Srinagar: Responding to the report by the United States on international religious freedom in which they have pointed out incidents of religious tension in India, Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) straight-away rejected the report on Sunday saying, “We are proud of our secular credentials and are committed to tolerance and inclusion,” news agency PTI reported.

Following the queries on the report, MEA Spokesperson Raveesh Kumar said, “India is proud of its secular credentials, its status as the largest democracy and pluralistic society with a longstanding commitment to tolerance and inclusion.”

He further said that the Indian Constitution guarantees fundamental rights to all its citizens, including its minority communities.

Questioning the locus standi of a foreign agency to comment on Indian citizens’ rights, it said, “We see no locus standi for a foreign entity to pronounce on the state of our citizens’ constitutionally protected rights.”

Earlier, the US State Department, in its annual 2018 International Religious Freedom Report released on Friday, said mob attacks by violent extremist Hindu groups against the minority communities, particularly Muslims, continued in India in 2018.

The report pointed out that though India’s Constitution guarantees the right to religious freedom, “this history of religious freedom has come under attack in recent years with the growth of exclusionary extremist narratives.”

Reasi, June 23 : A government school teacher was found hanging from a tree in Hariwalla area of Mahore in Reasi district of Jammu and Kashmir on Sunday.

The deceased was identified as Farooq Ahmad Dar (30) son of Abdul Gani Dar of Hariwalla, Mahore.

Official sources told that some people spotted the man hanging from a tree in a forest area of Hariwalla today morning and accordingly informed police about it.

A police party from Police Station Mahore rushed to the spot and took the body in their possession for medico-legal formalities, they said.

Farooq, who was a teacher at Government Primary School Dogian had not returned home yesterday and his body was recovered under mysterious conditions today, they said.

Station House Officer (SHO) Mahore Mohd Anzar Mir also confirmed the incident.

He said that a case under 174 CrPc has been initiated and further investigations taken up. (GNS)

Currently its raining in Kupwara, Baramulla, Sopore, Srinagar, Gulmarg, Ganderbal and at few places of south Kashmir, mainly clear in Jammu region and partly cloudy in Ladakh.

Forecast for next 12hrs is that rain will spread to whole Kashmir valley and Poonch, Rajouri, Banihal Ramban-Banihal,Doda,during next 3-4hrs.

And decrease thereafter. Overall, weather likely to remain erratic for next 2 to 3 days with no forecast of continuous heavy rain or shower.

Monsoon : Normally monsoon hit J&K in 1st week of July, this year. It is likely to be delayed by a week, as its onset over Kerala was delayed by a week. Rainfall from 1st June till now is deficit in most districts of Jammu and above normal in Kashmir and normal in Ladakh.