Peer Zubair

Srinagar, Jan 23 (GNS): Two hunters have gone missing as snow avalanche swept them along in Lolab forests of north Kashmir’s Kupwara district on Wednesday.

Reports reaching GNS said that three persons left home today morning for hunting in nearby Rang Warnow forest area. One of them returned by evening and informed the police and administration that there was a snow avalanche in the were two other persons had gone for hunting. He said there was a possibility that both of them might be swept away by the avalanche as he could not found the duo.

Following the information, local police and army have launched a rescue operation to trace the duo, they said.

The missing have been identified as Bashir Ahmad Hajam son of Mohd Younis and Mamdin Hajam son Najamdin of Ring Warnow.

“As per the information received, there was a snow avalanche in the area. Police and army have jointly launched a rescue operation to trace the missing duo,” Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP), Kupwara Ambarkar Shriram Dinkar told GNS. (GNS)

KD NEWS SERVICE

SRINAGAR, Jan 23: Authorities in passport office in Srinagar on Wednesday appealed people to reschedule their appointments due to the non-availability of communication links for the office here.

Quoting an official statement KNS said that the heavy snowfall, landslides and avalanche have resulted in multiple fiber cuts across Jammu-Srinagar highway, resulting in non availability of communication links for Passport Office Srinagar.

“Applicants are requested to reschedule appointments accordingly till restoration of communication links,” the statement added.

Sources said that since the fiber cable service is maintained by the Tata Consultancy, the men and machinery of the company are at job on war footing basis. “It is reportedly believed that the fiber has suffered huge damages at around Battote on Srinagar-Jammu National Highway due to recent massive snowfall in the area,” sources said.

A top officer in the department said that the Passport Office was expecting that the services provided through fiber cables will be restored by evening today but it seems the company is still not able to detect the exact area where the fiber has got damaged.

“This is why the passport office has appealed for rescheduling of the appointments in order to avoid inconvenience to the general public,” he added.  

KD NEWS SERVICE

SRINAGAR, Jan 23: Traffic Police city Srinagar on Wednesday issued a traffic advisory ahead of January 26.

A statement issued here reads that “due to security reasons, the traffic movement from Sonawar upto Ram Munshi Bagh Road stretch including Dalgate-Ram Munshi Bagh, Radio Kashmir-Ram Munshi Bagh & Gupkar-Ram Munshi Bagh will remain suspended on 24th and 26th of January-2019 from early morning hours upto 1400 hours.”

“The motorists intending to travel from South Kashmir-Pantha Chowk towards City Centre shall adopt Bypass road stretch and vice versa. Similarly the motorists intending to travel South Kashmir from City Centre and Down Town areas shall adopt Batamaloo-Tengpora-Bypass or Rambagh-Natipora road stretch to reach Pantha Chowk,” the statement said, adding that any inconvenience caused is highly regretted.

AG Naseem joins PDP

KD NEWS SERVICE

SRINAGAR, Jan 23: Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) on Wednesday welcomed senior Congress leader and former MLA Khansahib (Budgam), Abdul Gani Naseem into the party fold with party leadership terming his entry a positive step towards strengthening the PDP further.

According to the party spokesman, Naseem on Wednesday formally joined the PDP at the party head office here in presence of PDP General Secretary Ghulam Nabi Lone Hanjura, MLC and Srinagar district President Mohammad Khurshid Alam, senior PDP leader and former Minister Mohammad Ashraf Mir, Provincial President Youth Nazir Ahmad Yatoo and several others.

Welcoming Naseem into the party fold, the spokesman quoted Hanjura as having said that his entry will pave a new way for party’s overall growth and he expressed hope that the veteran politician will continue to work for the upliftment of the downtrodden sections of the society as he used to in the past.

Stressing for greater coordination between the party functionaries and workers, Hanjura said that PDP is once again going to register a remarkable victory in the coming polls and that the party will play a decisive role in state’s overall growth in future.

According to the spokesman, Hanjura said that in the entire political spectrum of Jammu and Kashmir, there could never be an alternative to the PDP, as the party alone has been pitching for the resolution of Kashmir issue as well as the good governance for the people who have been bearing the brunt of the decades-old conflict.

“The party president Mehbooba Mufti has been on every podium and on every pedestal demanding resolution of Kashmir issue, an end to bloodshed and mayhem and according to a peaceful and dignified life to the strife-torn masses of the state. Her courage, will and determination act as an inspiration for the party to continue its struggle for state’s permanent prosperity,” the spokesman quoted Hanjura in a statement as having said.

The spokesman said that the PDP General Secretary also expressed serious concern over the present tumultuous situation in Kashmir and how governor administration instead of pacifying the situation is turning it more sultry and worrisome.

He demanded an immediate end to unprecedented arrests, torture and harassment that has become rampant in Kashmir at present, cautioning that if immediate measures aren’t taken, PDP will hit the streets against such state of lawlessness in which Kashmir has been plunged.

January 23: Police in a statement said that it is further informed that the killed militantts have been identified as 1-Suhaib Farooq Akhoon S/O Farooq Ahmad Akhoon R/O Khanpora Baramulla

2-Mohsin Mushtaq Bhat S/O Mushtaq Ahmad Bhat R/O Qazi Hamam Baramulla

3-Nasir Ahmad Darzi S/O Mohd Amin Darzi R/O Sangrampora Batpora Sopore A/P Jamia Qadeem Baramulla.

As per the police records all the three killed militants were affiliated with proscribed terror outfit LeT and were wanted by the law for their complicity in a series of terror crimes including attack on security establishments and civilian atrocities.

All the three killed militants according to the police records were active in Baramulla and Sopore areas and had a long history of terror crime records for which several terror cases were registered against them.

They were involved in a gruesome killing of three young boys in Baramulla in April 2018 namely Haseeb Nabi Khan S/O Gh. Nabi Khan R/O Kakarhamam, Irfan Ahmad Sheikh S/O Ali Mohd Sheikh R/O Syed Karim, Mohd Asgar Sheikh S/O Mushtaq Ahmad Sheikh R/O Kakarhamam Baramulla for which case FIR No: 74 of 2018 under section 302 RPC, 7/27 Arms Act is under investigation at Police Station Baramulla.

In the aforementioned case, one militant Ajaz Ahmad Gojri S/O Ab. Rehman Gojri R/O Jamia Mohalla Baramulla who was part of the group involved in the killing of above mentioned three youths has been arrested earlier.

Moreover they were also involved in conspiring and executing several terror attacks on security establishments in the area including grenade attacks on Police Station Baramulla on 2/12/2017 and 2/01/2018 respectively.

It is to mention that they were provided with ample opportunity to surrender however they fired on the security forces from their hideout leading to the exchange of fire in which all the three terrorists got killed.

Pertinently due to the efforts of security forces it was a clean operation and no collateral damage took place during the encounter.

Arms & ammunition including 3 AK 47 rifles were recovered from the site of encounter. All these materials have been taken in case records for further investigation and probe their complicity in other terror cases.

Citizens are once again requested not to venture inside the encounter zone since such an area can prove dangerous due to stray explosive materials. People are requested to cooperate with police till the area is completely sanitized and cleared of all the explosive materials if any.