The unexplored "HEAVEN"

Warwan in Kishtwar

Death dancing on the roads of Doda, Kishtwar

For the last couple of years death has been dancing on the roads of twin mountaneous districts Kishtwar and Doda. These rodas have become a virtual death trap affecting people of this region directly or indirectly. The people, politicians and intelligentsia may enumerate so many factors responsible for these large scale deaths which may range from out dated vehicle, over loading, unchecked trafficking of commercial commodities of many buses, lack of proper maintenance of vehicles and lack of driving skills on part of drivers, but the main reason for accidents like of Bandarkot, Premnagar and Assar remains the negligence on the part of GREFF authorities who are going on with the work of widening of these roads. During this year the tragic accidents have eaten away the bread earners of hundreds of families so far and there is likelihood of continuity of this process in near future also. Afterevery acident a lot of mind boggling is being done in all sections of society including the administration. But it is a general observation that the memory of the people is short lived and every one will forget the horrible scene of death, trauma of affected families. With every gruesome road accident the government promises some remedial measure. But it forgets the promise soon till another accident wakes it from the slumber.
Since January 2009 nearly 150 people have been killed in road accidents, but hardly a concrete step has been taken to arrest this mayhem. The locals are holding GREFF responsible for the bad deplorable condition of the roads which is also one of the cause of these accidents. It is pertinent to mention here that after every accident GREFF used to construct Paraped or used to fix iron garder at the place of accident like that of Warrah, thathri or Bhandarkot. But all is being donbe only after the accidents occur and no precaution is being taken prior to such Accidents.

JK Bank Burglary remains mystery as police gropes in dark

Bank officials undergo polygraph test

Kishtwar: While around two months investigation in Rs 1.05 crores burglary at Jammu and Kashmir Bank Kishtwar branch was leading investigation agency to nowhere, number of Bank officials posted in Kishtwar have been subjected to lie detection test to ascertain the involvement of the insiders. Official sources said that even after the lapse of around two months, police was groping in dark while investigating one of the biggest and high-tech burglaries where unidentified persons broke into Kishtwar branch of Jammu and Kashmir Bank Limited and decamped with Rs 1.06 Crores. Though the high level investigation team headed by Superintendent of Police (SP) Kishtwar Dr Haseeb Mughal is burning mid night oil to solve the mystery behind the burglary, sources told that no considerable breakthrough could be made, till now. The police is taking help of scientific experts of Jammu FSL and investigation was being held under the direct supervision of SP Kishtwar, a police officers known for his skills of investigation.
Well informed sources told News Agency of Kashmir that number of bank officials have been subjected to polygraph (popularly referred to as a lie detector) test to ascertain the hand of insiders. Police had earlier rounded up almost the entire staff including the branch manager of the Bank and questioned them for more than one week. "The bank officials were subject to sustained questioning but nothing came out", a police officer told NAK adding, "We have strong prima facie case that some body from within the bank is involved and as such we are now taking the course of polygraph test". The polygraph is an instrument that measures and records several physiological responses such as blood pressure, pulse, respiration, breathing rhythms, body temperature and skin conductivity while the subject is asked and answers a series of questions, on the theory that false answers will produce distinctive measurements. The polygraph measures physiological changes caused by the sympathetic nervous system during questioning. Within the US federal government, a polygraph examination is also referred to as a psycho physiological detection of deception (PDD) examination.
Polygraphs are in some countries used as an interrogation tool with criminal suspects or candidates for sensitive public or private sector employment. The use and effectiveness of the polygraph is controversial, with the manner of its use and its validity subject to ongoing criticism.(NAK)

Love in Kashmir? Not for the valley’s political elite

Srinagar: The road to romance runs outside the state for many of Jammu and Kashmir’s political elite — be it Chief Minister Omar Abdullah, his father Farooq or separatists Yaseen Malik, Mirwaiz Umar Farooq and Sajjad Lone.
Malik, 42, the pro-independence Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front chief, is the latest to join the list. The model-turned-militant-turned-politician returned from Pakistan this week with his 28-year-old bride Mashaal Mullick, an artist who has studied at the London School of Economics and is daughter of the late Pakistani economist M.A. Hussain Mullick.
The JKLF chief and Mashaal had an austere nikaah in Islamabad in January this year but a visa hitch and Malik’s subsequent arrests delayed the bride’s arrival to her marital home here.
When she finally arrived at Malik’s home in Maisuma locality Sunday, hundreds of JKLF supporters — and news photographers as well — gathered to greet her.
Way back in the 1960s, former chief minister and now union Minister for New and Renewable Energy Farooq Abdullah, a trained physician, played out the doctor-nurse romance when he married Molly, a British nurse.
Despite her husband and family’s high visibility, Molly Abdullah is rarely seen with her husband at any official function and keeps a low profile in Britain where she stays.
Their son Omar also found love outside the state, where outsiders are not allowed to buy property. He married Payal Singh, daughter of a retired army officer from Delhi. The couple quietly celebrated their 15th marriage anniversary Sep 1.
The alliance was accepted by the family, quite unlike the furore when his sister Sara married Sachin Pilot, the late Congress leader Rajesh Pilot’s son.
Sara and Sachin tied the knot at a quiet ceremony, which was boycotted by the Abdullahs, in Delhi. Even Omar Abdullah, it is widely known, had objected to his sister marrying Sachin.
But that is in the past - Sachin and Abdullah junior now share a close relationship.
The other side of Kashmir’s political divide has similar love stories to tell.
Sajjad Gani Lone, son of slain Hurriyat Conference leader Abdul Gani Lone, married Asma Khan, daughter of Pakistan-based separatist leader Amanullah Khan. Khan is the chief of his own faction of the JKLF.
Sajjad and Asma married in 2002 in Pakistan-administered Kashmir. They have two sons but the tough visa regime has forced the couple to live separately. Asma has been allowed to visit the valley only once after her marriage though she is legally a citizen of Jammu and Kashmir, living in the Pakistani part of the state, which India claims is part of its territory.
Then there is Hurriyat Conference chief Mirwaiz Umar Farooq who married US citizen of Kashmiri-origin Sheeba Masoodi in 2002. Sheeba is the youngest daughter of Sibtain Masoodi, a Kashmiri doctor who immigrated to the US in 1970. The family still has a house in Srinagar.
Like Lone, the Mirwaiz also had to battle difficulties in staying with his spouse in Kashmir. Sheeba is also a citizen of Kashmir but has been given only a temporary visa to stay in Kashmir.
She has taken the matter to a court with the plea that her parents were Indian citizens and that a woman married to a Kashmiri is automatically entitled to become a citizen of the state.
The court has asked the government to put on hold the deportation proceedings initiated against the Mirwaiz’s wife.
There are others too.
Former militant commander Aftab Hilali alias Shahid-ul-Islam, now a senior Hurriyat leader, is married to an Arab woman Habib, who is presently in the US.
Hashim Qureshi, who was accused of hijacking an Indian Airlines plane in 1971, and is now chief of the Democratic Liberation Party (DLP), is married to Zebu-un-Nisa, a Dutch citizen born in Peshawar.

Love in Kashmir? Not for the valley’s political elite

Srinagar: The road to romance runs outside the state for many of Jammu and Kashmir’s political elite — be it Chief Minister Omar Abdullah, his father Farooq or separatists Yaseen Malik, Mirwaiz Umar Farooq and Sajjad Lone.
Malik, 42, the pro-independence Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front chief, is the latest to join the list. The model-turned-militant-turned-politician returned from Pakistan this week with his 28-year-old bride Mashaal Mullick, an artist who has studied at the London School of Economics and is daughter of the late Pakistani economist M.A. Hussain Mullick.
The JKLF chief and Mashaal had an austere nikaah in Islamabad in January this year but a visa hitch and Malik’s subsequent arrests delayed the bride’s arrival to her marital home here.
When she finally arrived at Malik’s home in Maisuma locality Sunday, hundreds of JKLF supporters — and news photographers as well — gathered to greet her.
Way back in the 1960s, former chief minister and now union Minister for New and Renewable Energy Farooq Abdullah, a trained physician, played out the doctor-nurse romance when he married Molly, a British nurse.
Despite her husband and family’s high visibility, Molly Abdullah is rarely seen with her husband at any official function and keeps a low profile in Britain where she stays.
Their son Omar also found love outside the state, where outsiders are not allowed to buy property. He married Payal Singh, daughter of a retired army officer from Delhi. The couple quietly celebrated their 15th marriage anniversary Sep 1.
The alliance was accepted by the family, quite unlike the furore when his sister Sara married Sachin Pilot, the late Congress leader Rajesh Pilot’s son.
Sara and Sachin tied the knot at a quiet ceremony, which was boycotted by the Abdullahs, in Delhi. Even Omar Abdullah, it is widely known, had objected to his sister marrying Sachin.
But that is in the past - Sachin and Abdullah junior now share a close relationship.
The other side of Kashmir’s political divide has similar love stories to tell.
Sajjad Gani Lone, son of slain Hurriyat Conference leader Abdul Gani Lone, married Asma Khan, daughter of Pakistan-based separatist leader Amanullah Khan. Khan is the chief of his own faction of the JKLF.
Sajjad and Asma married in 2002 in Pakistan-administered Kashmir. They have two sons but the tough visa regime has forced the couple to live separately. Asma has been allowed to visit the valley only once after her marriage though she is legally a citizen of Jammu and Kashmir, living in the Pakistani part of the state, which India claims is part of its territory.
Then there is Hurriyat Conference chief Mirwaiz Umar Farooq who married US citizen of Kashmiri-origin Sheeba Masoodi in 2002. Sheeba is the youngest daughter of Sibtain Masoodi, a Kashmiri doctor who immigrated to the US in 1970. The family still has a house in Srinagar.
Like Lone, the Mirwaiz also had to battle difficulties in staying with his spouse in Kashmir. Sheeba is also a citizen of Kashmir but has been given only a temporary visa to stay in Kashmir.
She has taken the matter to a court with the plea that her parents were Indian citizens and that a woman married to a Kashmiri is automatically entitled to become a citizen of the state.
The court has asked the government to put on hold the deportation proceedings initiated against the Mirwaiz’s wife.
There are others too.
Former militant commander Aftab Hilali alias Shahid-ul-Islam, now a senior Hurriyat leader, is married to an Arab woman Habib, who is presently in the US.
Hashim Qureshi, who was accused of hijacking an Indian Airlines plane in 1971, and is now chief of the Democratic Liberation Party (DLP), is married to Zebu-un-Nisa, a Dutch citizen born in Peshawar.