Civilians killing, firings by troops in IHK condemned

Sunday, 21 July 2013

Srinagar, July 22 (Newswire): In occupied Kashmir, the APHC and other Hurriyet leaders and religious organisations have strongly condemned the continued killing of civilians by Indian policemen and paramilitary troopers in the territory.

AHPC Chairman, Mirwaiz Umar Farooq, in a statement issued in Srinagar, while condemning the killing of a civilian, Fayaz Ahmad Khanday in police firing at Baramulla town, termed it as a brutal act by Indian police to suppress the ongoing freedom struggle.

The Jammu and Kashmir Anjuman Sharie Shian in a statement has denounced the incident and said that the government of India was using repressive measures to stop the people from pursuing the freedom struggle. 

The Jamat-e-Islami Jammu and Kashmir in a statement, terming the killing as an inhuman act, prayed for the martyred youth and expressed solidarity with the bereaved families.

The Jammu and Kashmir National Front, Muslim League Jammu and Kashmir, Muslim Khawateen Markaz Jammu and Kashmir, Democratic Political Movement, Awami Action Committee, Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front-R, Peoples Freedom League, Jammu and Kashmir Salvation Movement, Employees Joint Action Committee-Q and Srinagar City Senior Citizens Forum in their separate statements also condemned the killing.

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IHK HCBA urges world to help conduct plebiscite in J&K

Srinagar, July 22 (Newswire): The High Court Bar Association of occupied Kashmir has called upon the world leaders to put pressure on India to honour its promise of plebiscite in Jammu and Kashmir.

The spokesman for High Court Bar Association of the occupied territory in a statement issued in Srinagar said that the people of the Kashmir valley were facing continued repressive measures by the Indian government and the occupation authorities.

He said that movement of people had been crippled, which was against the fundamental right of freedom of movement and expression. "Without declaring any kind of emergency, we fail to understand what kind of provisions of constitution are they applying," he added.

The spokesman appealed the world especially the United States to take the matter with the Prime Minister of India. "The situation in the occupied territory has reached a stage where routine life has been paralysed. "Nobody can move, even the media is gagged and judiciary can't function," he added.

He also demanded immediate release of all illegally detained Kashmiri Hurriyet leaders and activists including Bar President Mian Abdul Qayoom and General Secretary GN Shaheen.

The spokesman also called upon the international human rights organisations to take serious note of human rights violations in Jammu and Kashmir. "The people of the valley are being subjected to worst kind of atrocities," the spokesman added.

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APHC to provide legal aid to arrested youth

Srinagar, July 22 (Newswire): In occupied Kashmir, the All Parties Hurriyet Conference has expressed serious concern over the illegal arrest of hundreds of innocent youth and continued human rights violations across the Valley.

The APHC spokesman, while urging the parents of detained youth to contact its central office for legal aid to seek release of their children, said: "Parents or other family members of the arrested youth should approach the central office of Hurriyet, Rajbagh, along with all required information so that necessary legal aid could be provided to the detainees. They can contact on Phone No 2452896, 2479652 and Fax No. 2450673."

According to various estimates, about 1,000 youth have been arrested, while 23 have been booked under the draconian law, Public Safety Act (PSA) since June 11 when 17-year-old Tufail Ahmad Mattoo was killed by Indian police and the killing caused anti-India and pro-liberation protests.

The spokesman termed the valley-wide mass arrests of youth as an act of frustration by the occupation authorities.

He strongly condemned the continued house arrest of Hurriyet Chairman, Mirwaiz Umar Farooq and detention of veteran Kashmiri Hurriyet leader, Syed Ali Gilani, Shabbir Ahmad Shah, Nayeem Ahmad Khan, Zaffar Akbar Butt, Mian Abdul Qayoom, G.N Shaheen and other activists under Public Safety Act (PSA).

The spokesman said the declared and undeclared curfew in the Valley continued for the 19th day, making the life of civilians more miserable.

Meanwhile, the Awami Action Committee has condemned the imposition of continuous curfew and the three week long military siege which has not only confined people to their homes but also led to severe shortage in foodstuffs, medicine and other essential commodities.

"The situation is dangerous. People are being subjected to oppression," a spokesman of the party said in a statement.

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Underwater sponges and worms may hold key to cure for malaria

Islamabad, July 22 (Newswire): Healing powers for one of the world's deadliest diseases may lie within sponges, sea worms and other underwater creatures.

University of Central Florida scientist Debopam Chakrabarti is analyzing more than 2,500 samples from marine organisms collected off deep sea near Florida's coast.

Some of them could hold the key to developing drugs to fight malaria, a mosquito-borne illness that kills more than 1 million people worldwide annually. Chakrabarti is pursuing this study with Amy Wright of Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institute, Fort Pierce, whose team has collected these samples from a depth up to 3000 feet.

Chakrabarti is excited about the early promising results -- preliminary tests identified about 300 samples that can kill malaria parasites. He's also concerned, however, that the Gulf of Mexico oil spill may wipe out species that could hold healing properties for many deadly diseases.

"There is a very good possibility that the answers to cancers, malaria and other diseases may be found in the ocean," he said. "Why am I so optimistic? Just consider that the oceans cover 70 percent of the planet. Among 36 of the phyla of life, 34 are found in marine environment whereas the land represents only 17 phyla, and we haven't even begun to explore the oceans' depths.

"But I'm worried. Who knows what we may be losing."

He watches the news while continuing his research in hopes of finding answers to malaria, a disease he's dedicated his life to combating. There is no FDA-approved vaccine for malaria, and people are becoming more resistant to the drugs available to treat it.

Chakrabarti and Wright landed a $500,000 grant from the National Institutes of Health and National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases for their study.

So far, Chakrabarti and his two graduate students have conducted preliminary testing of more than 2,500 samples from the Harbor Branch collection. They conducted tests to evaluate growth inhibitory properties of these samples for malaria parasite growing inside human red blood cells in culture.

One active sample derived from a marine sponge contained the compound Nortopsentin. Because of this compound's initial promise, Chakrabarti said, he's already filed an application for patent protection.

Harbor Branch is one of only three organizations in the country that has the capability to collect deep-sea samples. It has submersible vehicles that dive 3,000 feet underwater to collect samples off Florida's coast. Wright directs the biomedical-marine research program at Harbor Branch.

Chakrabarti's approach of identifying new drugs from marine sources builds on prior research around the globe.

In May, the American Society of Clinical Oncology announced results from a Japanese study concluding that the drug eribulin, derived from sea sponges, was effective in helping patients fight breast, colon and urinary cancer. Scientists in Australia are diving into the Great Barrier Reef to explore the potential healing powers of marine creatures living there.

Locally, Gregory Roth, director of medical chemistry and exploratory pharmacology at the Sanford-Burnham Medical Research Institute is working with Harbor Branch on similar research. Sanford-Burnham is one of the UCF College of Medicine's partners at its new health sciences campus in Lake Nona.

Chakrabarti will continue analyzing samples, particularly the 300 already identified as promising, during the next year.

"If we can find two or three good molecules that can be easily synthesized in a lab and that can prevent malaria, I'd be very happy," he said.

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