Day: July 20, 2021

Srinagar, July 20, 2021 (PPI-OT):In Indian illegally occupied Jammu and Kashmir, the heavy rainfall during night hours triggered flash-floods and caused water-logging in several areas of south Kashmir’s Islamabad district.

At Srigufwara-Sirhama in Bijbehara, a cloud burst resulted into overflowing of streams and Dadi canal causing flash-floods. “The water entered many residential houses in Nowshera village and damaged standing crops and orchards,” locals said.

A 3-year-old girl drowned in a fast flowing stream at Amad village near Aishmuqam area. She was identified as Toiba Jan daughter of Nazir Ahmad Mir. “The family immediately retrieved her from the stream and shifted her to a nearby hospital where doctors declared her brought dead,” an official said.

The rainfall also inundated several areas in Islamabad town and the villages around. The water level in one of the canals in the peripheries of the town overran and inundated the Pehroo area. “The water entered several houses causing inconvenience to the people,” locals said. They said the entire area is water-logged and people including elderly are stuck at their homes.

“We fear for our lives and property if it rains again as has been predicted by the MET department,” said Muhammad Ashraf, a local.

The rainfall caused water-logging in several localities in Islamabad town including Azadpora, SK Colony, Sarnal, New Qazibagh and Laizbal. The water-logging was caused partly by the poor drainage system and mainly because of encroachment of water bodies.

“Three years back the authorities dug up the entire town for sewage, seepage, and drainage purposes. We don’t know what happened to that project,” Mushtaq Ahmad, a local said. He said the Sewage Treatment Plant (STP) and drainage was non-functional.

Another local, Aadil Ahmad, blamed the encroachment on water bodies – irrigation canals, flood channels, and rivulets as the reason for inundation of town.

“The water bodies, like Ladi-Laizbal irrigation canal, Aaripat, Nagbal spring outlets and other small streams have been choked by the commercial structures, houses, toilets,” he said.

Ahmad blamed the municipal authorities and flood and irrigation department for allowing these structures to come up. “I have been crying hoarse for past so many years over encroachments on water bodies but since it fulfills the interests of the concerned departments, they are unmoved,” he said.

An official report had earlier attributed the damage caused in the town to the property by the 2014 deluge mainly to the choking of these water bodies.

Meanwhile, rains have increased the water level in several major Nallas of South Kashmir including Lidder, Vaishaw, Sandran, Rambiara, Tongri Nalla, Aripal Nalla, Aaripat, Brengi, and Veth Vathastu which are tributaries of Jhelum river. “The Jhelum river originating from Verinag is also swelling up at Khanabal, Bijbehara, Sangam, Awantipora and Pampore. However, there is no immediate threat of floods,” an official said.

For more information, contact:
Kashmir Media Service
Phone: +92-51-4435548, +92-51-4435549
Fax: +92-51-4861736
Email: info@kmsnews.org
Website: www.kmsnews.org

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New Delhi, July 20, 2021 (PPI-OT):Congress leaders Mallikarjun Kharge, Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury and Randeep Singh Surjewala held the Narendra Modi government guilty of “treason”, claiming that the “Centre’s spyware has dismantled national security”, after it emerged former party President Rahul Gandhi, among others, was one of the potential targets of snooping using the Pegasus spyware developed by Israel’s NSO Group.

At least two mobile phone accounts used by Rahul Gandhi were among the 300 verified Indian numbers listed as potential targets by an official Indian client of the Israeli surveillance technology vendor, NSO Group, The Wire reported.

“Shouldn’t Home Minister Amit Shah, in-charge of the country’s internal security, be sacked forthwith? Does this not warrant a full investigation into the role of the Prime Minister, the Home Minister and others involved,” the Congress leaders asked in a press conference.

The Congress said that it’s “shocking and sensational” that news reports disclosing illegal and unconstitutional hacking of cellphones of Constitutional functionaries, Union Cabinet ministers, present and former heads of security forces, senior leaders of the opposition, journalists, lawyers and activists reflect treasonous and inexcusable dismantling of national security by the BJP government.

“‘Rule of law’, ‘fundamental right to privacy’ and ‘Constitutional duties’ have been murdered in broad day light by the Modi government,” the Congress leaders said.

They further said that it is an ‘unpardonable sin’ that snooping and hacking of cellphones through Pegasus has given someone illegal access to the entire conversations, passwords, contact lists, text messages and live voice calls of India’s security apparatus, Union ministers, opposition leaders, Supreme Court judges and others.

“This is clearly treason and total abdication of national security by the Modi government, more so when a foreign company could possibly have access to this data.

“And the person responsible for this is no one less than the Home Minister of India, Amit Shah. Of course, it could not be done without the consent and concurrence of the Prime Minister, Narendra Modi. This is an unforgivable sacrilege and negation of Constitutional oath by the Home Minister and the Prime Minister,” the Congress leaders said in a statement.

For more information, contact:
Kashmir Media Service
Phone: +92-51-4435548, +92-51-4435549
Fax: +92-51-4861736
Email: info@kmsnews.org
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New Delhi, July 20, 2021 (PPI-OT):Two journalists from Jammu and Kashmir and Meghalaya have moved the Supreme Court to challenge the constitutional validity of the sedition law.

The two journalists are Patricia Mukhim a Meghalaya-based columnist and the editor of the Shillong Times, the other one is Anuradha Bhasin who is the editor of the Kashmir Times.

Earlier today, Leichombam Erendro, a Manipur-based activist arrested in May on sedition charges – for writing “cow dung and cow urine don’t work” on Facebook – was released from jail after a Supreme Court notice that said his “detention (is a) violation of right to life and personal liberty”.

According to South Asian Wire, Journalist Kishorechandra Wangkhem, who was arrested at the same time as Erendro and on the same charges, remains in jail.

In their petition, Mukhim and Bhasin say the “use of sedition to intimidate, silence and punish journalists has continued unrestrained…”

The objective of maintaining “public order” can be achieved by less restrictive means, they have argued, adding, as many others have done before them, that the sedition charge casts a “chilling effect on the exercise of the right to free speech and expression”.

The petition further states that words like ‘hatred’, ‘disaffection’ and ‘disloyalty’ that characterise use of the sedition charge are “incapable of precise construction, and are hit by the doctrine of vagueness and overbreadth, thereby falling foul of Article 14 of the Constitution”.

Article 14 guarantees all persons equality before the law.

The petition also refers to national crime records data to underline what the Supreme Court said about the sedition law last week – that it has an abysmally low conviction rate.

NCRB data, the journalists said in their petition, shows a steep increase in sedition cases from 2016 to 2019 – roughly 160 per cent. The conviction rate in 2019, however, was less than 3.5 per cent.

Last week the Supreme Court, in a significant observation, called the British-era sedition law “colonial” and asked the government if it was still needed 75 years after Independence.

For more information, contact:
Kashmir Media Service
Phone: +92-51-4435548, +92-51-4435549
Fax: +92-51-4861736
Email: info@kmsnews.org
Website: www.kmsnews.org

The post Kashmir Times editor challenges “colonial” sedition law in Supreme Court appeared first on Official News Pakistan.

Srinagar, July 20, 2021 (PPI-OT):In Indian illegally occupied Jammu and Kashmir, pro-India National Conference (NC) has claimed that Kashmir has been pushed to an economic and democratic disconnect with the rest of India.

NC General Secretary Ali Muhammad Sagar made these comments while welcoming Ashok Kumar Bharti, the vice chairman of Shopian Municipal Committee, into the party fold. Ashok, who was affiliated with the BJP, joined the NC along with scores of his supporters. Among others who joined the NC are Shushma Bali, Chander Kumar Bali, Rajinder Koul and Manoj Koul.

As per an NC statement, Sagar said, Kashmir has been pushed to economic and democratic disconnect with the rest of India and that discomfiture has equally been felt by Kashmiri Pandit community.

Addressing the event, NC provincial president Nasir Aslam Wani said Kashmiri Pandits are part of the pluralistic culture of Kashmir.

Meanwhile, NC president Farooq Abdullah called for expediting the pace of the party’s membership drive and asked all provincial, zonal and district functionaries to lend all support to strengthen the organization at all levels.

In order to stand up for the people of Jammu, Kashmir and Ladakh, it is important for the party functionaries to work for strengthening the organization, Farooq Abdullah said.

He asked the party functionaries to prepare for organizational polls to be held after the conclusion of the membership drive.

For more information, contact:
Kashmir Media Service
Phone: +92-51-4435548, +92-51-4435549
Fax: +92-51-4861736
Email: info@kmsnews.org
Website: www.kmsnews.org

The post NC claims IIOJK pushed to economic, democratic disconnect from rest of India appeared first on Official News Pakistan.

Srinagar, July 20, 2021 (PPI-OT):In Indian illegally occupied Jammu and Kashmir, the High Court has quashed the detention order against a Shopian resident, who was booked under draconian law, Public Safety Act (PSA), in 2019.

A bench of Justice Ali Muhammad Magrey while quashing the detention order against Shaheen Ahmed Parray of Shangpora Zainpora area of Shopian directed the authorities concerned to release him forthwith.

In his habeas corpus plea challenging the detention order, Parray through his counsel Syed Sajad Geelani pleaded that he was detained under the PSA issued by the District Magistrate, Shopian, on 10 August 2019 and lodged in Central Jail, Srinagar, when he was already in custody.

For more information, contact:
Kashmir Media Service
Phone: +92-51-4435548, +92-51-4435549
Fax: +92-51-4861736
Email: info@kmsnews.org
Website: www.kmsnews.org

The post IOJK HC quashes PSA detention of Shopian resident appeared first on Official News Pakistan.

Islamabad, July 20, 2021 (PPI-OT): State Minister for Information and Broadcasting Farrukh Habib says Pakistan Tahreek-e-Insaf government has never compromised the country’s sovereignty nor it would do so in future. He was speaking at a press conference at circuit house in Faisalabad today [Tuesday]. He said that Prime Minister Imran Khan made it clear at every forum that Pakistan would not let it’s land to be used for the protection of foreign interests.

Highlighting the recent issue of using Israeli spyware to record smartphone data of Prime Minister Imran Khan, he said that the government is waiting for the details of the hacked material. He said that after the details Pakistan will raise the issue at appropriate international forum. To a question about kidnapping of Afghan Ambassador’ daughter, Farrukh Habib replied that the matter is under investigation and police is using all resources with the help of law enforcement agencies to probe the matter into depth.

For more information, contact:
Ministry of Information and Broadcasting
Government of Pakistan
4th Floor, Cabinet Block, Pak. Secretariat, Islamabad, Pakistan
Tel: +92-51-9103557
Email: info@moib.gov.pk
Website: http://www.moib.gov.pk

The post PTI never compromises on country’s sovereignty: Farrukh appeared first on Official News Pakistan.

Islamabad, July 20, 2021 (PPI-OT):Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on Poverty Alleviation Dr. Sania Nishtar says we are on the way to support ten million poorest women in Pakistan under Ehsaas Kafaalat cash transfer and Ehsaas One Women One Bank Account programs. She stated this while highlighting Pakistan’s role in bolstering girls’ education at Shanghai Cooperation Organization’s (SCO) Forum on, ‘Women’s Education and Poverty Reduction’ held in Beijing. Dr. Sania said that Ehsaas also ensures that all beneficiaries of conditional cash transfer schemes receive higher stipends for girls. She said Ehsaas also has a new policy to incentivize girls’ education, which is evidenced in a recent decision to grant a higher stipend for girls in our education conditional cash transfer program.

For more information, contact:
Ministry of Information and Broadcasting
Government of Pakistan
4th Floor, Cabinet Block, Pak. Secretariat, Islamabad, Pakistan
Tel: +92-51-9103557
Email: info@moib.gov.pk
Website: http://www.moib.gov.pk

The post Ehsaas launching new policy to incentivize girls’ education: Dr. Sania appeared first on Official News Pakistan.