anonymous blog vilifying me and Iftikhar Gilani : Kashmiri journalist Ahmed Ali Fayyaz
In the blog, editor Shujaat Bukhari, who was gunned down in Srinagar on June 14, was accused of ‘betraying the Kashmir struggle’.
Kashmiri journalist Ahmed Ali Fayyaz on Sunday said unidentified people who had run a vilification campaign against Rising Kashmir’s assassinated editor Shujaat Bukhari, were now targeting him and journalist Iftikhar Gilani.
A blog post titled “Touts who are betraying the Kashmir struggle” appeared online 11 days before Bukhari was gunned down in Srinagar on June 14, the Hindustan Times reported last week. The blog’s authors have also targeted other journalists, businessmen, politicians and activists engaged in Track-2 diplomacy, berating them for betraying the “struggle of Kashmir” and for carrying out the “dirty work of defaming [the] Kashmir cause”.
“They have posted our photographs on the same portal with a vitriolic heap of text which vilifies and denigrates us both as ‘dubious characters’, men of ‘hypocritical approach’ et al,” Fayyaz wrote in a Facebook post.
Fayyaz wrote that the allegations against him were unfounded. “I have never ever taken upon myself the task of strengthening or weakening any narrative or ideology or attempted to impose my personal ideology on my esteemed readers who are from vast, diverse opinions and backgrounds,” he said. “So it is completely malicious and preposterous to allege that I have anybody’s brief in discharging my duty.”
The journalist denied that he had ever taken part in a Track-2 diplomatic initiative. “I have never ever claimed to be the ‘saviour of Kashmiri cause’ or someone ‘finding a solution to the Kashmir problem’, he wrote. “I believe this is not a proscribed activity for a journalist but I have been holding the opinion that this job should be left to other organs of the civil society.”
He also refuted the allegation that he had not spoken up against Bharatiya Janata Party leader Choudhary Lal Singh’s threat to journalists, and that he influenced American and Indian policies in the region. “Throughout my career I have steered clear of such state and non-state affiliations and diplomatic operations,” the journalist wrote. “My activity has been purely professional and academic while attending only those conferences and workshops which are not directly or indirectly sponsored by any side of the Kashmir conflict.”
Fayyaz said he had written against both state and non-state actors and exposed “the atrocities they committed against helpless, voiceless people”.
“I neither need a certificate from any masked keyboard actor nor will I ever take dictation under any naked or insidious threat from any individual or country under any circumstances,” he wrote. “Those trying it, for whatever purpose, will be simply wasting their own time and energy.”
courtesy : scroll.in
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Former rapper Balendra Shah’s Rastriya Swatantra Party heading towards landslide victory in Nepal
Kathmandu (PTI): Rapper-turned-politician Balendra Shah's newly formed Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP) was on Saturday heading towards a sweeping victory in Nepal's first general elections since the violent Gen Z protests, shattering the dominance of established political parties in the politically fragile nation.
According to the Election Commission's data available from 161 of the total 165 constituencies, the RSP has won 27 seats with a clean sweep in all 10 constituencies of Kathmandu district in the elections held on Thursday.
The Nepali Congress has secured victory in five seats, the Nepali Communist Party has won two seats and the Communist Party of Nepal (Unified Marxist–Leninist) has won one.
The RSP is leading in another 97 seats, the Nepali Congress, the Nepali Communist Party and CPN (UML) are leading on 10 seats each, while Shram Sanskriti Party is leading on five. Others are leading on two seats, according to the Election Commission figures till 10 am.
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Balendra Shah, who was the mayor of Kathmandu till recently, has secured 39,284 votes in Jhapa-5 constituency against four-time prime minister and CPN-UML chair K P Sharma Oli in the latter's stronghold. Oli has received 10,293 votes so far.
Popularly known as 'Balen', the 35-year-old engineer is expected to be the next prime minister of Nepal, reflecting a public mood of rejection of established parties. Nepal has had 14 governments in the last 18 years.
The election is being closely watched by India, which hopes for a stable government in the politically fragile Himalayan nation to take forward the developmental partnership between the two sides.
"We look forward to working with the new Government of Nepal to further build on the robust multifaceted ties between our two countries and peoples for mutual benefit," Ministry of External Affairs Spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal had said in Delhi on Thursday.
He said India has "consistently supported peace, progress and stability in Nepal and in keeping with our commitment, provided logistical supplies as per request from the Government of Nepal for these elections".
Out of a total of 275 members of the Parliament, 165 will be elected through direct voting, while the remaining 110 will be elected through a proportionate method.
In the Nepal elections, about 18.9 million voters were eligible to elect 275 members of the House of Representatives, with around 60 per cent of them turning out to vote on Thursday.
Around 3,400 candidates are vying for 165 seats under direct voting, and 3,135 candidates for 110 seats through proportionate voting.
The Gen Z youth, through their two-day intensified protests on September 8 and 9 last year, ousted Prime Minister Oli, who was heading a coalition government with the backing of Nepali Congress that enjoyed nearly two-thirds majority support.
Balen was a popular choice to lead the interim government after Gen Z youths toppled the Oli-led coalition government.
But Balen declined to lead the interim administration, saying he would rather head the government by contesting the parliamentary election for a full term.
In January, he joined the RSP, which was formed in 2022 by Ravi Lamichhane, and was soon declared the party's prime ministerial candidate. The RSP received significant support during the campaign.
Nepali Congress president Gagan Thapa was the prime ministerial candidate of his party, whereas the CPN (UML) projected Oli as its PM face. Both Nepali Congress and CPN (UML) were part of the government toppled by the Gen Z last year.
According to the Election Commission, Pushpa Kamal Dahal Prachanda won from Rukum Purba district. He secured 10,240 votes against his rival Lilamani Gautam of CPN (UML), who got 3,462 votes.
After Oli's ouster, President Ramchandra Paudel dissolved the House of Representatives on September 12 and appointed Sushila Karki as the caretaker PM.
The major issues raised by Gen Z are anti-corruption, good governance, an end to nepotism, generational change in political leadership, etc.
