KASHMIR. 11 Rajab Al-Murajab 1439 Hijri Vol:21 Issue:75 Pages:12 Price: `3

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1 29 THURSDAY MARCH-2018 SRINAGAR TODAY : SUNNY 21 KASHMIR Contact : FOR SUBSCRIPTIONS & YOUR COPY OF Maximum : 21 O Minmum : 02 O Humidity : 73% SUNSET Today 06:49 PM SUNRISE Tommrow 06:23 AM 11 Rajab Al-Murajab 1439 Hijri Vol:21 Issue:75 Pages:12 Price: `3 twitter.com / kashmirobserver facebook.com/kashmirobserver Postal Regn: L/159/KO/SK/ Wisdom Of all possessions a friend is the most precious. - Herodotus News Digest Vohra Meets Sharma, Security Echelons Srinagar: On a day-long visit to the Valley Governor N.N. Vohra had a series of meetings with senior echelons in the security management apparatus as well with Dineshwar Sharma, Government of India s Special Representative for Dialogue in J&K. (Vohra and Sharma) discussed the security situation since the beginning of this year and the steps required for P10 Aadhaar Deadline Extended New Delhi: The government on Wednesday extended by three months the deadline of March 31 for linking of Aadhaar with the welfare schemes, where benefits are transferred to citizens from the Consolidated Fund of India. The deadline now stands extended to June 30, 2018, according to an office memorandum of the Ministry of Electronics and IT. P10 3 PSA Detentions Quashed Srinagar: The Jammu and Kashmir High Court on Wednesday quashed detention order under Public Safety Act of three detainees, two of them from Baramulla and another from Pulwama district of Kashmir. A bench of Justice M K Hanjura while quashing the detention orders directed the release of the detainees forthwith from the preventive custody, P10 Less Graft Complaints In 2017 New Delhi: Over 26,000 complaints were received against government officers, including senior officials, last year, the Lok Sabha was informed on Wednesday. As per the information received from the Central Vigilance Commission, 26,052 complaints were received against the government officials in 2017, Minister of State for Personnel Jitendra Singh P10 Jammu CCP s Trial On Apr 15 Jammu: The Rs 75 crore Jammu cable car project is set be completed by July this year and the first trial will be held on April 15. The blue print for this project was first prepared in 1995 and initially the cable car was to take off from Mubarak Mandi, but after the declaration of Mubarak Mandi and Bahu Fort as heritage sites, the project had to be relocated. The foundation stone for the project was laid on February 24, "The project would be completed by July The committee P10 Srinagar: The family of a missing youth, who has reportedly joined Lashker-e-Toiba militancy, on Wednesday urged him to return home, while appealing to the LeT to let him go as his parents were not well. Faid Mushtaq Waza, a resident of Khanyar in Downtown here, went missing on Friday and an appeal was made by his family after a picture purportedly showing him holding a gun went viral on social media yesterday. His ailing parents said that they were shocked after they learnt that he had reportedly joined the Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT) militant outfit, Waza's family members told reporters at the Press Enclave in State s summer capital. No official statement or comment has been issued by the police. Waza had gone to attend a religious gathering on Friday and did not return home. His mobilephone was switched off since then, a family member said. The youth's family members have filed a missing person's report.... News / 05 UN CHIEF EXPRESSES CONCERN OVER DEATHS OF INDIAN JOURNALISTS "We, of course, are concerned about anything that would suggest the harassment or violence... A MAN CARRYING LAMB ON SHOULDER WALKS through the Mustard field in full blossom near outskirts of Srinagar Press Trust of India New Delhi: There is no proposal from J&K Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti seeking a dialogue with Pakistan for bringing peace in the state, the government informed the Rajya Sabha Wednesday. Indian minister of state for Home Hansraj Gangaram Ahir said the government has clear and consistent position that it desires "normal neighbourly" relations with Pakistan and is committed to addressing all outstanding issues bilaterally and peacefully in accordance with the Simla Agreement and the Lahore declaration. In a written reply to a question by Shiromani Akali Dal member Sukhdev Singh Dhindsa on whether the chief minister of Jammu and Kashmir has recently asked the central government to talk to Pakistan for peace in the state, Ahir said: "No such proposal has been received from the state government". The minister said any meaningful 6/ Opinion... dialogue with Pakistan can be held only in an atmosphere free of terror, hostility and violence. "Onus is on Pakistan to create such a conducive atmosphere," he said. The reply by the Centre has the ARTICLE 35A, NOT ARTICLE 370 It is the Article 35A that makes Article 370 special. Rest of its provisions have been battered beyond recognition. So, more than Article 370, which is anyway too difficult to revoke, Kashmir wants centre s assurance... GoI Rebuffs Mehbooba On Talks With Pakistan Says No Proposal Received From J&K CM For Talks With Islamabad Govt Issues Notice To Facebook Over Data Breach India s Crown Has Lost Its Sheen: CM Srinagar: Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti on Wednesday Jammu and Kashmir being crown of India has lost sheen. J&K s immense natural beauty, cultural diversity & linguistic bounty is perhaps the reason that the almighty has kept us at the top of the country, in the form of a crown. But this crown has lost its sheen, Mehbooba tweeted. P10 potential of creating a controversy in the state as the Chief Minister as well as her party have been claiming to have asked the Centre to hold a meaningful dialogue with Pakistan.(PTI) INDIAN MINISTER OF STATE FOR Home Hansraj Gangaram Ahir said the government has clear and consistent position that it desires "normal neighbourly" relations with Pakistan New Delhi: The government today issued a notice to social networking giant Facebook, seeking its response over the user data breach and details of the measures it has put in place to ensure safety and prevent misuse of personal data. The Ministry of Electronics and IT (Meity) today said that a notice seeking details relating to breach of data from Facebook had been sent to Cambridge Analytica particularly with regard to reports in the media about questionable practices attributed to the UK-based firm in their efforts to influence elections. P10 Family of LeT s Cadre From Downtown Urges Him To Return Home Pic Abid Bhat / KO His father is in hospital and his mother is also not keeping well, they are both in shock, the family member said. "We came to know that he has joined militancy, we saw his picture on the Internet. We appeal him to leave arms and return home, otherwise his parents cannot bear it," the family member said. The family also appealed to the LeT to let Waza go, the member said. "The militants are also our sons. We appeal them to let him go as his parents are ill," the family member said. Pic Abid Bhat / KO Woman s Killing In Dec / Life and Times... Srinagar: Four militants were killed in an encounter with joint team of police, army and CRPF at Sunderbani area Rajouri district of Jammu region. 4 (militants) killed in joint operation in Sunderbani Rajouri. It was a group recently infiltrated from LOC, Director General of Police, SP Vaid said in a tweet. Official sources said that the group affiliation and identity of the slain militants is being acertained. Rajouri SSP Yougal Manhas said three bags of ammunition and explosives were recovered from outside a CRPF camp in Sunderbani, hours after a sentry opened fire. The sentry manning the gate of a CRPF camp at Sodra in Sunderbani area had fired some warning shots and raised the alarm after he detected some suspicious movement near the paramilitary camp. The district administration had ordered the closure of all the educational institutions in Sunderbani sector in wake of the operation. NEW DEVICE TO TRACK MOVEMENT OF STUDENTS IN SCHOOLS The device can be worn by students as standard identity cards and the data can be sent to the nearest gateway... 4 Militants Killed In Rajouri Marouf Ali Srinagar: Observing that action of the state has to be fair and transparent, the State High Court on Wednesday quashed an order by virtue of which a doctor was terminated by the government is Dr. Mohammad Iqbal Wani had filed a petition before the high court that National Board of Examination New Delhi held an examination for the DNB Course in Cardiology at Fortis Hospital Mohali. He participated in it and was declared to have qualified the examination. On 24 February 2012, he was required to join the course upto March 2012, failing which it was stipulated that SHRC Orders Personal Appearance Of DC, SSP Shopian Agencies New Delhi : Pakistan's objections over the designs of some of India's hydropower projects along with other issues related to the Indus Waters Treaty are likely to be discussed during the two-day meeting of the Permanent Indus Commission here starting tomorrow, sources said. India's Indus water commissioner P K Saxena, technical experts and a representative of the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) will be part of the Indian delegation The schools shall remain closed in the Sunderbani division today as a precautionary measure, he had said soon after the operation was launched. The police in a statement said that the militants were eliminated in a well coordinated daylong operation. It said that a search operation in the villages of Sunderbani was going for the last two days following specific inputs. It added, Last night, a strong input was developed after which a joint column of the police, the Army and the BSF launched an operation in the area Rawariya Talla near a security establishment, P10 FOUR (MILITANTS) killed in joint operation in Sunderbani Rajouri. It was a group recently infiltrated from LOC, the seat will be forfeited. The selection in the course being a lifetime opportunity for a medico, he did not want to waste it and formally filed an application for the grant of study leave before the government where he was working as an Assistant Surgeon and the failure on the part of the government to take a decision on his application forced and coerced him to approach the high Court in Now Employee Can Access GP Fund Online Jammu: Chief Minister, Mehbooba Mufti on Wednesday launched a web based application-genprofit-which would enable them to access their G P Fund details through online mode, including SMSes. This service will facilitate the employees easy access to information regarding GP Fund withdrawals, monthly contributions and yearly details. The Chief Minister, on the occasion, complimented the Finance Department for achieving the feat and facilitating the GP Fund subscribers with online availability of details of their accounts. Minister for Finance & Education, Syed Altaf Bukhari; Chief Secretary, B B Vyas; Principal Secretary, Finance, Navin Choudhary; Principal Secretary to Chief Minister, Rohit Kansal; Director General, Funds Organisation, Muhammad Ishaq Wani and other senior officers were present on the occasion. State Can t Treat Same Set of Employee On Different Pedestals: HC Quashes Govt s Order Terminating Doctor In 2013 For Choosing Lifetime Opportunity For Medico Srinagar: The State Human Rights Commission on Wednesday ordered personal appearance of Deputy Commissioner and Senior Superintendent of Police Shopian for failure to file reply to a petition, seeking independent probe into the killing of a woman when her milk sucking baby was in her lap in the south Kashmir district on December 19 last year. Despite notices having been served through and fax, there is no response from Deputy Commissioner and SSP Shopian. In these circumstances both the officers are directed to appear in person before the commission on next date of hearing, said SHRC chairman Justice (Retd) Bilal Nazki as per the complainant M.M.Shuja, the chairman of Centre for Peace and Protection of Human Rights. The case has been posted on April 27. The SHRC had asked the deputy commissioner and the SSP to submit the report to the petition, seeking an independent probe preferably through SHRC s own investigation agency to bring to justice those responsible for the killing P10 On 08 March 2012, the high court put the government on notice. Dr Wani stated that he was verbally directed by the government to join the course at Fortis Hospital, Mohali, till his case was considered and study leave was formally granted in his favour. On the assurance, Dr Wani stated that he left the Department of Health and joined the DNB course at Mohali, from where he remained in constant P10 THE ACTION OF THE STATE has to be fair and transparent. It has to be based on reason and logic. The state cannot afford to treat the same set of employees on two different pedestals, Funding Case NIA Names Geelani, Watali s Son As Prosecution Witness Agencies New Delhi: Hurriyat Conference (G) chairman Syed Ali Shah Geelani s son as well as the son of noted businessman Zahoor Ahmed Watali have been listed among the prosecution witnesses by the National Investigation Agency in Kashmir funding case. The NIA, which filed a charge sheet in the case in January this year, have named Watali s son Yasir Gaffar at serial number 30 and Geelani s son Naim-ul-Zaffar at serial number 37 in the list of prosecution witnesses submitted to a special court. The NIA has also submitted eight-page and four-page statements given by Ghaffar and Zaffar respectively to an NIA official India, Pak To Discuss Indus Waters Today Islamabad s Objections To Delhi s Projects Likely Be Discussed At Permanent Indus Commission Meet' for the annual meeting. Pakistan's six-member delegation, led by Syed Muhammad Mehar Ali Shah, has already arrived here for the Commission's 114th meeting, which will take place in the backdrop of the continuing tension between the two countries over a host of issues, including the alleged harassment of diplomats. The PIC is an established mechanism under the IWT, which mandates it to establish and maintain cooperative arrangements for the implementation of the water distribution pact and to promote cooperation between the two sides in the development of the Indus water systems. Pakistan has objections over designs of some of India's projects. Their objections have been there since These issues may come up for discussion. There will also be routine exchange of information during the course of investigation. A statement given before a police official is not admissible as a primary evidence in the court. The charge sheet has been filed by the NIA against 12 people, including Lashker-e-Taiba chief Hafiz Saeed and Hizbul Mujahideen chief Syed Salahuddin. Ten people arrested by the NIA in connection with the case inlcude son-in-law of Geelani, Altaf Ahmed Shah, besides Watali. The probe agency registered a case against separatists in the Kashmir Valley on May 30 last year and also claimed to have managed to secure confessional statements on the flow of money from some people related to the funding in Kashmir. Geelani s son, P10 between the two countries, an official source told PTI. According to the sources, Pakistan has been expressing concerns over India's Ratle (850 MW), Pakal Dul (1000 MW) and Lower Kalnai (48 MW) projects -- located in the Chenab basin contending that they violate the IWT, signed in India continues to P10 HE IWT COVERS THE WATER T distribution and sharing rights of six rivers -- Beas, Ravi, Sutlej, Indus, Chenab and Jhelum.

2 To place an advertisement CALL Monday - Saturday (9am - 6pm) No 1- Dal Lake Boulevard Srinagar, , Kashmir Sumo & Tempo Owners Union Opposite Super Bazar Mehindi Kadal Anantnag Result of Annual Elections The Following Persons Have Been Elected As Per The Results Of Election President Bilal Ahmad Dar Vice President Mohd Ashraf Parrey Gen, Secretary Mudasir Ahmad Kumar Publicity Secretary Mushtaq Ahmad Bhat Public Notice SAM NAG Administration of Euro Presentation School has shifted their school from Paibug Anantnag to Nai Basti Anantnag. Parents are requested to contact MTQ GBL حکومت جموں و کشمير از سرشت سب ڑويژنل ايگريکلچر آفسرخانصاحب Organizer Mohd Rafiq Malik Cashier S. Ghulam Jeelani Government of Jammu and Kashmir OFFICE OF THE SUB DIVISION AGRICULTURE OFFICER, KHANSAHIB, DISTRICT BUDGAM 5 It is for notice of general public that I Ashiq Hussain Wani S/O Bashir Ahmad Wani R/O Khundroo Achabal Anantnag have applied for Fertilizer License at Uttresoo (Agriculture Zone Shangus). If anybody having any kind of objection in this regard, he may object his objection in the office of Agriculture Extension Officer Shangus, Anantnag witjin 7 days of issuance of this notice. After that no objection will be entertained. Ashiq Husain Wani S/O Bashir Ahmad Wani R/O Khundroo, Achabal Public Notice SM ANG 4 SAM NAG bazar Observer Thursday PUBLIC NOTICE Besides these the body memebers of Sumo & Tempo owners union are 1. Waseem Raja Bhat 2. Ashiq HussaiN Baktoo 3. Mohd Amin Sofi 4. Jala Ud Din Sheikh 5. javaid Sheikh 6. Kasir Ah Teeli RN ANG Office Of The Assistant Regional Transport Officer Budgam Kashmir NOTICE Whereas an application has been recieved from one. Shri : Tanveer Ahmad Wani S/o: Gh Mohd Wani R/o: Namtehal Chadoora Owner of Vehicle No: JK04D for issuance of Duplicate Registration Certificate Now therefore it is notified for the information of the general public that objections if any to the proposed issuance of Duplicate Registration Certificate in respect of vehicle No. JK04D-2818 shall be filed in writing in the office of the Assistant Regional Transport office ARTO Budgam within a period of 7 days from the date of publication of this notice in the daily newspaper. Assistant Regional Transport officer Budgam Kashmir No. ARTO/ BUDGAM.8454 Dated 28/03/2018 MQ BUD OFFICE OF THE ASSISTANT REGIONAL TRANSPORT OFFICER BUDGAM NOTICE Where a application has been recieved from one. Shri :Ishtiyaq Ahmad Hajam S/O: Saif ud Din Hajam R/o: Thaira Gogji Pathri Budgam for issuance of duplicate driving license. D.L. No JK Dated:2017 Now therefore it is notified for the information of the general public that objections if any to the issue of duplicate driving license in respect of D.L No JK Shall be filed in writing in the office of the Assistant Regional Transport office ARTO Budgam within a period of 07 days from the date of publication of this news. No submission /request shall be entertained after the expiry of sipulated period of time. No. ARTO/ BUDGAM.8455 Dated 28/03/2018 Assistant Regional Transport officer Budgam Kashmir MQ BUD Government of Jammu & Kashmir OFFICE OF THE EXECUTIVE ENGINEER PWD(R&B) DIVISION KULGAM NOTICE INVITING TENDERS Fresh NIT No. 120/ /RnB/ Kul/e-tendering/ dated For and on behalf of the Governor, J&K State, e-tenders (In Single cover system) are invited on item rate basis from approved and eligible Contractors registered with J&K State Govt., CPWD, Railways and other State/Central Governments for the following works:s.no Name of Work Est. Cost Cost of T/ E/M Time T/D of Opening Class MH of (Rs. In Lacs) Doc. (In Rs.) (In Rs. ) of Bid Account Construction of drain from the land of Amma days at Dee CDS Bhat to Aadil Hamid Bhat at Kulgam Authority: Position of funds: Demanded _ 1. The NIT Consisting of qualifying information, eligibility criteria, specifications, Bill of quantities (B.O.Q), Set of terms and conditions of contract and other details can be seen/downloaded from the departmental website from A.M to P.M 2. The Bids shall be deposited in electronic format on the departmental website from (11.00 AM) to upto 4.00PM.The bids uploaded on the Web Site upto due date and time will be opened on at AM in the Office of Executive Engineer (R&B) Division Kulgam in presence of the bidders who wish to attend. In case of holidays/office happens to be closed on the date of opening of the bids, bids will be opened on the next working day at the same time and venue. 3. The complete bidding process will be on line. 3.1 Critical DATES 1. Date of Issue of Tender Notice Period of downloading of bidding documents From A.M to P.M 3. Bid submission Start Date from A.M 4. Bid Submission End Date upto 4.00 P.M 5. Deadline for receiving the Hard Copy (Original DD & EMD) and latest self at at 4.00 P.M in the Office of the Executive Engineer (R&B) Division Kulgam tested certificate by the bidder with seal to the effect that he has no sales tax liability/ arrest [The date should be one day after bid submission end date] 6. Date & time of opening of Bids (Online) - [The date should be one day after at A.M in the Office of the Execudeadline for receiving of hard copies] tive Engineer (R&B) Division Kulgam 4 Instruction to bidders regarding e-tendering process. 3.2 Bidders are advised to download bid submission manual from the Downloads option as well as from Bidders Manual Kit on website to acquaint bid submission process. 3.3 To participate in bidding process, bidders have to get Digital Signature Certificate (DSC) as per Information Technology Act Bidders can get digital certificate from any approved vendors. 3.4 The bidders have to submit their bids online in electronic format with digital Signature. No Financial bid will be accepted in physical form. 3.5 Bids will be opened online as per time schedule mentioned in Para-2 & Bidders must ensure to upload scanned copy of all necessary documents like CDR/PAN/TIN/Demand Draft with the bid and all documents be submitted physically to Executive Engineer (R&B) Division Kulgam before date of opening of bid. NO: Dtd: DIPK-16199/17 Sd/- Executive Engineer (R&B) Division Kulgam public notice I have lost my Marks Card of Class 12th bearing Reg. No N somewhere. Now I am applying for the duplicate of the same if anybody has any objection in this regard he/she may file his /her objection in concerned office within a period of seven days from the date of publication of this notice After that no objection shall be entertained Bintul Islam D/o Mushtaq Ahmad Mir MEH SPN (Declaration of Arigam and Kalshipora of Zone Khansahib as Organic Villages) It is to inform the general public that under Capex Budget Arigam and Kalshipora villages of zone Khansahib have been identified and declared as Organic Villages. Total number of 100 farm-operating families, 50 from each village has been covered and such various activities, which shall financially lead to complete organic farming, have been initiated during financial year These activities, which are part of three-year project, shall improve the overall, Socio Economic status of these villages. Sd/- Mir Aijaz Hassan, Sub Divisional Agriculture Officer, DIPK-16269/17 Khansahib, Budgam OFFICE OF THE EXECUTIVE ENGINEER PWD (R&B) DIVISION KULGAM TENDER NOTICE NIT Serial No: 123/ / (R & B)/ Kulgam/ Dated For and On behalf of Governor of Jammu and Kashmir State I the Executive Engineer PWD (R&B) Division Kulgam, hereby invite sealed Tenders affixed with Revenue Stamp worth Rs.5/- (Rs. five only) from the approved/registered/state PWD Contractors of the classes shown for the work as indicated here under which should reach the office of the EXECUTIVE ENGINEER PWD(R&B) DIVISION KULGAM on or before upto 02:00 PM. The tenders/bids will be opened on the same day or any other day convenient in presence of the contractors who may like to be present. S. No. Name of Work Adv. Cost (incld: Cost of DeE/Money Class Time Cost of Head of Position of partmental Material) Rs.in Lacs (In Rs.) T/D Account funds 1 Development of Berm on either side Self Help 10 days 200/- State Demanded of Guffan link road by way of P/L of Group Sector RBM (Agg: length 750 Mtrs) Terms and Conditions;1. The bidders shall be at liberty to send their bids either in person or through registered post but shall super scribe the following in front of the envelope Name of work, Cost of work, Full name of Contractor Ref. to CDR No. & Date, Date of receipt of tenders, Reference to NIT No. 2. All Bidders / tenderers should attach photo copy of following documents with their bids/ tenders a. Valid Registration Card B:- Tin No 3. The Bidders should address their tenders to the EXECUTIVE ENGINEER PWD(R&B) DIVISION KULGAM 4. The bidding documents shall be issued by this office against Non refundable cash payment to eligible contractors on any working day upto to hours 5. Bids from Joint Ventures are not allowed 6. The bids for the work(s) in the form of tender forms issued by the competent authority from time to time during or tender documents issued by the competent authority, duly filled and complete in all respects should reach the concerned office on or before the dead line date i.e up to 2.00 PM. Any bid received after the deadline date and time shall be retuned unopened to the bidder. In case the last date of receipt of tenders is declared a holiday or offices are closed due to any other reason, the tenders shall be received on the next working day up to 2 P.M by the receiving authority. Sd/DIPK-16261/17 Executive Engineer, PWD R&B Division Kulgam Government of Jammu & Kashmir Department of Geology and Mining J&K, Srinagar Office of the District Mineral Officer, Ganderbal (Room No:-338,339,340) CORRIGENDUM /ADDENDUM This has reference to the publication w.r.t auction notice vide No.DIPK/15956 Dated:-23/03/2018 regarding the auction of minor mineral blocks in Nallah Sindh. The application duly filled in all aspects should reach this office by or before 15th of April, Besides this those who have applied earlier for participation in auction of minor mineral blocks need not to submit the application fee for that particular block. District Mineral Officer Geology and Mining Department Ganderbal DIPK-16273/17 Office Of The Medical Superintendent District Hospital PULWAMA - dhpulwama@gmail.com Telefax: Tender Sealed tenders affixed with revenue stamp of Rs5/= (Rupees Five) are invited from the stationary/printing dealers having valid GSTIN Number for the supply of various stationary items for SNCU. The tender document can be had from the office of undersigned during working hours. The tenders along with CDR of Rs5000/-(Rupees Five thousand Only) Pledged to the Medical Superintendent District Hospital Pulwama from any J&K Bank, shall reach to office of the undersigned with seven days from the date of publication of this tender in newspaper and the same shall be opened on the eight day. NO:-MS/DH/PUL/SNCU/ Dated;- 27/03/2017 DIPK-16212/17 Medical Superintendent Distt.Hospital Pulwama G DISCLAIMER: Kashmir Observer makes every effort to ensure that the information carried in display/ classified advertisements, appearing in the newspaper is correct. However the newspaper takes no responsibility nor does it necessarily endorse the contents of these adverts. The readers are therefore requested to verify the contents before acting thereupon. Management

3 Srinagar Observer Thursday Day 2: KU students hold protest seeking whereabouts of their missing fellow SRINAGAR: Kashmir University yet again rocked with student protest on Wednesday against the disappearance of a student while protesting students demanded his whereabouts. Sameer Ahmed Dar, a 2nd semester student of the Department of Geology went missing on March 19 after he left for university from his home. Sameer is a resident of Kakapora area in South Kashmir s Pulwama district. While seeking the intervention of University authorities, the protesting students marched through lanes and by-lanes of the Varsity. The students have been protesting continuously from past three days. Meanwhile, in a statement issued by Varsity said that: the University has already written Mirwaiz visits Jamia Masjid, takes stock of ongoing construction work SRINAGAR: President of Anjumane-Auqaf Jama Masjid Srinagar, Mirwaiz Umar Farooq Wednesday visited the historic Jama Masjid Srinagar and took stock of ongoing construction and cleanliness drive in and outside the mosque, which is the spiritual center of Kashmir. On the occasion, the members of Auqaf as per the statement issued to KNS apprised Mirwaiz about the several steps initiated by the Auqaf to ensure the clean atmosphere in and outside the grand mosque. The members of Auqaf also briefed Mirwaiz about the uninterrupted availability of water for ablution for the devotees and the waste disposal. Mirwaiz urged all the members of Jamia Auqaf to take all the possible Strong education system is foundation of strong nation: Secy Education SRINAGAR: Secretary Education Farooq Ahmad Shah today said that a strong education system is the foundation of a strong nation. The Secretary expressed these views while addressing students of Government Higher Secondary School (GHSS) Amira Kadal during their morning assembly through Tele-media on International Day for Education. Recalling the old times, Farooq Shah said that our State was once famous in the field of education and every possible effort should be taken to restore that glory. He urged students to work hard to excel in the field of education. Secretary appealed the teacher community to take education as worship, saying happiness is embedded in the same. On the occasion Director School Education Kashmir Dr. G.N. Itoo expressed his good wishes for the students. Another function was organized at GHSS Kothibagh where free spectacles were distributed among 400 students who had been examined earlier. The event was organized by SSA Wing of CEO Srinagar under IED component during which Deputy Chief Education Officer Srinagar Mudassir Kaleem Fazili, OSD Cultural Education Wing DSEK G.N. Shakir, Media Coordinator Education Fayyaz Ahmad Fayyaz and District Incharge SSA Showkat Hussain distributed free spectacles among the students. International Day for Education was celebrated across the State and in this regards several functions were organized in various institutions of the valley including at GHSS Rajbagh, BHSS Batamaloo, GHS Khanabal Anantnag, BHSS Jawaharnagar, Model HSS Dooru, GHSS Nunar Ganderbal, GHSS Kupwara. Similar functions were also held in Ganderbal, Budgam, Anantnag, Ramban including Leh and Kargil in which students were enlightened about the importance of education. steps to keep the sanctity and cleanliness of the grand Masjid intact and ensure that all construction work of the drains around the mosque is completed before the advent of the sacred month of Ramadan to ensure that worshipers face no issues who throng Masjid in large numbers. (KNS) to the Director General of Police on March 24, requesting him to have the whereabouts of the student ascertained at an earliest. The offices of the Chancellor and Pro-Chancellor have also been informed about the instant case. Today, the Vice Chancellor personally talked to the agitating students and informed them that the administration is equally concerned about the student s whereabouts and a special team of officials is in touch with the police on a daily basis. We request the agitating students to maintain calm and cooperate till the police ascertains the whereabouts of the student, the statement read. (CNS) 4-day 'Kashmir Natya Mahotsav' Starts At Tagore Hall SRINAGAR: North Zone Cultural Centre (NZCC), Patiala (Ministry of Culture, Govt. of India) has started a 4-day Festival of Kashmiri Plays. The Festival is named KASHMIR NATYA MAHOTSAV. It was held in collaboration with S. P. College Srinagar. The Festival was inaugurated on Wednesday and will come to its conclusion on 31st March 2018, in the auditorium of S. P. College, Srinagar. The Festival was inaugurated with the tradional ISBAND burning. The Guest of Honour was Prof. Manzoor Ahmad Lone, Principal S. P. College and the Chief Guest was Prof. Shaikh Javaid, Vice Chancellor of Cluster University. Today two Plays were perfomed. The first play was BONI ZARUR, directed by Sahil Shafi and second play which was performed was TCAENG GAYI TCH- HETE, directed by Abdul Majeed Wani. The Auditorium was full with the students of the college as well as the theatre lovers of the valley. The audience appreciated both the plays. Tomorrow 3 (three) plays shall be staged. The plays are ATH SHAR, TIMKAR YIN WAPAS & CONFESSION. Mushtaaque Ali Ahmad Khan, Festival Director thanked everyone for attending and making the first day of the Festival a success. Women successfully balancing between professional, personal life: Nayeema SRINAGAR: Highlighting the contribution of Kashmiri women in different fields, Jammu and Kashmir State Commission for Women (JKSCW) Chairperson, Mrs. Nayeema Mehjoor today said, the women in the State have been successful in maintaining the balance between their professional and personal life. However, off late the Commission has been receiving several complaints about the marital discord wherein the women have been accused of focusing more on their professional career and neglecting their family, which has resulted in disintegration of families, Mrs. Nayeema Mehjoor said while addressing the participants during a one-day seminar Contribution of Kashmiri Women to the Contemporary World, organized by the Central University of Kashmir s Women Empowerment Cell (WEC) in collaboration with Internal Complaints Committee (ICC) at Nowgam-I academic block of the varsity here. The seminar was held to commemorate the International Women s Day. Vice-Chancellor, Prof. Mehraj ud Din Mir, Registrar, Prof. M Afzal Zargar, WEC and ICC Chairperson, Prof. Nighat Basu, SSM College of Engineering Patron, Ms. Qazi Dilafroz, Deans of Schools, Heads and Coordinators of departments and senior functionaries of the varsity were also present on the occasion. Mrs. Nayeema Mehjoor asked the women folk to make their family and home a priority than their career in order to live a happy and peaceful life. She further said the women in Kashmir have also suffered immensely on account of loss of their children and other family members during the conflict. JKSCW Chairperson also underscored the need of conducting a detailed research about the contributions made by the women in different fields in Kashmir. Vice-Chancellor, Prof. Mehraj ud Din Mir, while speaking on the occasion said, that despite facing several difficulties in the society and at workplaces, the women in Kashmir have excelled in almost all the professions. The Kashmiri women have a carved a niche for themselves and few are holding key positions at important institutions in the United States and other European countries, he added. Prof. Mehraj ud Din Mir also highlighted the less crime rate against women in Kashmir. The crimes against women in the Valley are very less when compared to other States in the country, he said, adding that the Internal Complains Committee of the varsity has also received only a single complaint till date. Prof. Mehraj ud Din Mir also announced that the university would provide financial assistance to the scholar willing to write a dissertation about the contribution of women in Kashmir. Registrar, Prof. M Afzal Zargar, in his inaugural remarks, said the women in Kashmir have played a pivotal and significant role in the society. The women who is daughter, sister, mother, are contributing selflessly to the society, he said. Prof. Zargar said the women in Kashmir have been making advances in almost all the fields, particularly academics and medicine. In almost all the results of schools and colleges, the girl students are outshining the boys, he added. Earlier, WEC and ICC Chairperson, Prof. Nighat Basu, gave a detailed account about the functioning of the Women Empowerment Cell and the Internal Complaints Committee. She said the Cells are continuously organising workshops and seminars to sensitise the women about their rights. Prof. Basu also hailed the Cell members and other administrative staff for their role in making the seminar a success. DIAL-EMMA AIRPORTS TRAFFIC POLICE : , PCR: , PDD: FIRE AND EMERGENCY SERVICES : , , CAPD: SMC HEALTH OFFICER: SHIEK UL ALAM AIRPORT: RAILWAYS SRINAGAR: ANANTNAG: BARAMULLA: BIJBHERA: PAMPORE: PATTAN: QAZIGUND: HIGHWAY STATUS SRINAGAR JAMMU: OPEN SRINAGAR-LEH: CLOSED MUGHAL ROAD: CLOSED SRINAGAR-MUZAFFARABAD: CLOSED HIJRI CALENDAR 11 RAJAB-UL-MURAJJAB 1439 PRAYERS FAJR---5: 02 ZUHR---12: 37 ASR---5:05 Magrib 6:53 ISHA---8:14 This Day in History Dion Boucicault s Colleen Bawn premieres in NYC Great Britain gives the Ionian Islands back to Greece Union General Steeles troops reach Arkadelphia Arkansas Appomattox campaign, VA, 7582 killed Battle of Quaker Road, VA Japan adopts Gold Standard Edmund Barton is elected Prime Minister in Australia s first parliamentary election ,000 watch the 200-inch mirror blank passing through Indianapolis Nazi propaganda claims 99% of Germans voted for Nazi candidates German submarine U-585 sinks The Bombing of Lübeck in World War II was the first major success for the RAF Bomber Command against Germany and a German city World War II: Last day of V-1 flying bomb attacks on England Turkey recognizes Israel rd Amendment to the US Constitution ratified, allowing Washington, D.C. residents to vote in presidential elections After a 4½ year trial Nelson Mandela is acquitted of treason in Pretoria Muhammad Ali beats George Chuvalo in 15 for heavyweight boxing title th Eurovision Song Contest: Salome for Spain ( Vivo cantando ), Lulu of United Kingdom ( Boom Bang-a-Bang ), Lenny Kuhr of Netherlands ( De troubadour ), and Frida Boccara of France ( Un jour, un enfant ) all win in Madrid 1971 Chile president Allende nationalizes banks/copper mines 1971 Conrad Van Emde Boas becomes West Europe s 1st sexology professor Development of a serum hepatitis vaccine for children announced US troops leave Vietnam, 9 yrs after Tonkin Resolution Mariner 10 s, 1st fly-by of Mercury, returns photos Chinese farmers discover the Terracotta Army near Xi an, 8,000 clay warrior statues buried to guard tomb of China s 1st emperor Qin Shi Huang Only 2nd time Islanders beat Rangers Last day of Test cricket for Mushtaq Mohammad USSR performs nuclear test at Eastern Kazakh/ Semipalitinsk USSR Beatle records officially go on sale in Russia st Soviet hockey players are permitted to play for the NHL st US private commercial rocket makes suborbital test flight (NM) Serbs & Croats sign a cease-fire to end the war in Croatia Bulgaria, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Romania, Slovakia and Slovenia join NATO as full members. From KO Archives Shah gives away 50 lakh to the needy Ittehadul Muslimeen president and senior Hurriyat Conference leader Maulana Masroor Abbas Ansari returned home on Wednesday following a successful liver transplant surgery. Hundreds of people were present at the residence of Maulana Abbas on the occasion. Pix Mushtaq Reshi SRINAGAR: Shabir Ahmad Shah, the leader of Democratic Freedom Party (DFP) today distributed around 50 lakh rupees he held in trust among the victims of violence at his party headquarters at Raj Bagh in Srinagar. Nearly over 1500 people had gathered at the party headquarters today to receive monetary help from Shabir Ahmad Shah. The dis tribution ceremony took place in the lawns of the DFP headquarters. The recipients, which included families of those killed in, past years of turmoil by the security forces, were provided cash by the DFP supremo in presence of scores of his party workers, which in cluded Mohammad Abdullah Tari, Salim Geelani and Tasaduq Laway. This is for the first time that DFP has publicly distributed money among the victims from funds dedicated to the nation by him last year. Shabir Shah later said that distribution of money among the victims after the government and "some elements" prevented him from forming a. trust as per his earlier announcement. In all some 50 lakh rupees were distributed among 1200 fami lies affected by the continued violence. Even some down-trodden families were provided monetary help by the DFP Chairman. Shah reiterated that his stand on Kashmir issue remains un changed. "I still stand by what I have been struggling for over the past many years now", he told the gathering on the occasion, He urged for an early solution to the Kashmir issue and said that peace in sub continent would prove elusive without a permanent solution to the Kashmir issue. (KASHMIR OBSERVER, 29 March, 1999)

4 State Thursday IN BRIEF JK Cooperative Union employees accuse official of embezzlement SRINAGAR: Jammu Kashmir Cooperative Union employees Wednesday alleged that incumbent General Secretary has brought the Cooperative Union on the verge of bankruptcy. The protesting employees said that despite proving guilty, no action is being taken against the accused official. They said most of the Board of Directors in Jammu Kashmir Cooperative Union are either dead or they don t represent any Cooperative Society. They said that incumbent General Secretary has embezzled major chunk of funds coming from Centrally sponsored schemes. He created fictitious Training Centre at Rajouri to grab money though no such institute can neither be opened nor closed without the prior approval of Registrar Cooperative societies. Whatever infrastructure was present at the centre went missing after its closure, they said. The employees further said that fake certificates are being issued while there is no scrutiny to check this menace. (CNS) Staff shortage at Behnipora Hr Sec School triggers student protests HANDWARA: Upset and angered students thronged streets in Behnipora village of Handwara area in frontier district Kupwara as this higher secondary school having a sanctioned strength of fourteen lecturers has just one lecturer and four teachers with no principle in place has virtually become defunct. The staff shortage does not catch the attention of top brass of the education department as this higher secondary school having an enrolled capacity of more than three hundred students has just three teachers, one lecturer and one vice principle to take care of the academic work of the classes. The students holding anti-government pla cards and banners were out on the streets on Thursday over their long pending demand about availability of teachers, lecturers and the principle for the school. (KNS) Govt. rolls out CM s Business Interest Relief Scheme SRINAGAR: The State Government Wednesday rolled out the Chief Minister s Business Interest Relief Scheme announced during the Budget to provide relief to all the affected borrowers whose accounts were restructured post 2014 floods and subsequent unrest of By virtue of a government order, first tranche of funds for the current quarter upto 31stMarch 2018 was released to the J&K Bank (Convener State Level Bankers Committee) as the contribution of the State Government towards one-third interest of all the affected borrowers. Opposition dares BJP to abrogate Art 370, face consequences BJP determined to abrogate Art 370: Koul SRINAGAR: Reacting over the statement about Article 370 made by State Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), the opposition mainstream political parties on Wednesday said that let BJP abrogate Article 370 if they have guts to face its consequences. The opposition also said that the BJP cannot abrogate the Article 370 even if it has the full majority in the Parliament. Senior National Conference leader Ali Mohammad Sagar on Wednesday told Kashmir News Service (KNS) that the Government of India is befooling people with realizing that the people of Kashmir are very mature and wise. BJP has been repeatedly saying that they will abrogate Article 370 and if they have guts, they should and face the consequences, says Sagar. He adds that it was high time for the present regime to win the hearts of people, but they are repeatedly making controversial statements. It is high time for the government of India to talk to all the stakeholders. They should first talk to those (Hurriyat) who are very upset with India and then they should talk to those boys who are picking up arms and later should talk to mainstream politicians, Sagar Said. Pertinently, BJP General Secretary (Organization) Ashok Koul on Wednesday had said that the Article 370 will be abrogated. The statement by the minister in parliament is for the time being only and for the larger interest. Abrogation of Article 370 is one of the basic goals of our party, he had stated. While terming the BJP s assertions that it was committed to eventual abrogation of the Article 370 and was only holding back temporarily for the time being, CPI (M) leader and MLA Kulgam Mohammad Yousuf Tarigami said that Article 370 is in the basic structure of Indian Constitution and even if the BJP has full majority in the Parliament, it can t abrogate it. He said that the Jammu and Kashmir acceded to India under the guarantees provided by the Constitution of India. It is the Constituent Assembly which incorporated Article 370 in the Constitution providing a constitutional basis for the relationship of J&K with the Union. Autonomy has been provided to Jammu and Kashmir under Article 370 of the Constitution of India and forms the core of the relationship between the state and the Centre, He said. Talking to Kashmir News Service (KNS), Chairman PDF and MLA Khansahib Hakeem Mohammad Yaseen said that they are betraying people and their agenda is to abrogate Article 370. He adds that if the BJP will abrogate it, they will have to face its consequences. When Kashmir News Service contacted BJP General Secretary (Organization) Ashok Koul, he said that they have been saying since the beginning that they will abrogate Article 370. We are focusing on the current situation and are determined to improve the situation and will then abrogate Article 370, Koul said. He adds that the Article should be debated without any bias and people should know its merits and demerits. Once people will realize its abrogation has all the merits, they will then automatically want it to be abrogated. (KNS) Act promptly on queries related to corruption, Govt tells officials Conduct internal enquiries for quick action SRINAGAR: The State government has directed authorities in all the departments to act promptly on the graft enquiries conducted by them or the State Vigilance Organization (SVC) against officials. An official of the government Wednesday told KNS that it has been observed that various departments noncooperation with the anti-graft agencies on corruption related quires. There are complaints that departments have been delaying action against tainted officials despite the SVC s enquiries. Now the strict instructions have been given to the departmental heads to act against the tainted officials, insisted not Militants disappear after exchange of fire in Pulwama Locals accuse Forces of excesses after clashes PULWAMA: After a brief exchange of fire militants reportedly managed to flee from the spot in Littar area of South Kashmir s Pulwama district. Reliable sources said that after receiving inputs about the presence of militants in Littar village, 3 Rashtriya Rifles of Indian Army assisted by SOG of Jammu Kashmir Police and Para-military troopers launched a search operation at around 3:30 of Wednesday morning. As the search operation started, militants believed to be two in numbers fired upon Forces personnel who also retaliated effectively. The exchange of fire that continued for about five minutes created panic in the area. Locals said that firing stopped after five minutes while militants manage to flee from the area. The operation was called off at around 5:15 am. A police denied the reports that any militant managed to flee from the spot. The nocturnal search operation was also launched at Dalipora and Washbugh areas of Pulwama district. An official said that these operations concluded peacefully. Meanwhile, in Chowan Kellar area of South Kashmir s Shopian district, Government Forces vandalized houses and parked vehicles after they came under attack from local youth during Cordon and Search Operation. Eyewitnesses told news agency CNS said that Government Forces laid a siege around Chown Kellar village after receiving inputs about the presence of militants in the area. However, local youth to be named, the official said. He further said that the departments have also been directed to conduct internal enquiries for quick action against the guilty. The departmental vigilance officers and district vigilance officers have been directed to adopt a multidimensional approach for checking corruption allegations against government officials, he maintained. The official added that the officers of departments were also directed to take departmental action on the enquiry reports, wherever necessary, and not to wait for the outcome of enquiry/ investigation being conducted on the same charges by Vigilance Organization or SVC. One of the top officials of the SVC told KNS that it is unfortunate that most of the departments are reluctant in sharing case history of the accused and as a result the cases gather dust and accused roam free. Sources also said that hundreds of complaints received by the state vigilance commission, the highest anti-graft bodies are pending with various Departments of the State Government for the disposal. Hundreds of cases have been sent to different government departments for action and on the basis of evidence collected, prima facie charges have been established against identified officials, however so far action has been taken only in few cases and action against the remaining hundreds is pending, the officials said. The duties of departmental vigilance officers and district vigilance officers are explicitly defined in Jammu and Kashmir State Vigilance Commission Rules, hit to roads and pelted stones of Forces personnel. The combined forces retaliated with tear-smoke shells. Locals alleged that shortly after the culmination of search operation, Government Forces thrashed people and vandalized property. They said dozens of parked vehicles were damaged be retreating soldiers. The vandalizing of vehicles and houses sparked massive protest in the area. Meanwhile, clashes also erupted during a search operation in Palapora Wasoora area of Pulwama district. Reports said that at least three youth suffered pellet injuries during these clashes. Reports added that during the clashes a youth identified as Muntazir Ahmed Bhat son of Nazir Ahmed received pellets in head. He was shifted to District Hospital Shopian. (CNS) Their role is to check corruption in departments, even on the basis of media reports. It is to mention here that the government had earlier decided to order premature retirement of corrupt and incapable officials, who have not been able to deliver in their respective departments. The government had also constituted a high-level committee headed by Chief Secretary and the committee was to be the final authority to take action against the corrupt officials. However sources told KNS that from last one and a half years, scores of officers who were facing corruption charges were awarded plum postings. Late Mufti Mohammad Sayeed in 2015 affirmed his commitment to bring transparency and accountability in the state administration when he removed tainted Unauthorized sale of Combat dresses banned in Ganderbal GANDERBAL: On the directions of Divisional Commissioner Kashmir, District Magistrate Ganderbal, Dr. Piyush Singla today, under section 144 CrPC imposed complete ban on unauthorized sale of combat dresses and uniforms of Indian security forces in order to avoid misuse of army uniforms in Ganderbal District. The order issuing the ban instructed that all authorized private firms and shops procuring, storing and selling combat clothes shall immediately inform in writing to the nearest police station regarding their authority to carry on with this business within a period of fifteen days, failing which action under law/ rules will be initiated against them. (CNS) Our struggle based on right and sacred ideology: Geelani SRINAGAR: Chairman of Hurriyat Conference (G) Syed Ali Geelani on Wednesday blamed mainstream parties in Jammu and Kashmir for the prevailing confusion and chaos in the state, saying history stands witness to the fact that right-based movements never fail, however, tyrant forces vanish and stand nowhere. It is unfortunate that the leadership failed to deliver and even at a crucial juncture when we were about to realize and attain our destination. They succumbed to pressure and allied with occupant forces, thus deceived, Geelani, according to a statement issued to GNS, said in his presidential address in the executive body meeting of Hurriyat at Hyderpora here. The participants reviewed and discussed the prevailing grim situation in the state and it was observed that Kashmir is a political issue and Hurriyat as a representative forum of people will pursue its mission of freedom and the repressive and coercive measures will neither dampen our sentiments nor break our resolve, the statement said. The executive council stressed United Nations to realize the sacrifices being presented by people of J&K for right to self-determination and help and mediate in getting our this right fulfilled without any more delay and bloodshed. The meeting expressed serious concern over the plight of hundreds of Kashmiri prisoners lodged in various jails in and outside the state, including those illegally arrested by the NIA and lodged in Tihar jail. The executive council while paying their salute to prisoners said, We are indebted to their sacrifices as it is because of their valued contribution and sacrifices that we get an inspiration and freedom movement is rejuvenated. The meeting also discussed ways to make the Hurriyat Conference more vibrant and active on social and political fronts and certain important resolutions were accepted and decisions were taken in this regard. Hurriyat executive council authorised its chairman to reconstitute and re-order the Hurriyat conference and appoint its office bearers. Syed Ali Geelani in his address said, We and our mission, being on righteous track, have full sustenance and blessings of Almighty Allah. Our struggle for achieving the right to self-determination is based on right and sacred ideology. Millions have offered their sacred sacrifices while nourishing this mission with their blood. Geelani stressed for unity and increasing public relations, saying, We should encourage people for their commitment, and we need to avoid differences and remain firm. Elaborating, he said: Islam, freedom, and unity in our folds can lead us to our destiny and if the entire nation follows these goals, we will definitely achieve our destination very soon. officials and non-performing bureaucrats from the plum postings. The chief minister Mehbooba Mufti had also admitted that corruption was a major challenge in the state with various anti-graft agencies having received thousands of complaints in this regard. Corruption is a major challenge for the government and its adverse effects on the society cannot be underestimated, CM had said. One of the top officials of the vigilance organization said that there is a deluge of complaints being received by the State Vigilance Organization from last two years. In a number of complaints in to 2017, allegations are mainly about violation of codal formalities in the award of contracts in Govt. works, purchases, appointments, promotions and transfer, denial of services by the Govt. Departments etc, he said. (KNS) HUNDREDS OF CASES HAVE BEEN SENT to different government departments for action and on the basis of evidence collected, prima facie charges have been established against identified officials, however so far action has been taken only in few cases and action against the remaining hundreds is pending. 100 trees cut down in Budgam, Patrwari suspended, one arrested SRINAGAR: Police on Wednesday arrested one person while as government suspended a revenue official after nearly a hundred wall nut trees were cut down at Wahabpora area of central Kashmir s Budgam district. Official sources told news agency GNS said that around 90 to 100 trees were found cut on Wednesday morning by unknown persons on state land in Wahabpora area of Soibugh. As the locals spotted it, they informed the local revenue department about the incident following which the Tehsildar concerned reached the spot and prepare the ground report. The Tehsildar later apprised higher-ups. It has been learnt that the authorities later ordered the suspension of the concerned Patwari. SSP Budgam Tejinder Singh while confirming the incident told GNS that an FIR (No. 57/2018) under RPC section 436-A was registered in police station Soibugh. The case was filed after the concerned Tehsildar approached the police with a written report regarding the incident and subsequently, the police swung into action. So far a person has been detained for questioning in connection with the incident, SSP said, adding that the investigations are underway to nab the persons behind the incident. (GNS) Chadoora shuts to commemorate first death anniversary of three local youth BUDGAM: Chadoora town here in Central Kashmir s Budgam district observed a complete shutdown to commemorate the first anniversary of three local youth who were killed by Government Forces near the encounter site on this day last year. All shops, educational institutions and businesses establishments remained shut in Chadoora town while public traffic also remained off the roads in major areas like Wathoora, Chadoora and Nagam. Pertinently, three youth Zahid Rashid Ganai son of Abdur Rashid of Chadoora, Amir Fayaz Waza, 18, son of Fayaz Ahmad of Waza Mohalla, Wathoora and Ishaq Ahmed Wani, 24, son of Abdur Rashid of Wawoosa, Rangreth were killed and 35 others injured after the government forces opened fire to disperse protesters near a gunfight site at Durbug village. A Hizb-ul-Mujahideen militant Touseef Ahmad Wagay of South Kashmir s Kulgam district was also killed in the fierce gunfight that lasted over ten hours. Meanwhile, a shutdown was also observed in Arizal Beerwah against the killing of militant Shafat Ahmed Wani. Wani hailing from Wagoora Baramulla was killed in a gunfight at Arizal. (CNS) House being constructed on state land meant for dispensary SRINAGAR: A Patwari and a Ward Officer are backing a political worker to get his house constructed on State land meant for the dispensary, alleged group of locals from Malabagh Lal Bazar in the outskirts of Srinagar city. The locals who emerged in Press Enclave Srinagar demanded a thorough probe into the shoddy dealing of Patwari Baghat Shoora and Ward Officer Lal Bazar. They claimed that a political worker has greased their palms to facilitate illegal construction of his house. There is no building permission from Srinagar Municipal Corporation and there are is proper revenue record that proves land comprising 3 kanals is state land, they said adding that concerned Patwari is trying to tamper with the revenue records. We even know that concerned Patwari has prepared a forged document making the man in question as the owner of 1.4 kanal land under khasra number 1843 and 1845, they said. They appealed SMC and concerned Tehsildar to probe the matter. We will hit to roads if no action is not taken against concerned Patwari and Ward Officer, they said. (CNS) PUBLIC NOTICE I have lost my Discharge certificate of class 9th registration No 382 date somewhere in pahalgam now I applied for its duplicate if anybody has any objection in this regard may file at Office of the principle Government Higher secondary school pahalgam within seven days after that no objection shall be entertained. Name: Mushtaq Ahmad Lone S/O: Ghulam Mohd Lone, R/O: Pahalgam OFFICE OF THE PRINCIPLE HANFIA NOOR-UL-AIZA ISLAMIA HIGH SCHOOL Ara Khoshipora Dooru Anantnag Monthly Fee structure for the year Class Monthly Fee Red cross/ Games Fund 9th and 10th 600 As per Govt Norms 6th, 7th, 8th 500 As per Govt Norms 1st to 5th 350 As per Govt Norms KG Classes 250 As per Govt Norms All the concerned are here by informed that any kind of objection/ claim with regard furnished fee structure may approach to directorate of school education Kashmir within seven days from the date of the publication after that no claim will be entertained. SD/ Chairman

5 NEWS Thursday China to resume sharing hydrological data on Brahmaputra Beijing: China said today it will resume sharing with India the hydrological data of the Brahmaputra river as top water resource officials of the two countries wrapped up two-day talks, the first after Beijing last year stopped providing the data crucial to predict floods. On the basis of humanitarian spirit and our shared will to develop bilateral ties we will continue with the cooperation on hydrological information cooperation, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Lu Kang told a media briefing here. He was responding to a question whether China will resume sharing of the hydrological data on Brahmaputra river, which Beijing suspended last year stating that it could not share it with India due to upgradation of data collection station in Tibet. Pak PM frisked at US airport New Delhi: Pakistan Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi was abased down to any regular person at the John F Kennedy airport in New York, as viral videos on Youtube show Abbasi being frisked during the security procedure. Ditching official customs as a visiting dignitary, that too as a Prime Minister of a nucleararmed nation, Abbasi, who reportedly was on a private visit to meet his ailing sister in the US, can be seen in the video adjusting his t-shirt after getting out of security checks with his jacket and a trolley bag. Abbasi, however, has a history of making private trips to foreign nations, as according to Pakistani TV news channel Geo News, the PM was previously spotted travelling alone at a train station during his visit to Britain. Major Delhi markets shut against sealing New Delhi Most major markets in the city were closed today as traders downed shutters to voice their protest against the sealing drive. A large number of traders, their family members and employees gathered at the Ramlila grounds to participate in a mega rally to mark their protest at the attack on their livelihoods, trade association leaders said. Thousands of traders are participating in the strike and shops are closed in all the markets of the city, said Praveen Khandelwal, general secretary of Confederation of All India Traders (CAIT). Un Chief Expresses Concern Over Deaths Of Indian Journalists Yoshita Singh PTI United Nations: UN chief Antonio Guterres has expressed concern over the deaths of two journalists in India and the violence against mediapersons across the globe. "We, of course, are concerned about anything that would suggest the harassment or violence against journalists, anywhere in the world and and would do so in this case," UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres's deputy spokesman Farhan Haq told reporters at the daily press briefing here yesterday. Haq was responding to a question on the UN's response to the recent deaths of two Indian journalists in the line of duty. Sandeep Sharma, 35, a reporter for a local television channel in Madhya Pradesh's Bhind district died after he was mowed down by a truck. Sharma had complained about threats to his life after he carried out a sting operation on illegal sand mining. In Bihar, Naveen Nishchal, a journalist who worked for a Hindi daily, was among two persons killed when an SUV rammed into their bike in Bhojpur district, with the family alleging that it was a case of murder and that a former village head was behind it. Advocacy group The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) condemned the killings, and called on the Indian authorities to determine the motive and bring to justice those responsible for Sharma's death. Trump White House divided over Pak Agencies WASHINGTON: The Trump White House is divided over how to deal with Pakistan, with some officials favouring a hardline approach and others warning against alienating a nuclear-armed country of 200 million people, the US media reported on Tuesday. The divide reported by the prestigious Foreign Policy magazine is reflected in recent statements by US officials who continue to urge Pakistan to do more for eliminating terrorism but also acknowledge that According to the report, the hardliners argue that years of aid and accommodation with Pakistan have produced little in return and now is the time for some punitive actions. Those urging caution point out that Pakistan is not only a nuclear nation but also has a strategic location borders China and that s why it would be a mistake to alienate it. But some in the administration believe that recent punitive actions such as the suspension of security aid have had a positive impact on Pakistan and urge the Trump administration to keep up the pressure. We ve certainly seen Pakistan take some positive steps in the right direction, State Department spokesperson Heather Nauert said at a recent news briefing. Sharma's colleague Vikas Purohit, who witnessed the collision, told the CPJ that he took Sharma to the local hospital where the journalist was declared dead from injuries sustained in the crash. Purohit said both he and Sharma began receiving anonymous death threats last year after publishing two stories in July and October 2017 on alleged police corruption and illegal sand mining. "Authorities must thoroughly investigate the killing of journalist Sandeep Sharma and determine if he was targeted because of his reporting," said CPJ Asia Program Coordinator Steven Butler from Washington D.C. "This tragic incident may well be a failure of local authorities to provide adequate security to a reporter who had received death threats," he said. Abbas blames Israel, US for Mideast peace deadlock Agencies Ramallah:Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas on Tuesday held both Israel and the US responsible for the deadlock in the Middle East peace process, Palestinian media reported. Abbas remarks were made in a meeting with Foreign Minister of Morocco Nasser Bourita in the West Bank city of Ramallah, saying that the Israeli measures and the unfair US policies are the main reason for bringing the peace process into a deadlock, Xinhua reported. Abbas stressed the importance of holding an international peace conference that prepares for a mechanism to resolve the Palestinian cause based on the international resolutions and lead to establishing a Palestinian state with east Jerusalem as its capital. The Palestinian state-run news agency (WAFA) reported that President Abbas briefed the Moroccan FM on the latest developments in the Palestinian territories as well as the peace process, which is stalled due to the Israeli and the US policies. Abbas also renewed the his calls on the importance of the Arab position that backs the Palestinians who are sticking to their legitimate rights and who oppose the language of dictation and threats, which aim at liquidating the Palestinian cause. Meanwhile, Bourita stressed the importance of his visit to the Palestinian territories to express the supportive positions on Morocco towards the Palestinians and express solidarity with them. He informed Abbas that King Mohamed the 6th is deeply concerned in the issue of Jerusalem and is always interested in coordination with President Abbas on this respect and other issues related to the Palestinian cause. Earlier on Tuesday, the Palestinian National Authority (PNA) announced that it had agreed with Morocco on forming a joint ministerial committee that will convene before the end of this year. The PNA minister of foreign affairs Reyad al-malki announced in a joint news conference with Bourita that the formation of the joint committee is to express the strong and joint ties between the two countries. Kim holds talks with Xi in secret trip to China ahead of Trump summit press trust of india Beijing: North Korean leader Kim Jong Un told his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping that he is committed to denuclearisation as the dictator made a secret trip to China ahead of his landmark meeting with US President Donald Trump. After two days of speculation, China and North Korea both confirmed that Kim had travelled to Beijing to meet Xi, with both sides seeking to portray strong ties. Kim paid a four-day "unofficial visit" to Beijing from Sunday to Wednesday -- his first journey abroad since taking power and his first reported meeting with a foreign head of state -- at the invitation of Xi, state-run Xinhua news agency reported. The state media confirmed the visit only after Kim had returned to North Korea. The confirmation of the visit ended speculation about Kim's secret trip after Japanese media spotted a green train, similar to the one used by Kim's father, arriving in Beijing on Monday and departing the following day. Though Chinese officials had refused to confirm Kim's presence, there were also reports about heavy security on the China-North Korea border and later at a a guesthouse where prominent North Koreans have stayed in the past. During the visit, which was kept under wraps, Kim held talks with Xi at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing during which the two leaders hailed their nations' historic relations, with the North Korean leader pledging that he was "committed to the denuclearisation" of the Korean peninsula, Xinhua reported. Xi and his wife Peng Liyuan held a welcoming banquet for Kim and his wife Ri Sol Ju and watched an art performance together, the report said. During the talks, Xi welcomed Kim warmly and appreciated his congratulatory message greeting him for his re-election as the General Secretary of CPC and head of the military as well as president for the second five-year term, the report said. Xi said Kim's current visit to China had come "at a special time" and was of great significance. "We speak highly of this visit," Xi told Kim. Xi underscored the importance of developing ties, saying it was "a strategic choice and the only right choice," according to Xinhua. The Chinese leader said he was willing to maintain frequent contact with Kim "under the new circumstances". Kim was quoted as saying that his country wants to transform ties with South Korea into "a relationship of reconciliation and cooperation." Kim also said that North Korea is willing to hold summits with Trump and South Korean President Moon Jae-in. "The issue of denuclearisation of the Korean Peninsula can be resolved, if South Korea and the United States respond to our efforts with goodwill, create an atmosphere of peace and stability while taking progressive and synchronous measures for the realisation of peace," Kim said. He said a series of major and happy events had taken place consecutively in China recently and referred Xi's reelection for the second term. NATO joins two dozen nations in Russian expulsions over spy attack Press Trust India London: NATO joined two dozen governments around the world today in expelling Russian diplomats in response to a nerve agent attack in Britain, marking what London called a "turning point" in the West's relations with Moscow. The US-led military alliance expelled seven Russian staff and denied accreditation to three more, bringing the total number of suspected Russian spies expelled to almost 150, including the 23 initially dispatched by Britain. "This will send a clear message to Russia that there are costs and consequences for their unacceptable pattern of behaviour," NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg said in Brussels. In an unprecedented act of coordination, at least 24 countries have echoed Britain's action in response to the March 4 attack on former Russian double agent Sergei Skripal and his daughter in the English city of Salisbury. London and its allies have blamed Moscow, citing the use of a Soviet-designed nerve agent Novichok, Russia's record of targeting dissidents and its history of aggression in recent years, from Crimea to cyber-attacks. British Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson said the mass expulsions were "a blow from which Russian intelligence will need many years to recover". It "could become a turning point", he wrote in The Times newspaper, adding: "The Western alliance took decisive action and Britain's partners came together against the Kremlin's reckless ambitions." Skripal, a Russian military intelligence officer imprisoned by Moscow for passing on information about Russian agents in various European countries, came to Britain in a 2010 spy swap. Moscow has fiercely denied any involvement in his attempted murder, instead pointing the finger at London. It responded to Britain's expulsions with its own, and the closure of the British Council cultural organisation -- and on Tuesday promised it would hit back against the coordinated moves. "We'll respond, have no doubt! No one wants to put up with such loutish behaviour and we won't," Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on the sidelines of a conference in Uzbekistan. Lavrov said the coordinated response was the result of "colossal pressure, colossal blackmail" from the United States. SC dismisses plea seeking re-probe into Mahatma assassination press trust of india New Delhi: The Supreme Court today dismissed a plea seeking a re-investigation into the assassination of Mahatma Gandhi. A bench of Justices S A Bobde and L Nageswara Rao, which heard the matter, dismissed the petition filed by Mumbai-based Pankaj Phadnis from Abhinav Bharat. The apex court, which reserved its verdict on March 6, had made it clear that it would not go by "sentiments" but rely on legal submissions to decide on the petition. The apex court had said the plea seeking retrial of the case was based on academic research but that could not form the basis to reopen the matter which happened years ago. The petitioner had questioned the 'three bullet theory' relied upon by various courts to hold the conviction of Nathuram Godse and Narayan Apte, who were hanged. He had contended that there was need to examine whether there was a fourth bullet, which was fired by someone other than Godse. Phadnis, a trustee of charitable trust Abhinav Bharat, had also sought the expunction of "adverse, unfounded" remarks made by the Kapur Commission in 1969 report against Vinayak Damodar Savarkar and the setting up of a commission to probe the conspiracy behind the incident. Phadnis alleged that the Maratha community was "maligned" due to these adverse remarks, which should hence be removed. He said there should be a retrial of the case, which led to the conviction and execution of Godse and Apte on November 15, The court, however, said it did not share his sentiments that Marathas have been maligned and observed,"maratha people have survived in spite of all this. You are talking about two persons who happened to be from Maharashtra. They do not represent the state. Observation about two persons does not malign whole Marathis." Phadnis claimed in his affidavit that the alleged conspirators were hanged even before the murder trial had attained legal finality from the top court. Suu Kyi's close aide elected new Myanmar Prez Agencies Naypyidaw: Myanmar's Parliament on Wednesday elected Win Myint, close aide of State Counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi and former Speaker of the lower house, as the country's next President, a week after the resignation of his predecessor. Win Myint, 66, has been the Speaker since 2012 and was widely tipped for the top job. However, his role will be essentially ceremonial, with Suu Kyi acting as de facto President, the BBC reported. Win Myint's appointment came after Htin Kyaw resigned as President last week amid growing health concerns. Parliament then had seven days to choose a successor and voted from a short-list of the three Vice Presidents on Wednesday. Earlier last week, Win Myint was made a Vice President, signalling that he was likely to assume the presidency. As a long-time member of Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy, Win Myint is seen as a Suu Kyi loyalist. The other two Vice Presidents were Myint Swe, who served as acting President after Htin Kyaw stepped down, and Henry Van Thio.

6 Thursday kashmir No Holds Barred Send your write ups and feedback at Opinion All in a days work -, Editor-in-Chief : Sajjad Haider Legal Counsel: Tasaduq Khwaja Switchboard: (0194) Editorial: (0194) editorial: editor@kashmirobserver.net Printed & Published by Sajjad Haider on behalf of the Kashmir Observer LLP Published from: # 1- Boulevard, Srinagar Printed at: KT Press Pvt. Ltd, Rangreth Ind Area, Srinagar. RNI Registration No: 69503/98 Postal Registration No-L/159/KO/SK/ Article 35A, not Article 370 In a welcome statement, the Union Minister of State for Home Hansraj Gangaram Ahir has said that there is currently no proposal to scrap Article 370 which gives special status to Jammu and Kashmir. Ahir was replying to a written question by the BJP MP Ashwini Kumar, who asked whether the government was committed to scrapping Article 370 of the Constitution. The answer will certainly go some way to calm the deep anxiety in Kashmir as to the fate of the Article 370 under the Narendra Modi government. But it is unlikely to address the nervousness about the Article 35A which is currently facing challenge in the Supreme Court. And New Delhi has so far given little no solid assurance that it will defend the law in the court. And there is a reason for it. The BJP s longstanding agenda on Kashmir has been integrationist. It sees the complete merger of Kashmir into India as the only solution to the lingering problem. The party s absolute majority in parliament including now in Rajya Sabha too is believed to have empowered the party to execute its longstanding ideological agenda in Kashmir, one of them the abrogation of Article 370. In fact, the ongoing efforts to do away with the Article 35A has only further validated the suspicions. In Kashmir the only thing that people want is an honest assurance that the centre will protect Article 35A. So far senior functionaries in the central government have maintained cryptic silence on the fate of the article which has deepened the unease in Valley. Only exception has been the alleged assurance to the Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti by the Prime Minister Narendra Modi during a meeting in July last. However neither the PM nor his office publicly confirmed the assurance. Second time, the home minister Rajnath Singh too offered an indirect assurance during his visit to the state in November last. But no senior BJP leader has spoken in favour of the Article. Instead some of them have publicly called for the Article s revocation. In fact, in meetings with the senior functionaries from New Delhi, the state BJP delegations have demanded the abrogation of the Article 35A as, according to them, the country and J&K has suffered because of it. But we hope Ahir s assurance is not only words but is translated into action. And the first test of this assurance will be the next hearing of the Article 35 in Supreme Court. Kashmir now expects the central government to file a counter affidavit in the court to strengthen the J&K government s argument that the law is an inalienable part of the special position granted to the state in lieu of choosing to accede to India as against Muslim majority Pakistan. It is the Article 35A that makes Article 370 special. Rest of its provisions have been battered beyond recognition. So, more than Article 370, which is anyway too difficult to revoke, Kashmir wants centre s assurance about protection to Article 35A. o t h e r o p i n o n Is Cape Town cricket s Waterloo? The sacking of Australian cricket captain Steve Smith and his deputy, David Warner, over ball tampering is a new low for the Australian team and for the game of cricket. Smith said that the desperation to bounce back in a series that seemed to be slipping away from them drove the Australians to try and change the condition of the ball in the Cape Town Test so that it afforded reverse swing and helped their bowlers. In their anxiety to win whatever it takes modern-day sportspersons are pushing the boundaries of what is considered within the rules. If football has its divers who want to earn a penalty kick, the history of cricket is full of characters who desire to defy aerodynamics and make the ball swing in a manner that suits the bowler. Vaseline, teeth, fingernails, dirt, saliva mints, bottle tops, trouser zips and nails were the weapons of choice before Cameron Bancroft, under the insistence of Smith and Warner, opted for adhesive tape that had attached to it grit from the ground. South African skipper, Francois du Plessis, was fined his match fee for using mint in his mouth to shine the ball in Sledging and psychological warfare is something that the Australians take pride in. However, they have resorted to premeditated cheating this time. Smith has said that the team leadership forged this plan and entrusted Bancroft the youngest player in the side to execute it. This was as outrageous as it was stupid. The TV cameras caught out Bancroft. On being summoned by the umpires, his initial response was to lie, something that further exacerbates the misdemeanour. Australia have in the past claimed that they may furiously sledge (which is seen as offensive but is within the laws of the game), but they have never bent the law to suit their purposes. Now they have. Australia s prime minister Malcolm Turnbull said: How can our team be engaged in cheating like this? It beggars belief. Turnbull s disbelief may be a tipping point. The misdeed has provided everybody concerned over the decline in the spirit of cricket whether it is players, coaches, administrators or millions of fans a moment to pause and take stock of where the game is headed. Is the desperation to achieve victory at any cost desirable? Do the means matter? It is a dark time. The search must be on for cricket s soul. Hindustan Times OBSERVER MAIL All letters intended for publication must include the writer s name and address, even if a pseudonym is used. Letters are edited as clarity, spaceand accuracy of expression require. Our publishing a letter does not mean we agree with everything or even anything in it. -EDITOR Merger of banks: Should be earliest and in one go Union Cabinet on had given nod in principle for merger of public-sector banks but to be started in phases that too only after a long timeconsuming process of deliberations and consultations in committees to be formed for the purpose. Talks of merger of nationalized banks have been there for so many years, and as such necessary and sufficient reports must have been ready by now for an early implementation of already over-delayed decision. It is also clear from news appearing in media about five banks (apart from State Bank of India) namely Punjab National Bank, Canara Bank, Union Bank of India, Bank of India and Bank of Baroda being made anchor banks where all other banks are to be merged. Come to the common terms else you are unintentionally furthering the gains of your enemy. When the house is on fire, the first thing we do is to do anything that can doze off the flames, I have never come across the scene where people argue the size, colour of the bucket and thereby making fun of the victims. I am sure the present Kashmir is burning, let s play our positive role, yes if we aren t in a capacity to doze it off, let s not discuss the colours of buckets in other hands too. Faisal Watt Economy is the New Religion : Laws, Rules, Moral Values, Relationship, Kinship...& more---all directed towards earning more... This is polarising the society above any classification. Even otherwise Religious texts are being moulded & presented towards the same objective. Syed Arshad Din, Dharma And Quran Khaled Ahmed The scholar of Islam, Karen Armstrong, has brought out a very interesting fact about the Semitic religions, Judaism and Islam. Islam uses the word din in the Quran to mean religion but this word is not found in the Judaic tradition. Even Christianity, according to her, doesn t have a word for faith and uses religion, which is Indo- European it means to join like league, legation. She wrote in The Guardian (September 25, 2014): The words in other languages that we translate as religion invariably refer to something vaguer, larger and more inclusive In India and Pakistan, where people speak Indo-European Hindi and Urdu, the words din and dharma are frequently used to mean faith/religion. Religion means that which binds, because the root lg means to join as in the Hindi-Urdu word, lagana. Lex, which once stood in for religion, is law but becomes leg in legal, also in the sense of joining. Din is also Indo-European and literally means that which is given in old Persian. Dharma is that which you hold and carry as in the root dhr, or to carry. The scholar of Islam, Karen Armstrong, has brought out a very interesting fact about the Semitic religions, Judaism and Islam. Islam uses the word din in the Quran to mean religion but this word is not found in the Judaic tradition. Even Christianity, according to her, doesn t have a word for faith and uses religion, which is Indo-European it means to join like league, legation. She wrote in The Guardian (September 25, 2014): The words in other languages that we translate as religion invariably refer to something vaguer, larger and more inclusive. The Arabic word din signifies an entire way of life, and the Sanskrit dharma covers law, politics and social institutions as well as piety. The Hebrew Bible has no abstract concept of religion ; and the Talmudic rabbis would have found it impossible to define faith in a single word or formula, because the Talmud was expressly designed to bring the whole of human life into the ambit of the sacred. The Oxford Classical Dictionary firmly states: No word in either Greek or Latin corresponds to the English religion. Karen Armstrong repeats the argument in her book Fields of Blood: Religion and the History of Violence. But the word din is used in next door Persia, whose the Zoroastrian tradition has influenced Semites given that Persia was the recipient of one diaspora of the Jews before Islam. In Old Persian, the word din, as used in the Quran, meant the eternal law, whose order was revealed to humanity through the Mathra-Spenta, is also used to mean religion, faith, law, and even as a translation for the Hindi and Buddhist concept of dharma. Parsi-Zoroastrian names in India hark back to the vocabulary of the holy book, Avesta. The Complete Book of Muslim and Parsi Names by Maneka Gandhi and Ozair Husain gives us two names that contain the word, din : Dinshaw and Dina. The founder of Pakistan, M A Jinnah, married Ruttie, the young daughter of India s millionaire named Dinshaw Petit. The name meant leader of the faith but the name was Anglicised in India in those days by changing shah into shaw. Jinnah and Ruttie named their daughter Dina which meant the (female) follower of faith. The word in the Quran meaning religion is, therefore, borrowed from ancient Persia which earlier gave the idea of Satan (Ahriman) to the Old Testament. The Quran carries words from other civilisations pointing to the contacts the Semitic civilisation had with its neighbourhood. Two important words in the Quran, qartas (paper) and kalam (pen) are borrowed from Greek, which Merger should be in one-go rather than in phases that too earliest in a time-bound period say by end of December It will save enormous amount of public money being presently spent on heavy overheads of too many public-sector banks. Merger will further save by closing of nearing bankbranches with insignificant business. Shortage of staff will turn into was the language of culture in the area now in Turkey, Syria, Lebanon, Palestine and Jordan (which is why the Gospels and the Letters of St Paul in the New Testament are in Greek). Qartas is an Arabised version of the Greek chartes and kalam is simply the Greek word kalamos (reed). Syed Suleiman Nadwi, in his Arab-o-Hind kay Ta aluqaat (Indo-Arab relations), reports Sanskrit words in the Holy Quran. He went against the tradition led by the great exegete Tabari that there are no foreign words in the Quran. Nadwi holds that there are Sanskrit words in the Quran, which point to the Arabs realisation that India was the origin of perfumes and medicines. The first word is zanjbeel. It is referred to in verse 76:18 when Allah describes the bounty of paradise. The inhabitants of Paradise will drink form cups mixed with zanjbeel. Nadwi says it comes from Sanskrit zaranjaber being the name of the common berry in India. Zanjbeel is ginger. The other Sanskrit word found in the Holy Quran is kafur. Verse 76:5 further explains the quality of the wine in paradise: It will smell of kafur. We know the word camphor in English. Some etymologists derive it from the Arabic root kfr. Nadwi says the word camphor comes from Sanskrit word, kapur; that is what Nadwi says too. Many Muslim slaves were named kafur. I have no idea why the slaves only were named thus. The writer is consulting editor, Newsweek Pakistan. MAIL YOUR LETTERS P.O. Box # 337, GPO, Srinagar editor@kashmirobserver.net editpage.ko@gmail.com excess of staff which can provide much-needed seven-day-per week banking-services without any holiday by giving employees two rather than present one-and-half weekly holiday. Subhash Chandra Dariba, Chandni Chowk DELHI (India)

7 Thursday One Misstep Too Many Bhaskar Chakravorti Zuckerberg has confidently promised to fix Facebook, but it will be far from easy. The ultimate social network is a victim of its own success and eyewatering revenues. When Facebook s 2 billion users around the planet log in every month and share or swipe past some slice of the human condition as offered up by friends, family and others, the users and their contexts are bound to vary widely. To get a sense of the spread of contexts that Facebook must straddle, consider the two most important markets for the company: India, which has the largest number of Facebook users and is among its fastest-growing markets; the home market of the US. Now, add Brazil and Indonesia as the next two markets behind these two dominant ones. Mark Zuckerberg must find a Goldilocks zone where the privacy protections are calibrated by the state of digital maturity and levels of digital trust and are just right. If you had asked me, when I got started with Facebook, if one of the central things I d need to work on now is preventing governments from interfering in each other s elections, there s no way I thought that s what I d be doing if we talked in 2004 in my dorm room. His sentence construction may be unwieldy, but Facebook s founder and CEO, Mark Zuckerberg, has been doing a lot of belated apologising for the latest instance of an egg on his face. Data on 50 million users had found their way from Facebook to a shadowy research outfit, Global Science Research, and then on to Cambridge Analytica, a data-mining and political consulting firm launched by Steve Bannon, the former White House advisor. Cambridge Analytica is a player of some consequence; it claims credit for tilting the field in favour of the winners in a wide swath of elections from Donald Trump in the US in 2016 to Nitish Kumar in his landslide win in Bihar over Lalu Prasad Yadav back in Zuckerberg has confidently promised to fix Facebook, but it will be far from easy. The ultimate social network is a victim of its own success and eye-watering revenues. When Facebook s 2 billion users around the planet log in every month and share or swipe past some slice of the human condition as offered up by friends, family and others, the users and their contexts are bound to vary widely. To get a sense of the spread of contexts that Facebook must straddle, consider the two most important markets for the company: India, which has the largest number of Facebook users and is among its fastest-growing markets; the home market of the US. Now, add Brazil and Indonesia as the next two markets behind these two dominant ones. To manage a social network spanning this much disparity of socio-political contexts and levels of digital trust would call for Zuckerberg to re-enroll at Harvard and get a degree in what I might call digital anthropology. Unfortunately, the education of Mark Zuckerberg who famously dropped out of Harvard to give the world Facebook is happening in real time. The data on users is valuable to those who wish to tailor messages for advertising, for political messaging or propaganda. It is tempting to keep the engine that delivered $40 billion in revenue last year humming keep the eyeballs coming, keep the app developers and partners motivated and keep analysing the data to generate more advertising and affiliated revenue. However, as the Cambridge Analytica breach of trust, coming on the heels of Russian interference and fake news reveal, it is easy for the temptation to get out of hand. Where should Facebook draw the line? Which market norms should it use to decide on how much data privacy rules to maintain? How does it restrain its harvesting of user data to put an end to this extended backlash, without sacrificing its revenue model? These questions may not be that easy to answer. By applying the same standards across all markets its revenue engine could stall. Privacy expectations, reliance on news delivered by social media and levels of vulnerability are different across Facebook s important markets. Let s consider each in turn. To get a sense of these differences, consider the reality that levels of digital trust vary around the world, particularly as one looks across Facebook s top 10 markets. In a recent survey by the Pew Research Center, only 11 per cent of Americans said they were very or somewhat confident that social media or digital video sites were capable of keeping their data secure and private. The US is one of the countries that we identified in our Digital Planet research at The Fletcher School as having a digital trust deficit, where users are less trusting even while the digital environment is relatively trustworthy. We also found that for the Asian countries in Facebook s global top 10, India, Indonesia, Philippines, Vietnam, Thailand, along with Turkey, have a digital trust surplus users are more trusting even while their digital environments are relatively less trustworthy. Users in these latter countries will be more forgiving. Before the Cambridge Analytica crisis erupted, calls had already gone out for Facebook to take responsibility for the credibility of news shared on its platform. Here, again, is a dilemma. How far should Facebook go to certify or gauge credentials? A uniform standard may be hard for Facebook to stomach, since the way in which people get their news varies widely across demographic strata and across geographies. Data from the Pew Spring 2017 Global Attitudes Survey suggests that in Facebook s top 10 markets, some important countries, such as India and Indonesia, have less than 20 per cent of users relying on social media for news, whereas in countries such as Brazil, Turkey, US and Vietnam, that percentage is almost 40 or over. This suggests that it is far more essential to address the fake news problem in the latter group of countries and less so in the former. Our Digital Planet research initiative reveals that countries that are digitally less advanced, but moving up the curve quickly, are also those where users behave in a more trusting manner. Many of these countries, India included, are the biggest growth opportunities for Facebook. They are experiencing the fastest growth, digital growth is primarily on mobile devices and many have large populations all of which are critical for a company predicated on an advertising-based business model. Facebook s Free Basics programme was booted out of India, but is in 63 developing countries and municipalities, each with citizens new to the digital economy and potentially vulnerable to manipulation. The incentive for Facebook would be to keep data privacy rules as lax as possible to give these growing markets the greatest chance of delivering revenues. On balance, Zuckerberg is caught between two hard realities. Too few constraints will lead to new Cambridge Analyticas to come tumbling out of the closet. Too many could kill Facebook s business model since every constraint on how data is used means lost revenue. Mark Zuckerberg must find a Goldilocks zone where the privacy protections are calibrated by the state of digital maturity and levels of digital trust and are just right. This will be hard to do. This time, the egg on Facebook s face may stick. The writer is senior associate dean of International Business & Finance at The Fletcher School at Tufts University, founding executive director of Fletcher s Institute for Business in the Global Context and non-resident senior fellow of Brookings India. He is author of The Slow Pace of Fast Change A VIEW FROM PAKISTAN Removing Hate From Sermons Rafia Zakaria There have been other incidents of hate and of sectarian violence since Gojra. And like Gojra, some have begun on Friday afternoons, after a preacher harbouring extremist views has riled up the fervour and sensitivities of the crowd before him. There have been times when such angry mobs have killed; or, if they have not, they have demanded murder or defended murderers. IT has been nearly 10 years since an angry mob raged through the streets of Gojra in the early morning hours of Aug 1, The trouble had begun the day before, Friday, when certain xenophobic clerics had incited Muslim villagers, citing rumours about the desecration of religious verses. On that grim day, around 10 Christians were burned alive. The television news footage showed houses on fire, burnt furniture scattered on the streets. Gunshots still rang out through the air; it appeared that people were shooting at each other from the rooftops. Later on, when the dead and injured were counted, when the politicians woke up and began to offer their thoughts and prayers, the tragic toll, besides the number of dead and injured, would become apparent: a community devastated by the anger of a mob motivated by hate. There have been other incidents of hate and of sectarian violence since Gojra. And like Gojra, some have begun on Friday afternoons, after a preacher harbouring extremist views has riled up the fervour and sensitivities of the crowd before him. There have been times when such angry mobs have killed; or, if they have not, they have demanded murder or defended murderers. Those who use freedom to abridge and destroy the freedom of others must not be permitted to do so. For a very long time, there has been no accountability, no real means of connecting the men who are accused of preaching hate to a congregation of faithfuls to the incensed mobs that then march out into the streets. It has been assumed that the men standing at the pulpit, delivering the sermons, can do no wrong, can say no wrong, are disconnected from the rising levels of animosity and hatred that is, tragically, on the increase in many parts of the country. Until this March, it did seem that little would change when it came to sermons inciting hatred and delivered by a section of clerics. On March 2 this year, the government, specifically the interior ministry, announced that it was considering 44 subjects that would be considered permissible topics for Friday sermons. The plan would be disseminated among the 1003 mosques in the Islamabad area as a pilot project. According to officials of the National Counter Terrorism Authority, or Nacta, which collaborated to create the project, the plan has been developed after looking at similar plans implemented in Egypt, Saudi Arabia and the UAE. In all of those countries, appropriate themes have been given to clerics who prepare their Friday sermons in accordance with the directives. On March 25, the committee overseeing the plan announced that it would be implemented and that the government would, in fact, be issuing a list of permissible themes to be addressed at the Friday sermon. While many clerics in Islamabad have expectedly opposed the plan, insisting that the religious institutions and mosques in the city are controlled by the Auqaf department and not the capital s administration, the committee that has decided to implement the plan contains representatives from both the Auqaf department and the administration. The monitoring of the sermons (to ensure that clerics are complying with the approved themes) will be carried out by the Auqaf department, the capital administration and the Special Branch of the Islamabad Police. In the days and weeks to come there are likely to be many obstacles to this sort of directive. Over the years, while many other facets of Pakistani life have been circumscribed made subject to diktats and directives, just laws and sometimes unjust laws, the whims of military rulers, the eccentricities of democratic rulers the clergy has faced none. Some clerics who purport to represent the majority of Pakistanis have taken it upon themselves to issue directives and incite extremism. The involvement of Nacta illustrates this in hundreds, possibly even thousands, of mosques, clerics urge support for extremist thought, even violence, whilst ignoring the reality that thousands of Pakistanis have died as a result of violent tactics. For too long, hate-filled clerics have remained above the law, able to operate with impunity. Freedom is a great thing, particularly in relation to faith. However, in this case, the freedom accorded to clerics has been used to abridge the freedom of so many Pakistanis to practise their own faith and in their own way. Those who use freedom to abridge and destroy the freedom of others must not be permitted to do so; they can only be seen as the enemies of freedom itself, and they must not be allowed to misuse their authority in religious matters. This monitoring and theme-implementation project will, at its inception, only be operative in Islamabad. The Special Branch has the capacity to implement the plan and monitor it. Close monitoring is essential to ensure that mosque leaders see that this is not a symbolic move. In terms of the programme s implementation in the rest of the country, there will be a need to enhance the monitoring abilities of the police. In this age of closed-circuit television, however, actual people may not be necessary to identify those who are not complying with the interior ministry s approved themes. The directive could simply require that all mosques submit a text of the Friday sermon in written form prior to delivery and a recording following it. The regulation of Friday sermons and the development of a code of conduct that ensures that our religious institutions are not abused or made into hotbeds of inciting hatred is crucial to the welfare of Pakistan. A mosque is a place for prayer and reverence, and the monitoring and regulation of Friday sermons will ensure that it can continue to be sacred and respected. The writer is an attorney teaching constitutional law and political philosophy. Dawn

8 Life & Times Thursday Vitamin C helps get good SKIN, HAIR. So, here are some natural sources of this beauty elixir A new device using technology like WiFi, Bluetooth beacons and GPS that can track the movement of students to ensure their safety within their school campuses was presented before a select group of private school principals in the city. The device can be worn by students as standard identity cards and the data can be sent to the nearest gateway for detecting the movement, device manufacturer Future Netwings Solutions Pvt Ltd chief executive officer Jaideep Chakrabarti claimed. Introducing such a device is important in the wake of reports of some incidents involving students within the school campuses in the city and elsewhere, he said at the demonstration before the school principals last night. About the device he said, "If a student has unusal movement in a secluded area, alerts are generated When you think of Vitamin C, you tend to think about immunity defence and beating those pesky colds and flu. However, not many are aware that Vitamin C is an essential beauty nutrient that prevents signs of ageing, strengthens blood vessels,giving skin its elasticity and strength, besides regenerating other antioxidants in the body. Vitamin C is one of the most powerful and inexpensive ways to maintain a healthy hair, radiant skin, and shining nails. It is responsible for creating and maintaining collagen-i.e., the glue that holds the body together, according to the beauty expert, Shahnaz Hussain. Vitamin C protects skin from pollution, improves hydration, reduces under-eye circles, prevents hangnails, and leaves you feeling vibrant and energised. Research has revealed that a healthy, balanced diet that supplies the body with the essential nutrients, promotes both good health and beauty. Smooth skin, lustrous hair, bright eyes, slim figures, and vitality owe much more to a vitamin-rich diet than we realize. Among the nutrients, we all know that vitamins are essential for both good health and beauty. The skin requires an immediately and cameras are activated. Unlike CCTVbased surveillance with hours of video footage but no real information, the solution Hipla School provides real time, actionable intelligence and reports." The gateways, deployed across the campus of any school in a network of Bluetooth Beacons, WiFi and GPS, will receive data from IT cards and transmit the same to the Cloud, which in turn would trigger alerts, notifications or functions, he said. The device has already been put to succcessful use in some educational institutions in the US as pilot, Chakrabarti said. To a question, he said the whereabouts of a child who is not in the school or in the school bus can be tracked by his/her parents through built-in GPS in the ID cards, he said. To a query by a principal that what would be the adequate amount of nutrients to maintain its normal functions, including that of cell renewal. The health and youth of the skin depend on it. There is enough evidence to show that a deficiency of vitamins is an important factor in early wrinkling of the skin. Vitamin C, for instance, is most important, as it strengthens the immune system and delays degeneration, therefore, the formation of early visible ageing signs. Actually, Vitamin C is vital for maintaining healthy collagen, the supportive tissue of the skin. It has an action on connective tissue and is essential for New device to track movement of students in schools solution if school children swiped identity cards among their friends, he said that in such an eventuality the device would still be able to find out if there is any unusual movement by any student within the campus. The student who strays beyond the compound or class room limits would be tracked with the card tucked in his/her body. Dean of Studies, Garden High International School, Nandini Mukherjee said, "Only technology cannot solve everything. We cannot rule out the human factor to ensure better secured environment for every child. "We need to keep the cost-factor in mind as well," she added. Principal of South City International School John Andrew Bagul said the device will definitely be of help to the school authorities to ensure children are under secure environment. (PTI) collagen synthesis. Collagen helps to keep the skin healthy, firm, strong and youthful. It maintains the elasticity and resilience of the skin. Vitamin C is found in citrus fruits, like oranges, lemon and grapefruit, amla, tomato, sprouted grains and green leafy vegetables. Amla is probably the richest source of Vitamin C. Amla, or Indian gooseberry as it is widely known, is mentioned in Ayurvedic texts for the treatment of many ailments. In fact, the ancient physician Charaka referred to amla as a medicine that delays ageing, due to its high Vitamin C content. Parents need to be thoughtful about how they express conflict in front of their children as, according to a study, it can do lasting damages to kids. The research shows that the emotional processing of these children, too, can be affected - potentially making them over-vigilant, anxious and vulnerable to distorting human interactions that are neutral in tone, throwing them off-balance interpersonally as adults. "The message is clear: even low-level adversity like parental conflict isn't good for kids," said Alice Schermerhorn, an assistant professor in the University of Vermont's Department of Psychological Sciences and the lead author of the study. In the study, 99 nine-to-eleven-year-olds were divided into two groups based on a series of psychological assessments they took that scored how much parental conflict they experienced and how much they felt the conflict threatened their parents' marriage. Children were then shown a series of photographs of couples engaged in happy, angry or neutral interactions and asked to choose which category the photos fit. Children from the low conflict homes consistently scored the photos accurately. Those from high conflict homes who experienced the conflict as a threat were able to accurately identify the happy and angry couples, but not those in neutral poses - incorrectly reading them as either angry or happy or saying they didn't know which category they fit. Schermerhorn sees two possible interpretations of the results. The inaccuracy may attributable to hypervigilance. "If their perception of conflict Fruits should be a part of the daily diet, as many of them are rich in Vitamin C. We all know that lemon is a rich source of Vitamin C and minerals. Adding the juice of a lemon to a glass of warm water and having it first thing in the morning, helps to flush the system and remove toxins. This helps to clarify the skin and add glow. As a cosmetic ingredient, lemon can be used in various ways, but avoid using it undiluted, as it can be harsh on the skin. Lemon cleanses and removes tan. It can also be used as a hand lotion. Like other citrus fruits, grapefruit also has a cleansing and toning effects on and threat leads children to be vigilant for signs of trouble, that could lead them to interpret neutral expressions as angry ones or may simply present greater processing challenges," she said. "They may be more tuned into angry interactions, which could be a cue for them to retreat to their room, or happy ones, which could signal that their parents are available to them," she said. "Neutral interactions don't offer much information, so they may not value them or learn to recognize them." The study is also one of the first to measure the impact of temperamental shyness on the children's ability to process and recognize emotion. The shy children in the study, who were identified via a questionnaire given to the mothers of the study subjects, the skin. It is particularly good for oily and pimple prone skin and also helps to tighten the pores. Oranges are also rich in Vitamin C. Apart from including them in your diet, you can use them for external skin care. Apply orange juice on the skin, or add it to face packs. It helps to restore the normal acidalkaline balance of the skin, removes tan and minimizes blemishes. Orange peels are a rich source of Vitamin C. The peels are said to contain more Vitamin C than the fruit itself. Dried and powdered orange peels can be used in scrubs and masks, were unable to correctly identify couples in neutral poses, even if they were not from high conflict homes. Shyness also made them more vulnerable to parental conflict. Children who were both shy and felt threatened by their parents' conflict had a high level of inaccuracy in identifying neutral interactions. "Parents of shy children need to be especially thoughtful about how they express conflict," Schermerhorn said. The research results are significant, Schermerhorn said, for the light they shed on the impact relatively low-level adversity like parental conflict can have on children's development. Either of her interpretations of the research findings could spell trouble for children down the road. to absorb oil and tighten the pores. Dried and powdered orange peels make a good scrub when mixed with cream of milk or yogurt. Or grind fresh orange peels into a paste. Add multani mitti and rose water and apply as a pack on the face to benefit acne prone skin and minimize blemishes. Vitamin C is also a powerful antioxidant, so including citrus fruits, apples, tomato, etc in your diet, helps to prevent oxidation damage and degeneration, delaying visible ageing signs. It also contains ascorbic acid, which helps skin texture and produces an even colour tone. (Agencies) Parental conflicts have lasting effect on child's mental health: Study "Parents of shy children need to be especially thoughtful about how they express conflict," Schermerhorn said. "One the one hand, being over-vigilant and anxious can be destabilizing in many different ways," she said. "On the other, correctly reading neutral interactions may not be important for children who live in high conflict homes, but that gap in their perceptual inventory could be damaging in subsequent experiences with, for example, teachers, peers, and partners in romantic relationships." "No one can eliminate conflict altogether," she said, "but helping children get the message that, even when they argue, parents care about each other and can work things out is important." The study has been published in the Journal of Social and Personal Relationships. (Agencies)

9 Business Thursday Sensex Nifty Gold Silver J&K Bank HDFC Bank Crude Oil Dollar Euro Pound Saudi Riyal Kuwaiti Dinar 32, , `2,930 (22K) ` INR 1, INR (0.62%) (0.69%) 1 Gram Fiscal deficit at 120 per cent of revised estimates at Feb-end NEW DELHI: India s fiscal deficit soared to Rs 7.15 lakh crore at the end of February, exceeding the revised target of Rs 5.94 lakh crore for the entire fiscal. As per data released by the Controller General of Accounts (CGA), fiscal deficit for April-February was 120 per cent of the revised estimates on account of increased expenditure and subdued revenue receipts. The monthly account till February-end revealed that the government has collected Rs lakh crore revenue, which is per cent of revised estimates. Of this, over Rs lakh crore is collected from taxes, while over Rs 1.42 lakh crore and Rs 1.05 lakh crore accrued on account of non-tax revenue and non-debt capital receipts, respectively. Non-debt capital receipts consist of recovery of loans of Rs 13,301 crore. Besides, Rs 92,493 crore has been mopped up through PSU disinvestment till February-end. In the revised estimates of , the government had raised the disinvestment target to Rs 1 lakh crore, up from Rs 72,500 crore in the Budget estimates. In 11 months till February, over Rs 5.29 lakh crore has been transferred to state governments as devolution of share of taxes by the Centre, which is Rs 66,039 crore higher than the corresponding period of last year (PTI) Banks anticipate tough Q4 as RBI tightens norms on non-performing assets NEW DELHI: Profitability of banks will be hit in the current quarter as bad loans surge following changes by RBI in loan restructuring guidelines to align them with the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC), bankers said. Withdrawal of all debt restructuring tools by the Reserve Bank of India will lead to more assets being classified as non-performing or bad loans, for which provisions will have to be made in the current quarter ending March 31, a top banker said. So, bottomlines of all banks, including those in the private sector, will be subdued in the last quarter of the current fiscal, the banker added. RBI last month scrapped numerous loan restructuring programmes including Corporate Debt Restructuring, Sustainable Structuring of Stressed Assets or S4A, Strategic Debt Restructuring, and Flexible Structuring of Existing Long Term Project Loans. It even disbanded the Joint Lenders Forum designed to resolve potential bad debts. Besides these changes, there would be fresh slippages adding to the woes, said another top official at a public sector bank. Hit hard by Nirav Modi scam, stateowned Punjab National Bank (PNB) alone would have to make provision for fraud losses to the tune of Rs 14,500 crore. (PTI) Finance Min asks businesses to register on e-way bill platform ahead of April 1 rollout NEW DELHI: With just three days left for the e-way bill rollout, the government has asked businesses and transporters to enrol on the dedicated platform as only around 11 lakh entities have registered so far, officials said Wednesday. Businesses would be required to present the electronic way (e-way) bill to a GST inspector (if asked) for inter-state transportation of goods worth over Rs 50,000 through road, railways, airways and vessels. Finance Secretary Hasmukh Adhia said the company handling the backbone of the new indirect tax regime, GST Network, is much better prepared to roll out the new system from April 1. But I m not too sure whether traders, dealers and transporters are still ready. I would like to appeal to them to register themselves on the e-way bill portal as early as possible; they should not then tell us that we didn t inform them, Adhia said. 1 Gram 0.35 (0.58%) 2.60 (0.14%) (-0.28%) CM reviews High Density Apple plantation scheme Mehbooba stresses on further propagation, incentivizing High Density Apple scheme JAMMU: Terming the High Density Apple plantation as a game changer for the horticulture industry of the State, Chief Minister, Mehbooba Mufti has stressed on further propagation of the scheme and incentives among orchardists to achieve optimal results. Chairing a review meeting in this regard, the Chief Minister asked for adopting a convergent approach by the concerned Department, financial institutes and research units so that the scheme is popularised among the farmers and the desired results are achieved by them. Minister for Horticulture, Syed Basharat Bukhari; Minister for Finance & Education, Syed Altaf Bukhari and Minister of State for Horticulture, Priya Sethi were present in the meeting. The Chief Minister asked the JK Bank, which finances the cases of High Density Apple plantation, to simplify the process of subsidy in case of farmers opting for the schemes to cut down the delays and difficulties. She also asked the JK Bank to review the scheme to further make it amenable to more farmers and explore the possibilities of putting it under the Priority Sector Lending scheme. Mehbooba Mufti also directed proper training of workforce by research institutes to execute the scheme on the ground without any technical hassle. The Chief Minister was informed that among the major initiatives of the Department 100 % support is being provided for development of nurseries in public sector whiles as 50% support is being provided for development of nurseries in private sector. Also 33% subsidy is being provided for establishing C A stores, she was informed. Also, the meeting was informed that, 91 out of 96 cases of financing have been cleared by the JK Bank till date involving Rs crore. So far, the meeting was informed, 72.5 hectares of orchard land has been brought under High Density Apple plantation in the State. The meeting was also informed that apple cultivation constitutes about FCS&CA Kashmir saves record 2.50 lakh qtls of rice for current fiscal: Zulfkar Minister attributes savings to intro of latest tech, Aadhaar seeding SRINAGAR: Minister for Food, Civil Supplies and Consumer Affairs (FCS&CA), Chowdhary Zulfkar Ali revealed that the department has made a history by saving more than 2.50 lakh quintals of food grains in Kashmir division for the current financial year. The Minister provided the information after taking stock of supply position of food grains and petroleum products in the division during a review meeting here Wednesday. Zulfkar Ali said that after ensuring complete distribution of food grains among its consumers, FCS&CA Kashmir has still saved 2,51,381 quintals of rice for the financial year of , amounting to saving of Rs 1,50, 61,55,500 crore for the department. The Minister attributed the savings to the introduction of latest technology and other innovative measures adopted by the department. Introduction of electronic Public Distribution System (epds), installation of Point of Sale (PoS) machines, replacing old weighing scales with digital ones and most importantly seeding and linking of Aadhaar cards with Lakhanpur to get major facelift; will increase tourist footfall in J&K: Govt KATHUA: The government has decided to go for a major facelift of Gateway of Jammu & Kashmir, Lakhanpur to attract tourists and project its geostrategic importance. This was stated by Minister for Forests, Environment and Ecology Ch Lal SinghWednesday while kick starting the repair of 1 Km road from New Toll Post towards Old Toll Post Lakhanpur to be executed by Road & Building department at an estimated cost of Rs. 60 Lakhs. The Minister said that development works being undertaken in the border town include repair of roads, increasing green space, creating tourist amenities besides maintaining cleanliness & hygiene in and around the main town area. Landscaping and construction of tiled path, toilet block, afforestation on available land, installing bust of Maharaja Hari Singh besides proper illumination would be undertaken in a phased manner, he said adding that the face lifting of Lakhanpur will help in increasing tourist footfall besides improving the socio-economic profile of the locals. Ch Lal Singh also inspected the progress on the construction of bridge and road passing through village Danna. He directed the Executive Engineer, PWD to build drainage system meeting the needs of local people besides raising protection bunds along the rivulet to protect permanent structures of the villagers. The Minister said that development is imperative for improving the socio-economic condition of the people along with appropriate social, political and economic initiatives. He further said that strengthening road connectivity is the priority of the Government under which linking with far flung areas will get a fillip in a phased manner. He said it is the collective responsibility of the people to take care of public assets as these are made for their convenience. The Minister directed PWD to take into account the need of drains and embankments. Regional Director PCB, Showkat Chaudhary, Conservator East Circle, Kh. Qamardin, DC Excise Lakhanpur, Vishesh Pal Mahajan, ASP Kathua, Sanjay Parihar, DFOs, DM SFC, Mohd. Rafi, XEN PWD Kathua, D K Rampaul and other district officers were present on the occasion. their consumers ration cards were the main reasons for the savings, he explained. He further explained seeking Aadhaar details and linking them with the ration cards immediately reflected on the stats as many duplicate and fraudulent accounts dropped off from the list compiled by the department. Zulfkar Ali informed that around 3,000 PoS machines have been installed at various government sale centres, fair price shops (FPS), and retails stores. More than 2.75 lakh transactions were done through these machines, he added. He said that more than 3,000 digital weighing scales were installed to replace old weighing equipment at government food grain sale centres and FPS stores. He said the purpose of introducing the latest technology was to maintain a transparency in the functioning of the department, stop food grain siphoning or pilferage which was going on at certain points and to ensure timely distribution of food grains among the consumers. Expressing his satisfaction over the present stock situation in the Kashmir division, the Minister said the department does not need to procure the food grains for next two months as it has sufficient food grain stocks. He added that with the stock position in FCI stores, FCS&CA Kashmir godowns and the supplies dumped in snowbound areas, the stocks could last for four months. He said similarly the valley has sufficient stocks of petroleum products including petroleum, gas and diesel which will suffice for a month. The Minister emphasized upon employees to maintain the standards which the department has set off late. He said there has been a huge makeover in the image of the department due to its efficiency and efficacy. He said although there still might be some loopholes that need to be plugged, still to compliment the working of our employees, consumers complaints have reduced to almost nil. Director FCS&CA Kashmir Nissar Ahmad, Joint Controller Legal Metrology Department Amar Singh, Deputy Director FCS&CA Muhammed Aslam, Assistant Directors of Kashmir division and other concerned were present in the meeting. 78% of horticulture which is spread across 48% of the area of the State. During the meeting, many of the progressive farmers shared their experiences of shifting to High Density plantation and put across many of their suggestions. Chief Secretary, B B Vyas; Principal Secretary, Finance, Navin Choudhary; Principal Secretary to Chief Minister, Rohit Kansal; Vice Chancellors of SKUAST-J/K; Secretary, Horticulture, Manzoor Ahmad Lone; MD, JKHPMC, Dr. Abdul Kabir Dar; Chairman, JK Bank, Parvez Ahmad; Vice Chairman, JKHPMC, Abdul Salam Reshi; Directors of Horticulture; progressive farmers and other senior officers were present in the meeting. PGR/Farmer Rights Awareness Camp cum Biodiversity Fair organized in Shopian MEHRAJ DAR SRINAGAR: A PGR/Farmer Rights Awareness Camp cum Biodiversity Fair was organized by ICAR-NBPGR Regional Station Srinagar at Kathalan Karewa Shadab Shopian on Wednesday. The camp was organised to sensitize the farmers about local Plant Genetic Resources (PGR); their importance, advantages, need for conservation and relevance to livelihood of tribal people. Dr Sheikh M Sultan, Officer-in- Charge ICAR-NBPGR Regional Station Srinagar while speaking during the event gave a detailed account about farmer rights. During the camp scientists from ICAR-NBPGR Kisan Gosthi held at Bandipora BANDIPORA: The Department of Sericulture Bandipora Wednesday organized a district level Kissan Gosthi under Agriculture Technology Management Agency (ATMA) scheme at Sericulture farm here. The programme was aimed at to provide technical know-how to the participants and silkworm rearers for registering increased Cocoon production. District Development Commissioner (DDC) Bandipora, Khursheed Ahmad Sanai, who was the chief guest on the occasion, said the district has tremendous potential for mulberry plantation owing its natural resources. He appealed youth to involve themselves in sericulture to boost the sector in the district. He directed the concerned officers to conduct awareness programmes in different areas and sensitize people about various welfare schemes. The DDC was informed that during current fiscal Kgs of Cocoon has been recorded in the district which generated an income of Rs. 90 lakh for silkworm rearers. The District Sericulture Officer, Peerzada Khursheed Ahmad briefed about the activities of the department. He said that 720 mulberry units have been established under private sector in the district while as 4 departmental nurseries also exist where from mulberry saplings are being distributed among silkworm rearers. During the camp, cheques worth Rs. 50,000 were also provided to beneficiaries under Catalytic Development Programme for construction of rearing houses. Among others, Chief Agriculture Officer and a large number of progressive farmers were present on the occasion. Regional Station Srinagar, KVK Shopian, Ambri Apple Research Station (SKUAST) Pahnoo Shopian and ICAR-IGFRI Regional Station Srinagar interacted with the farmers. More than 125 local farmers attended the camp. Farmers showed keen interest in traditional crops displayed during the event like ping, shol, trumba etc. but no more cultivated now. 300 plants of Ambri apple besides, black soybean and forage grass seed sets were distributed among the farmers on the occasion to promote and popularize the cultivation of such traditional crops. The local farmers have hailed ICAR-NBPGR Regional Station Srinagar for organizing such informative camp. Ansari for bringing more variance in skill imparting mission JAMMU : Minister for Information Technology, Technical Education, Youth Services and Sports, Molvi Imran Raza Ansari Wednesday chaired the 2nd Governing Council meeting of Jammu and Kashmir Skill Development Mission (JKSDM). Minister for Finance and Education Syed Mohammad Altaf Bukhari, Minister for Social Welfare, ARI & Trainings and Science & Technology, Sajad Gani Lone, Minister for Industries and Commerce, Chander Parkash. Besides, CS, BB Vyas, Principal Secretary Finance, Navin Choudhary, Principal Secretary Planning, Development and Monitoring, Rohit Kansal, Commissioner Secretary Technical Education and YSS, Hilal Ahmad Parray, and administrative heads of industries, School Education, Labour and Employment, Horticulture, and Rural Development and other concerned officers were present in the meeting. The governing council was informed of the initiatives and policies that have been initiated by the mission during the last two years by way of PPT and video presentation. The governing council discussed various issues that are needed to be taken in order the smooth implementation of skill mission in the state. The members expressed their satisfaction over the work done by the mission till date. And asked them to ensure time bound implementation of various schemes including PMKVY 2.0 and SANKALP in the state. The various initiatives taken by the mission till date formed a part of the discussion and the council appreciated the search talent program by the name of TA- LAASH to ensure the participation of young talented people from the state of J&K in the world skill competition to be held in Russia. To increase new employment avenues in the state, the Chairman Governing council, Imran Raza Ansari to bring more variance in skill imparting mission. Besides, the Minister informed the council preference is being given to new local start-ups to boost their socio-economic status.

10 News 10 Thursday Study reveals music lessons may boost your kid's grades Music lessons can enhance children's memory, reasoning and planning abilities, leading to improved academic performance, a study has found. Visual arts lessons also significantly improve children's visual and spatial memory, researchers said. Music education has been decimated in schools around the globe, due to competition with academic subjects and an increasing lack of funding. These days, the opportunity to learn an instrument is seen as more of a luxury than a necessary part of education, researchers said. "Despite indications that music has beneficial effects on cognition, music is disappearing from general education curricula," said Artur Jaschke, from VU University of Amsterdam in Netherlands. "This inspired us to initiate a long-term study on the possible effects of music education on cognitive skills that may underlie academic achievement," said Jaschke. Published in Frontiers in Neuroscience, the research is the first large-scale, longitudinal study to be adapted into the regular school curriculum. The researchers conducted the study with 147 children across multiple Dutch schools, using a structured musical method. All schools followed the regular primary school curriculum, with some providing supplementary music or visual arts classes. In these, the children were given both theoretical and practical lessons. After 2.5 years, the children's academic performance was assessed, as well as various cognitive skills including planning, inhibition and memory skills. Researchers found that children who received music lessons had significant cognitive improvements compared to all other children in the study. Visual arts classes also showed a benefit: children in these classes had significantly improved visual and spatial short-term memory compared to students who had not received any supplementary lessons. "Children who received music lessons showed improved language-based reasoning and the ability to plan, organise and complete tasks, as well as improved academic achievement," said Jaschke. "This suggests that the cognitive skills developed during music lessons can influence children's cognitive abilities in completely unrelated subjects, leading to overall improved academic performance," he said. "We hope that this study will support political developments to reintegrate music and arts education into schools around the world," he said. (PTI) FROM FRONT PAGE India s Crown Has She said there were many ways to deal with the problem but we are only using one, fighting guns with guns. The cries of the afflicted are getting lost in this cycle of violence. We must heal the wounds, we must bring back the healing touch., she added 4 Militants According to the police, on Wednesday morning the militants hiding in bushes opened fire on the search party after which siege was laid to the area and with the arrival of reinforcements action was initiated against the militants. A police spokesman in Jammu said that the slain militants were attempting to carry out a major fidayeen attack somewhere which has been foiled successfully. He also said that several weapons with ammunition were found on the slain militants whose identity is being ascertained. The officials believe that the militants had sneaked into Rajouri after breaching the Line of Control (LoC) five days ago. Rajouri's SSP Yougal Manhas said three bags of ammunition and explosives were recovered from outside the CRPF camp. Following the incident, Rajouri Deputy Commissioner Shahid Iqbal Choudary, ordered the closure of all the educational institutions in Sunderbani sector as a precautionary measure. On Tuesday night, two gunmen had barged into the house of one Bushan Kumar Sharma in Bunpori- Yoginallah area in Sunderbani and had forced the family to prepare food, which they had taken away along with themselves, the police sources said. State Can t Treat Same Set of touch with concerned authorities requesting them to accord sanction to his study leave. However, Dr Wani said that to his dismay, the government issued an Order (No. 309-HME of 2013) 25 April 2013, directing the termination of his service from the department. Dr Wani challenged the termination order on the grounds interalia that similarly situated Assistant Surgeons who were working with him in the department of Health were granted study leave for pursuing the DNB course and other courses both within and outside the state and the order of his termination was an arbitrary exercise by the government. Dr Wani said that he was not provided an opportunity of being heard before passing the order and the same was against the Constitutional safe-guards available to him under Article 311 of the Constitution of India and rules 33, 34 and 35 of the J&K Classification Control and Appeal Rules. The government on the other hand resisted and controverted the petition of Dr Wani chiefly on the grounds that he was appointed as an Assistant Surgeon on 17 June He had proceeded on unauthorized absence from his duties w.e.f , when he was still on probation. Since the petitioner failed to report back for his duties, the Directorate of Health Services, Kashmir, accordingly served a show cause notice to him. The petitioner did not file any response, the government said, adding that he was finally terminated from the services. After hearing both the parties, the court said that the state cannot apply different set of standards while determining the cases of the similarly situated persons. The action of the state has to be fair and transparent. It has to be based on reason and logic. The state cannot afford to treat the same set of employees on two different pedestals, a bench of Justice M K Hanjura said, adding that Dr Wani could not have been treated as a sui-generis case by applying different standards in measuring the extent of the benefits to be provided to him. There should be fairness in the dealings and the agility of the state, the court said quashed the Government Order (No. 309 HME OF 2013 dated , so far as it relates to Dr Wani. The respondents are directed to allow the petitioner (Dr Wani) to join back his services as were rendered by him prior to the issuance of the impugned order. (He) shall also be entitled to the consequential benefits, the court added. Govt Issues Notice To "It is felt that there is a need for further information about the data breach from Facebook. Accordingly, a letter has been issued by the Ministry of Electronics & IT on March 28, 2018 to Facebook seeking their response," Meity said in a statement. The ministry has raised five questions in all including whether the personal data of Indian voters and users has been compromised by Cambridge Analytica or any other downstream entity in any manner. The ministry has asked social media major to submit a reply whether the company or its related or downstream agencies utilising Facebook's data have previously been engaged by any entities "to manipulate the Indian electoral process". The letter sent to Facebook said that at present, it has largest footprint in India in terms of its user base and sought its reply on proactive measures being taken by the company to ensure safety, security and privacy of such large user data and to prevent its misuse by any third party. "Facebook has been called upon to give their response by April 7, 2018," the statement said. PTI SHRC Orders of unarmed woman, Rubeena Jan (Beauty Jan) wife of Manzoor Ahmad Mir of Batmuran Shopian. A constitutional obligation is cast upon this Commission to constitute a thorough probe preferably through its own agency so that those responsible for the killing of the innocent civilian lady are brought to justice. The magistrate under whose orders the firing was ordered also need to be booked under law and ordered to be probed for the cold blooded murder of the deceased, complainant had said. The family of the deceased is also required to be compensated adequately keeping in view the tender age of the left over baby who also deserves rehabilitation. Prima face, he had said, it was apparent that the woman was sitting in house with her milk sucking baby in her lap when she was hit by a bullet pumped by law enforcing agencies who were engaged in controlling a protesting mob in the area after a gunfight in the area. There is neither any allegation nor any suggestion that the deceased lady was part of protesting mob but admittedly she was in her own house with her baby in the lap, said the complainant. The incident, he stated suggests that the forces were indiscriminately pumping and spraying bullets unmindful of its consequences. The forces were expected to follow the standard operation procedures (SOPs) prescribed by law and the rules which they have not followed at all. The official forces appear to have pumped bullets with an intention to kill the people including the deceased and not deter the people from protests. He said that an unarmed civilian woman sitting in her own home with her small baby in her lap when the official bullet hit her resulting in her death. The intentional killing of the lady deceased by official forces is a gross abuse of human rights taking away the love and affection of mother from the milk sucking baby and marital joy from her husband which would be a lifelong pain for the entire family especially for the baby and his father. NIA Names Geelani, had appeared before the NIA on many occasions. He gave a duly signed statement in which he gave several details, including the people he had met during his post-doctorate from Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences. Watali s son also gave a detailed statement about the business of his father and his associates, the officials said. The charge sheet also names 42 protected witnesses in its list of 232 people who would be examined during the proceedings. The witnesses have been protected under section 43(3) of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act under which the name and address of the person is not mentioned during the court proceedings. Besides Shah and Watali, the NIA has arrested Geelani s close aides Ayaz Akbar, who is also spokesperson of the separatist organisation Tehreek-e-Hurriyat, Peer Saifullah, Shahid-ul-Islam, spokesperson of the Hurriyat Conference (M), Mehrajuddin Kalwal, Nayeem Khan, Farooq Ahmed Dar alias Bitta Karate, photo-journalist Kamran Yusuf and Javed Ahmed Bhat. The NIA had registered a case on May 30 against the separatist and secessionist leaders, including unidentified members of the Hurriyat Conference, who it said have been acting in connivance with active militants, officials said. The case was registered at the besht o government of India for raising, receiving and collecting funds through various illegal means, including hawala, for funding separatist and militant activities in Jammu and Kashmir and for causing disruption in the Valley by way of pelting stones on the forces, burning schools, damaging public property and waging war against India, the probe agency had said in the FIR. The FIR had also named organisations such as the two factions of the Hurriyat, one led by Geelani and the other Mirwaiz Umar Farooq, the Hizbul Mujahideen and the Dukhtaran-e-Millat, an allwomen outfit of the separatists. Kamran Yusuf and Bhat were released on bail last week by a special court. (PTI) India, Pak To Discuss maintain its position that designs of the projects are very much in accordance with the treaty, the source said. The sources said that the issues concerning the 340 MW Kishanganga hydroelectric project, located on river Jhelum's tributary in Bandipora district of Jammu and Kashmir, may not figure during the meeting since the project has already been commissioned. (PTI) The IWT covers the water distribution and sharing rights of six rivers -- Beas, Ravi, Sutlej, Indus, Chenab and Jhelum. The treaty specifies that waters from the three western rivers -- Indus, Jhelum and Chenab -- are reserved for Pakistan, while waters from eastern rivers -- Ravi, Sutlej and Beas -- are for reserved for India. The PIC had last met in March 2017 in Islamabad. The meeting of the PIC is held alternately in India and Pakistan at least once every year as mandated by the treaty. Vohra Meets Sharma, maintaining peace and normalcy, an official spokesman said. Vohra also had discussions about the present and emerging security environment with Swayam Prakash Pani, IGP Kashmir, Zulfikar Hassan, IG CRPF Kashmir and Baseer Ahmed Khan, Divisional Commissioner Kashmir. Aadhaar Deadline The deadline for linking bank accounts and mobile phone numbers with 12 digit biometric identifier Aadhaar has already been extended indefinitely, till the five-judge constitution bench delivers its judgement on petitions challenging the validity of the biometric scheme and the enabling law 3 PSA Detentions if not required in any other case. Those ordered to be released include Shabir Ahmad Malik Sson of Abdul Jabar Malik of Sangrama, Baramulla. Malik was detained by virtue of an order passed by the District Magistrate, Baramulla(No. 150/DMB/ PSA/2017) on 30 November last year and lodged in District Jail, Kathua, Jammu. The court also quashed PSA detention order of Manzoor Ahmad Ganaie son of Habib Ullah Ganie of Nowpora, Payeen in Litter tehsil of Pulwama. The PSA ordered was passed by the deputy commissioner Pulwama on November 21 last year and Ganaie was lodged in District Jail, Kathua. The court also quashed PSA detention on 23 August last year passed by District Magistrate, Baramullaby virtue of which Faisal Manzoor Dar alias Fasoo son of Manzoor Ahmad Dar of Noor Mohalla, Khawjabagh, Baramulla was ordered to be detained and lodged in Central Jail, Kotebhulwal Less Graft said in a written reply to the Lok Sabha. Of these, 22,386 complaints were disposed. A total of 51,207 and 32,149 such complaints were received in 2016 and 2015 respectively. Of these, 48,764 and 30,789 were disposed in 2016 and 2015 respectively, the minister said. The personnel ministry does not maintain and consolidated data on the number of cases pertaining to the charges of disproportionate assets against top officials of the Union government. Jammu CCP s was also informed that the first trial on the Bahu Fort to Mahamaya stretch will be conducted on April 15", Managing Director of J&K Cable Car Corporation Limited, (JKCCCL) Shamim Ahmed Wani told PTI. He said the project will give a boost to the tourism sector in Jammu. The 48-m section-ii of the cable car from Bahu Fort to Mahamaya Park is scheduled to be completed by March-end. However, the 1,184-m section-ii from Peerkho to Mahamaya park is expected to be completed by May as critical components and imported parts are to be procured from Turkey, Switzerland, Austria and Germany, they said. The cable car project is aimed at connecting heritage sites across the city, Minister of State for Tourism Priya Sethi said. A cable car project is being set up at to connect heritage sites of Bagh-e-Bahu fort-cumgarden and aquarium, Mubarak Mandi heritage palace, Mahamaya temple, Bawe Temple and Peerkho Temple for pilgrims visiting Vaishnodevi and also tourists, she said. Sethi said the project should be designed in such a manner that it can retain tourists for more time in the City of Temples by developing attraction sites at Manda, Peerkho, Bagh-e-Bahu, Mahamaya Temple and Sidhra Golf course. She said this would improve the economy of the region by creating varied avenues for people associated with the tourism industry.

11 We learned our lessons from spotfixing scam to win PSL III: Misbah LAHORE: Former Pakistan skipper Misbah-ul-Haq, whose team Islamabad United won the third Pakistan Super League title last Sunday in Karachi, said the victory was the result of better selection and great team-work. Talking to media at the Annual Sports Day of the Sui Northern Gas Pipelines Limited (SNGPL) at the Wapda Sports Complex here on Tuesday, Misbah, who was forced to miss the PSL final against Peshawar Zalmi due to injury, said his team was a well-balanced squad in all the departments and the boys played like a well-knit unit to earn the success. SPORTS 11 Thursday I-LEAGUE 2ND DIVISION Real Kashmir pocket Srinagar derby KO SPORTS DESK Javeria's record fifty helps Pakistan clinch thriller Pakistan women maintained their allwin record on tour in Sri Lanka - they swept the ODIs but endured a fair few nerves en route a chase they looked set to kill very easily in Colombo. Cruising at 89 for 3 in 12 overs chasing 130, they lost six for 38 to set up a thrilling finish. In the end, No. 11 Ghulam Fatima, on T20I debut, hit the penultimate ball for a boundary to help Pakistan record their highest chase in the format. Sugandika Kumari, the left-arm spinner, orchestrated the collapse to pick three wickets, including that of Javeria Khan, but not before she smashed the fastest T20I fifty for a Pakistani woman. By then, Pakistan were within touching distance even though they kept losing wickets. Bismah Maroof, the captain and No. 3, helped consolidate early in the innings with a brisk 31-ball 42 that set the tone of the chase. With these two innings knocking off nearly three quarter of the target, the others needed to just chip in, which they barely managed in the end. That Sri Lanka were able to make a match of this was courtesy Anushka Sanjeewani's maiden T20 half-century. Playing in just her eighth T20I, she struck eight fours in her 58-ball 61 at the top of the order, even as Sri Lanka endured a top-order collapse that reduced them to 38 for 5 in the ninth over. SRINAGAR: Real Kashmir Football Club continues to have better off Lone Star Kashmir Football Club in a Srinagar derby, winning yet another game against their arch-rivals. The latest result that went Real Kashmir s favour came from 2nd Division I-League fixture. On a bright sunny afternoon, Real Kashmir showed their skill level and class to down Lone Star Kashmir Football Club by 2-1 in what was a close contest played at Synthetic Turf Football Ground, TRC Srinagar on Wednesday. The game between two giant and professionally football clubs from Srinagar was a cracker with both teams showing intent from the get-go. It was Real Kashmir though that drew the first blood courtesy Danish Ahmad who found the net in the 24th minute to have his side infront. With a goal in arrears, Lone Star KFC upped the ante and made attacks on Real Kashmir FC goalpost. It was in the 39th minute when their intent translated into a goal thanks to star striker Aakif, drawing level the score. The teams went into halftime break with a stalemate scoreline. Action continued second half with both teams trying their level best to have their noses infront but goals were hard to come by. Real Kashmir FC though continued mounting pressure on Lone Star FC that bore fruits in the 70th minute when Arinder Mane netted one to give his a one goal cushion. The lead proved to be unassailable as all the advances from Lone Star KFC were thwarted expertly by Real Kashmir to bring home a victory in all important Srinagar derby that has added flavour to Kashmir Football. After Lone Star Kashmir Football Club made a historic entry in 2015 in I-Leaguethe first side from Kashmir to feature in premier tournament in Indian domestic circuit- Real Kashmir Football Club followed the suit next year to have two teams from Jammu and Kashmir playing in the league. The two teams based in Srinagar have been slated in same group in last two years which meant Real Kashmir and Lone Star FC playing against each other shaped in Srinagar derby. It has turned out to be a massive hit among the fans just couple of years into it. Real Kashmir have had a wood on Lone Star FC winning majority of games against their arch-rivals. The Wednesday game didn t have any different with well oiled Real Kashmir pocketing all of three points. Meanwhile a two-minute silence was observed before the start of the game to remember Jammu and Kashmir Football Association treasurer R.K. Kohli who passed away recently. MMS Memorial Football Tournament J&K Police secure goalless draw against J&K Bank Academy KO SPORTS DESK SRINAGAR: Jammu and Kashmir Police and J&K Bank Academy had to share a point each after they played a goalless draw in their first Mufti Mohammad Sayeed (MMS) Memorial Football Tournament (3rd Phase) fixture played at Synthetic Turf Football Stadium TRC Srinagar, a statement from Jammu and Kashmir Football Association said on Wednesday. The battle between the two sides proved to be intense as right from the word go forward lines of both the teams tried to breach each others defences. But on all the occasions, they failed at the finish line. Both the teams missed several scoring opportunities. The match was expected to be a high voltage encounter between the two evenly matched teams. However, it couldn t live up to the expectations. The defenders were always under pressure but they ensured that no damage was done. The goalkeepers made some brilliant saves and at the end of the first half the score line read 0-0. In the second half, it seemed both the teams were content to play a draw as they were more interested in saving the goals rather than scoring. In the last minutes of the match, though both the teams made some moves, but they failed at the finish line. When the referee blew the final whistle, the score line read 0-0. Considering the quality of play displayed by both the teams, it was a fair result. Amir Nisar was declared as player of the match for his performance. He was awarded Rs 1000 and a memento by the organisers. While in Kashmir region, first and second phase matches of the event, being organised by the Jammu and Kashmir Football Association (JKFA) under the auspices of State Sports Council and on the directions of All India Football Federation (AIFF), have been completed, in Jammu region first phase matches are going on. So far more than 1500 matches have been played in the event across the state while 6700 matches are expected to be held at different venues in J&K in coming days. The aim of the tournament is to unearth the hidden talent in all corners of the state including remote areas. In Srinagar district 104 clubs/ teams participated in the first phase of the event and 280 matches of premier division, super division, A, B and sub junior categories were held between August and December Similarly, 107 matches were played in Baramulla, 99 in Sopore, 78 in Pattan, 54 in Kupwara, 66 in Handwara, 55 in Bandipora, 51 in Hajin 51, 77 in Budgam, 102 in Ganderbal, 27 in Pulwama, 59 in Pampore, 54 in Anantnag, 32 in Shopian 32 and 35 matched in Kulgam were played. And, 896 matches were played in districts/zones in the first phase of the event while 69 matches were played in interdistrict category. The JKFA is holding 196 further matches of youth league in all 10 districts of the Valley. Ball-tampering aftermath: Steve Smith, David Warner banned for 12 months JOHANNESBURG: Steve Smith and David Warner, former Australia captain and vice-captain respectively, have been banned for a 12 month period by Cricket Australia. The verdict has come after investigation into the ball-tampering controversy. Also involved in the cheating case, Cameron Bancroft has been banned for nine months. Smith and Bancroft have been banned from a leadership position with the national team for a period of 12 months while Warner will not be considered at all in the future. Smith and Warner will be back in time for the ICC World Cup in England and then the Ashes. Bancroft, meanwhile, returns in time for summer with India to tour Australia at the time. As per the punishment handed out, the players have been banned from all elite Australian cricket, although they can play grade cricket. All players have the right to appeal their verdicts and also the duration of their penalties via a Cricket Australia code of conduct hearing with an independent commissioner, who can also choose whether to keep the hearing public or private. The players are due to depart for Australia on Wednesday with Smith to speak publicly upon his arrival in Sydney. In sombre scenes in Johannesburg, Smith was handed the punishment and asked to relay it to his teammates. The players were left visible shaken after learning that two lead members of the squad would be unavailable for a year. Smith and newly appointed skipper Tim Paine embraced in the hotel and moments later Smith left, dragging a suitcase behind him. On Tuesday, CA chief executive James Sutherland revealed the trio of Smith, Warner and Bancroft were the only members in the Australian squad or support staff who had any knowledge of the plan to deliberately alter the condition of the ball. They were found to have breached Article of the Code of Conduct, which relates to conduct at any time that is contrary to the spirit of the game, unbecoming of a representative, harmful to the interests of the game, or bringing the game into disrepute. The players were informed of their significant sanctions in the team hotel in Johannesburg before leaving for Australia. With Smith, Warner and Bancroft leaving South Africa, Matthew Renshaw, Joe Burns and Glenn Maxwell have been called up as their replacements for the fourth Test starting Friday. The last time Steve Smith missed a Test for Australia was back in March 2013 against India. Since then, he s played 59 Tests for Australia and scored 23 centuries during this period before being handed the captaincy. Smith is currently the top-ranked Test batsman in the world. The incident that led to the entire controversy and the subsequent suspensions took place during South Africa s innings on Saturday afternoon when Bancroft was captured on TV cameras holding a foreign object while rubbing the ball, before hiding the object in his pocket, then inside his trousers. The players were later questioned by the two on-field umpires, who, along with third umpire and fourth umpire, later charged Bancroft. After Saturday s play, Smith and Bancroft admitted to tampering with the ball. The plan to alter the condition of the ball was made at Lunch break between senior players, which later emerged as Smith and Warner, without the consent of the coaching staff. (AGENCIES) Afghanistan receive heroes welcome for cricket World Cup qualification KABUL: Afghanistan s cricket team received a heroes homecoming in Kabul after qualifying for the 2019 World Cup. After touching down in the Afghan capital, captain Asghar Stanikzai warned that his minnows were ready to cause some shocks in the 50-over global showpiece in England next year. The other teams should understand that we are a strong and rising team, he said at a special ceremony where they received a standing ovation from an invitation-only crowd. Afghanistan had looked set to miss out on a second straight World Cup appearance after suffering three straight defeats in the group stage of the qualifying tournament in Zimbabwe. But they fought back from the brink of an early exit and qualified by reaching Sunday s final, albeit with help from results elsewhere. Victory over the West Indies in the Harare final was their fifth win in a row and Stanikzai, holding the winner s trophy, led his teammates along a red carpet flanked by an honour guard of Afghan children in traditional dress, who threw red rose petals over the beaming players. The team s remarkable recovery showed we are able to fight hard, Stanikzai told AFP. Afghanistan are due to play their maiden Test match against India in Bangalore in June having been recently promoted to full Test status by the International Cricket Council. Afghanistan has changed quite a lot compared to what it was in previous years, said Stanikzai. The other teams should understand that we are a strong and rising team and we will try our best to put on a good show (at the World Cup). For security reasons ordinary Afghan cricket fans were not allowed to welcome the players back to Kabul, but supporters flooded social media to pay tribute. Their victory was also met with celebratory gunfire, fireworks and honking of horns throughout the Afghan capital. Congratulations team Afghanistan for this remarkable victory, Motiullah Mutmaen wrote on Twitter. You have a fighting spirit which makes you a dangerous team who can beat any team on any given day. Aymal Khan Jalal posted on Facebook: You have finally managed to put a smile on our faces! Leg-spin sensation Rashid Khan, who became the fastest to reach 100 one-day international wickets in the West Indies match, said making the World Cup was a dream. The team we have right now and the talent we have, it s a world class team. We just need to believe in ourselves, said Rashid. (AGENCIES) International Friendlies Brazil beat Germany as Spain thrash Argentina BERLIN: Brazil edged past world champions Germany 1-0 in their international friendly to snap their opponents 22-match unbeaten run and exact some measure of revenge for their 2014 World Cup semi-final humiliation. Gabriel Jesus headed in the winner in the 37th minute as Brazil, beaten just once under coach Tite and missing injured talisman Neymar, beat a second-string German team to restore some pride after their 7-1 loss to the Europeans four years ago. The Germans were hoping to match their record of 23 games without defeat but they lacked their usual spark, with several key players injured or rested, including Manuel Neuer, Mesut Ozil and Thomas Mueller. In an evenly-balanced first half and with the open wound of their shock World Cup loss to Germany still painful according to Tite, the visitors were in no mood to take any early risks. Instead of pressing high for fear of being caught on the break, Brazil waited for the Germans to enter into their half. Disciplined and hard-working at the back, they kept German pressure under control. Brazil then grabbed an unexpected lead when keeper Kevin Trapp, replacing the rested Marc- Andre ter Stegen failed to hold on to Jesus s point-blank header, with the ball slipping through after his reflex save. The Germans tried to get an equaliser before the break with Mario Gomez, vying for a spot in the World Cup squad, coming close twice. But it was the Brazilians who were more aggressive in the second half, threatening through Paulinho and Philippe Coutinho. Loew, who will announce his preliminary World Cup squad on May 15, brought on Sandro Wagner for Gomez to add pressure with a fresh forward. However, Brazil kept their cool to earn a much-needed confidence boost. The five-times world champions kick off their World Cup campaign against Switzerland on June 17 before facing Costa Rica and Serbia. BCCI ban beleaguered duo from IPL 2018 MUMBAI: Former Australia captain Steve Smith and vice-captain David Warner, who were banned for 12 months on Wednesday after being found guilty of plotting ball-tampering during the third Test against South Africa at Newlands in Cape Town, were banned from taking part from the upcoming season of Indian Premier League by the BCCI. While Smith w a s slated to play for Rajasthan Royals, Warner was a part of Sunrisers Hyderabad squad. Speaking to reporters, IPL chairman Rajeev Shukla said, They (Cricket Australia) have banned two players and we are also barring these two players from this year s IPL. Shukla said that the IPL committee were waiting for the decision by Cricket Australia before taking their own call on the matter. We wanted everything in our own hands. First, we waited for ICC s decision, after that Cricket Australia and then we decided on the matter. We have decided to bar them from this season, he said. He further added that the franchises will be allowed to pick their replacements for the two players. The replacements will be made available to the two teams. We did not take any decision in haste, it was a well thought out decision, he said. (AGENCIES

12 12 THURSDAY Kashmir Observer Facebook to change privacy controls in wake of data scandal Facebook has faced a global outcry after a whistleblower revealed that data from 50 million users. Facebook announced a series of changes on Wednesday to give users more control over their data, after a huge data scandal which has wiped more than $100 billion from its stock market value. The company has faced a global outcry after a whistleblower revealed, on March 17, that data from 50 million users was improperly harvested to target US and British voters in close-run elections. The last week showed how much more work we need to do to enforce our policies and to help people understand how Facebook works and the choices they have over their data, Erin Egan, Vice President and Chief Privacy Officer, and Ashlie Beringer, Vice President and Deputy General Counsel at Facebook, wrote in a blog post. So in addition to Mark s announcements last week cracking down on abuse of the Facebook platform, strengthening our policies, and making it easier for people to revoke apps ability to use your data we re taking additional steps in the coming weeks to put people in more control over their privacy. The measures come ahead of a landmark European Union data protection law in May. The social network will add a new Privacy Shortcuts menu which will let users worldwide review what they ve shared and delete it, as well as features enabling them to download their data and move it to another service. Facebook shares have fallen almost 18 percent since March 17. Users data was improperly accessed by British political consultancy Cambridge Analytica, which was hired by Donald Trump s 2016 presidential campaign. The company s CEO, Mark Zuckerberg, has repeatedly apologized and bought full-page advertisements in US and British newspapers promising to do more to restrict access to users information. While Facebook said on Wednesday the changes it was announced had been in the works for some time, it said the events of the past several days underscore their importance. The Privacy Shortcuts menu will allow users to control their data in a few taps, including by letting them add more protection to their account, like twofactor authentication. You can review what you ve shared and delete it if you want to. This includes posts you ve shared or reacted to, friend requests you ve sent, and things you ve searched for on Facebook, Egan and Beringer wrote. Users will also be able to manage the information Facebook utilizes to serve them ads and download the data they have shared on Facebook - including photos, contacts and posts - and move it to another service. The EU General Data Protection Regulation enters into force on May 25 and requires companies to give people a right to portability, namely to take their data with them. It also introduces hefty fines for companies breaking the law, running up to 4 percent of global revenues. Lawmakers in the United States and Europe are demanding to know more about Facebook s privacy practices and Zuckerberg is due to testify before the US Congress. Observers OUT POST Govt plans to sell 76 per cent stake in Air India, transfer management control The Civil Aviation Ministry has sought Expression of Interest for the stake sale in the loss-making carrier and two of its subsidiaries. New Delhi: The government plans to sell 76 per cent stake in Air India, according to the preliminary information memorandum released on Wednesday on strategic disinvestment of the national carrier. The Civil Aviation Ministry has sought Expression of Interest (EoI) for the stake sale in the lossmaking carrier and two of its subsidiaries. According to the memorandum, the government plans to offload 76 per cent equity share capital of the national carrier as well as transfer the management control. Management or employees can participate directly in the bidding process or by way of forming a consortium, as per the memorandum. Ernst & Young LLP India has been appointed as transaction adviser for the strategic disinvestment process. The information memorandum said the transaction will involve Air India, its low cost arm Air India Express and Air India SATS Airport Services Pvt Ltd. The latter is an equal joint venture between the national carrier and Singapore-based SATS Ltd. In June 2017, the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) gave inprinciple nod to the strategic disinvestment of the airline, which has a debt burden of over Rs 50,000 crore. Subsequent to the decision, the Air India Specific Alternative Mechanism (AISAM), headed by Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, was set up to decide on THE INFORMATION MEMORANDUM said the transaction will involve Air India, its low cost arm Air India Express and Air India SATS Airport Services Pvt Ltd. specific issues. The national carrier is staying on taxpayers' money under the turnaround plan approved by the previous UPA government in Samsung launches Galaxy J7 Prime 2 for Rs 13,999 The J7 Prime 2 features 5.5-inch Full HD display with 2.5D glass panel in the front. Korean tech giant Samsung has announced the next Galaxy smartphone for the Indian market. The Galaxy J7 Prime 2 is designed with a metal unibody that features a 5.5-inch full HD LCD display and boasts of a 2.5D surface glass. The smartphone features a frontmounted fingerprint scanner. The Galaxy J7 Prime 2 is powered by the company s own home-brewed Exynos chipset that features 1.6GHz octa core processors and supports 3GB of RAM. 32GB of internal storage has been provided and the hybrid SIM slot can support a micro SD card which can extend the storage by up to 256GB. The Galaxy J7 Prime 2 also sports 13MP cameras on both the front and rear with an aperture of f/1.9 for both sensors. The J7 Prime 2 also comes pre-loaded with Samsung s latest Make for India innovation Samsung Mall. It allows you to click pictures of the product or use an image already stored in your phone's gallery and then search for the same online. The J7 Prime 2 also features Samsung Pay Mini, which is designed to cater to the requirements of Indian mid-segment consumers. It provides a comprehensive platform for government s Unified Payments Interface (UPI) as well as e-wallets. Galaxy J7 Prime 2 is priced at Rs 13,990 in India and will be available in Black and Gold colour variants. 9.7-inch ipad 2018 vs ipad 2017: Should you upgrade to Apple s new tablet? Apple s new ipad will be available in India from next month at a starting price of Rs 28,000. Apple on Tuesday announced a new lowcost ipad that will be supporting Apple Pencil. Aimed at the educational market, the new ipad comes with Augmented Reality features and apps like Classroom and Schoolwork. The new ipad aka 9.7-inch ipad (2018) will be available in India at a base price of Rs 28,000 from next month. The latest generation 9.7-inch ipad comes with a slew of new features and improvements over the last year s iteration. Let s compare the two generations of ipad in terms of their price, specifications and features. ipad 2018 vs ipad 2017: Price Apple s 9.7-inch ipad 2018 will be available in India starting next month. The 32GB with Wi-Fi model will be available in India for Rs 28,000. The 32GB Wi-Fi + Cellular model will be priced at Rs 38,600. The 128GB models of the ipad are priced at Rs 35,700 and Rs 46,300 respectively. Apple Pencil will be available for purchase separately for Rs 7,600. Smart Covers for ipad are available at a starting price of Rs 3,400. Apple s older generation ipad is available in India at a similar price. The 32GB with Wi-Fi model is available online for Rs 29,000 approximately whereas the 32GB Wi-Fi + Cellular model can be purchased for Rs 39,000. ipad 2018 vs ipad 2017: Display First up is Apple s latest ipad. It features a 9.7- inch Retina Display with pixels resolution. The last year s ipad also has a 9.7-inch Retina display with pixels resolution sans touch sensors that enable Apple Pencil support. Both the devices come with oleophobic coating. ipad 2018 vs ipad 2017: Camera The latest generation 9.7- inch ipad comes with an 8-megapixel rear camera with ƒ/2.4 aperture. It can shoot full HD videos and slow motion videos at 120fps. On the front it has a 1.2-megapixel camera with f/2.2 aperture and Retina Flash. The 9.7-inch ipad 2017 also has an 8-megapixel rear camera with ƒ/2.4 aperture and full HD video recording support. On the front it has a 1.2-megapixel camera with f/2.2 aperture. ipad 2018 vs ipad 2017: Performance, connectivity, battery As per the tradition, Apple doesn t reveal RAM size of its devices. The latest generation ipad is powered by A10 Fusion chip with 64-bit architecture with M10 coprocessor. Surprisingly, Apple hasn t used its latest A11 Bionic chip which is said to be much faster and efficient than A10 Fusion chip. That said, the latest generation ipad is a big upgrade over the last year s which ran on A9 processor. In terms of connectivity, the latest ipad doesn t bring anything new to the table. Both have Wi-Fi (802.11a/b/g/n/ac); dual band (2.4GHz and 5GHz); HT80 with MIMO, Bluetooth 4.2 technology, Wi-Fi calling support and GPS among others. Both Wi-Fi only and Wi- Fi + Cellular models come in 32GB and 128GB variants. Apple s new 9.7-inch ipad is said to deliver up to 10 hours of surfing the web on Wi-Fi, watching video or listening to music (on Wi-Fi model). It comes with a 32.4-watt-hour rechargeable lithium-polymer battery. The last year s ipad had 32.9 watt-hour battery. ipad 2018 vs ipad 2017: Other differences While the two ipads don t differ much in terms of specifications, the biggest difference is the support for Apple Pencil. Another big highlight is support for Augmented Reality applications. There s also support for the third-party accessories such as stylus and keyboards. 2,500-year old coffin may offer clues into ancient Egypt Australian academics could help unlock mysteries around ancient Egypt after discovering that a 2,500-year old coffin might contain the remains of a prestigious mummy. The University of Sydney acquired the coffin 150 years ago and a series of academics incorrectly classified it as empty. Their error was only discovered by chance late last year when more recent academics removed the lid to the coffin and discovered the tattered remains of a mummy. The discovery offers scientists an almost unique opportunity to test the cadaver. We can start asking some intimate questions that those bones will hold around pathology, about diet, about diseases, about the lifestyle of that person how they lived and died, said Jamie Fraser, senior curator at the Nicholson Museum at the University of Sydney. Whole mummies are typically left intact, limiting their scientific benefits. Adding to the potential rewards is the possibility that the remains are those of a distinguished woman of an age where little is known, Fraser said. Hieroglyphs show the original occupant of the coffin was a female called Mer-Neith-it-es, who academics believe was a high priestess in 600 BC, the last time Egypt was ruled by native Egyptians. We know from the hieroglyphs that Mer- Neith-it-es worked in the Temple of Sekhmet, the lion-headed goddess, Mr. Fraser said. There are some clues in hieroglyphs that tell us about how this Temple of Sekhmet may have worked. Amazon launches Kindle Lite, a new reading app optimised for India s low-end phones, 2G network Amazon on Wednesday launched Kindle Lite for Android in India. Touted as the lightest reading application, the Kindle Lite app is just 2MB in size and is available for download on Play Store for free.an India first product, the Kindle Lite App is less than 2MB and provides Kindle features, including personalised recommendations, Whispersync (synching your ebooks across devices) as well as free ebook samples and titles in English, Hindi, Tamil, Marathi, Gujarati and Malayalam languages. As part of our continued focus on India, we are always working to improve the reading experience for our customers. Apps constantly compete for space on a mobile phone and Kindle Lite solves this problem for our readers, Rajiv Mehta, Country Manager, Kindle, said in a statement. Kindle Lite consumes less memory on a customer s phone while providing a great reading experience -- even over slow internet connections and patchy networks. Kindle Lite is less than 2MB and built to provide a great reading experience even on 2G/3G networks, Mehta said. During the first month after the launch, the customers would also get 80 per cent cashback on their first ebook purchased on Kindle Lite through Amazon Pay. Amazon Kindle Lite app: Highlights Kindle Lite is less than 2MB and downloads under a minute on your phone. It works on slower 2G/3G networks. Kindle Lite uses less space on your phone. It lets you actively manage storage for downloaded ebooks as well as monitor your data usage over WiFi or mobile networks, says the company in a release. The app has content in six languages including English, Hindi, Tamil, Marathi, Gujarati and Malayalam. Garmin Vivomove HR smartwatch launched in India, priced at Rs 15,999 Smart wearables maker Garmin India on Wednesday launched an analog digital smartwatch Vivomove HR with in-built wellness features at Rs 15,999. It is currently available at select Helios stores and it will soon be available across leading online platforms. The hybrid watch, which features a crystal touchscreen with a discreet display, includes fitness monitoring tools and displays the steps taken, calories burnt, distance travelled, and heart rate. A unique feature of Vivomove HR is that the watch hands dynamically move out when you interact with the touchscreen and then moves back to the correct time when you are done, Ali Rizvi, National Sales Manager, Garmin India, said in a statement. It has wellness monitoring tools such as allday stress tracking and relaxation timer to help you manage your stress levels and maintain a healthy lifestyle. The device is compatible with iphone, Android and Windows smartphones and also features smart notifications, weather, find my phone, music control, find my watch, among others. The hybrid watch can last up to five days in smart mode and up to two weeks in watch mode, the company claimed.