters.

Kashmir Press Club office bearers call on FM

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SRINAGAR, DECEMBER 23: The office bearers of Kashmir Press Club called on the Minister for Finance, Labour & Employment, Dr Haseeb Drabu here today to discuss the issues confronting the media fraternity in the Valley.
The Press Club delegation was led by its President M Saleem Pandit. It also included Vice-President Shuja-ul-Haq and Secretary Administration Asif Qureshi.
The officer bearers of the Press Club Kashmir demanded immediate handing over of the 9-HB building at Polo View Srinagar to the PCK so that it is made functional as maiden Aiwan-e-Sahafat in the summer capital.
They also demanded speedy operationalization of the J&K Journalists’ Welfare Scheme, for which the Government has already earmarked a corpus fund of Rs 2 crore.
The Finance Minister assured the Press Club office bearers to support the journalistic fraternity in their endeavour and get the needful done regarding handing over of the identified building at Polo View and its refurbishing for setting up the Aiwan-e-Sahafat Srinagar.
Dr Drabu also agreed to consider the demand of the working journalists for extending national pension scheme and health insurance cover to the accredited journalists of J&K.

Drug threat

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Drug  menace is among  the top burning  problem confronted by humanity in the present  era of progress and technology . This vice does only leads to social, medical and psychological problems, but also have an adverse effect on the world economy. Despite concerted efforts by the world  community to prevent misuse of drugs and its illegal trafficking, it continues to flourish in several parts of the globe.

Worryingly enough, Production of drugs and its trade has so far shown no signs of decline. Instead, the trade in illegal drugs has now become a multi-billion dollar global business. According to the UN estimates, more than 50 million people across the globe are regular users of heroin, cocaine and synthetic drugs like Ecstasy. The UN report claims that millions of others are directly or indirectly involved in its production, trafficking or sale.

As a matter of great pain and shame  Thousands of  people especially youngsters n Kashmir are suffering from drug addiction. NGOs working on the subject and experts fear that if government authorities do not address the problem soon, it may assume disastrous proportions.

It is a known fact  Depression, drug addiction and suicide are all interconnected in Kashmir. The easy availability of prescription drugs for depression is a quick route to addiction, and also a potential method of overdosing. It’s not surprising, then, that alongside the drug addiction rate; the suicide rate in Kashmir is climbing.

The recent vision and tough steps  shown by the Government to curb  this menace is well come step but more needs to be done.

All  the worrying realities call for all the concerned stakeholders that we as a society need to put an end to this menace and crack down on poppy cultivators and drug traffickers everywhere.