Jai Mata Di SATURDAY 23 May 2015 Jammu-India Pages:12 ` 3.00 The best way to find yourself is to lose yourself in the service of - Mahatma Gandhi others. Regd No:JK517/13-15 RNI No:- JKENG/2013/53265 NIFTY 8,458 27 || SENSEX 27,957 148 || DOW JONES 18,285 2 || NASDAQ 5,090 19 |USD($) 63.52 0.12 INR || EURO($) 70.84 0.20 INR ||GOLD/10G 27,234 126 || SILVER/K 39,368 202 Saka: 02 Jyaistha 1936-37 WORLD Bikrami: 09 Jeth 2071 P-8 NATIONAL Small Thailand AntiJunta Groups vow protests on Coup Anniversary ISIS captures Iraqi town Baghdad: Islamic State militants have seized another town in Iraq’s western Anbar province less than a week after capturing the provincial capital, a tribal leader said Friday, while in neighboring Syria the group’s fighters killed dozens of pro-government forces in the ancient town of Palmyra. Islamic State fighters combed Palmyra, detaining and killing dozens of people two days after seizing the town, which is home to one of the Middle East’s most famous archaeological sites, activists and officials said. As many as 280 soldiers and pro-government forces have been killed in Palmyra since it was captured Wednesday. Militants abducted soldiers and pro-government gunmen from homes, shops and other places where they had gone to hide. Pak denies visa to 150 Sikh pilgrims Islamabad: Pakistan High Commission has rejected the visa of 150 Sikh pilgrims visiting Pakistan to commemorate the martyrdom day of 5th Sikh Guru Arjan Dev. The visa was rejected after differences over the date of observing the martyrdom day, with SGPC officials wanting the visa for Sikh pilgrims for today (May 22), while Pakistan said it would grant visa for June 16 when Pakistan Sikh Gurdwara Prabandhak Committee observes the anniversary. “We wanted the visa for Sikh pilgrims to visit Pakistan on May 22 when SGPC is observing the martyrdom day of Guru Arjan Dev, while Pakistan government said they are observing the day on June 16 and could grant visa only for that day. Rajnath Singh sits in dark hall New Delhi: In the second security scare for Rajnath Singh at a CRPF building here, the Union Home Minister had to spend anxious minutes in a dark hall today as the power of the building, where he had gone to attend a BSF function, tripped just before his arrival. The CRPF building where Singh was the chief guest at the Border Security Force investiture ceremony plunged into darkness minutes before his arrival. An unnerved Singh sat on the dais of the pitch dark large room for ten minutes after which some backup lights came and lit the room partially. Pak, LeT flags waived in Srinagar Srinagar: In another alarming situation, a group of protesters in Jammu and Kashmir’s Srinagar city waved flags of Pakistan and terror outfit Lashkar-e-Toiba on Friday. The protesters clashed with Jammu and Kashmir Police in the Nowhatta area of Srinagar. The police then resorted to bursting of teargas shells to disperse the mob. The incident happened soon after the Friday prayers. The protesters also pelted stones at the police who were deployed in strength outside the Jamia mosque. Incidents of Pakistani flags being raised have happened in past as well in the Kashmir Valley. Earlier supporters of separatists leader Mirwaiz Umar Farooq on Wednesday waved Pakistani flags and raised antiIndia slogans at a separatist leaders rally in old Srinagar. Weather Report 40°C 38% 18% 13% 65km 87km 88km 0% 0% P-7 KASHMIR Modi’s one year:Jaitley’s all-is-well rant conveniently misses unpleasant part Volume: 2 Issue: 253 www.earthnews.in STATE P-5 P-3 e-mail: [email protected] SCIENCE&TECHNOLOGY Bali for coordinated efforts to conserve biodiversity, natural resources German Ambassador calls on Farooq P-11 YOUTH P-10 NASA’s CubeSat Initiative aids solar sail tests in space Sukha of Rajasthan clinches Salal Kesari title Militants threaten to blast Parikkar visits Siachen, reviews mobile towers in Sopore Mufti discusses strategic issues with Defence Minister GLEANINGS 22 °C 34°C Sha’aban : 04 1436 AH 28°C 25% security with Army top brass EARTH NEWS SERVICE Jammu, May 22|15: Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar, who is on a two-day visit to Jammu and Kashmir, on Friday visited the Siachen glacier - once the world’s highest battlefield - and reviewed overall security situation. Srinagar: The Defence Minister, Manohar Parrikar, who arrived here on a two visit to the state, visited the Siachen glacier - once the world’s highest battlefield - and reviewed overall security situation. Later, he met Governor N N Vohra and Chief Minister Mufti Mohd Sayeed. The Chief Minister held talks 0% 14°C 7°C 21°C 26°C 81% 34% 27% 63% 27km 10% 54Km 10% 27km 15% 6km 15% strategic and defence related matters. The meeting was also BJP committed to revoke Omar targets Mufti govt Article 370: Rathore over Parrikar’s remark AGENCIES, MAY 22|15 New Delhi: BJP is committed to “revoke” Article 370 from Jammu and Kashmir and whenever the party has majority in the state, the special status will be scrapped, Union Minister Rajyavardhan Rathore today said. “The stand of the BJP over article 370 has not changed. Whenever we have majority in Jammu and Kashmir, we will revoke Article 370,” Rathore said. He was speaking at #Modi365, a conclave organised by CNN IBN to mark a year of BJP government in office. Rathore also tried to justify Narendra Modi’s foreign visits saying the earlier Prime Minister Manmohan Singh also un- EARTH NEWS SERVICE Srinagar, May 22|15: Work- dertook trips for same number of days, but it was hardly taken notice of. Taking a jibe at the suit-boot ki Sarkar comment of Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi, the minister said, “it is better to be suited than to be booted out,” Lashing out at the Contd on Page 2 ing president of the Opposition National Conference, Omar Abdullah on Friday hit out at PDP-BJP coalition government in the state over the remarks of Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar on the strategy of eliminating militants in the state. “Looks like (Chief Minister) Mufti (Mohammad) Syed (sic) is reviving & empowering the Ikhwanis (counter-insurgents). That’s the only way to carry out ‘terrorists killing terrorists’ policy of MOD,” Omar tweeted. He was referring to the statement made by Parrikar in an interview with an English daily. “Our proactive attitude is to identify terrorists and then effectively neutralise them. Every case is handled firmly with clear-cut intelligence for targeted kills. “We ensure minimal collateral damage. You have to neutralise terrorist through terrorist only. Why my soldier has to do it all the time?” Parrikar had said. Several groups of counter-insurgents, known as Ikhwanis in Kashmir, actively helped the security forces to tackle militancy in the valley during second half of 1990s and early 2000s. However, the groups were disbanded and many of the cadres Contd on Page 2 militants on the night hours of Thursday raided three mobile tower sites in north Kashmir’s Sopore area of Baramulla district and directed the land owners to wind up the operations of these towers, a top official source revealed Friday. The source said that the “militants” went to Shuwa village, Dooru village and Dangerpora village of volatile Sopore and “made it clear to the proprietors on whose land these mobile towers are erected to shut the operations or they will destroy them (towers) by blasting”. The development has come at a time when tensions between militants and telecom operators are already running high in Sopore. Exactly three weeks ago, a group of masked militants who were armed with pistols, raided the outlets of three leading telecom companies which include Vodafone, Airtel and Aircel in the Town and allegedly thrashed some of their employees, security officials had said. The development came after a communication device installed by militants on an Airtel mobile tower was removed by telecom operators at Badambagh locality of the Town. The offices, outlets and other franchises of the telecom companies are closed since three weeks in Sopore causing inconvenience to the customers. The customers said that no recharge for mobile phones is available in the Sopore and its adjoining areas and for doing same they have to approach their families and friends outside Sopore. The internet connectivity has also been hit in the Town, they Geelani passport row: Jammu District Tops in ado about nothing Domestic Violence Cases in JK Much S K S ANT EARTH NEWS SERVICE Jammu, May 22|15: The Jammu district has reported the highest number of incidents of domestic violence in the state since 2009, topping the charts with 1,247 cases as over 4,000 such cases reported from the Jammu and Kashmir. As many as 4157 people have been booked in 2009 cases of domestic violence and protection of women from domestic violence during last five years in the state, officials of the state Home Ministry said. Among the 22 districts, Jammu, the winter capital of the state, comes first with booking of 1247 people in 455 cases of domestic violence against women, they said. Meanwhile, as per the figures, districts of Jammu region have shown notoriety in cases of domestic violence than Kashmir region. In Kashmir valley, 439 people have been booked in 255 cases in Srinagar district, 91 people were booked in 71 cases in Baramulla, 72 people booked in 29 cases in Anantnag, 44 people Contd on Page 2 UMAR HARMA Jammu, May 22 |15: Leader of the hard-line faction of Hurriyat Conference Syed Ali Shah Geelani needs to meet his ailing daughter in Saudi Arabia. For this, he has to travel outside India on a traveling document, a passport issued by the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA). There are some formalities which have to be completed before a travel document can be issued just as they are in other cases. Without completing these formalities, no travel document can be issued. A travel document entails many responsibilities on the part of the issuing nation. A travel document is, in fact, a sort of identity card for international travel. The nation which issues the passport assumes total responsibility for the citizen who is issued the travelling document. The passport is issued to any citizen subject to some norms. A citizen is issued a passport for different purposes, and obviously, citizens fall in different categories for the issuance. There are some citizens who can be, and are, issued passport almost instantly. Such is their nature of work or such are their travel needs that a nation expedites their passports. Then there are citizens who are considered persona non grata by the nations. These citizens are issued passports, at times, subject to fulfillment of certain conditions. At times, they are denied a Contd on Page 2 The development has come at a time when tensions between militants and telecom operators are already running high in Sopore added. Usually, the telecom companies in Kashmir employ one of the land proprietors for operating the mobile towers. A senior police official informed that the hunt to nab the “militants” is on and the forces including Special Operation Group (SOG), Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) and army have intensified patrolling during day time as well as in the night hours. “We are hopeful that we would be able to track down the militants,” he said. The security agencies have already questioned several youths in this connection but so far no one has been arrested. Earlier, posters warning the telecommunication companies to close their services surfaced in the Town. “We warn these telecommunication companies to close all networking services, close their offices and stop recharging services as well. We warn the retailers as well to stop recharging the subscribers within seven days,” read the posters of unknown Lashkar-e-Islam outfit. The gunmen reportedly have held the telecommunication companies exclusively responsible for the killing and arrest of top militant commanders in the Town. Another youth stabbed in Miran Sahib EARTH NEWS SERVICE Jammu, May 22|15: In an alleged on-going gang war, a person was inflicted injuries at his hands and legs with sharp-edged weapons by a group of five to six persons at Indira Nagar area, Friday afternoon. This is second case of stabbing within 10 days by same group of youth in the area resulted creating panic in the area. Identity of the injured has been established as Balbir Singh alias Bindu Punjabi son of Shamshar Singh of Gurdaspur, Punjab presently staying at Talab Tillo. “Bindu Punjabi was standing near Petrol Pump in Miran Sahib where a group of five Contd on Page 2 Ambaran-Pamberwan the ancient Buddhist site in Akhnoor awaits attention Shivang Satya Gupta Editor-in-Chief 76km 0% with the Defence Minister on wide range of issues including which was also attended by senior officers of the State Government and Ministry of Defence, the two leaders discussed several strategic issues related to prevailing security situation in the State. Earlier, the Defence Minister arrived today at Raj Bhavan, Srinagar, on a two day visit to the State. He was received by Governor N N Vohra. The Chief Minister took up with the Defence Minister matters related to civil aviation which included allowing nightlanding facilities at Srinagar Airport and expansion and development of Jammu and Kargil Airports. He also highlighted Contd on Page 2 YASH KHAJURIA Jammu, May 22 |15: Suspected A mbaran-Pamberwan the ancient Buddhist site in Akhnoor, is a place that has every potential to become a centre for religious tourism if included in tourism promotion activities. Even as several announcements were made to improve infrastructure at the site but Ambaran is yet to find its right place in tourism directory of the state. Ambaran has acquired a religious and tourism status and the place has become a source of attraction for the locals as well as the outsiders. If promoted properly by the department of tourism the site is expected to invite special attention of the archeologists, historians along with tourists and visitors not from across the country but also from the world. The site is very significant in view of the historical relevance which also breaks the myth that the Harrapan civilization was confined within the Indus Valley as this is considered as j&k: a dream destination the last bastion of the Harappan Civilization as there has been no trace of any object that could show that Harappans moved any further beyond this town. The significance of Ambaran can be gauged by the fact that the Dalai Lama has visited the site and the excavations carried out between 1991 and 2001 threw up relics of 5,000-year-old Harappan and pre-Harappan civilizations, says a report. Excavations at AmbaranPamberwan sites have proved that the place was a prominent abode of Buddhism during the Kushan period and Gupta period. Apart from an ancient eight-spoke Stupa (a moundlike structure containing Buddhist relics, made of high quality baked bricks and sur- rounded by stone pathways, meditation cells and rooms), life sized Terracotta busts of Buddha and coins belonging to those periods were also excavated from the sites. The 14th Dalai Lama visited the place in August, 2012. Buddhist relics from the Pre-Kushan reign and silver caskets, gold and silver leaves, pearls, corals and three copper coins from the Gupta period are reported to be found. The location of the Stupas is such that it lies on the ancient routes from Pataliputra, now in present day Patna, Bihar in India to Taxila now in Punjab Province, Pakistan. Contd on Page 2
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