Islamabad: Police in Islamabad on Wednesday apologised and suspended its personnel involved in baton-charging a women’s rally held here in the Pakistani capital to mark the International Women’s Day.
The Aurat March (Women Day March) rally was organised at the National Press Club in Islamabad as part of an event held across the country to celebrate with the rest of the world the International Women’s Day to recognise the social, economic, cultural and political achievements of women.
Video clips circulating on social media showed police using force against women participants of the protest march in capital Islamabad, sparking anger.
The police personnel involved in baton-charging the participants of the Women’s March have been suspended, Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah said.
“Moreover, other persons responsible for misbehaviour are also being identified, and proper action will be taken against them too,” he tweeted.
Inspector General Islamabad Akbar Nasir Khan took notice of the incident and sought a report to identify those involved in the violence.
“Islamabad police apologises for this incident,” the force’s official Twitter handle said. “The Islamabad police stands with the participants of the march for the struggle and protection of women’s rights,” the statement said.
Earlier, Interior Minister Sanaullah said he has noted the behaviour of the police personnel and summoned Islamabad police chief. He said “strict legal action” would be taken against those responsible for “this mistreatment”.
“I have taken strict notice of the behaviour meted out to the participants of the women’s march in Islamabad. The IG Police Islamabad has been summoned, and strict legal action will be taken against those responsible for this mistreatment,” he tweeted.
The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP), which is an independent body, also condemned the use of force by the Islamabad police. “Women have as much right to peaceful assembly as any citizen. The police are supposed to provide security to the marchers, not to resort to violence against peaceful demonstrators,” the commission said.
Climate Change Minister Sherry Rehman also condemned the Islamabad police’s action against the Aurat March. “The Islamabad police had no business baton-charging a small peaceful procession,” she tweeted and added that an inquiry would be held to punish those responsible for it.
Talking about the use of force, Punjrush, one of the organisers of the march, explained that transgender persons were performing when police charged at the protesters, causing some of them to get “crushed”.
“Then they started pushing us so we started to push back and then they started fighting and we started fighting and it just got confusing,” she said.
Rallies are held every year on the occasion of the International Women’s Day, upsetting the conservative elements in the country.
Earlier today, the Islamabad High Court (IHC) rejected a petition filed by Amun Taraqqi Party (ATP) chief Muhammad Faiq Shah who had challenged the permission given to organisers to hold a women rally.
JAMMU, MARCH 8: The Jammu and Kashmir Services Selection Board (JKSSB) is conducting Computer Based written Test (CBT) for various posts with effect from 16th March to 5th April, 2023 at various examination centers in Jammu and Kashmir.
The examination has been scheduled to be conducted in multiple batches at different locations/venues setup in various districts of the UT, for which adequate security arrangements have been put in place at each examination centre.
The concerned District Magistrate will issue prohibitory orders under Section 144 of Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC) around the examination centers during the timing of examination.
A multi layered structure for supervision has also been established with one Centre Observer and Centre Magistrate for each examination center by the respective District Administration. Besides, senior officers shall also be deployed as General Observer by the General Administration Department and IT professionals shall be deployed by Information Technology Department for monitoring of the CBT examinations. The J&K Police shall deploy security personnel for frisking and maintenance of law and order at each venue/location.
In addition, the CBT shall be conducted under CCTV surveillance for maintaining transparency in the examination. Besides, low frequency Jammers are being installed in all the examination centres to prevent the use of unfair means including cheating using Bluetooth and wi-fi enabled electronic devices. In order to ensure that the examination process being adopted is completely secure and free from any kind of malpractice, a third party has been hired to review/audit the examination process of Computer Based Tests(CBTs) conducted by JKSSB.
The aspiring candidates appearing in the aforesaid examination are hereby cautioned against the activities of vested interests and advised not to fall prey to the designs of touts and unscrupulous elements. If any candidate is approached by touts/unscrupulous elements in any matter pertaining to recruitments of JKSSB, they are advised to immediately report about such persons to the JKSSB. The Jammu and Kashmir Services Selection Board (JKSSB) will appreciate if specific information about such unscrupulous elements along with evidence is furnished to the Board, enabling it to take appropriate legal action. The identity of such candidates who will report about the unscrupulous elements shall be kept confidential.
The JKSSB wishes best of luck to all the candidates taking the CBT examination. Moreover, candidates scheduled to appear in the examination are also warned to desist from indulging in any unfair means practice like impersonation, carrying of prohibited items, communication devices, electronic equipments /gadgets or any other material with the intention of receiving assistance. The candidates found to be attempting/using any unfair means practice during the examination, shall be dealt with strictly as per the provisions of Jammu and Kashmir Services Selection Board (Conduct of Examinations) Regulations, 2022 including debarring of such candidates for appearing in future examinations.
The candidates have been advised to visit official website of the Boardhttps://jkssb.nic.in only for authentic/verified updates/information. They should also carefully read the instructions enclosed with the Admit Card.
Hyderabad: K. Kavitha, the daughter of Telangana Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao, who has been summoned by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) for questioning in the Delhi excise policy case, left for New Delhi on Wednesday evening.
The Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) leader was spotted at the Rajiv Gandhi International Airport here amid tight security to catch a flight for the national capital.
According to sources, Kavitha has written to the Enforcement Directorate seeking time till March 15 to appear before the agency for questioning in the Delhi liquor policy case. The ED is yet to comment on the matter.
Kavitha is one of the representatives of the ‘South Group’, which allegedly paid kickbacks of Rs 100 crore to the leaders of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) in Delhi. She might be confronted with Hyderabad-based businessman Arun Pillai, who was arrested on Tuesday in connection with the case.
Meanwhile, Kavitha’s travel to Delhi is as per the schedule. She is planning to lead a day-long hunger strike in the national capital on Friday over delay in passing the women’s reservation Bill.
Earlier on Wednesday morning, the Member of Legislative Council said in a statement that as a law-abiding citizen, she will fully cooperate with the investigating agencies.
She, however, said that in view of the planned dharna in Delhi over women’s reservation Bill on Friday and other prefixed appointments, she will seek legal opinion on the date of appearing before the ED.
She also said that BJP’s tactics of intimidation will not deter her.
“I would also like the ruling party at the Centre to know that these tactics of intimidation against the fight and voice of our leader, Chief Minister K. Chandrashekar Rao, and against the entire BRS party will not deter us. Under the leadership of KCR, we will continue our fight to expose your failures and raise our voice for a brighter and better future for India,” she said
“Let me also remind the power mongers in Delhi that Telangana has never and will never bow before the oppressive anti-people regime. We will fearlessly and fiercely fight for the rights of the people,” she added.
The ED notice came a day after the agency arrested Hyderabad-based businessman Arun Pillai, allegedly the frontman for Kavitha.
Kavitha was questioned by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) in the same case in December last year.
In the remand report filed in a Delhi court on Tuesday, the ED stated that Pillai is one of the key persons in the entire scam involving payments of huge kickbacks and formation of the biggest cartel of the South Group.
According to the agency, South Group comprises Sarath Reddy (promoter of Aurobindo Group), Magunta Srinivasulu Reddy (MP Ongole), his son Raghav Magunta, K. Kavitha (MLC, Telangana) and others. The South Group was being represented by Arun Pillai, Abhishek Boinpalli and Butchi Babu.
Hyderabad: In the latest announcement, Osmania University declared that the Telangana State Eligibility Test (TS SET) was rescheduled due to MLC (Teacher) constituency elections.
TS SET member secretary Professor C. Muralikrishna released a statement on Tuesday stating, “Only the papers which were scheduled for March 13 will now be held on March 17.”
Examinations for Chemical Sciences, Computer Science and Applications, Environmental Sciences, Geography, Hindi, Linguistics, Sanskrit, Economics, Education and English were scheduled on March 13.
While there will be no change in the tests scheduled for March 14 and 15.
Hall tickets for this rescheduled examination can be downloaded from March 10.
A computer-based test will be conducted for eligibility as an assistant professor or lecturer.
Delhi: A Delhi court on Wednesday sent TMC leader Anubrata Mondal to ED custody till March 10 in an alleged money laundering case related to West Bengal cattle smuggling case.
The midnight court passed the order on a plea moved by the Enforcement Directorate (ED), which sought his 14-day custody and said the accused was required to be quizzed.
Special Judge Rakesh Kumar directed the agency, represented by Special Public Prosecutor Nitesh Rana, to produce the accused on March 10 before the regular court.
The ED on Tuesday got custody of arrested Trinamool Congress (TMC) leader Mondal after doctors at Joka-ESI Hospital in West Bengal found him fit to travel to New Delhi.
ED officials took Mondal straightaway to the city airport under tight security of central forces to catch a flight to the national capital, the agency said.
Mondal, the TMC’s Birbhum district president and a close aide of West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, was earlier arrested by the CBI in connection with the related corruption case.
New Delhi: Apple on Tuesday introduced a new yellow iPhone 14 and iPhone 14 Plus that will be available to pre-order in India from Friday, with availability starting March 14.
iPhone 14 and iPhone 14 Plus will be available in yellow in 128GB, 256GB, and 512GB storage capacities, starting at Rs 79,900 and Rs 89,900, respectively.
“The extraordinary battery life, lightweight design, pro-level camera and video features, groundbreaking safety capabilities like Emergency SOS via satellite, and all iOS 16 has to offer make iPhone 14 a great option for anyone in the market for a new iPhone,” said Bob Borchers, Apple’s vice president of Worldwide Product Marketing.
iPhone 14 and iPhone 14 Plus have a durable Ceramic Shield front cover, an updated internal design for better sustained performance and easier repairs, and amazing battery life, with iPhone 14 Plus offering the longest battery life of any iPhone ever.
Both models include a dual-camera system for stunning photos and videos, the powerful A15 Bionic chip, and innovative safety capabilities including Emergency SOS via satellite and Crash Detection.
The 6.1-inch iPhone 14 and 6.7-inch iPhone 14 Plus feature a durable aerospace-grade aluminium design that is water- and dust-resistant.
Hyderabad: Five Mahila Arogya Kendras (health centres) would be set up at Primary Health Centres in the Kothagudem district on the occasion of Women’s Day on March 8.
The district collector Anudeep Durishetty, while speaking at a review meeting on Monday informed that the centres, equipped with medicines and basic technology for diagnosis would be set up at Yerragunta, Parnasala, Penagadapa, Morampalli Banjar and Komararam villages in the district.
Hormone replacement therapy, fertility tests, awareness of weight loss, yoga and cancer screening were among the eight health services that would be provided to women Mahila Arogya Kendras.
For women diagnosed with an intense health condition and who require specialist treatment would be referred to Hyderabad.
Special training programmes were conducted for medical officers and ANMs to treat women at the health centres along with a set up of a health desk to guide the flow.
The collector further said that a training programme on administering proper CPR (Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation) for heart attack patients would be conducted on March 13.
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi while speaking at the prestigious Cambridge University said that he confronted militants during the Congress-led Bharat Jodo Yatra’s entry into Kashmir. Gandhi stated, according to a report from India Today, “I spoke to my people and expressed my desire to carry on walking. We kept going when an unidentified man came up to me. He said he wanted to speak with me.” Rahul Gandhi went on to say that the man questioned him as to whether or not the Congress leaders had actually travelled to the Union Territory to hear about the problems of the populace. Later, the man pointed to certain bystanders and claimed they were all militants. “I believed I was in danger because militants would likely kill me in such circumstances. Yet, they did nothing as a result of the power of listening,” Gandhi added.
Central Wool Development Board (CWDB) has approved a Rs 50 lakh project for creating a wool raw material bank in Jammu and Kashmir.
KASHMIR
Representational image
The National Investigation Agency (NIA) attached the house of banned al-Umar Mujahideen Chief Mushtaq Zargar in the Gani Mohalla area of the Nowhatta in Srinagar. NIA action comes as the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) has declared Zargar, “presently in Pakistan”, as designated “terrorist” under the UAPA, a stringent act legislated to control militant activities. An NIA team, assisted by local police and paramilitary CRPF, attached Zargar’s property.. According to an NIA spokesperson, Zargar’s two marlas house (Khasra No 182) at Ganai Mohalla, Jamia Masjid, Nowhatta, Srinagar, has been attached under the provisions of UA(P)A. Zargar was arrested on May 15, 1992, and later “released” in 1999, along with Jaish chief Masood Azhar and Sheikh Omar in exchange for passengers of the hijacked Indian Airlines plane IC-814 in 1999.
Earlier in the week, NIA also attached the property of Hizb-ul-Mujahideen commander Basit Reshi in Sopore. Reshi is a resident of Yemberzalwari Shiva Dangerpora and is presently in Pakistan. Pertinently, the Jammu and Kashmir police have started the process to attach properties of nearly 168 militants from Jammu and Kashmir who are operating from other the side of the LoC.
As per the New York-based internet advocacy watchdog, Access Now Jammu and Kashmir witnessed 49 internet disruptions in 2022 out of a total of 85 across India.
SRINAGAR
Jammu Kashmir LG, Manoj Sinha felicitating a young cadet of JK Police at PTS Kathua on March 3, 2023. Pic: DIPR
The Amarnath cave shrine that used to be open for pilgrimage for a short summer period may be accessible for a long period in a year as the LT Governor Manoj Sinha administration is planning to make it accessible by road. Sinha chaired a meeting of the officers and Border Roads Organization (BRO) in which the scope for undertaking the widening, restoration and maintenance of the stretch of the Amarnath Yatra track was discussed.
Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy has put the current unemployment percentage in Jammu and Kashmir at 17.1 against 21.8 in January 2023, indicating an appreciation of 4.7 per cent for the month of February 2023.
SRINAGAR
GMC Srinagar
The government has confirmed Prof Dr Masood Tanvir as the Principal of Government Medical College (GMC) Srinagar. Dr Masood is head of the medicine department and was given the charge of GMC principal in November 2022, replacing Dr Samia Rashid.
National Investigation Agency (NIA) has issued a non-bailable warrant against 13 Kishtwar-based militants operating from across the border.
JAMMU
The Kashmir crisis is getting so serious that even Congressman and former Sadar-e-Riyasat of erstwhile Jammu and Kashmir State, Dr Karan Singh is pitching for the restoration of the statehood along with the need for assembly polls which haven’t been held since 2014. Such a demand coming from Dr Singh is interesting because he presided over the state apparatus till 1956 during which the head of the state, Sheikh Mohammad Abdullah was deposed and imprisoned. Speaking at an event in Jammu, Dr Singh said that there is a lack of communication between the public and bureaucrats in Jammu and Kashmir. When asked to comment on the bifurcation of the erstwhile state into two Union Territories, Dr Singh said, “We should look ahead rather than looking back and added that the same remained his principle in life.” Replying to a question about taking back the regions of Jammu and Kashmir with Pakistan, he said that it was not easy as the same could not be materialized without a war which only brings deaths and destruction.
Private Schools Association of Jammu and Kashmir (PSAJK) has urged the administration to exempt educational institutes from the ambit of property tax.
AWANTIPORE
Paramilitary CRPF showcased its bulletproof armoured vehicle, named CSRV (critical situation response vehicle) in the Padgampora encounter with militants. The all-terrain sophisticated CSRV is used for house interventions during encounters. “This acts like a force multiplier, in situations like narrow lanes and by-lanes where you need to sort of intervene in a room or house where a terrorist is held up,” IG CPRF (Kashmir Operations) MS Bhatia was quoted as saying. “This vehicle has a bulletproof Morcha. It has a hydraulic system and can be raised to the second floor of the house as well. It has steer and skid technology, it can revolve 360 degrees, in narrow lanes and by lanes, and it can enter easily.”
Jammu and Kashmir Police said that one of the two militants killed in the Padgampora was behind the killing of Sanjay Sharma who was mowed down in his Achan village, last week. And two of his brothers and parents had not migrated from the village in the 1990s. A bank security guard, Sanjay’s killing was the first attack on a Hindu civilian in Jammu and Kashmir in the last four months.
A preliminary census by Wular Lake Conservation and Management Authority (WCMA) has revealed that over 50,000 migratory birds have made their way to the famous Wular Lake in northern Kashmir.
KUNAN
Kunan (Kupwara) family protests in Srinagar on December 21, 2022, seeking whereabouts of their son, Abdul Rashid Dar
Exactly 75 days after going missing, the body of Abdul Rashid Dar of Kunan (Kupwara) was retrieved and handed back to his family. “In continuation to missing of Abdul Rashid Dar of Kunan area of Kupwara on December 16, 2022 today early in the morning a dead (the body was) recovered from Zurhama-PK Galli forests,” a police spokesperson said in a statement, adding, “The body was brought to SDH Kupwara where it was identified by the relatives of (the) missing person. After completing all medico-legal formalities including post-mortem by a team of doctors, he said, the body was handed over to the family members for burial. “Cognisance of the matter has been taken for further investigations,” he said, adding, “Further details will be shared.” At a presser, a police officer had said that the man was allegedly picked up by the army for questioning in connection with a militancy-related investigation. However, the officer said that he fled from custody. The family, which carried out a series of protests seeking the whereabouts of their ward, had allegedly that Dar picked up by the army for questioning. Dar was a driver.
LG Manoj Sinha said almost 40 per cent of the residential structures in urban and semi-urban areas in Jammu and Kashmir are exempted under the newly created property tax rules.
BAKSHI STADIUM
A group of more than 24 cyclists were flagged off in Srinagar for a race from Kashmir to Kanyakumari. The participants shall peddle the 3651 km length in Solo, Team of 2, Team of 4 with a cut-off time of 12 days, 10 days and 8 days respectively. The race route passes through 12 major states, three major metropolises and over 20 major cities. None of the cyclists was from Jammu and Kashmir. In Pune, Veeranarayan Kulkarni left on a cycle for Kashmir to make people aware of diabetes. He will be cycling a distance of 4,000 km in 40 days.
PULWAMA
Within days after a video showing Bilal Rather, a councillor of MC Pulwama, allegedly misbehaving with a doctor on duty at the District Hospital (DH) Pulwama, went viral, the district administration ordered an inquiry. ADC Pulwama is probing the incident. Rather was seen shouting at a doctor on duty, and even hurling the choicest abuses. After the incident, the staff of the hospital wrote to the administration detailing how a “few miscreants” accompanied a “mob” barged into the room and misbehaved with them. Hospital management also registered a police case against the identified miscreants.
KASHMIR
The thought process (L to R) in male and female brains. Graphics: Economist
India’s largest-ever dementia study has shown that Jammu and Kashmir has the highest prevalence of the condition, a report in a British newspaper said. Some 11 per cent of the region’s over-60 population have developed dementia, according to a joint study published by the University of Southern California and AIIMS-Delhi. “Since the study’s publication, experts have called for further research to establish whether a 26-year insurgency that has raged in Jammu and Kashmir could be a reason for the region’s high prevalence of dementia,” the report said. Earlier in 2019, a survey by Médecins Sans Frontières found 70 per cent of Kashmiri adults had witnessed the sudden or violent death of someone they knew, while the average adult living in the territory has experienced 7.7 traumatic events during their lifetime. “The association between trauma and dementia is a fast-growing area of research,” the report quoted Dr Katrin Seeher, a mental health specialist in the Brain Health Unit at the World Health Organisation, saying. “We do have more and more evidence that exposure to adversity, particularly in early childhood, changes our brain architecture and the ways the brain changes to deal with stress. We do see that early childhood adversity might be linked to later life dementia diagnosis.”
SRINAGAR: Vice-Chancellor, University of Kashmir, Prof Nilofer Khan on Monday chaired the Admission Advisory Committee to review the varsity’s preparedness for admissions to various PG programmes and other professional courses for the academic session 2023.
Prof Nilofer said the University’s admission process is recognised in academic and social circles as completely transparent and it is therefore important to maintain this benchmark through and through.
Asserting that the standard of the admission process has a direct bearing on the reputation and image of the institution, the Vice-Chancellor emphasised the need to make greater use of technological advancements to ease the admission process right from submission of online applications by the aspirants to declaration of the results.
After threadbare discussions on various issues, the Advisory Committee decided that the University’s Directorate of Admissions and Competitive Examinations (DACE) will invite online application forms for admission to all programmes offered through University of Kashmir in the 3rd week of March 2023, following which the Entrance Test shall be conducted in the last week of April, 2023.
For convenience of aspirants hailing from far-off areas of Jammu and Kashmir, the Vice-Chancellor instructed that besides the main campus, the entrance examination shall be conducted at all satellite campuses of the University including South Campus (Anantnag), North Campus (Baramulla) and Kupwara Campus for the session-2023.
“Our endeavor should be to take the admission process to the doorsteps of the aspirants,” she said.
Calling for close monitoring of the Entrance Test by observers on the entrance test days, Prof Nilofer instructed that efforts should be made to ensure that the entire admission process culminates within the set timelines so that the academic session starts in time and the degrees are eventually awarded to the students in time.
The meeting was attended by Dean Academic Affairs Prof F A Masoodi, Dean College Development Council Prof Khurshid A Butt, Registrar Dr Nisar A Mir, Director Admissions Prof Farooq A Mir, Controller of Examinations Dr Majid Zaman, In-Charge Director IT Dr Maroof Qadri, besides other members of the Admission Advisory Committee.
SRINAGAR: Vice-Chancellor, University of Kashmir, Prof Nilofer Khan on Monday chaired the Admission Advisory Committee to review the varsity’s preparedness for admissions to various PG programmes and other professional courses for the academic session 2023.
Prof Nilofer said the University’s admission process is recognised in academic and social circles as completely transparent and it is therefore important to maintain this benchmark through and through.
Asserting that the standard of the admission process has a direct bearing on the reputation and image of the institution, the Vice-Chancellor emphasised the need to make greater use of technological advancements to ease the admission process right from submission of online applications by the aspirants to declaration of the results.
After threadbare discussions on various issues, the Advisory Committee decided that the University’s Directorate of Admissions and Competitive Examinations (DACE) will invite online application forms for admission to all programmes offered through University of Kashmir in the 3rd week of March 2023, following which the Entrance Test shall be conducted in the last week of April, 2023.
For convenience of aspirants hailing from far-off areas of Jammu and Kashmir, the Vice-Chancellor instructed that besides the main campus, the entrance examination shall be conducted at all satellite campuses of the University including South Campus (Anantnag), North Campus (Baramulla) and Kupwara Campus for the session-2023.
“Our endeavor should be to take the admission process to the doorsteps of the aspirants,” she said.
Calling for close monitoring of the Entrance Test by observers on the entrance test days, Prof Nilofer instructed that efforts should be made to ensure that the entire admission process culminates within the set timelines so that the academic session starts in time and the degrees are eventually awarded to the students in time.
The meeting was attended by Dean Academic Affairs Prof F A Masoodi, Dean College Development Council Prof Khurshid A Butt, Registrar Dr Nisar A Mir, Director Admissions Prof Farooq A Mir, Controller of Examinations Dr Majid Zaman, In-Charge Director IT Dr Maroof Qadri, besides other members of the Admission Advisory Committee.
