Sheikh Zaffar Iqbal

"Faces Covered, Armed Amritsar Attackers First Threatened Woman": Witness

India News | Reported by Sheikh Zaffar Iqbal, Edited by Shylaja Varma | Sunday November 18, 2018

Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh has appealed for peace after the grenade attack on a prayer congregation in Amritsar that left three dead and several injured on Sunday. "I appeal to the people of Punjab to maintain peace in wake of Amritsar bomb blast. I urge them not to panic and to remain calm. We will not let the forces of terror destroy o...

Once Injured Fighting For The Country, These Army Veterans Now Fight For Their Due In Court

India News | Written by Sheikh Zaffar Iqbal | Monday November 12, 2018

Brigadier SS Ahluwallia, a Vir Chakra awardee, lost his toes to frostbite in the course of a heroic effort to capture the country's highest picket near the Siachen glacier in the 1971 India-Pakistan war. He opted for voluntary retirement at the turn of the century and returned home, only to be thrust into a different kind of battle. A legal one.

Rape-Accused Bishop Had Harassed Priest For Supporting Nun, Claims Family

India News | Written by Sheikh Zaffar Iqbal | Wednesday October 24, 2018

Relatives of Father Kuriakose Kattuthara, a senior Catholic priest who passed away under mysterious circumstances after issuing a statement against Bishop Franco Mulakkal in the alleged rape of a nun, have alleged that he was harassed by his superior in the days preceding his death. In a complaint filed with the police, they said Bishop Mulakkal ha...

Amritsar Dussehra Event Organiser Missing, Protesters Target Their Homes

Amritsar News | Reported by Sheikh Zaffar Iqbal, Edited by Shylaja Varma | Sunday October 21, 2018

The organiser of the Dussehra event in Amritsar during which 61 people were crushed by a speeding train on Friday faced public anger as protesters threw stones at their home this morning. The organiser, Sourabh Madan Mithu and his father, local councillor Vijay Madan, are missing. Heavy police presence was seen outside their home, which was locked ...

Before Amritsar Tragedy, People Stood On Elevated Tracks For Better View

Amritsar News | Reported by Sheikh Zaffar Iqbal, Edited by Debanish Achom | Saturday October 20, 2018

Sixty-one people celebrating Dussehra were killed after a train ran over hundreds standing on a railway track in Amritsar on Friday evening. The tracks at Jaura Phatak were on higher ground, which gave a better view of the burning effigy of Ravan. As it was lit and fireworks went off, a section of the crowd retreated towards the tracks, where a lar...

60 Dead As Train Hits Crowd Watching Ravan-Burning In Punjab: 10 Points

India News | Reported by Sheikh Zaffar Iqbal, Edited by Vaibhav Tiwari | Saturday October 20, 2018

At least 60 people celebrating Dussehra were killed after a train ran over hundreds standing on a railway track in Amritsar on Friday evening. As Ravan's effigy - located very close to the tracks at Jaura Phatak - was lit and fireworks went off, a section of the crowd retreated towards the tracks, where a large number of people were already standin...

No Manpower Or Machinery, Will Burn Crop Residue, Say Punjab Farmers

India News | Written by Sheikh Zaffar Iqbal | Monday October 8, 2018

Even as farmers in Punjab continue to burn crop residue despite a ban on stubble burning, the Punjab pollution control board says there has been a dip in the number of cases compared to last year. The decrease has been attributed to a delay in paddy harvesting due to inclement weather, but the farmers say that in the absence of an alternate mechani...

Punjab's Badals, Congress Hit Each Other's Strongholds With Rival Rallies

India News | Written by Sheikh Zaffar Iqbal | Monday October 8, 2018

In a show of strength in Punjab ahead of 2019 elections, Chief Minister Amarinder Singh and Parkash Singh Badal's Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) held rallies in eachother's strongholds.

Pak-Occupied Kashmir "PM" Reportedly On Chopper That Violated Airspace

India News | Reported by Sheikh Zaffar Iqbal, Edited by Jimmy Jacob | Monday October 1, 2018

Pakistan-occupied-Kashmir head official Raja Farooq Haider Khan was travelling in a chopper that was fired at by the Indian Army for entering the country's airspace today, reports from Pakistan suggested.

J&K Local Body Poll Dates Announced, Voting To Be Held In 4 Phases

India News | Reported by Sheikh Zaffar Iqbal, Edited by Jimmy Jacob | Saturday September 15, 2018

Jammu and Kashmir local body polls will be held between 8 and 16 October in four phases, Jammu and Kashmir Chief Election Officer Shaleen Kabra said today.

5 Terrorists Killed In Fierce Encounter In South Kashmir's Kulgam

India News | Reported by Sheikh Zaffar Iqbal, Edited by Debanish Achom | Saturday September 15, 2018

Five terrorists have been shot dead by security forces in an encounter at Jammu and Kashmir's Kulgam. Three were shot dead this morning during a cordon and search operation, while the two others were killed during the encounter that followed.

For Jammu And Kashmir Local Bodies Polls, Officials Talk Proxy Candidates

India News | Written by Neeta Sharma, Sheikh Zaffar Iqbal | Tuesday September 11, 2018

Local body elections in Jammu and Kashmir will proceed according to schedule, even though the two key political parties in the state - Mehbooba Mufti's PDP and the National Conference - have pulled out of the election, officials said on Monday.

Activist Collapses On Live TV During Talk Show In Srinagar, Dies

India News | Reported by Sheikh Zaffar Iqbal, Edited by Shylaja Varma | Monday September 10, 2018

A prominent scholar in Jammu and Kashmir died in the middle of a TV show on Monday. Rita Jetinder, a social activist and a Dogri scholar, was on a show on state-run Doordarshan in Srinagar when she collapsed live on TV.

"Anything For Article 35A": Mehbooba Mufti's PDP To Boycott Local Polls

Srinagar News | Reported by Nazir Masoodi, Sheikh Zaffar Iqbal, Edited by Debjani Chatterjee | Monday September 10, 2018

Former chief minister of Jammu and Kashmir and PDP chief Mehbooba Mufti has called a meeting of her party leaders, to decide if they will boycott the urban local body polls and the panchayat elections later this year. The party has already indicated that it cannot ignore the sentiments of the people until the validity of Article 35 A is protected. ...

Jammu And Kashmir Panchayat Polls Under The Shadow Of Violence And Fear

India News | Written by Sheikh Zaffar Iqbal | Sunday September 9, 2018

For the last four years, Sheeraz has been bringing up her two daughters all by herself after her husband Mohammad Sultan, a village head in south Kashmir's Shopian district, was killed by terrorists in 2014. She says the situation is just not conducive for the upcoming local body elections in Jammu and Kashmir.