UPDATES

The minimum temperatures improved further across Jammu Kashmir on Thursday while many parts of Kashmir received a fresh spell of snowfall during the night. After a gap of 37 days, the minimum temperature stayed above the freezing point in Srinagar. It increased by 0.8 degrees as against yesterday's minus 0.4°C to settle at a low of 0.4°C. The last time Srinagar witnessed minimum temperature above the freezing point was on 28 December 2020 when the mercury settled at a low of 0.6°C. Meanwhile, the traffic movement on the Jammu-Srinagar National highway was temporarily halted due to fresh snowfall in Banihal and Gool. "Weather update - It has snowed in Banihal and Gool. Since the JT-Nowgam stretch has become slippery, traffic has been temporarily suspended. Around 6 inches of sno...

A total of 183 persons are still detained under Public Safety Act while no one is under house arrest in Jammu and Kashmir, Parliament was informed on Wednesday. Giving details, Minister of State for Home G Kishan Reddy said that since August 1, 2019, 613 persons “including separatists, overground workers, stone pelters etc.” were detained at various points of time. “Out of these, based on regular review and ground situation, 430 persons have been released till date,” he said while responding to the questions by Congress leader from Assam Ripun Bora and Shiv Sena’s Priyanka Chaturvedi in the House of Elders. He said that detentions were part of various measures taken in the “interest of security and public order” in view of the constitutional changes effected by the Parliament with...

The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) Tuesday said that the Jammu Kashmir administration had issued nearly 34 lakh domicile certificates till January 25, 2021. In a written response, G Kishan Reddy said: “The Government of Jammu Kashmir has reported that up to 25th January 2021, a total of 33,80,234 Domicile certificates have been issued in Jammu Kashmir. Since the constitutional changes were made in August, 2019, 58 civilians have lost their lives in 54 terror attacks for various purposes. No pattern of selective targeting based on religion can be established." The MHA also stated the measures it has put in place to “protect the life and property of the people, particularly those belonging to the vulnerable sections.” The Ministry said that specific security arrangements, through ap...

On Monday, The Supreme Court observed that even if a person is charged under the stringent Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, they still have the fundamental right to a speedy trial and are eligible for bail if it is violated. A bench of Justices NV Ramana Ramana, Surya Kant and Aniruddha Bose held that the “rigours of UAPA provisions are meltdown”, when there is no likelihood of the trial being completed soon, and a large part of the maximum sentence has already been served as an undertrial. The court was hearing a plea by the National Investigation Agency against the Kerala High Court’s decision to grant bail to a man accused of chopping off a professor’s palm in 2010. The NIA had contended that the High Court erred in granting bail to the accused without considering the statut...

Support has rushed for The Kashmiriyat from various quarters of the society after an FIR was lodged against it and The Kashmir walla for their report on the allegations made by a seminary School in Shopian on being pressurized by Army to celebrate the republic day on 26 January. From Academia, lawyers, Journalist fraternity, and Kashmiri Diaspora prominent voices expressed anguish over the policing of the Press and muzzling the free speech of Reporters. Prominent Journalist Yusuf Jameel on his Twitter rushed with support for The Kashmiriyat and said, "Subjecting media persons to harassment has become a 'norm' now. We also do face violence & intimidation for exercising our fundamental right to freedom of expression. This shouldn't & will not stop us from getting to the truth &...

The Jammu Kashmir high court on Friday issued an order asking all courts in the erstwhile state to observe two minutes of silence on 30 January in memorial of those who sacrificed their lives for the freedom struggle of India. In an official notice, accessed by The Kashmiriyat via order number 795 on 29th of January 2021, the high court in the order asked high courts and all subordinate courts to observe a 2-minute silence at 11 AM as a memoir. The order read - 'Two-minute silence should be observed on 30.01.2021 at 11:00 am as a mark of respect in the memory of those who sacrificed their lives during the struggle for India's freedom by every - one in the High Court as well as in all subordinate Courts in the UTs of Jammu Kashmir and Ladakh'. Pertinently on the 13th of July, l...

Mohammed Mufeez A BSc student Waris Ahmed Bhat is likely among the three Militants who have been killed in the encounter that raged on Friday in Tral area of South Kashmir. An official earlier told The Kashmiriyat that three Militants were killed during an encounter which raged when Militants fired upon a joint team of Government Forces including 42 Rashtriya Rifles of Indian Army, CRPF, and Jammu Kashmir Police who laid a cordon and search operation in the Mandora area of Tral. During the exchange of gunfire three Militants have been killed, one of whom, an official identified as Waris Ahmed Bhat Son of Ghulam Hassan Bhat, resident of Naibugh affiliated with Hizb ul Mujahideen. The slain had joined the Militant ranks recently and one Waris Ahmed Bhat had been active since Sept...

In a video released the last month, a new name People’s Anti-Fascist Front (PAFF) threatened to ‘execute’ those RSS agents who were planning to settle down in Jammu Kashmir in the ‘guise of civilians’. The man attired in a Pheran spoke in Kashmiri with two automatic rifles and several rounds of ammunition placed on a table against the land laws and issuance of domicile certificates in the region. ALSO READ: 857 Locals Have Joined Militancy in Kashmir Since BJP Came to Power The Kashmir valley which has seen a new wave of Militancy post-2016 has seen a drastic rise in the number of local youth joining Militant outfits. New Organizations were also found which included the Ansar Ghazwat ul Hind, led by Zakir Musa, a prominent Militant commander from South Kashmir, which saw the highest n...

The Meteorological Department has predicted a wet spell on February 2 and 3 in the Valley and a spell of light snowfall in higher reaches on January 31 and February 1. Deputy Director MeT, Mukhtar Ahmad said the weather will remain dry till January 31, after which there is “the possibility of a light snowfall in higher reaches of the Valley till February 1.” However, the MeT official said there was a possibility of a wet spell between February 2 and 3, during which both plains and Valley higher reaches are “likely to receive a light spell of snowfall”. “This is a minor Western Disturbance and we don’t expect its impact in the plains. There are chances of only light snowfall in the higher reaches between January 31 and February 1,” Ahmad said. “We expect inclement weather betwee...

A multi-purpose hydro-electricity project- Ujh is coming up in the Kathua district of Jammu Kashmir. At least 214,502 trees are being cut for this purpose. As per a report published by Hindustan Times, The project is envisaged on river Ujh, which is a tributary of River Ravi that flows into Pakistan and is part of the Indus river basin system. The project will include the construction of a 116m-high concrete face rock-fill dam (CFRD) and power generation of about 186MW. The Ujh Project requires a total land of about 4,350 hectares, twice the size of Delhi airport. Of the total land required, the submergence area is 3,450 hectares which includes 329 hectares of government land, 680.1 hectares of forest land, and 2,441 hectares of private land. The project, as per the report will in...