KASHMIR READER HEADLINES India’s WC 2015 team: Kashmir’s Parvez Rasool ignored Rafiq A Wani SRINAGAR: There was no room for Jammu and Kashmir cricket team’s skipper Parvez Rasool as the Indian selectors Tuesday named the 15-member squad for the ICC World Cup in Australia and New Zealand starting in February. Parvez’s name was included in the initial list of 30 probables for the mega tournament in all-rounder category along with Ravinder Jadeja, Stuart Binny and Axar Patel. But the selectors put their faith in tried and tested players, hence Parvez couldn’t make the cut in the final list. Talking to Kashmir Reader, legendry left arm spinner and former head coach of J&K team, Bishen Singh Bedi said, “Parvez has to work hard, has to score big, and has also to perform better with the ball.” “Though Parvez failed to make to the final 15, time is with him and there is lot of cricket ahead of him,” Singh said. Treasurer, Jammu and Kashmir Cricket Association, Ghulam Mohammad Bhat said, “There was a tough competition for all-rounder category and Parvez could have performed better in the recently concluded shorter format performance in order to impress selectors.” Continued 2. Border shelling: 10,000 abandon homes in Kathua, Samba Jammu: India on Tuesday accused Pakistani troops of firing mortar shells and gunshots at over 60 villages and scores of forward posts in Kathua and Samba districts in Jammu region. Nearly 10,000 people have fled from the border areas with 7,500 taking shelter in camps set up by the government in safer areas in Kathua and Samba districts since the latest round of alleged ceasefire violations by Pakistan started on New Year Eve, officials said. The latest round of clashes between the two sides has left four BSF troopers and a woman dead on the Indian side while two Pakistani rangers and two civilians were killed in the retaliatory firing. As many as 50 villages and many border posts were targeted in Kathua up to 2300 hours on Monday and the shelling resumed around 0400 hours Tuesday, Deputy Commissioner Kathua Shahid Iqbal Choudhary said, adding it was so intense that mortar shells landed about four km inside the Indian territory. Continued 3. TRAI waives off 2 days of call termination charges in JK New Delhi: Telecom regulator TRAI on Tuesday directed telecom operators to waive-off all termination charges levied on making local and national calls by people in Jammu and Kashmir on September 10 and 11 when the state was hit by disastrous flood. Telecom operators at the time of flood fury in the state offered free local and national call to all their subscribers. The termination charge is levied by a telecom operator on to the other for completing calls made to a subscriber on its network. The regulator directed “all the telecom service providers to waive off the termination charge, payable by one service provider to another service provider, for the call made by their subscribers in the state of Jammu and Kashmir, on the 10th and 11th September 2014, for which no amount is payable by subscribers to their access providers”. The direction is for all telecom operators as well as national long distance service providers whose infrastructure is used for transmitting STD or national calls. Continued Pak refugees to be recruited in paramilitary forces New Delhi: Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh has approved certain concessions for the West Pakistan Refugees (WPRs) settled in Jammu and Kashmir after considering the problems being faced by them. He has directed the heads of all Central Armed Police Forces (CAPFs) that such WPRs from J&K, who are Indian citizens and have valid Voter IDs, be considered for recruitment in the forces, including the special recruitment drives conducted in the state. As of now, WPRs face difficulty to fulfil documentary evidence of residency in support of their applications as the CAPFs recruitment rules seek furnishing of Domicile Certificate (DC) from the candidates while the state government issues only voter ID with Non-Permanent Residency (NPR) status to such Indian nationals. The Union Home Minister has also written to the Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar that similar concessions, like waiving off the condition of producing DC and other identity certificate, may be permitted in the recruitment Continued 6. Valley witnesses spike in suicide, attempt to suicide cases in 2014 Wasim Khalid Srinagar: In 2010, Akbar Ahmad (name changed) invested all his lower middle-class family’s fortune, about Rs 35 lakh, into buying Pashmina shawls. When Akbar realised that a non-local swindler masquerading as a merchant had robbed him of the entire stock, he slipped into depression and tried to take his own life five times over the next two years. “I had raised the money through loan and by selling a small patch of land. I found no solution to the debts and desperately needed an escape. I popped up handful of sleeping pills but was saved by my family, especially my wife who stood like a rock in those difficult times,” he said. After four years of psychiatric treatment, both medicines and counselling, Akbar feels he is finally out of depression. “The demons return when I begin to think how I will restart business,” he said. Like Akbar, the police said, 97 people attempted suicide from January 1, 2014 to January 1, 2015, most of them women. The police are yet to count the total number of the people who died by suicide during this period, although 11 troopers have taken their own lives. Continued 7. Do-or-die situation if fascist forces take over JK,’ says Geelani Srinagar: In an apparent reference to BJP, Chairman Hurriyat Conference (G) Syed Ali Geelani Tuesday said Kashmiris will be faced with a do-or-die situation if “fascist forces take over Jammu and Kashmir.” He was chairing a meeting of the amalgam’s advisory council to discuss the “latest political developments in the state,” according to a statement. “The meeting was attended by representatives of all Hurriyat constituents and held a detailed discussion over the latest political developments,” the statement said. In his presidential address, Geelani termed the “situation as alarming and cautioned that communal forces of India are planning a major offensive against the freedom struggle and the Muslim identity of the Kashmiri nation.” “For this purpose the national traitors from the tribe of Mir Jaffar and Mir Sadiq are in queue to cooperate with them,” he said. Geelani called for keeping a “close watch over the situation,” warning that “if the state is handed over to fascist forces, our nation will be faced with a do-or- die scenario.” Continued 8. NDRF saved over 50,000 lives during Kashmir floods Mumbai: The National Disaster Relief Force (NDRF) Tuesday said its personnel saved over 50,000 lives during Kashmir floods last year and helped prevent an epidemic in the region. Due to excessive rains, the four main tributaries of river Jhelum overflowed. I was camping there for 15 days. We could see from aerial survey that Jhelum and Dal Lake looked alike. There was no difference between the river and the lake. Such was the scenario, NDRF chief O P Singh said while addressing a symposium on disaster management at the 102nd Indian Science Congress held here. Jammu and Kashmir had witnessed the worst deluge of the century last year in September which claimed 283 lives, as per official figures, and caused damage to property worth Rs 44,000 crore in the Valley. Our priorities were to rescue people, to coordinate with Army in rescue operations. We were getting distress calls and we recorded almost 18,000 calls. We also got SMSes and emails, he said. Continued 9. PDP attacks Omar for AFSPA criticism Srinagar : PDP Tuesday lashed out at outgoing Chief Minister Omar Abdullah for his criticism of BJP on the issue of AFSPA, saying the NC leader was trying to subvert efforts of the party in carrying forward its peace and reconciliation initiatives in the state. After having failed to provide any relief to the people in his six years of near-chaotic rule, Omar is now trying to subvert any chances of movement in taking forward the peace and reconciliation initiatives that were started in 2003 and frozen under the NC-led coalitions tenure, PDP Chief Spokesperson Naeem Akhtar said in a statement. Omar in a tweet from London said When I raised AFSPA, I was accused of playing politics with national security. The BJP negotiates government formation with the PDP using AFSPA and that is okay? The PDP spokesperson said despite having full support of the Centre and his alliance partner Congress, Omar could not achieve anything for the people of Jammu and Kashmir. Continued 10. HC upholds criteria for appointing Principal SKIMS Bemina Marouf Ahmad Parray Srinagar: The J&K High Court has dismissed a petition challenging divergence in qualification and age limit criteria for the post of Principal Medical College Bemina among its faculty and that of SK Institute of Medical Science Soura. According to the petitioner, Dr Reyaz Ahmad Untoo, the order issued by Director SKIMS was discriminatory as it prescribes as upper age limit for the post of Principal as 58 years regarding the faculty of SKIMS Medical College and Hospital Bemina Srinagar as against 60 years in respect of faculty of SKIMS Soura. “The faculty of SKIMS Medical College has been discriminated as regards the age limit as against the faculty of SKIMS Soura,” said Dr Untoo, Professor and HoD SKIMS Bemina. The essential qualification and experience prescribed for the post of Principal, he said, was much higher than the one prescribed for filling up the post of Director SKIMS and as such urged the court to quash the order (no.118-SKIMS of 2012) issued on November 6, 2012. Dr Untoo had also sought directions to the government to follow government order (no-08-SKIMS of 2005) issued January 29, 2005 for filling up the post of Principal SKIMS Medical College and Hospital Bemina Srinagar. Continued 11. Infiltration bids may increase ahead of Jan 26: BSF ‘Pak trying to divert attention from Peshawar massacre’ Jammu : Infiltration bids by militants from across the border are expected to increase with the Republic Day around the corner, BSF Tuesday said. We have some inputs about the presence of large number of militants across the border waiting to infiltrate, Director General of BSF, D K Pathak, said. We have a good proof of that. We feel that it could be one of the reasons of the provocation. We are on alert and doing the needful, he said. On involvement of Jamaat-ud-Dawah chief Hafiz Saeed in border activities, he said, Hafiz Saeed could be a factor. But definitely they are present and trying to infiltrate. Since December 31st, we have foiled three to four infiltration attempts, Pathak told reporters after offering floral tributes to martyr Jawan Devinder Singh at a wreath laying function. Asked about the reascon behind firing from across the border, the BSF DG said, It could have multiple reasons. Continued For more visit kashmirreader
Posted on: Tue, 06 Jan 2015 17:01:42 +0000
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