Srinagar, May 07: National Conference (NC) president Farooq Abdullah on Thursday expressed hope that the Supreme Court will deliver justice if the controversy surrounding alleged malpractices in the West Bengal polls reaches the apex court of the country.

Speaking to reporters after a meeting of the party’s provincial committee, Abdullah said everyone is raising questions over the poll results.

“Mamata (Banerjee) is raising questions, Akhilesh (Yadav) is raising questions, everyone is raising questions (on the poll results). I hope they will take this to the Supreme Court and that the Supreme Court will deliver justice on it,” the NC chief said.

To a question over the unity in the opposition’s India bloc, the former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister said, “India bloc is always operative, it will continue to operate.”

On the party’s meeting, he said several issues, including how to strengthen the party, were discussed.

Meanwhile, NC’s chief spokesman Tanvir Sadiq said the meeting of the provincial committee of the party takes place every month and discusses party affairs.

“Discussions took place over party affairs, developmental works and the situation in Jammu and Kashmir,” Sadiq told reporters.

Asked if the cabinet expansion was discussed in the meeting, he said it was not the proper forum as cabinet expansion is the prerogative of the chief minister.

“The CM will take a call on it when he deems fit. The meeting discussed party affairs, what MLAs think and what the situation is,” Sadiq added.

Simari, May 07:  A river runs through it, cleaving the village between India on side of the gushing waters and Pakistan Occupied Kashmir on the other. If Operation Sindoor has a ground zero, it is Simari where the sound of artillery fire still echoes for villagers trying to shake off memories from that night one year ago.

It is from this frontier village surrounded by high mountains that the Army fired shells across the Krishan Ganga river to signal the start of Operation Sindoor on the intervening night of May 6-7, 2025, India’s response to the terror attack in Pahalgam to dismantle terror outlets in Pakistan.

One year on, silence seems to have settled over the picturesque hamlet on the foothills of the Shamshabari mountains in Tangdhar sector, about 180 km from Srinagar. Life has resumed its everyday routine but outsiders are met with quiet and a certain distrust. Many walk away, saying they only understand Pahari.

Simari, at the literal edge of the country, has a population of 500 and just about 80 houses. There are a dozen odd modern concrete structures alongside traditional mud and timber dwellings. If it were not for the roaring river waters, people from one side to the other could literally shout out to be heard.

The river is also a constant reminder that this is a divided land – both literally and metaphorically.

And Operation Sindoor was felt not as a news report about what is happening to others but as a storm of fire passing overhead.

Ghulam Qadir is amongst the few who talks, albeit reluctantly.

“We didn’t just hear the about the war… we felt it as shells lit the skies,” Qadir told PTI. Community bunkers were home for the few days after that first night of shelling.

He is proud of his village. Simari’s local middle school has been designated Polling Booth Number One. A hand-painted slogan greets visitors with the declaration: ‘Democracy starts from here’.

“Now you should understand we are the first village in the country and the torch bearers of democracy in the country,” he snapped back when asked how it felt to be the resident of the country’s last village.

The school is sign of Simari’s resilience. Despite being physically separated from the rest of the country by a security fence, people here view themselves as the primary guardians of the country’s democracy. The village is mainly dependent on army troops deployed in the area and many work as labourers for them.

As commemorative events are held across the country to mark the first anniversary of Operation Sindoor, life in Simari is a delicate balance between everyday mundaneness and the fear that their village’s very remoteness could make them the centre of conflict.

For Iqbal, the drones from across the border were more difficult to deal with than the shelling. The Army opened fire several times to thwart their advances. “Some of the intruding objects (drones) fell in our area. These were successfully removed by the Army,” he said, lauding the Army for providing all kinds of relief during those turbulent days.

Located eight kilometres from Teetwal area, which was developed under the border tourism plan, accessing the village is not easy. Tarred roads give way to landslides and fast flowing waters from the slopes around.

The language spoken is Pahari and the culture and customs differ from the Kashmiri heartland or Kupwara district in North Kashmir.

India carried out airstrikes on nine terror infrastructures in Pakistan and Pakistan Occupied Kashmir. About 100 terrorists were killed.

Shopian, May 07: Hundreds of students and parents on Wednesday staged a peaceful protest in south Kashmir’s Shopian district, demanding the reopening of Jamia Siraj-ul-Uloom.

Carrying placards reading “Save Our Future,” students from different districts enrolled in the institution staged a sit-in protest outside the office of the Deputy Commissioner.

“We are demanding the reopening of our school. We believe in peace and want our education to continue,” said a Class 11 student participating in the protest.

The institution was declared an unlawful entity on April 24 under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA), based on a dossier prepared by the Senior Superintendent of Police, Shopian. The district administration subsequently barred the entry of unauthorised persons into the premises.

Zahid Ahmad, one of the protesting parents, said the future of hundreds of students was at stake.

“We request the administration to safeguard the future of these students,” Ahmad said.

Later, a delegation of parents met the Deputy Commissioner and urged the administration to intervene and facilitate the reopening of the institution.

Sopore, May 07: A three-year-old boy was killed after being allegedly hit an Army vehicle in Gund Brath area in Sopore on Thursday, officials said. 

A police official said that was immediately shifted to sub-district hospital Sopore for treatment where his was declared dead on arrival.  

The deceased has been identified as Mohammad Zain (3) son of Aamir Hussain Tantray of Gund Brath, Sopore.

He said that police have registered an FIR vide no. 109 at Police Station Sopore and further investigation has been launched. —(KNO)

Kulgam, May 07: A man was found dead in the Subhanpora area of Qaimoh along the NH-44 in south Kashmir’s Kulgam district on Thursday morning, officials said.

An official said that the body was spotted by locals near the highway at Subhanpora, following which police rushed to the spot.

He said the incident appears to be a hit-and-run case, though the exact cause of death and the identity of the deceased are yet to be ascertained.

Meanwhile, police have shifted the body for medico-legal formalities and initiated further investigation into the matter. —(KNO)