Ramzan ceasefire ends: what it means for talks with separatists in Kashmir

The Centre's decision to call off unilateral ceasefire in Kashmir may have also brought down curtains on dialogue offer to the separatists

The Centre’s decision to call off unilateral ceasefire in Kashmir may have also brought down curtains on dialogue offer to the separatists who had sought clarity over the proposal before committing to any kind of engagement with New Delhi.

During his visit to the summer capital of Srinagar on June 7, Union home minister Rajnath Singh had dropped enough hints about extending the halt in anti-militancy operations beyond Ramzan, raising hopes within the state government of a possible breakthrough for talks with separatists.

In fact, the chief minister Mehbooba Mufti had twice made a passionate appeal to Hurriyat to take the talks offer saying “such opportunity doesn’t come time and again”.

But a sudden surge in militancy-related incidents during the last two weeks of Ramzan seems to have forced government of India to reconsider continuation of the ceasefire, thus putting a “premature end to any chances of dialogue at least in immediate future”.

‘Can’t speak to walls’

The J&K government spokesperson Naeem Akhtar didn’t mince words to state that the dialogue initiative was as good as over. “When there are no takers you don’t speak to the walls. They (separatists) are not ready to talk. What can one say? Either they are not masters of their politics or they are not interested in contributing towards peace in the region,” he said.

The chief spokesperson of ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Muhammad Rafi Mir explained further. He said the purpose behind the ceasefire was to break the cycle of violence and create an atmosphere for taking the peace initiative forward.

That never happened as militants continued with attacks on security forces, Mir said. “On the other side, the separatists remained adamant.

Read More : Ramzan Ceasefire

 

Airtel launches 4G in Jammu and Kashmir, completes national rollout

Airtel 4G service is now available in all 22 telecom circles of the country

Bharti Airtel, India's largest telecommunications services provider, announced the launch of its 4G services in Jammu & Kashmir, completing a national rollout.

With the latest launch, Airtel 4G service is now available in all 22 telecom circles of the country.

Raveendra Desai, COO — J&K, Bharti Airtel said, "We are pleased to launch our 4G services in Jammu & Kashmir and look forward to delighting customers with best-in-class services on India's best smartphone network."

"We invite customers to avail the exciting data offers and get on to the digital superhighway.

We remain committed to the government's digital vision for the state and will continue to invest in expanding our services," he said.

The company plans to expand its 4G footprint to over 100 towns across J&K, he said adding that Airtel 4G has been rolled out in the state using FD LTE technology in the 1,800 MHz band.

Airtel 4G will allow customers to experience uninterrupted HD video streaming, superfast uploading and downloading of movies, music and images, he said.

Airtel 4G services are available at 3G prices, he said adding that the customers can upgrade to 4G SIM for free and choose from a range of exciting prepaid and postpaid plans that offer generous dollops of high speeds data. Read More

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Nagrota terror attack: 3 Army personnel killed in terror attack on army unit near Jammu

Militants in police uniform on Tuesday attacked an army artillery unit in Nagrota on the outskirts of the city

Militants in police uniform on Tuesday attacked an army artillery unit in Nagrota Attack on the outskirts of the city, killing three Army personnel, including an officer, and leaving several others injured.

There were unconfirmed reports that four militants were killed in the ensuing gunfight.

A senior Army officer said that heavily-armed militants in police uniform stormed the 166 artillery unit, opening indiscriminate fire.

An army officer and two other personnel were killed while several others were injured in the attack, the senior officer said.

A fierce gunbattle is underway at the site, a senior police officer said.

Nagrota is the headquarters of the Army's 16 corps.

In view of the attack, the Jammu-Srinagar National Highway has been closed for traffic in the area.The district administration has closed all schools in Nagorta tehsil as a precautionary measure. Read More

Has demonetisation stopped stone pelting, curbed terror financing in J&K?

In the last few days after PM's daring move there hasn't been stone pelting on security forces.

Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar has hailed the government's demonetisation decision and said it has let to decline in stone-pelting incidents in Jammu and Kashmir.

"Earlier, there were rates: Rs 500 for stone pelting (onsecurity forces in Kashmir) and Rs 1,000 for doing something else. PM has brought terror funding to zero," Parrikar said.

"In the last few days after PM's daring move there hasn't been stone pelting on security forces. I congratulate PM for it," Parrikar said.

According to a report in Deccan Herald, the incidents ofstone pelting have declines in the Valley ever since Prime Minister Narendra Modi scrapped Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 currency notes across the country.

While police handouts on the situation in the Valley stated that no incidents of stone-pelting were reported from anywhere in the past few days, officials said a major reason behind the sudden decline in violence was that the "money channels" of inciting violence have been sealed.

In the past, several complaints had cropped up that separatists were paying stone-pelters and other anti-national elements in big currency notes. Apart from taking on corruption, black money; the step by the Modi government has resulted in peace and calm in the Valley.

Security analysts believe that Kashmir will remain largely calm in the coming days as miscreants will run short of money to keep their network operational.

For the last four months, the Valley was brought to a standstill but now things are falling back into place with people carrying out their daily chores, schools being opened and students appearing for exams.

Barring a few law and order incidents at some places, hundreds of vendors put up their stalls at the weekly flea-market in the city on Sunday while banks across Kashmir witnessed a rush of customers in view of the demonitisation of 500 and 1000 currency notes, bringing some semblance of normalcy in the unrest-hit Valley.

Normalcy ceased to exist in Kashmir due to unrest triggered by the killing of Hizbul Majhideen militant Burhan Wani since July 8.

However, there has been increased movement of people and public transport, except buses, in Srinagar in the last month. Apart from private vehicles, auto-rickshaws and inter- district cabs were also plying in large numbers.

Defying separatists' call for protest, 95 per cent students appeared for class 12th board exams in Kashmir on Monday. About 94.88 per cent of the total 31,964 students appeared in the examination, an official of Jammu and Kashmir Board of School Education (BOSE), which conducts the examinations, said.(more)

Two terrorists killed in Jammu and Kashmir's Handwara, search ops on

Two terrorists killed in Jammu and Kashmir's Handwara, search ops on

Two terrorists were killed in Jammu and Kashmir's Handwara district on Thursday morning after they opened fire outside the 30 Rashtriya Rifles camp at Langate. The terrorists, who were in army combat uniform, had opened fire at around 5 a.m.

During the search operation in the area, the militants opened fire at the forces. The firing continued for 10 to 15 minutes. Since the troops were alert, the attack was aptly retaliated by the security forces. The operation is currently underway.

Meanwhile, additional forces have been rushed to the spot to nab the remaining terrorists.

No casualties have been reported, so far. Meanwhile, it is reported that the army foiled three infiltration bids along the LoC in Jammu and Kashmir last night. Two infiltration bids were foiled in Naugam Sector while one such attempt was foiled in Rampur sector.

The attack comes days after terrorists attacked a BSF and adjoining camps in Baramulla district, where one Bolder Security Force (BSF) soldier was killed in the attack.

The attack also comes after the Indian Army conducted surgical strikes and destroyed seven terror launch pads across the Line of Control (LoC), last week.

Last month, terrorists had attacked the army brigade headquarters at Uri, killing 19 soldiers.

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'Pakistan group uses disfigured celebrity faces to campaign against use of pellet guns in Kashmir'

'Pakistan group uses disfigured celebrity faces to campaign against use of pellet guns in Kashmir'

Pellet guns were first introduced to Jammu and Kashmir police in 2010 during Omar Abdullah government. The use of such guns, however, has shot to the forefront after protests against the killing of Hizbul Mujahideen commander Burhan Wani saw the use pellets for crowd control. (more)