Punjab

Chandigarh, Feb 28 (PTI) Punjab minister Navjot Singh Sidhu Thursday insisted that dialogue and diplomatic pressure will count for in seeking a long-term solution to terror outfits operating across the border, amid strain in India-Pakistan ties in the aftermath of the Pulwama terror attack and subsequent developments.

New Delhi, Feb 28 (PTI) Railways has cancelled the operations of the Indo-Pak Samjhauta Express on its side from Thursday, which senior officials said was due to "purely operational reasons" as Pakistan had suspended services from across the border.

A notification in this regard was issued here.

Ambala, Feb 16; PTI/GANASHAKTI:  A village panchayat here has asked villagers to evict Kashmiri students living in rented accommodation within 24 hours in the wake of the Pulwama terror attack, according to a video that has surfaced on social media.

Half a dozen Kashmiri students have been shifted to the hostel of the MM University after the purported video appeared.

In the video, Mulana village sarpanch Naresh Rana could be heard asking villagers to evict Kashmiri tenants.

Ludhiana (PB), Feb 14 (PTI) Three more persons, including a juvenile, were held Thursday in connection with the gang rape of a 21-year-old woman near Issewal village here, taking the total number of those nabbed in the case to six, police said.

"All six accused involved in the gang rape have been arrested," Punjab DGP Dinkar Gupta told the media here Thursday.

Chandigarh, Feb 8 (PTI) IPS officer Mohmmad Mustafa Friday asked the Punjab government to relieve him as the chief of the anti-drug Special Task Force as he is "senior" to newly appointed police chief Dinkar Gupta.

Mustafa, a 1985-batch officer, said he has requested the Chief Minister's office to give me the charge of the state Human Rights Commission.

Chandigarh, Feb 4 (PTI) The Punjab government will soon release compensation to farmers whose crop got damaged because of hailstorm, Revenue and Disaster Management Minister Sukhbinder Singh Sarkaria said Monday.

Chief Minister Amarinder Singh had issued orders to all the deputy commissioners to conduct fresh 'Girdawri' (loss assessment) of the affected area, Sarkaria said in a statement issued here.

Chandigarh, Jan 31 (PTI) The Punjab government on Thursday said it will provide 1.32 lakh plots of five marla each to homeless people in rural areas.

Chief Minister Amarinder Singh had on January 22 directed all deputy commissioners to launch the scheme after identifying the requisite land for this purpose.

Under the proposal mooted by the Rural Development and Panchayats Department, the chief minister had asked the deputy commissioners to allot at least 10 plots to homeless families in every village, where land is available with the Panchayats.

Attari (Amritsar), Jan 26 (PTI) On the occasion of India's 70th Republic Day, the Border Security Force (BSF) offered sweets to its Pakistani counterparts at the International border here on Saturday.

BSF commandant Mukund Kumar Jha gave the sweets to Pakistani Wing Commander Usman at zero line on the Attari-Wagah border.

Personnel of BSF and Pakistan Rangers, the neighbouring countrys border-guarding force, hugged and shook hands with each other besides sharing pleasantries for few minutes, officials said.

Barnala, Jan 20 (PTI) Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) supremo Arvind Kejriwal on Sunday hit out at those who recently left the party, calling them "opportunists" who were greedy for posts and tickets.

Kejriwal, who launched his party's campaign for upcoming Lok Sabha polls in Punjab by addressing a rally here, also attacked the Congress-led state government and said it had "betrayed" people as it failed to deliver on its poll promises.

Chandigarh, Jan 19 (PTI) Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh Saturday launched Congress president Rahul Gandhi's flagship 'Shakti' project to galvanise party workers in the state ahead of the Lok Sabha election due by May.

According to the party, people can join the 'Shakti' project by sending an SMS, mentioning their voter ID number in the message box and they would be registered. The project also aims to connect Congress workers digitally with Gandhi.