Even as the J&K administration on Friday (August 14, 2026) refuted any work-from-home orders for Kashmiri Pandits working in Kashmir, the community has approached the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) and the National Commission for Minorities (NCM) to “probe how personal data of Prime Minister Package Employees in Kashmir was leaked” and made it to a purported terror threat letter online. J&K Chief Minister Omar Abdullah said “a credible threat cannot be taken lightly”.

Rakesh Handu, a Pandit social activist, said he was in touch with the six Pandit employees whose names and mobile numbers figured in the threat letter online and “were shifted to Jammu”.

Mr. Handu, on behalf of Kashmiri Pandit PM Package employees, has submitted a representation to the NHRC and NCM. “For the last few days, threat letters and lists are again circulating. These lists contain name, department, place of posting, and personal mobile numbers of PM Package employees. This is not isolated. Similar lists were published by Kashmir Fight / TRF (The Resistance Front) blog in 2022 (56 employees) and 2023 (57 PM Package teachers),” said Mr. Handu, in the letter.

He pointed out that after the targeted killings of Rahul Bhat, Rajni Bala post-2019, “many of Pandit employees had submitted en mass resignations citing threat to life”.

“When a religious minority serving the Government is openly threatened, named, and told not to hoist the national flag, it is a test of human rights and minority rights in a democracy,” reads the letter.

The letter demanded a FIR and probe by the police’s Cyber Cell and the National Investigation Agency. “There should be an immediate security audit of all PM Package employees and transit camps, especially before 15th August celebrations. Till threat assessment is complete, allow work from home or attachment to Jammu,” it added.

Meanwhile, Divisional Commissioner, Kashmir, Anshul Garg on Friday (August 14, 2026) said no order has been issued asking Pandit employees to work from home. “The administration has made necessary security arrangements for employees, residents and the general public ahead of the Independence Day celebrations in Srinagar. We should rely on the authentic information channels that are provided by the government and the administration,” said Mr. Garg.

Reacting to Mr. Garg’s statement, Mr. Handu sought clarification from the J&K administration and said, “Why are these contradictory statements coming from Honourable Divisional Commissioner Kashmir?”

Meanwhile, J&K CM Abdullah said militancy may be declared “finished.” “But a credible threat cannot be taken lightly. Those responsible for security must act decisively, identify those behind it, and ensure foolproof protection,” said Mr. Abdullah.

J&K Minister Satish Sharma has flagged the issue of “defiance and disrespect towards the authority of the Ministry”, allegedly displayed by a senior bureaucrat, with Chief Minister Omar Abdullah.

Mr. Sharma, who holds several portfolios including Transport, in a letter to the Chief Minister sought the transfer of J&K Transport Commissioner Vishesh Paul Mahajan, who was posted at the position by the Lieutenant-Governor in December 2024.

“Mr. Mahajan’s continued defiance of and disrespect towards the authority of this Ministry has reached a point where the orderly administration of the Transport Department is being seriously compromised. I regret that I am compelled to raise this matter formally, having exhausted other means of resolving it,” reads the letter of Mr. Sharma.

He said Mr. Mahajan’s conduct has “given rise to open defiance to written or verbal directives, bypassing, discourteous conduct and communication towards the Minister”.

The J&K Minister, in the letter, highlighted that the Transport Commissioner functions as the principal executive officer of the Department under the policy direction and overall supervision of the Minister-in-charge, who in turn remains answerable to the House and to the public for the functioning of the Department.

“Persistent insubordination by a senior officer not only undermines the authority and dignity of the elected office but also disrupts the chain of administrative accountability, adversely affects the morale of the Department, and ultimately impedes the delivery of public services to the citizens,” said the Minister.

The Minister asked the CM to intervene and “requested that Mr Mahajan be immediately moved out of the post of Transport Commissioner and a suitable officer of appropriate seniority be posted in his place”.

The J&K government and the L-G administration have been constantly on a collision course when it comes to transfers of officials in J&K, ever since the elected government took over in October 2024. The elected government and the Centre are yet to finalise the Transaction of Business Rules, which defines the domain of the Chief Minister, Council of Ministers and the L-G in the seven-year-old UT.

Mr. Mahajan earlier served as the Deputy Commissioner, Reasi, and was transferred and appointed as the Director, Tourism, Jammu, by the L-G. However, the Omar Abdullah government had objected to his transfer in 2024 too.

J&K Cabinet Minister Javed Ahmed Rana, who holds the Forest, Ecology and Environment and Tribal Affairs portfolio, on Saturday (August 1, 2026) announced that the Tribal Affairs department would be the nodal agency to implement the Forest Rights Act (FRA) 2006, and warned against the issuance of eviction notices to forest dwellers without following the set procedure.  

“No notices will be served by the J&K Forest Department to any member of forest dwellers, whether a Schedule Tribe or any other traditional forest dwellers living for decades. These dwellers will not be disturbed or evicted from the forest under occupation till the process of recognition and verification is complete,” said Mr. Rana.

The announcement comes months after the Lok Bhavan and the elected government were at loggerheads over the eviction drive in Jammu’s Sunjwan, Bathindi, Raika, and Sidhra areas in Jammu. The drive had triggered protests by BJP legislators, with the elected government accusing the Forest department of functioning under the directions of the Lok Bhavan.  

Mr. Rana said the Tribal department, and not the Forest department will be the nodal department for implementing the FRA in J&K.

“A three-member Project Monitoring Units has been established. No one will be evicted till a set procedure is followed. All the deputy commissioners will speed up the pending cases under the FRA,” he said. 

According to the 2011 Census, Jammu and Kashmir has a Scheduled Tribe population of 12.75 lakh, including 8.10 lakh in the Jammu division and 4.64 lakh in the Kashmir division.

The Government is pushing hard to implement the Scheduled Tribes and Other Traditional Forest Dwellers (Recognition of Forest Rights) Act, 2006 (FRA) and has expedited the process of receiving, verifying and settling claims through the statutory three-tier mechanism.

An official circular said the Gram Sabha is the statutory authority responsible for initiating the process of determining the nature and extent of individual and community forest rights under the provisions of Section 6 of the Act.

“The Gram Sabha is mandated to receive, scrutinize and verify claims, prepare maps of the recommended claims and forward its recommendations to the Sub-Divisional Level Committee (SDLC) for further examination and decision,” an official spokesman said.

Separately, J&K Legislative Assembly Speaker Abdul Rahim Rather held a public outreach camp at Kanidajan in the Charar-i-Sharief Constituency. An official spokesman said a major concern was raised by the villagers pertaining to the alleged harassment caused by the eviction notices issued by the Forest Department and the obstruction of agricultural activities on lands, “which have been under their possession and cultivation for generations”.

“No one would be allowed to act in violation of the provisions of the FRA. The rights of all eligible beneficiaries under the Act would be protected in letter and spirit adding that no undue harassment of villagers would be tolerated,” said Mr. Rather.

The Speaker cautioned that no individual should attempt to misuse the Act as a pretext for fresh encroachments on forest land or government property. “The law must be implemented fairly and transparently while safeguarding the rights of genuine beneficiaries,” he added.

Counter Intelligence Kashmir (CIK) unit of police on Wednesday (June 3, 2026) carried out searches in several districts of the valley in a case related to terror activities, officials said.

The officials said based on recent intelligence inputs, technical analysis and sustained investigation, they had identified eight locations in six districts where searches were conducted in the early hours of Wednesday.

The searches were conducted at two places each in Srinagar and Bandipora districts; and one each in Kupwara, Anantnag, Kulgam and Baramulla districts.

The case registered in 2015 pertains to Pakistan-sponsored terrorist outfits, their sleeper-cell networks and activities related to recruitment, radicalisation and facilitating terrorism in J-K.

The officials said the suspects are alleged to be in contact with Pakistan-based terrorist handlers through encrypted communication platforms and are suspected to be involved in dissemination of extremist propaganda and radicalisation activities.

Three locals, who were trying to cross into Pakistan and a youth from Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK), were arrested near the Line of Control (LoC) in north Kashmir’s Baramulla district on Sunday (May 31, 2026). An Army spokesman said the two local youths were trying to exfiltrate from the Uri sector into PoK, while their guide — a former Territorial Army jawan — was apprehended with them.

“They were captured after a search operation was launched in the general area of Uri following specific intelligence inputs. Two people from Sopore were apprehended by troops while allegedly attempting to exfiltrate through the Uri sector along with their guide,” said the Army.

The Army said a probe is under way.

The Army, in a separate operation, arrested a PoJK intruder who was intercepted while crossing the LoC in the Uri sector. “Vigilant troops maintained restraint while challenging and apprehending the intruder. He has been handed over to the Jammu and Kashmir Police,” the Army said.

The PoK national, identified as Zeeshan Ahmad Mir, a resident of Painkadi village in Muzaffarabad district of PoK, allegedly intended to meet a local girl, Iram Bano, a resident of Tilawari, Uri. She was detained near the Silikote area of Uri.

“Both are being questioned,” officials said. Officials said a cross-LoC love affair was not being ruled out.

Kashmir’s chief cleric Mirwaiz Umar Farooq, in his Friday (May 8, 2026) sermon, expressed concern over the closure of a seminary-cum-school in south Kashmir’s Shopian and said it has ruined the future of hundreds of students.

“The banning of the Jamia Siraj Ul Uloom school under the stringent Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA) is a serious matter. It has stoked apprehension among people that our religious identity is being targeted,” said the Mirwaiz.

He said the move by the authorities has “ruined the future of hundreds of students studying there”.

“Protests by students and parents on Thursday showed the urgency and deep distress it is causing to them,” said the Mirwaiz.

He said the undercurrent of resentment against these policies can consolidate, “if the state does not revisit this approach and allow the reopening of this institution”.

The Mirwaiz urged the government to reconsider this approach and “earn people’s trust and goodwill rather than alienate them”.

Referring to the drug menace, the Mirwaiz said the government’s drive against drug peddlers and narcotics networks in Jammu and Kashmir is a welcome initiative and every sincere effort aimed at protecting the younger generation from the menace of addiction.

“One cannot ignore the fact that a generation raised among political conflict, uncertainty, stress and limited economic avenues is highly prone to substance abuse. This crisis cannot be seen only through the law and order prism and headline grabbing of arrests and property confiscation,” he added.

He said many youths were struggling with anxiety, hopelessness, and psychological distress as a fallout of political uncertainty and anxiety about their future. “Therefore, while strict action against drug traffickers and dismantling of their networks is necessary, policing alone cannot solve this health emergency, nor heal a wounded society,” he added.

Ruling National Conference (NC) and opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) on Wednesday (May 6, 2026) engaged in a war of words over the Rajya Sabha elections and the closure of the seminary-cum-school in Kashmir.

“Those who aided the BJP in the Rajya Sabha polls were exposed through Right To Information (RTI). No one in my party will act against the organisation,” said J&K Chief Minister Omar Abdullah, who inaugurated a multi-purpose sports complex at Government Degree College, Tangmarg, in north Kashmir.

In October 2025, J&K held three rounds of polling for four Rajya Sabha seats. According to data from the Election Commission of India (ECI), the third round had the highest invalid votes at three out of 87 cast. BJP’s Sat Sharma managed 32 votes, four more than their strength and the NC candidates, Shammi Oberoi bagged 31 votes and Imran Nabi Dar got 21 votes. In the third round, which was won by the BJP, NC lost seven votes, with four cross voting and three votes found invalid.

According to an RTI, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), which had three votes, had not appointed polling agents. The party had publicly offered support to the NC. However, the NC now casts aspersions on the voting pattern of the PDP.

The PDP accused the ruling NC of using the issue as diversionary tactics. “This is not fundamentally about the Rajya Sabha – it serves as a diversion from substantive concerns, notably the Siraj-ul-Aloom controversy and the erasure of Urdu from official records,” said PDP legislator Waheed-ur-Rehman Parra.

The PDP accused the NC of disintegrating the Peoples Agenda for the Gupkar Declaration, an amalgam of parties in J&K formed after the Centre ended the special status in 2019.

Mr. Parra said the PDP president showed magnanimity and decided “neither to abstain or impose conditions”.

“Rather than dwelling on the one lost Rajya Sabha seat and attributing blame to the PDP, the government would do well to focus on ensuring that your pre-existing 50 MLAs and five MPs deliver effective governance,” said Mr. Parra.

Meanwhile, PDP president Mehbooba Mufti accused the NC of dragging the holy Quran into political rivalry. “I wish the NC leaders would have opened their mouths when the Waqf Bill was passed. They would have spoken up when Siraj-ul-Uloom School was closed,” said Ms. Mufti.

She accused the NC of remaining silent over the surveillance of mosque committees, maulvis, and imams, besides the alleged “destruction” of the Urdu language.

“People’s houses are being demolished in the name of drug peddlers. Before that, the houses of militant sympathisers were demolished. Employees are being fired from government jobs. They are watching a spectacle,” she added.

The young man from J&K’s Ramban who was reported missing after he was attacked by cow vigilantes was still untraced on Tuesday (April 14, 2026), three days after the incident. J&K Chief Minister Omar Abdullah has spoken out strongly against what he claimed was an attempt to subvert peace and urged the Lieutenant Governor, Manoj Sinha, “to ensure stringent action”, saying “certain elements were trying to create a jungle raj”.

“Certain elements, uncomfortable with peace, want to incite communal tension and unrest. We will act firmly against those trying to establish jungle raj here. As long as we are in power, such designs will not be allowed to succeed,” said Mr. Abdullah.