Islamabad
Trying to fill the gap left by her father, Maryam Nawaz, the daughter of former prime minister of Pakistan Mian Nawaz Shariff, remains busy with public gatherings for upcoming elections. On February 05, the day celebrated as ‘Kashmir Solidarity Day’, she addressed a large gathering in Pakistan’s Kashmir and crowd turned emotional when she said, “I belong to Kashmir. My blood is Kashmiri.” The ‘Kashmir card’ has always played an important role in Pakistani politics. The day was also observed in Brussels and London in solidarity with Kashmiris.
SRINAGAR
This February Dr Muhammad Qasim Faktoo completed 25 years in jail. He was arrested on February 05, 1993, and was booked under section 3 (TADA), under section 302 r/w 120-B RPC. TADA Court Jammu acquitted him and other two accused Dr Muhammad Shafi Khan and Ghulam Qadir. And then on July 14, 2001, the court observed “The prosecution has miserably failed to prove the case against the accused persons” but after completing more years in jail than the sentence given in life imprisonment, he is still in jail. His wife chairperson of Dukhtaran-e-Millat, Syeeda Asiya Andrabi also appealed to the Muslim world including Organisation of Islamic Countries (OIC) to take Dr Qasim’s case to the International Court of Justice (ICJ).
Baramulla
In a shameful incident, a religious teacher was arrested for sexually assaulting a minor boy in Madrasa Darul-Hudda in Kreeri area of district Baramulla. The victim boy, accompanied by his father had reported the incident to the local police station. The accused teacher, Mufti Hilal Ahmad Ganie, a resident of Nowpora, Jageer in Baramulla had called the boy in his room after morning prayers and sexually assaulted him while other students were in Masjid at that time taking lessons of Holy Quran. The said accused teacher according to the complainant closed the door and assaulted the minor boy sexually.
WASHINGTON
A Kashmiri journalist, Gulam Jeelani, an alumni of Aligarh Muslim University (AMU), presently working with New Delhi based newspaper, Hindustan Times, has been selected as a fellow for the prestigious Alfred Friendly Press Partners (AFPP) programme, 2018. Jeelani is among the seven journalists from around the world selected for the six-month long fellowship programme in the US. The fellowship includes training at the prestigious Missouri School of Journalism and working for a major US news organisation. He was chosen for the fellowship by eminent immigrant philanthropist Frank Islam through his Frank Islam and Debbie Driesman Foundation, saying they chose him because his background indicates that he has the ‘interests and capabilities to refine his craft here and to make an even bigger impact on the Indian democracy when he returns home.’
DAL LAKE
After Billa made it to the headlines across globe for his services in saving Wullar lake, it is now kindergartener Jannat, 5 years old, who is on a mission to make ‘Dal Lake paradise again.’ Rowing a shikara everyday, she clears the plastic bottles and other floating trash from the interiors of the Lake. Her work has won her praises from the Prime Minister Narendra Modi as well, who tweeted: “Hearing this little girl will make your morning even better! Great passion towards Swachhata.”
SOPORE
In Wadoora area of Sopore, locals were up against the government for not providing security against the growing population of canines in the area. The recent victim was a six-years old girl, Hadiya Mushtaq, daughter of Mushtaq Ahmad Dar, who was mauled to death by a pack of stray dogs when she was returning from a local Madrassa. Dozens of villagers rushed out of their houses on hearing the screams of the injured minor but on her arrival at the district hospital she was declared brought dead.
