MT Desk: Indian forces’ personnel have launched a cordon and search operation (CASO) in Samba district of Indian illegally occupied Jammu and Kashmir.

According to Kashmir Media Service, the forces’ personnel have launched the search operation in Regal village in the Ghagwal sector after the officials claimed that a Pakistani drone was reportedly sighted hovering over a forward village along the Line of Control (LoC) in Samba district late Friday.
They said that the unmanned aerial vehicle approached from the Chak Bhura post in Pakistan before flying over Regal village in the Ghagwal sector for a few minutes and then returning across the border.
The officials said Indian forces conducted a thorough search of the area to rule out the possibility of any airdropped consignment but no suspicious material was found.
Meanwhile, all Parties Hurriyat Conference senior leader Mirwaiz Umar Farooq has urged the authorities to ensure that the harassment of Kashmiris, studying and working in parts of India, after the Delhi blast, is immediately stopped.
According to Kashmir Media Service, Mirwaiz Umar Farooq, addressing the Friday congregation at Jamia Masjid in Srinagar said news of harassment keeps coming in from all over which is very disturbing.
He said reports have come from Himachal and some other places where Kashmiris have been harassed and in housing colonies Kashmiris are being singled out and questioned simply because of their identity.
Referring to the raids on Kashmir Times office in Jammu, Mirwaiz lamented that press freedom had become a target of authorities and every dissenting voice from that of the authorities was seen as anti-India and a threat. He added that a free and fair media was essential for democracy and silencing it weakens democratic values.
Mirwaiz said Kashmir Times has a great legacy of Ved Bhasin which the current management is carrying forward and resorting to such tactics is extremely unfortunate and uncalled for.
Talking about the Nowgam blast in which more than nine people lost their lives he said it is an extremely painful incident that so many precious human lives were lost. This tragedy could have been averted if seized material had been handled and stored in a responsible manner, he added.
It is imperative that those responsible for this preventable loss of life be held to account and the investigation be completed and made public soon, Mirwaiz maintained.
Mirwaiz also highlighted the proposal of Kashmir Power Development Corporation Limited to impose a 20 percent surcharge on power tariffs during peak hours. Calling it a grave injustice to people, he said people are already struggling to survive an economic crisis as businesses are in decline, increasing the power tariff that too before the onset of winters which are harsh in Kashmir is heartless of the Government.
Mirwaiz said rather than easing people’s problems, the government is adding to their woes. He added that instead of fulfilling the commitment of providing 200 units of free electricity to the poor, new burdens are being placed on people. He urged the authorities to immediately withdraw this anti-people proposal.