PDP President and Member Parliament, Mehbooba Mufti has felicitated the three Kashmiri journalists who have been awarded Ramnath Goenka Award for Excellence in Journalism.The Kashmiri journalists Riyaz Ahmad Wani, Special Correspondent Tehelka magazine, Hakeem Irfan, Correspondent with the Economic Times and Dar Yasin, Photographer with the Associated Press (AP), were conferred with the prestigious award at an impressive function in New Delhi today.Ramnath Goenka Award is given by The Indian Express group in memory of its founder.Mehbooba also felicitated Athar Aamir-ul-Shafi Khan of Devipora, Mattan, Anantnag for being conferred with Hindustan Times Young Achievers Award. Khan has been conferred with the award for having qualified prestigious IAS examination just at the age of 22.“I am proud of their achievements and wish them continued success in their future endeavors,” Mehbooba said and urged the State’s youth to take a cue from the accomplishments of their counterparts and make a mark in the academic and professional fields they opt for.
Mehbooba said despite passing through the darkest era of its history, the main source of the State’s confidence is the substantial potential of building upon its young and enterprising human resource. “It is heartening to note that even after having gone through the most difficult times, our young boys and girls are doing us proud in whatever field they take a plunge,” she said and added that the Kashmir’s young population has suffered immensely due to the conflict and our youth now need to connect with the larger world outside to grab the opportunities available to their counterparts elsewhere.“Fortunately most of our young boys and girls have already started excelling in various fields and most of them are now getting admission in IITs and IIMs besides qualifying for IAS, IPS, IFS and other prestigious competitive examinations to give a flying start to their careers,” she said.Mehbooba said the coming up of new institutions like Medical Colleges, Engineering Colleges, Professional Universities, IITs, IIMs, IIMCs and AIIMS in J&K, would open up fresh window of opportunity for our enterprising young population. “JK has to have knowledge connectivity with the world outside so that its youth can prosper and relish the fruits of globalization and economic liberalization,” she said. (KNS)