Pandits are welcome, no separate settlements for them: Majlis
Srinagar: A group of prominent religious organisations in Jammu and Kashmir today said Kashmiri Pandits, who migrated from the Valley in 1990, have a right to return and are welcome, but cautioned the Centre against any move to create separate settlements for the community. “Pandits are an important part of the Kashmiri society. Those Pandits, who were pressurised to leave the Valley in 1990 under a sinister conspiracy, have every right to settle at their ancestral places or in any area along with their Muslim compatriots and they will be welcomed to live here as the common citizens,” president of Majlis Itihad-e-Millat, Jammu and Kashmir Mufti Bashir-ud-in said at a press conference here. The Majlis is a joint representative forum of about a dozen religious organisations including Jamat-e-Islami, Jamiat-e-Ahli Hadees and Anjuman-e-Shari Shian. Mufti, who is also Jammu and Kashmir’s Grand Mufti (head cleric), said any plan by the Central government to create separate settlements in Kashmir for the Pandit community would have “dangerous consequences”. “The people of Kashmir, including a majority of Pandits, have serious apprehensions about the plan and will never accept it,” he said. (PTI)
Monsoon reaches Haryana
Chandigarh: Monsoon arrived in Haryana and the state received a total of 446 mm of rainfall Thursday, an official said. “In Haryana, with the onset of the monsoon season, 446 mm rainfall was recorded up to 8 a.m. Thursday in different parts of the state,” the official said. He said Naraingarh in Ambala district, 45 km from here, registered the highest rainfall of 49 mm. The rainfall brought much-needed relief from scorching heat over the last few days. It will also benefit the farmers who have sowed paddy and other crops. Moderate to heavy monsoon showers had lashed most parts of Punjab and Chandigarh Wednesday. (IANS)
Kerala, Centre concerned about nurses’ safety in Iraq
New Delhi: The Kerala government as well as the Centre are concerned about the safety of the 46 nurses who are stranded in an Iraq town, said Chief Minister Oommen Chandy Thursday after he met External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj here. The 46 nurses from Kerala stranded in Iraq’s Tikrit town hardly slept through the night and till Thursday morning had not boarded a bus brought for them by ISIS militants. “The Centre like the state expressed their deep concern over the turn of events in Iraq and like us they are also concerned of the safety of these nurses. They are doing their best to see that these nurses are brought back,” Chandy told reporters here. Chandy, who arrived in the national capital late Wednesday night, was accompanied by three state ministers when he called on Swaraj.The first meeting went on for an hour and she again later met him for another 30 minutes. “(I) am unable to divulge the details of our talks and you (the media) should also show restraint while reporting this,” said Chandy. Earlier, one of the nurses called up her home in Kerala early morning. She said that they continue to remain in Tikrit and they have not boarded a bus that was brought by the ISIS rebels, who have been demanding these nurses board the bus for their onward travel to Mosul. (IANS)