13/06/2025
Asad Mirza
Israel’s attacks on Iran could lead to a catastrophic potential full-scale war, further destabilising an already volatile Middle East, with serious implications for global security. Such a conflict could disrupt global oil supplies, involve international powers, and deepen regional instability.
Israel’s June 13 airstrikes on Iranian soil have sharply escalated the long-running confrontation between the two arch-rivals. Codenamed Operation Rising Lion, the operation invo...
09/06/2025
Asad Mirza
The United Kingdom’s Strategic Defence Review (SDR), published on 2 June 2025, offers an ambitious vision for the British Armed Forces. It reiterates a focus on a ‘NATO First’ policy, amid what Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer calls in the document a ‘new era for defence and security’.
The latest war preparedness, to fight any future war in Europe or elsewhere has been proposed in the Strategic Defence Review (SDR), 2025. The SDR proposes to build as many as a dozen new nucle...
03/06/2025
K N Pandita
Thirty-six years after our forced exile from our birthplace of Kashmir, PDP Chairperson, Mehbooba Mufti, during her recent meeting with the LG, suggested honourable, secure and sustainable return and rehabilitation of nearly 60 thousand Kashmiri Pandit families scattered all over the country after their exodus in 1990. In her formal letter to the LG, she has appended an outline of a comprehensive rehabilitation plan for the Pandit minority in Kashmir Valley.
To many ...
22/05/2025
Asad Mirza
As famine looms over Gaza, with 57 children reportedly dying from the effects of malnutrition over the past 11 weeks, the Israeli operation in Gaza continues unabated. Though some western leaders have voiced concern over the fast-deteriorating situation in Gaza, no practical solution or confronting Israel for its anti-human behaviour against the Palestinians, appears to be on the horizon.
Israel is still blocking aid for Gaza despite promise to lift siege, the UN has sa...
22/05/2025
by Farooq Ganderbali
Pakistan, long known as a safe haven for terrorists, continues to be the epicenter of cross-border terrorism. From the rugged terrains of Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) to the terror launch pads scattered across its territory, Pakistan has institutionalized terror as an instrument of state policy. With alleged support from the Pakistan Army and its intelligence agency ISI, militant groups are being trained, armed, and pushed into Jammu and Kashmir with a singul...
19/05/2025
Asad Mirza
The President of the United States, Donald Trump, arrived in Riyadh, the capital of Saudi Arabia, on the first leg of his West Asian tour, last week. He also visited Qatar and the UAE during the tour, ignoring Israel. During the visit he also met with Syria’s President, a former Al Qaeda leader, Al Shara. Overall, the visit was not just foreign policy and bilateral relations but an exercise to boost the financial fortunes of the Trump family.
Believe it or not, Trum...
08/05/2025
By Farooq Ganderbali
The people of Jammu & Kashmir have once again spoken with a united voice: terrorism has no place in our land, and Pakistan’s decades-old agenda of bloodshed and division stands utterly rejected.
For years, Pakistan has tried to infiltrate the minds of Kashmiri youth through fake Islamic propaganda, luring them into a cycle of violence and radicalisation. But today, the people of Kashmir are sending a firm message — stop sending terrorists, stop destroying o...
07/05/2025
By Dr. Dinesh Gupta,
Each year, World Red Cross Day stands as a solemn tribute to the vision of Henry Dunant—the founding father of the Red Cross Movement—and the countless humanitarian workers who embody his ideals on the front lines of suffering. It is a day to reaffirm our collective duty to uphold the values of humanity, impartiality, neutrality, and voluntary service, values that have guided the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement for over a century.
But i...
05/05/2025
Asad Mirza
Since 2021, seizing power yet again after a gap of 20 years, Afghanistan's Taliban rulers were termed as ‘pariahs’ and shunned by the international community, but recently the hard-line militants have notched up some big wins in their diplomatic efforts to forge international ties.
Coming back to power in Afghanistan after a 20 years period, following the hasty withdrawal of American forces from the country, Afghanistan’s Taliban rulers or the Islamic Emirate of Afghanist...
28/04/2025
K B Jandial
The past 35 years’ Pakistan-sponsored terrorism in Jammu and Kashmir has experienced a series of horrifying terrorist attacks—targeting every section of the population including Kashmiri Pandits, local Muslims, journalists, civil servants, JKP personnel, security forces, political figures, and pilgrims. However, the 22/4 terrorist strike at Baisaran, Pahalgam marked a chilling departure from past gory incidents. This attack was not just exceptionally brutal but bore a d...
21/04/2025
Asad Mirza
Last week, a Supreme Court bench’s observation on the use of Urdu, has once again opened a pandora’s box, on the treatment meted out to Urdu – a language of connoisseurs, but which has been appended to the Muslim community. As in the past, this time too, nothing worthwhile would come out of this development, as Urdu has been relegated to its current status by the Urdu lovers only.
A Supreme Court bench of Justice Sudhanshu Dhulia and Justice K Vinod Chandran while hea...
11/04/2025
Tawheed Sheikh
It is painful beyond words to witness the ongoing suffering of women in our society.A deep and widespread pain surrounds many as they carry heavy burdens in their hearts,often without sharing, often without anyone noticing.Their pain is silent, their struggles invisible, yet the weight is crushing.
Yesterday,we were shaken by a heartbreaking incident in Ganderbal : a woman,overwhelmed and broken jumped into a water canal with her son and daughter.Fortunately,all th...
07/04/2025
Asad Mirza
Opponents of US President Donald Trump and his adviser, billionaire Elon Musk, staged rallies across the United States, over the weekend, to protest against the administration’s actions to overhaul the government and expand presidential authority. Reportedly, more than 1,200 “Hands Off” rallies were held on Aorul 5, with organisers anticipating the largest single-day mobilisation opposing the administration’s recent initiatives.
Tens of thousands of anti-Trump demonstra...
29/03/2025
By Satish Mahaldar
Navreh, the Kashmiri Pandit New Year, is a festival that holds deep cultural, spiritual, and historical significance. While it marks the beginning of the lunar year, its implications go beyond the mere passage of time. Rooted in ancient texts such as the Nilmat Purana and the Kashmir Mahatmya, Navreh is a celebration that resonates with themes of cosmic renewal, agricultural cycles, divine intervention, and spiritual reflection. This research aims to provide an i...
24/03/2025
Fatima Baloch and Dr K N Pandita
Pakistan was established in 1947 through the partition of India by the British, rather than through a prolonged independence struggle marked by significant sacrifices against colonial rule. As a result, the country initially mishandled Balochistan, forcefully occupying it against the will of the Baloch people on March 27, 1948. Furthermore, Pakistan has struggled to function as a cohesive nation, comprising diverse ethnic groups such as Bengalis, Punjabis...
13/03/2025
By Sanjay K. Tickoo
The tragic history of the Kashmiri Pandits is a wound that has refused to heal, a deep scar on the conscience of the nation. Even decades after the cataclysmic events of 1990, justice remains elusive, and the voices of the exiled continue to echo in the void of political apathy. Among the many blood-stained pages of this history, one date stands out as the first cry of an impending genocide—14.03.1989. On this day, Smt. Prabhawati became the first recorded victim o...
10/03/2025
Asad Mirza
As if the tariff war against almost the whole world, leading among them China, Mexico, Canada, and India, hots up, it portrays the leading hero, Trump in this case, frothing at the mouth and cursing and cussing everyone, if he does not get what he wants, and shows a completely new and unacceptable face of the American democracy and diplomacy.
Accusations and counter accusations are flying around but the optics are definitely working against Donald Trump. If only he ha...
07/03/2025
Sindhiya Gupta
On International Women’s Day, it is essential to recognize and empower the women of Jammu and Kashmir, whose resilience, talent, and determination can significantly contribute to nation-building. Despite facing historical challenges, women in the region continue to break barriers and emerge as leaders in various fields. Their participation in economic development, governance, social reforms, and technological advancements can be a driving force in shaping a progressive a...