Umar Rashid

Srinagar, March 20 : Police on Wednesday arrested an under trail who escaped from custody in District court Srinagar here yesterday.

Identified as Ishfaq Ahmad Rah son of Abdul Rashid Rah, was arrested by police in Kulgam district of south Kashmir today evening. Ishfaq had escaped police custody yesterday in court premises here in Srinagar.

A police officer confirmed the arrest but declined to reveal the place of his arrest.

A police spokesman on Tuesday had said that an accused who was arrested in case FIR no 73/ 2018 of police station Qazigund escaped from the police custody while he was being produced before District Court Srinagar from Mattan jail.

He has been identified as Ishfaq Ahmad Rah son of Abdul Rashid Rah resident of Kulgam. Earlier he was involved in many other cases including case FIR No 37/2018 registered in District Kulgam, the spokesman had said. (GNS)

Srinagar, Mar 20 : At least nine persons including four Hurriyat activists were on Wednesday booked under Public Safety Act (PSA) and were shifted to Kotbalwal Jail in Jammu.

Family sources informed news agency that nine persons who were arrested during nocturnal raids from past one month have been booked under PSA today. The persons who were booked today include four Hurriyat activists Imtiyaz Haider, Tashoq Ahmad, Ghulam Muhammad Misgar and Muhammad Yousuf. They said that all the nine persons have been shifted to Kotbalwal jail in Jammu today.

Imtiyaz as per family sources was released four days and was rearrested on last Sunday following which he was today booked under PSA and shifted to Jammu jail. (KNS) 

Srinagar, Mar 20 : South Kashmir Lok Saba seat going to polls in three phases will post a major challenge for the political parties eyeing on the seat as segment involves both political and security related sensitivities.

Though National Conference and Congress have agreed in principle to enter into an alliance, the South Kashmir parliamentary seat is going to be most interesting contest in the political turf of Kashmir. 

Sources said that the congress will field Ghulam Ahmed Mir for south Kashmir and National conference candidate is Hasnain Masoodi, but what remains to be seen is how PDP chief Mehbooba Mufti would deal with the situation and in whose favour people would vote.

The NC delegation led by party president Dr Farooq Abdullah met Congress top gun Ghulam Nabi Azad, Ambika Soni and other leaders in Jammu today to discuss the pre-poll alliance, later both the parties announced pre poll alliance for some seats. “Whether to field a joint candidate for south Kashmir, Baramullah parliamentary seat or to go separately was thoroughly discussed but it was decided that both the parties would field the candidates for Anantnag and Baramullah seat,” a senior NC leader, who was part of parleys, told.

He said that there were also talks whether Congress can field Taj Mohiudin from north Kashmir as a joint NC-Congress candidate, but the decision was not taken as NC had zeroed in on former Assembly Speaker Muhammad Akbar Lone as its Parliamentary candidate for Baramulla-Kupwara seat.
As far as South Kashmir seat, the state congress has nominated Ghulam Ahmed Mir.

From the PDP side, the party chief Mehbooba Mufti would join the fray against Mir. In 2014 parliamentary polls, Mehbooba bagged the seat but after facing a tough fight from the Congress candidate Hilal Ahmed Shah, who lost with a very thin margin. Shah may get mandate for Assembly polls from Anantnag seat. In South Kashmir, considered as the bastion of PDP as most of the former legislators of the party belonged to south Kashmir districts out of its total strengthen of legislators that was 28.

However, party recently suffered a dent as majority of its prominent faces quit. Those who left include Imran Raza Ansari, Abid Ansari, Javaid Mustafa Mir, Syed Basharat Bukhari, Peer Hussain and last but not the least, Haseeb Drabu.

A senior PDP leader confirmed that the party would pitch for Mehbooba Mufti to be its candidate for south Kashmir seat. “We are sure about her win,” he said, wishing not to be named. Mehbooba has already started her public out-reach to garner peoples’ support once again. (KNS) 

SRINAGAR, MAR 20 : Former Chief Minister and President People’s Democratic Party Mehbooba Mufti on Wednesday felicitated people on the occasion of Nauroz and Holi.

In her message of felicitation, Mehbooba observed that the festivals of Nauroz and Holi have both religious as well as the cultural significance. Noting that this important day is also observed as world arbour day, she emphasized the need to plant the maximum number of trees for preserving the environment.

She stated that Jammu and Kashmir is the symbol of composite culture where people of different religions are living together, adding that  the centuries old bond needs to be strengthened further.

The PDP President also prayed for peace, development and tranquility in the state.

Jammu, Mar 20 (PTI) The Jammu and Kashmir National Panthers Party (JKNPP) will contest all the six Lok Sabha constituencies in the state, a party leader said on Wednesday.

“JKNPP will contest all the six seats in J&K. It shall declare its candidates on March 23, 24, 25 and 26 for all the six seats in Jammu, Kashmir and Ladakh,” patron of JKNPP Bhim Singh told reporters here. 

The general election in J-K will be held in seven phases between April 11 and May 19, with counting on May 23.

Singh alleged that the state was passing through its most difficult times since the 1990s and there was a massive political as well as social crisis. 

“This is only because of the mess created by the ruling clique, who have been robbing (the) state and squeezing the people of Jammu, Kashmir and Ladakh to serve their own interests,” he said. 

The situation deserves a serious attention of all nationalist forces in the country, he added. 

Singh said J-K “suffered for several decades” under the rule of the National Conference (NC) and the Congress, while the PDP-BJP alliance government too was no different and continued with the “looting and plundering” of the state.

The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) enjoyed the silent support of the NC and the Congress, he claimed. 

The JKNPP leader further said that elections to the state assembly were delayed with a clear understanding among all “partners of loot” namely, the NC, the Congress, the PDP and the BJP. 

The “grand alliance of all the four” was responsible for delaying Assembly elections, he claimed.

Srinagar, Mar 20 : Congress leader and noted social activist Altaf Ahmad Malik today strongly condemned the custodial killing of a youth Rizwan pandit and said that the heart wrenching & inhumane incident have shaken the humanity and put a big question mark on government especially on law enforcing agencies.

In a statement issued, Altaf demands time bound judicial probe into the heinous & unlawful crime and exemplary punishment for the involved.
Altaf reiterated that innocent killings custodial deaths disappearances forced youth to took on streets & widens the anger mistrust & alienation among the youth. “How the situation will back on track when such incidents occur on daily basis,” Altaf added.