JDF condemns Pahalgam terror attack, calls it crime against humanity
The party said that within the parameters of justice, they stand with the nation in any action following the attack.
Addressing a press conference, the party said that they join the nation in sorrow after the attack that killed 26 civilians, most of them tourists, in the Baisaran meadow of Pahalgam on April 22.
President of JDF Shamim Ahmad Thokar said that they had scheduled a convention for the formal launch of the party on April 29 at SKICC but owing to the Pahalgam attack and the national mourning, the programme was cancelled.
'JDF condemns the heinous murders in Pahalgam. Tyranny against innocents is a crime against humanity, which is unacceptable,' he said.
'We will be standing with the nation on whatever action is taken, keeping in mind the parameters of justice,' he said.
Jamaat, a politico-religious organisation which was banned by the central government in 2019 for their alleged links to militant outfits, had fielded some 10 candidates as independents in the elections last year in September-October including the prominent Sayyar Ahmad Reshi and Talat Majid in South Kashmir with no success on any seat. During the militancy which erupted in 1989, separatists and Jamaat would boycott elections and hold rallies against voting in J&K.
In February, Thokar and Reshi and other members had announced the formation of the party at a convention in South Kashmir to give an 'informal introduction of JDF'.
At the press conference, Thokar said that they are formally starting political activities from now on. 'We are starting our political activities from today. And our workers and members across Kashmir, we will be organising conventions and other political activities in the field,' he said.
The party also launched its flag and party logo- 'scales of justice'.
The participation of the JeI-backed candidates in assembly elections marked the organisation's return to electoral politics after 37 years.
The party condemned the targeting of Kashmiri students outside the union territory.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Indian Express
2 hours ago
- Indian Express
Hezbollah warns Lebanon ‘will have no life' if state moves against it
Hezbollah raised the spectre of civil war with a warning on Friday there would be 'no life' in Lebanon if the government sought to confront or eliminate the Iran-backed group. The government wants to control arms in line with a US.-backed plan following Israel's military campaign against Hezbollah, which was founded four decades ago with the backing of Tehran's Revolutionary Guards. 'This is our nation together. We live in dignity together, and we build its sovereignty together – or Lebanon will have no life if you stand on the other side and try to confront us and eliminate us,' its leader Naim Qassem said in a televised speech. Israel has dealt Hezbollah heavy blows in the last two years, killing many of its top brass, including former leader Hassan Nasrallah, and 5,000 of its fighters and destroying much of its arsenal. Lebanon's Prime Minister Nawaf Salam said that Qassem's statements carried an implicit threat of civil war, calling them 'unacceptable'. 'No party in Lebanon is authorised to bear arms outside the framework of the Lebanese state,' Salam said in a post on X carrying his statements from an interview with the pan-Arab Asharq Al-Awsat newspaper. The Lebanese cabinet last week tasked the army with confining weapons only to state security forces, a move that has outraged Hezbollah. Qassem accused the government of implementing an 'American-Israeli order to eliminate the resistance, even if that leads to civil war and internal strife'. However, he said Hezbollah and the Amal movement, its Shi'ite Muslim ally, had decided to delay any street protests while there was still scope for talks. 'There is still room for discussion, for adjustments, and for a political resolution before the situation escalates to a confrontation no one wants,' Qassem said. 'But if it is imposed on us, we are ready, and we have no other choice … At that point, there will be a protest in the street, all across Lebanon, that will reach the American embassy.' The conflict between Hezbollah and Israel, which left parts of Lebanon in ruins, erupted in October 2023 when the group opened fire at Israeli positions along the southern border in solidarity with its Palestinian ally Hamas at the start of the Gaza war. Hezbollah and Amal still retain influence politically, appointing Shi'ite ministers to cabinet and holding the Shi'ite seats in parliament. But for the first time in years, they do not hold a 'blocking third' of cabinet posts that in the past enabled them to veto government decisions. Hezbollah retains strong support among the Shi'ite community in Lebanon, but calls for its disarmament across the rest of society have grown.
Indian Express
3 hours ago
- Indian Express
‘MNS and Sena UBT will contest together in BMC polls': Sanjay Raut
Amid the buzz of an alliance between the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) and the Shiv Sena (UBT), Sena UBT MP Sanjay Raut on Friday claimed that Uddhav and Raj Thackeray will together contest the upcoming civic body elections in the state including the BMC and emerge victorious. Though brothers Raj and Uddhav Thackeray have not yet officially announced anything regarding a pre-poll alliance, Raut said talks were already underway for several municipal corporations, including Mumbai, Thane, Nashik, Kalyan Dombivali and Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar. He asserted that 'no one can break the unity of the Thackerays.' 'The Thackeray brothers will contest the civic polls together and they will win. Talks are already going on for several municipal corporations, including Mumbai, Thane, Nashik and Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar. No evil force can now break the unity of the Thackerays,' he said. 'For Maharashtra and Marathi unity, the brothers have unsheathed the sword. Our discussions with MNS are still ongoing, but the goal is clear—to ensure victory in every civic body where we contest together,' he added. Although neither Uddhav nor Raj has formally announced the official alliance, the two parties have already come together for the August 18 election to the BEST Employees Co-operative Credit Society in Mumbai where the Sena (UBT)-affiliated BEST Kamgar Sena and the MNS-affiliated BEST Kamgar Sena are contesting jointly against a BJP-backed panel led by Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde's aides Prasad Lad and Pravin Darekar. The move marks the first electoral collaboration between the cousins in years, following a series of public appearances together—including a Marathi language event earlier this year on July 5 in Mumbai and Raj's visit to 'Matoshree' on Uddhav's birthday. Sena UBT sees Mumbai and Thane as a key battleground. For the Sena UBT, winning the BMC would be retaining its bastion and rule over Mumbai and winning Thane Municipal Corporation would be a symbolic blow to rival Eknath Shinde, whose political career began there and who currently dominates the body. Leaders from Sena UBT believe that an alliance could revive their organisational presence in Mumbai, Thane and Nashik, where both parties have historically drawn significant Marathi support. The BJP, however, dismissed Raut's statement, with BJP leader Pravin Darekar likening the Sena (UBT) to 'an impatient groom who injures his knee before the wedding' and alleging that Raut feared his party's 'extinction' without MNS support. Since the speculation began, workers and office-bearers from both parties have been seen together at protests and public functions, further fuelling talk that the estranged cousins may formally reunite for the long-delayed municipal polls across Maharashtra. Meanwhile, Raut also attacked Prime Minister Narendra Modi over his independence day speech, alleging he had turned the country 'from religious to fanatically religious' and 'adopted the Congress's Swadeshi slogan, becoming Gandhian–Nehruvian.'
Hindustan Times
4 hours ago
- Hindustan Times
'Enough with the fighting': Russians hope for breakthrough in Trump-Putin talks
In a Moscow tourist shop, Russian nesting dolls featuring the faces of Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump line up next to each other -- the Russian leader standing slightly taller than his American counterpart. Putin has already rejected multiple calls for a ceasefire, including directly from Trump, and has outlined a string of hardline territorial demands from Ukraine if it wants the Russian army to halt its advance.(AP) Hopes are high in the Russian capital that Friday's summit in Alaska will bring the two men even closer together -- paving the way to ending the conflict with Ukraine, triggered by Moscow's February 2022 military offensive. "I think that positive decisions will be taken at the summit. The war that is going on will end," said Boris, a 60-year-old tax inspector walking along Moscow's famed Arbat street. After a series of phone calls, the presidents will meet face-to-face for the first time since Trump returned to the White House in a high-stakes summit to see if a deal can be struck to end the fighting. Nerves are high in Ukraine, which is not invited to the summit, and across Europe, that Trump will undercut Kyiv and offer Putin a favourable deal. The Russian leader has already rejected multiple calls for a ceasefire, including directly from Trump, and has outlined a string of hardline territorial demands from Ukraine if it wants the Russian army to halt its advance. But pensioner Gennady, 85, is among those hopeful this time will be different. "Enough with the fighting. It's time to reach an agreement," he told AFP. "The people of America, Ukraine and Russia, they are peaceful people, and they want peace in the world," said Irina, a 65-year-old teacher. Trump has spent months trying to broker an end to a conflict that has killed tens of thousands, destroyed much of southern and eastern Ukraine and forced millions to flee their homes. - 'Nothing particularly good' - But not everyone in Moscow believes a breakthrough is possible. "If I'm being a realist, nothing particularly good is expected," said Vladimir, 69. "The only thing this summit can achieve is that at some point, they will find some kind of way to halt some of the fighting. In the air or at sea, maybe," he added. "But on the whole, of course, there will be no end to the hostilities. The two sides have completely opposite positions," he added. Putin has also repeatedly pointed to the gulf in positions between Moscow and Kyiv. Moscow wants Ukraine to cede more territory, renounce its Western military backing and give up on NATO membership. Kyiv says it will never accept territorial concessions and wants tough Western-backed security guarantees and troops on the ground to enforce any ceasefire -- demands already rejected by the Kremlin. Amid the uncertainty, even those selling the matryoshka dolls were hedging their bets. "Maybe next week we'll have one with Putin and Trump together," said a saleswoman at one shop. 'It all depends on the outcome of the summit.'
