Army hindering AFSPA revocation: CM

BY Reader Correspondent

Chief Minister Omar Abdullah Wednesday blamed Army for hindering partial revocation of Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA) from the state.

Omar Abdullah predicts victory in 2014 polls

BY Reader Correspondent

Chief Minister Omar Abdullah Wednesday predicted an “overwhelming victory” for his government in the 2014 Assembly elections. “We will win the election next year based on our performance. Our actions will speak loudly for us,”

JCC takes cue from Patwaris, threatens indefinite strike

Protests at district hqrs today

BY Yasir Ashraf

The agitating state government employees Wednesday threatened to launch an indefinite strike if the government doesn’t resolve their demands forthwith.

HC pulls up SMC on Master Plan violations

Warns invoking Prevention of Corruption Act against field inspectors

BY Marouf Ahmad Parray

The J&K High Court on Wednesday asked Srinagar Municipal Corporation to ensure compliance of statutory provisions to prevent violation of Srinagar Master Plan even as it

Li gets warm welcome on visit to ‘iron brother’ Pakistan

Chinese Premier Li Keqiang was accorded a red carpet welcome as he arrived here Wednesday on a two-day maiden visit to “iron brother” Pakistan for talks on bilateral and regional issues

Only trained persons should teach in schools: SC

Only trained persons should be allowed to impart education in schools, the Supreme Court on Wednesday said while questioning recruitment of ad-hoc primary teachers by states

MFN status to India soon: Pak official

Stressing on regional cooperation as the best solution to the global economic slowdown, a Pakistan High Commission official Wednesday said that his country would soon

Jammu records season’s highest at 45.1 degrees

Jammu recorded season's hottest day Wednesday, with maximum temperature settling 7 notches above normal at 45.1

Srinagar

Ex-cop charge-sheeted for throwing shoe at Omar

BY Marouf Ahmad Parray

Police on Wednesday filed charge-sheet for criminal trespass against Abdul Ahad Jan, a terminated policeman, for throwing a shoe at Chief Minister Omar Abdullah during I-day function at Bakshi stadium here in 2010.

PIL ON PEPPER GAS: HC grants JK govt, Home Ministry 2 more weeks to file response

The J&K High Court Wednesday granted state government and India’s Home Ministry two more weeks to file response to Public Interest Litigations seeking ban on use of the “hazardous” pepper gas during protests in the Valley.

IFJHR condemns pellet gun use despite SHRC remarks

International Forum for Justice and Human Rights, an NGO, Wednesday threatened to move high court if police continue to use pellet gun on protesters in the Kashmir Valley.

Yasin to hold 48-hour hunger strike from tomorrow

JKLF chairman Yasin Malik will start his 48-hour hunger strike from Friday against human rights violations in Kashmir.

Police opts for new phone system

Jammu and Kashmir police have adopted a new telephony scheme to enhance police-public interface by enabling greater access to the force, right from the field level to its headquarters.

Jammu

PM likely to visit JK next month: Soz

India’s Prime Minister Manomhan Singh is likely to visit Jammu and Kashmir next month, state Congress president Saifuddin Soz said today. "I met Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in New Delhi today. Among the matters, the Prime Minister's proposed visit to Kashmir on June 25 and 26, 2013 was also discussed,"

Forest fire causes mine blasts

A forest fire across the LoC in Pakistan-administered Kashmir(PaK) spread towards the Indian side triggering mine blasts, officials said here Wednesday.

Kashmir

Soon passports with ghost image to avoid smudging

The Passport office here plans to introduce new passport booklets with ghost image or letter screen image in an attempt to overcome smudging problems. "Keeping in view the security aspects of the passport booklet, we will come up with new passport booklets which will have the benefits of ghost image or letter screen image for improvement in personalisation, security and print quality,"

'J&K to hold Plan discussion post resource meet at Centre’

Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah today said the state government will hold discussions with Planning Commission of India after the discussions of resource mobilisation at the Centre are over.

J&K’s first NRC inaugurated at Children’s Hospital

State’s first Nutrition Rehabilitation Centre (NRC) was Wednesday inaugurated at Children’s Hospital here.

Nayeem Khan released

Senior Hurriyat (M) leader and National Front chairman Nayeem Ahmad Khan was Wednesday released after nearly four-month detention.

Army brass briefs Vohra on security

Northern Army Command chief Lt Gen K T Parnaik today called on Jammu and Kashmir Governor here and briefed him about various aspects of the recent attempts of infiltration by militants from across the Line of Control (LoC).

Sports

IPL: Greed for glory and glamour!

What is the cash-rich brand Indian Premier League (IPL) all about? Cricket? Corruption? Cheating? Cheer leaders? Sex? Sleaze? Or, all of it, asks Gowhar Geelani

There was a time when I, as a cricket enthusiast, would set an alarm clock to get up early morning between 04:30 to 5:00 O’clock to watch Melbourne-Sydney-Brisbane-Perth-Adelaide Oval test matches live on the television.

1st Ever Marathon For Differently Abled Persons

Irfan helps BCC reds set up summit clash with Baramulla I

All-round Zahoor scripts Nowshera’s massive win

HSS Delina overpower HSS Baramulla in tournament opener

World

BrahMos missile successfully test fired off Goa coast

India on Wednesday successfully test fired the 290-km range BrahMos supersonic cruise missile from the Navy’s latest guided missile frigate INS Tarkash off the coast of Goa. The missile performed the high-level ‘C’ manoeuvre in the pre-determined flight path and successfully hit the target.

Swami Aseemanand, Col Purohit not named in Malegaon blasts chargesheet

PM Manmohan Singh quotes Iqbal couplet

Business

To attract wealthy tourists of Gulf, J&K holds roadshow in Saudi Arabia

BY READER CORRESPONDENT

To promote Kashmir as a tourist destination among the wealthy Muslims of oil rich Gulf countries, Tourism Department of the Jammu and Kashmir government is hosting roadshows in a number of Saudi Arabia cities. Tourism Minister Ghulam Ahmad Mir, along with MoS Sajjad Ahmad Kichloo, Director Tourism Kashmir Talat Parvez

J&K plans to set up Walnut Board

Banks provide `1600 crore in Srinagar for establishing IG units

Agri Minister calls on Vohra

GoI reduces gold import tariff

Opinion

A great pro-Kashmir intellectual

BY PG RASOOL

At his book releasing function at Nageen Club on May 15, distinguished columnist and author AG Noorani attracted the attention of some concerned sections of Kashmiri society when among other things,

Editorial

Building ‘peace’ without foundation

Building peace requires very sound political foundations. In Kashmir though ‘peace’ can exist only in the air without anything foundational having been changed. Most often, all that the establishment from Srinagar to New Delhi

Briefs

MMU cautions people against fake ‘peers’

BY Reader Correspondent

Mutahida Majlis-e-Ulema (MMU) chief Mirwaiz Umar Farooq and prominent members of the forum including chairman Molvi Rahmatullah, Advocate Zahid Ali of Jama’at-e- Islami, Abdul Rehman Bhat of Jamiat Ahi Hadees,

No job can't be an excuse for not maintaining wife, child: High Court

NC for fair distribution of relief in quake-hit areas

Oped

Enemies of the state

And how ‘law’ takes its course

BY IRFAN TRAMBOO

My children, my husband and my mother-in-law, we all were assembled in the kitchen for dinner. It was about 9.30 pm. Tahir, my elder son, was sitting beside me. “Az chei me kabaab banaev’met,” I told him.