REGIONAL

Muthida Majlis Ulema (MMU) led by Grand Mufti Nasir-ul-Islam on Saturday appealed to hotel and restaurant owners across Kashmir to stop buying, selling, or serving slaughtered chickens and meat products imported from outside Jammu Kashmir, urging them instead to procure such items locally. The appeal came during a meeting of the Muthida Majlis Ulema held in Srinagar under the chairmanship of Grand Mufti Nasir-ul-Islam, where senior clerics and scholars discussed concerns over the quality and source of slaughtered poultry being supplied to the Valley. Grand Mufti Nasir-ul-Islam said the decision was taken after receiving several complaints and inputs suggesting that much of the slaughtered chicken arriving from outside the Union Territory did not meet halal standards. “Hoteliers ha...

The Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) has uncovered a major scam involving the illegal exchange of prime evacuee property on Gupkar Road, Srinagar, one of the city’s most prized and strategically sensitive localities. Senior government officials from the Revenue and Custodian Evacuee Property departments are among those accused of orchestrating the manipulation in collaboration with private beneficiaries. During a press briefing, Senior Superintendent of Police, ACB, Javid Hassan, said that around 17 marlas of evacuee land were unlawfully traded for a property of considerably lower value elsewhere. The land swap, he noted, was executed without securing the mandatory No Objection Certificate from the Defence Estates Office, and in direct violation of Jammu and Kashmir High Court directi...

Jammu Kashmir Legislative Assembly Secretariat has received nearly 450 questions, 13 private members’ bills, and 55 private members’ resolutions for the upcoming nine-day session in Srinagar, beginning October 23, Daily Excelsior reported. The session will include six sittings. Officials said 33 private members’ bills from the previous budget session, held in Jammu from March 3 to April 9, remain pending, taking the total number of such bills to 46. Two days each, earlier reserved for private members’ bills and resolutions during the budget session, were washed out due to protests by NC-Congress alliance members and others over the passage of the Waqf Bill in Parliament. The Speaker had later announced that the pending bills would be taken up in the next session, while the reso...

The Environmental Policy Group (EPG) has expressed grave concern over illegal “overlanding” activities taking place in several forest and meadow regions of Jammu Kashmir, including Haijan, Branwar, Mechkhanian, and Ashrat. The group has called on the government to immediately curb the practice, warning that continued vehicular intrusion in these fragile ecosystems could cause irreversible environmental damage. In a statement, EPG Convenor Faiz Ahmad Bakshi said that despite being fully aware of the illegality of such activities, participants continue to engage in them “with impunity.” “This is an unlawful activity, and the participants brazenly justify it by citing examples from countries like Australia and South Africa,” Bakshi said. “But our laws are our own — and such compariso...

The All Jammu and Kashmir Shia Association (AJKSA) on Friday expressed gratitude to Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha for his intervention after bail was granted in the Magam Muharram incident. In a statement to the news agency Kashmir News Trust, Molvi Imran Ansari, President of AJKSA, the association said, “Alhamdulillah! Bail has been granted in the Magam Muharram incident. Deep gratitude to LG Manoj Sinha Ji for his intervention, and heartfelt thanks to all the family members who stood firm and acknowledged the mistake.” Molvi Imran Ansari said the episode had been a “profound lesson” for everyone, urging that such incidents must never be repeated in the future. The statement added that unity, discipline, and respect for law must guide all future religious processions and gather...

The Supreme Court on Friday gave the Centre four weeks to file its response on a batch of pleas seeking restoration of statehood to the Jammu Kashmir. A bench comprising Chief Justice B R Gavai and Justice K Vinod Chandran was hearing multiple pleas, including those filed by academician Zahoor Ahmad Bhat and socio-political activist Ahmad Malik, pressing for the implementation of the Centre's assurance to restore statehood to Jammu and Kashmir "at the earliest". The counsel appearing for the petitioners referred to an undertaking recorded in the Supreme Court's December 2023 judgment that upheld the abrogation of Article 370. Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, appearing for the Centre, said consultations were underway with the Jammu Kashmir administration regarding the restoration of...

The body of one more trooper who went missing during an anti-militant operation in the upper reaches of Kokernag in South Kashmir have been recovered, officials said on Friday. "On Friday morning, the body of the second missing soldier was found during an extensive search effort jointly conducted by the Army and police," an official confirmed to The Kashmiriyat. The soldiers, belonging to an elite para unit, went missing earlier this week while conducting a search operation in the snowbound Ahlan and Gadole forest areas of Kokernag, Anantnag district, officials told The Kashmiriyat. The operation was launched amid reports of suspicious movement in the region, but the troops reportedly lost contact with their unit on October 6 due to severe weather and challenging terrain. Offic...

At least 17 children have died following kidney failure linked to the consumption of a toxic cough syrup named Coldrif in Madhya Pradesh. Tests revealed that Coldrif contained 48.6 percent diethylene glycol (DEG), far above the permissible limit of 0.1 percent. The manufacturer, Sresan Pharmaceutical Manufacturer from Tamil Nadu, and its owner have been implicated. Police have arrested S. Ranganathan, the owner of the company, in Chennai. He is to be transferred to Chhindwara for further legal process. Authorities are actively seizing stocks, removing bottles from homes, stores, and distribution chains. Not just Coldrif, two other syrups, Respifresh TR produced by Rednex Pharmaceuticals and ReLife by Shape Pharma, were also found contaminated with DEG in concentrations above pe...

Police on Wednesday arrested senior JKAS officer M. Rouf Rehman, who serves as Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Verinag Development Authority, following orders from the Chief Judicial Magistrate, Anantnag. The officer was taken into judicial custody till October 15 by the order of Sub-Judge Feroz Ahmad Khan, in connection with Execution Petition No. 147/EP (Case No. 133/2023) titled Hamidullah Bawani vs UT of J&K and Others. The court found the officer guilty of non-compliance with its previous directions and failure to respond to a show-cause notice issued in March 2025. Following continued defiance, the court also attached the treasury account of the Verinag Development Authority and earlier issued a ₹50,000 bailable warrant against him. Police took the officer into custody...

The Jammu Kashmir Legislative Assembly Secretariat on Thursday issued the provisional calendar for the upcoming fourth session of the Assembly. As per the schedule, the session will commence on October 23 with obituary references. The following two days, October 24 and 25, have been marked as off days, with October 24 coinciding with the Rajya Sabha elections. October 26 will be observed as a holiday. The Assembly will take up Government Business on October 27 and 30, while Private Members’ Bills are scheduled for October 28 and Private Members’ Resolutions for October 29. If required, October 31 may also be used for additional Government Business.