KISHTWAR
The Kishtwar Himalayas have emerged as a key snow leopard stronghold, with a new four-year wildlife survey confirming 12 snow leopards across six mountain landscapes, including five in Kishtwar High Altitude National Park. A female with a cub also confirms a breeding population. The survey, by J&K’s Wildlife Protection Department and Nature Conservation Foundation, used 193 camera traps and recorded a wide range of Himalayan wildlife. It also confirmed the first presence of the endangered woolly flying squirrel in the national park. Researchers say Kishtwar is a priority for long-term, community-driven conservation and an important link between snow leopard habitats across the western Himalaya.
KASHMIR
When Kashmir-born actor Sandeepa Dhar returned to her ancestral home decades after the community’s exodus, she found something unexpected: a house that had quietly preserved pieces of the life her family left behind. There was no electricity or running water and little remained inside. Yet an 80–90-year-old wooden cabinet stood almost intact. An old cupboard yielded vintage Air India boarding passes and baggage tags, some 30-40 years old. Her uncle’s suits, including those tailored in the UK, were still hanging there.
Ordinary objects had become family artefacts. Dhar called the house a place where “memories” had simply waited. More remarkably, the belongings had survived decades of absence without being looted, offering an intimate counterpoint to the larger history of displacement.
DELHI
The Supreme Court has granted bail to 72-year-old UAE-based businessman Naval Kishore Kapoor, jailed for over eight years in the Kashmir terror-funding case involving Hafiz Muhammad Saeed and Zahoor Ahmad Shah Watali. Arrested in July 2018, Kapoor faces UAPA charges over alleged financing of separatist and militant groups. The court said the trial, involving a large number of witnesses, was unlikely to conclude soon. NIA alleges Kapoor helped route Rs 2.24 crore through a Dubai company he co-owned with Watali. The bail can be recalled if Kapoor is found attempting to delay the trial.
MUZAFFARABAD
Yet another barrister and Gilani is taking over the Muzaffarabad Assembly, whose composition has triggered fierce unrest in which around 100 people were killed before and after the election. The unrest has eased but is not entirely over. Syed Iftikhar Ali Gillani of the PML-N won 30 of 44 votes, defeating PPP’s Mukhtar Ahmed Abbasi, who got 14. He replaces Faisal Mumtaz Rathore, who became premier after a no-confidence vote ousted Chaudhry Anwarul Haq in November. The local political parties are missing.
The 53-member Assembly currently has 46 members, with elections to seven seats still pending. PML-N holds 25 of the 38 directly elected seats so far, giving the party a commanding position.
The sham election followed phased polling on July 27, August 2 and August 10, held amid security concerns and a boycott call by the Joint Awami Action Committee, whose protests over governance and economic grievances sparked the deadly unrest. Islamabad has since banned the group, but rallies continue.
Gillani’s election came on the same day Amnesty International issued a fresh appeal over detained poet and journalist Ahmad Farhad, held since June 20 under the Maintenance of Public Order Ordinance. Amnesty says he is on hunger strike and is being pressured to denounce the protests.
DELHI
The Supreme Court has sought the Centre’s response to 82-year-old US-based OCI cardholder Khalid Jahangir Qazi’s plea to visit Kashmir for a family wedding. Qazi’s OCI card was cancelled in May 2023 and he was blacklisted under the Foreigners Act after the government accused him of “pro-Pakistan propaganda” and sympathy for separatists. His lawyer told the court he would undertake not to engage in political activity during the visit, stressing Qazi’s age and the possibility that it could be his last chance to meet relatives in Kashmir. In November 2024, the Delhi High Court quashed the OCI cancellation, citing denial of a fair hearing; the Centre’s appeal remains pending. The Court will hear the matter on September 7.
SOUTH KASHMIR
A new insect threat is hitting Kashmir’s poplar plantations, with scientists confirming the Giant soft scale, Drosicha turkistanica, in Kulgam and Pulwama. Farmers reported infestations approaching 90% of trees in some nurseries and mature plantations. Willow and Chinar have also been affected.
The pest feeds on plant sap, causing yellowing, defoliation, branch dieback and, in severe cases, tree death. It also produces honeydew that encourages black sooty mould. Farmers reported foul smells and insects being blown into homes, while routine insecticide sprays failed to control the outbreak.
The finding matters because poplar is part of a Rs 700 crore play-board industry. Scientists warn the pest’s wide host range could put apple and other fruit crops at risk. They are calling for immediate surveillance, mapping and containment.
SRINAGAR
Kashmir is a tourism paradox: hugely popular in the imagination, yet absent from India’s top 10 most-visited destinations, while Gulmarg and Pahalgam routinely struggle with overcrowding. Two Kashmiri cousins are trying to solve that contradiction by sending tourists away from the hotspots.
Faseeh Khan and Hummayoun Dhar founded Wildfloc Adventures in 2021, initially organising weekend treks. Their pitch is simple: take travellers to lesser-known places, connect them with local communities and spread tourism income beyond the usual destinations. The startup received Rs 22 lakh in seed funding in 2023.
The business grew through 2024, then nearly collapsed after the April 2025 attack triggered a sharp tourism downturn. The founders went without salaries and several employees left. A pivot to group trips and new destinations revived it.
Wildfloc has now served over 6,000 clients, generates about Rs 25 lakh monthly and expects Rs 2.5 crore revenue this year. Its next challenge is making “offbeat” tourism sustainable before the offbeat becomes crowded too.
ANANTNAG
Last month it was Gayoor in Pulwama; now it is Nengroo in neighbouring Anantnag. The BJP in Kashmir appears to be retaining the parampara. Police have booked BJP Anantnag district general secretary Aabid Hussain Nengroo for allegedly cheating a man of Rs 8.25 lakh by promising him two things that political clout can apparently unlock: an SPO job and permission to install tents in Pahalgam during the Amarnath Yatra. The complaint was filed by Waheed Ahmad Itoo of Aishmuqam. Police registered FIR No 283/2026 at Anantnag police station under Sections 318(4) and 351(3) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita and have begun an investigation.
Nengroo, however, denies the allegations. He had approached the Anantnag Principal District and Sessions Court on August 8, calling the claims baseless and seeking action over alleged defamation. The court has listed the matter for September 15. The BJP says its disciplinary committee will decide what action to take.
KASHMIR
J&K’s medical interns are set to strike from August 31, demanding a stipend hike after seven years of a frozen allowance that remains the lowest in India, according to the interns’ association. The current monthly stipend is Rs 12,300; a government-appointed committee recommended Rs 25,000 in 2023, but the proposal remains stuck with the Finance Department despite being acknowledged in the Legislative Assembly in February.
Interns say Odisha pays Rs 44,319, West Bengal Rs 43,099, while Uttar Pradesh and Punjab pay at least Rs 25,000. They are seeking Rs 25,000 in the original committee recommendation, while a separate recent announcement has put their demand at Rs 30,000.
The interns say they work extended shifts in emergency rooms, wards and outpatient departments while facing sharply higher costs of food, housing and transport. Their delegations have met the government repeatedly since 2024. This time, they say, they will stay off duty until the issue is resolved.
WANDHAMA
The State Investigation Agency has reopened the 1998 Wandhama massacre case, in which 23 Kashmiri Pandits were massacred by militants in Ganderbal, nearly 29 years after the killings. On the night of January 25-26, 1998, militants dressed in Army uniforms entered Pandit homes, assembled residents and opened fire, killing nine women and four children among the 23 victims. An FIR was registered at Ganderbal police station, but the case remained unresolved. The SIA will now review the earlier investigation, examine records and evidence, seek fresh leads and record witness statements to identify those responsible and establish the conspiracy.
The reopening is part of a wider SIA effort to revisit unresolved killings of Kashmiri Pandits. The agency has also reopened the 1989 killings of BJP leader Tika Lal Taploo and Justice Neelkanth Ganjoo and recently searched locations in the 1990 killing of writer-poet Sarwanand Koul Premi and his son.
BENGALURU
A promise of 10% monthly returns persuaded several Kashmir investors to put nearly Rs 2 crore into a scheme before its alleged operator disappeared. Junaid-Ul-Islam of Charar-e-Sharief was arrested in Bengaluru after nearly a year on the run. The Crime Branch’s Economic Offences Wing tracked him to Mangammanapalya and executed a court warrant. Investigators say Junaid presented himself as an investor linked to an e-commerce company and used the association to attract funds. The case was registered as FIR No 07/2025 under Section 420 of the Ranbir Penal Code after an EOW inquiry found prima facie evidence of cheating.
The case also exposes a wider problem. RBI data shows J&K recorded 103 financial fraud cases involving Rs 193.49 crore in 2025-26, but recovered only Rs 6.92 crore, about 3.6%. Reported cases fell sharply from 467 in 2023-24, while the money involved more than quadrupled.
RAJOURI
A 40-year-old man has returned to his Rajouri village 26 years after allegedly going missing at 14. Raja, a Class 9 student from Behrote, told his family he had accompanied his brother to Mumbai, lost contact with him and could not return because he lacked money. His family reportedly discovered him after a YouTube video featuring Raja went viral. He returned home on Sunday, prompting emotional scenes. The reunion, however, has been followed by police verification. Authorities are questioning Raja about where he lived and worked during the 26 years, saying they are still checking whether his account is accurate.
SAMBA
A technical snag during launching operations caused the August 25 flyover collapse at Jakh in Samba, a preliminary NHAI investigation has found. A span of the Delhi-Amritsar-Katra Expressway’s elevated corridor collapsed during installation using a launching gantry, killing 25-year-old Bihar resident Gautam Sao and critically injuring another worker. The incident triggered a three-member technical probe into the machinery, design and construction sequence. NHAI said Sao’s family has received compensation and employment for his next of kin. The inquiry continues to frame corrective safety measures.
