REGIONAL

Prominent Shia scholar Agha Syed Hadi on Thursday termed the Waqf Amendment Bill a gross interference in religious matters of Muslims, maintaining the actual stakeholders are being relegated back and irrelevant people preferred to take up the matters of religious importance. "On one side, the government with the introduction of bill, apparently seems to work for the welfare of people and improve functioning of Waqf Board, but on the other we see it as is gross religious interference as Waqf is being handed over to people who aren't stakeholders, and the actual stakeholders being relegated back," Hadi said while talking to media persons, as per news agency Kashmir Bulletin. Maintaining that the amendments brought about are devoid of any scholarly opinion, Hadi said the government has ...

A gang of robbers impersonating Special Police Commandos has been arrested by Srinagar Police on Wednesday. The gang was involved in looting trucks during the night by posing as security personnel. Acting on specific inputs, the police apprehended the suspects and recovered dummy guns, black uniforms, a vehicle, and other incriminating materials used in the crimes. An FIR has been registered under No. 15/2025 at Police Station Shalteng under sections 307, 126(2), and 3(5) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS). The arrested individuals are currently in police custody as further investigations are underway.

Chief Minister Omar Abdullah emphasized that uplifting marginalized communities, including the Gujjar-Bakerwal population, is a governmental responsibility, not a gesture of charity. Speaking at an event organized by the Gurjar Desh Charitable Trust (GDCT), he reiterated his administration’s commitment to ensuring representation and welfare for the Gujjar community. Omar Abdullah highlighted the challenge of limited cabinet positions after last year’s elections but noted his effort to include community representation by appointing Javed Ahmed Rana as a minister. “Despite constraints, I requested Javed Rana to join the cabinet to be your voice and address your issues,” he stated. During the event, Javed Ahmed Rana, Minister Satish Sharma, Advisor Nasir Aslam Wani, GDCT Patron Chief Ab...

A fresh Western Disturbance is expected to impact Jammu Kashmir on February 20, bringing widespread rain and snow across the region, according to a report by Kashmir Weather. The weather system is likely to develop over Afghanistan on February 19 before swiftly moving towards Jammu Kashmir. The first signs of the disturbance are expected to appear in the higher reaches late on February 19, with precipitation intensifying as it spreads across the region. Moderate rain and snow are anticipated in most parts of Jammu and Kashmir, with the possibility of heavy precipitation in some areas. The Jammu region is likely to receive more precipitation compared to the Kashmir Valley, with the Chenab Valley districts—Ramban, Kishtwar, and Doda—expected to experience moderate to heavy rainfall....

Srinagar Police attached a residential property worth ₹18 lakh in Hazratbal under the NDPS Act, targeting the financial assets of a notorious drug peddler. Police spokesperson in a statement issued here to news agency JKNS reads, In yet another significant measure towards combating drug abuse and dismantling illicit drug networks, Srinagar Police has attached a residential property valuing about Rs 18 lakhs. Property belonging to a notorious drug peddler Javid Ahmad Wani son of Ali Mohammad resident of Gasoo Tehsil Hazratbal under the provisions of Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act 1985, it reads. The accused person stands implicated in several drug related cases including case FIR No. 136/2022 u/s 8/20 NDPS Act of Police Station Nigeen and Case FIR No. 27/2024...

People’s Democratic Party (PDP) leader Iltija Mufti has claimed that she and her mother, Mehbooba Mufti, have been placed under house arrest as the latter was going to visit Sopore in Jammu Kashmir’s Baramulla district, where a civilian truck driver was killed in army firing earlier this week. Waseem Majeed Mir was shot dead in army firing after he as per army refused to stop at a checkpoint in Baramulla district on Wednesday night. In a tweet on Saturday, Iltija Mufti said, “My mother & I both have been placed under house arrest. Our gates have been locked up because she was meant to visit Sopore where Waseem Mir was shot dead by the army. “I intended to visit Kathua today to meet Makhan Din’s family & am not being allowed to even move out. Nothing has changed in Kashmir ...

Former senior police officer of Jammu Kashmir, Ali Muhammad Watali, has termed the exodus of Kashmiri Pandits as a "big game" orchestrated on January 19, 1990, with the arrival of then-Governor Jagmohan. Watali in his book ‘Guns Under My Chinar’ writes that no Kashmiri Pandit had migrated during Dr. Farooq Abdullah’s tenure, asserting that the displacement was politically driven rather than a communal issue. Watali states that militants targeted both Kashmiri Pandits and pro-India Muslims, suggesting that the idea of India was under attack, rather than any specific community. He emphasized that the pattern of killings supports this perspective. He further observed that the present generation of Kashmiri Pandits, who are now well-settled across India and abroad, show little interes...

Witnessing a rapid decline from 35,000 in 2017 to as low as over 4100 applications this year, the number of Haj pilgrims continues to be dwindling in Jammu and Kashmir. The numbers, as per the officials, have further dwindled when over 700 pilgrims who applied for the pilgrimage opted to remain ‘out’ of Hajj 2025. As per the official details exclusively available with the news agency—Kashmir News Observer (KNO), a total of 4,100 people from Jammu and Kashmir applied for Haj 2025, out of which 3,601 were confirmed in the first list, with 21 more added under the Mahram quota, taking the total number of pilgrims proceeding for Haj to 3,622. Dr Shujaat Ahmad Qureshi, Executive Officer, J&K Haj Committee, confirmed to KNO that all 3,622 selected pilgrims have completed the payment ...