ZOJI LA
The Zojila Tunnel, one of India’s most ambitious mountain infrastructure projects, has achieved a major construction milestone with the completion of excavation work, bringing all-weather road connectivity between Kashmir and Ladakh significantly closer to reality.
Stretching 13.153 kilometres beneath the Zojila Pass at an altitude of around 11,500 feet, the tunnel is being developed at a cost of approximately Rs 6,800 crore. Once completed, it will be the world’s longest single-tube bi-directional road tunnel at such a high altitude and will form the centrepiece of a larger 30.89-kilometre connectivity project comprising approach roads, bridges, snow protection structures and auxiliary tunnels.
Upon commissioning, the tunnel is expected to reduce travel time between Sonamarg and Minamarg from nearly two hours to around 30 minutes while shortening the route and significantly improving road safety. The project is expected to eliminate many of the risks associated with the existing pass, particularly avalanches and landslides that frequently affect traffic movement.
Constructed using the New Austrian Tunnelling Method (NATM), the project has required engineers to overcome fragile Himalayan geology, water ingress and challenging rock conditions. The tunnel will feature modern ventilation, drainage, fire-fighting and surveillance systems, along with three vertical shafts for ventilation and emergency access.
The tunnel is also expected to transform connectivity for Ladakh’s residents, who currently face winter isolation for several months each year. It will boost tourism, facilitate movement of agricultural and commercial goods, improve access to healthcare and education, and reduce transportation costs. For the strategic frontier region, the project will provide uninterrupted road access throughout the year, strengthening logistics and mobility along one of India’s most sensitive border corridors. With excavation now complete, work will continue on concrete lining, ventilation systems, electrical installations, safety infrastructure and finishing works. The project is targeted for completion in 2028.
Automobile sales in Jammu and Kashmir rose 36.72 per cent year-on-year to 19,799 units in May 2026, compared with 14,481 units in the corresponding month last year.
POONCH
Ikra Firdous, a 12 year old resident of Adhai village in Mandi, went missing on May 30, following which police registered a kidnapping case and launched searches. Her body was recovered from a river near Sathra on June 3. Police said an SIT headed by the Deputy Superintendent of Police (Headquarters), Poonch, is examining digital evidence, call records and other leads. Preliminary medical findings found no signs of sexual assault, while forensic reports are awaited.
Nitin Gadkari announced a series of road and tunnel projects worth over Rs 53,400 crore for Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh.
JAMMU KASHMIR
Jammu and Kashmir Police have designated 257 senior officers as mentors for police stations across the Union Territory as part of a reform initiative aimed at enhancing professionalism, accountability and community engagement. Officers of the ranks of Deputy Inspector General and Superintendent of Police have been assigned specific police stations for an initial period of one year. Police said the mentors will help strengthen public outreach, improve trust between police and citizens, ensure proper maintenance of crime records, promote technology-driven policing and oversee improvements in police station infrastructure and visitor facilities. Mentors will not interfere in investigations, operational matters or day-to-day functioning of police stations. The initiative is linked to the broader police reform agenda and the Viksit Bharat 2047 vision. However, National Conference leader Ajay Kumar Sadhotra has criticised the move, saying it could affect morale and create ambiguity in the police chain of command.
Jammu and Kashmir recorded a 42 per cent rainfall deficit so far in 2026. The situation was particularly acute in May, when the region received just 49.4 mm of rainfall against the normal 93.9 mm, marking a deficit of 47 per cent.
KASHMIR
The High Court of Jammu and Kashmir has granted bail to a 33-year-old Budgam man accused of kidnapping and sexually assaulting a minor girl under the POCSO Act, observing that continued detention in the circumstances of the case would amount to a “perversity of justice”. Justice Sanjay Dhar passed the order and bailed the accused, who has been in custody since January 2026. The court noted that during trial the prosecutrix stated she had voluntarily accompanied the accused as they were in a romantic relationship. Her mother also testified that the girl had left home willingly and continued to express a desire to marry the accused. While emphasising that a minor’s consent has no legal validity and that the accused still faces trial for serious offences, the court held that the circumstances justified bail. All key witnesses have already been examined.
JAMMU KASHMR
The High Court of Jammu and Kashmir has cautioned judicial officers against relying on artificial intelligence-generated legal material without independent verification after finding that a trial court order contained incorrect and untraceable case citations. Justice Wasim Sadiq Nargal made the observations while dismissing a petition filed by the management of Woodland House School, Srinagar, in a salary dispute with a former employee. While upholding the trial court’s order, the High Court said verification undertaken during the hearing revealed that key judgments cited in the impugned order were either inaccurately referenced or could not be located. The court directed all judicial officers in Jammu and Kashmir to independently verify every citation, precedent and legal proposition obtained through AI platforms before incorporating them into judicial orders. The ruling comes amid growing global concern over AI-generated fictitious legal citations, with courts in countries including the United States, Canada, Britain and Australia reporting instances of non-existent cases being cited in legal proceedings.
DELHI
Last week, Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah met Prime Minister Narendra Modi and raised several issues concerning the Union Territory, including the early restoration of statehood, economic development, tourism promotion and infrastructure expansion. Following the meeting, Abdullah said on X that he discussed matters of importance to Jammu and Kashmir, including the return of statehood, the economy, development and tourism. He also congratulated the Prime Minister on completing 12 uninterrupted years in office. The Prime Minister’s Office shared photographs of the meeting but did not disclose details. The meeting comes amid growing political pressure over the statehood issue, with the ruling JKNC announcing a protest in Delhi on the opening day of Parliament’s monsoon session. Though not a party to the protest decision, party’s MP Aga Ruhullah Mehdi said he would participate in the proposed protest but would use the platform to demand restoration of Article 370 and the constitutional safeguards revoked in 2019.
GANDERBAL
An eight-member team of Kashmiri mountaineers successfully scaled the 4,620-metre Mt Sentinel in the Sind Valley on June 6, becoming the first Kashmiris to reach the summit and the first climbers to do so since 1945. The team comprised Saqib Shafi, Faik Aijaz Pattahoo, Muzakir Khan, Yasir Khan, Faizan Shafi, Adnan Altaf, Salman Altaf and Arun Jasrotia. The expedition began on June 5 from Kullan in Ganderbal at an altitude of 2,200 metres. The climbers trekked nearly 10 kilometres through dense forest in rainy conditions to establish a base camp near Khemsar Lake. Starting their summit push at 5 am on June 6, the team negotiated steep snow slopes and reached the summit at 11 am, ending an 81-year gap since the mountain was last climbed by British mountaineer and RAF officer John Jackson in 1945. The climbers named their ascent route “Mamkhan Gully”, adding a new chapter to Kashmir’s mountaineering history. A previous Kashmiri attempt in 2025 had been forced to turn back due to rockfall.
LADAKH
Tourism continues to drive Ladakh’s economy as it recorded recording a sharp rise in visitor arrivals during the first five months of 2026. Addressing the NITI Aayog Governing Council meeting in New Delhi, Ladakh LG Vinai Kumar Saxena said tourist arrivals between January and May 2026 increased by nearly 44 per cent compared to the corresponding period last year, while arrivals in May alone registered a 121 per cent growth. The surge in tourism comes amid concerns over overtourism, with a viral video showing massive traffic congestion on the popular Nubra-Pangong route, sparking debate over sustainable tourism and the region’s ecological carrying capacity.
AURANGABAD
A controversy erupted after BJP leader Sajid Yousuf Shah from Jammu and Kashmir alleged that he was denied accommodation at a hotel in Maharashtra because of his Kashmiri identity. Shah, BJP’s co-media in-charge for Jammu and Kashmir, claimed that after checking into a hotel in Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar, he was asked to leave about an hour later due to concerns linked to his identity as a Kashmiri. He termed it “deeply saddened”. The incident triggered political reactions, with the ruling National Conference criticising the BJP and alleging that the party’s politics of division had contributed to such attitudes.
SOPORE
The government has revived plans for the long-pending Tulbul Navigation Project on the Jhelum River in Kashmir, with the National Hydroelectric Power Corporation (NHPC) preparing a Detailed Project Report (DPR) for the project that has remained stalled since 1987. Also known as Wular Barrage, the Tulbul project is located at Ningli. Designed as a 430-foot-long and 40-foot-wide navigation lock, the project aims to regulate water flow from Wular Lake into the Jhelum River to facilitate navigation and maintain water levels during lean winter months. NHPC officials said they conducted a bathymetric survey of the project site in 2025 and is now preparing the DPR. A senior NHPC team recently visited the site to review conditions and the proposed project layout. Construction was suspended in 1987 after Pakistan objected to the project, claiming it violated the Indus Waters Treaty.
GULMARG
The Gulmarg Gondola, one of the world’s highest cable car projects and a key attraction in Kashmir’s premier tourist resort, is closed indefinitely following a technical malfunction that left 320 tourists stranded mid-air on May 25. The Jammu and Kashmir Cable Car Corporation (JKCCC) said maintenance work and safety assessments continue. The incident halted operations after a technical snag trapped tourists in 65 cabins suspended above the resort. All passengers were rescued safely after an eight-hour operation involving the Army, Jammu and Kashmir Police, BSF and civil administration. The government has constituted a five-member inquiry committee to investigate the malfunction. The panel has been tasked with establishing the sequence of events leading to the breakdown and conducting a detailed examination of the mechanical, electrical, electronic, braking, communication, control and safety systems of the cable car network.
DELHI
The Delhi High Court has granted bail to Kashmiri human rights activist Khurram Parvez in a 2021 case registered under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA), citing his prolonged incarceration of more than four years and the unlikelihood of an early conclusion of the trial. A division bench of Justices Navin Chawla and Ravinder Dudeja held that Parvez’s right to personal liberty under Article 21 of the Constitution outweighed the restrictions on bail under Section 43D(5) of the UAPA. The court also noted that Parvez, who lost a leg in a landmine blast in 2004, was infirm and deserved special consideration. Arrested on November 22, 2021, the NIA alleged that he worked with a militant to support a network of over-ground workers and collect information on security installations and troop movements. The court imposed conditions including surrender of his passport and restrictions on travel. However, Parvez will remain in jail as he is also facing a separate NIA case registered in 2023. The trial in both cases is yet to begin.
