2025 in Jammu and Kashmir was a year of ambition and anxiety, where infrastructure advances, political restoration, violence, natural disasters, and governance tensions unfolded side by side, exposing fragile stability and unresolved fault lines, writes Syed Shadab Ali Gillani
For Jammu and Kashmir, 2025 unfolded as a year of stark contrasts, in which record-breaking infrastructure milestones arrived without the sense of celebration one might have expected. A profound human loss coincided with a political unease. Familiar fault lines of conflict, governance, and ecological fragility reasserted themselves with force, and no intervention helped the economic slowdown change the course.
Infrastructure Milestones
On January 13, Prime Minister NarendraModi flew to formally inaugurate the Z-Morh Tunnel. The Rs 2,400 crore strategic project, spanning a 6.5 km tunnel between Gagangir and Sonamargyear-round connectivity to areas previously cut off during harsh winters. The tunnel promised to transform access to the Srinagar-Leh highway, a critical artery for both civilian and military movement. The project is part of a major strategic road project aimed at making the arid Ladakh region accessible throughout the year. It is expected to be ready later this year when the 3.2 km-long Zoji Tunnel is ready.
The infrastructure momentum continued into June when the world’s highest railway bridge over the Chenab River became operational. At 359 meters above the river, 29 meters taller than the Eiffel Tower, the Chenab Rail Bridge marked the completion of the Udhampur-Srinagar-Baramulla Rail Link (USBRL) project. On June 6, the first Vande Bharat Express train crossed this engineering wonder, finally connecting Kashmir with India’s vast railway network. The USBRL cost Rs 43,780 crore and is seen as a major engineering marvel. It has 36 tunnels spanning 119 km and 943 bridges, and most of the trek is either over the bridges or in the tunnels.
Weeks ahead of Christmas, Chief Minister Omar Abdullah formally threw open Asia’s longest ski drag lift. The 726-meter Rs 3.65 crore facility at Kongdoori positioned the region as a higher-end snow tourism destination, strengthening Kashmir’s appeal to international winter sports enthusiasts.
This followed the formal opening of Kashmir’s Bagh-e-Gul-e-Dawood, a Chrysanthemum theme garden in October. The garden, developed at an estimated cost of Rs 1.869 crore, spans over 100 kanals and showcases more than 50 varieties of chrysanthemums in vibrant colours. It is aimed at extending the tourist season beyond October, on the same pattern as the Tulip Garden started to advance the season. However, the infrastructure achievements were interrupted by a violent incident that seriously impacted the tourist season.
The Pahalgam Massacre
Misfortune visited Kashmir’s hospitality sector on April 22, when a militant group massacred 26 tourists in Pahalgam’s Baisaran area. This massacre triggered a serious crisis within and outside Kashmir.
Within hours, tourists started fleeing Kashmir, and all destinations became deserted. Manoj Sinha administration resorted to extreme and unprecedented decision-making and closed 48 of 87 tourist destinations, including some public parks in the city. Though most of the destinations were gradually reopening, some of them are still locked.
The economic impact rippled nationwide. In Lucknow, 1,000 bookings were cancelled in a single day. Karnataka Tourism Society declared the season lost until June after recording 5,000 cancellations. Delhi saw a 90 per cent cancellation rate, while Kashmir’s hotel sector faced devastation. Radisson Srinagar, part of a major hotel chain, reported a 70 per cent cancellation. Royal Castle in Gulmarg, previously enjoying full occupancy, saw 70 per cent of its bookings cancelled, with only 15 of its 45 rooms remaining occupied.
The unprecedented shutdown devastated a sector that had been contributing over 8 per cent to the region’s Gross State Domestic Product and had welcomed a record 3.5 million tourists in 2024.
By the year-end, however, snow coincided with Christmas, and footfalls improved within and outside Lal Chowk.
Operation Sindoor
The Pahalgam massacre triggered a quick response. On May 7, India launched Operation Sindoor, conducting missile strikes on multiple targets in Pakistan. The operation, apparently aimed at Pakistan-based militant groups including Lashkar-e-Taiba and The Resistance Front (TRF), both banned in India already, marked one of the most serious military confrontations between the nuclear-armed neighbours in years.
For four tense days, from May 7 to May 10, the subcontinent teetered on the edge of broader conflict. The operation culminated in a ceasefire on May 10, following what government sources later revealed was an initiative by Pakistan’s Director General of Military Operations. However, US President Donald Trump claimed throughout the year that his administration was responsible for preventing a nuclear war. The State Department recently honoured an Indian-origin US diplomat for working behind the scenes in ensuring a timely ceasefire. In the weeks that followed, Operation Mahadev neutralised the killers of the Pahalgam massacre in July. A joint operation by the Indian Army, Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF), and the Jammu and Kashmir Police, the accused of the massacre were killed in the Lidwas-Harwan belt near Dachigam National Park.
By December 15, 2025, the federal investigator, the National Investigation Agency (NIA) 1597 1597-page charge sheet against three slain militants, three Pakistan-based fugitives, Faisal Jatt, Habeeb Tahir, and Hamza, in addition to two brothers, both residents of Pahalgam, Parvaiz and Bashir Jothar, for providing shelter and logistical support
Natural Disasters
While the spring brought a serious security-linked crisis that severely impacted the economy, summer and autumn delivered nature’s fury. On August 14, a massive cloudburst struck Kishtwar’s remote Chasoti hamlet. The flash flood that followed proved catastrophic, with official reports indicating 68 deaths, 300 injuries, and many people still missing. The cloudburst occurred on a busy pilgrimage route to the Machail Mata shrine, catching Hindu devotees unprepared.
The tragedy raised hard questions. Why were pilgrims allowed to continue their journey when heavy rain warnings had been issued? Could lives have been saved with stricter precautions?
This pilgrimage, it may be recalled here, is a very recent phenomenon, and it is not being regulated as the local organisers lack capacity and vision, the residents said. Nobody even knows the carrying capacity of the route that passes through a fragile landscape, which is treacherous in many places. The official policy of taking a road to a pilgrimage spot is yet another concern that the experts have been flagging all these years.
This was not a sole event. Within days after the cloudburst, another tragedy struck the Vaishno Devi shrine route when a massive landslide buried 32 devotees. The landslide hit near the Inderprastha Bhojnalaya at Ardhkuwari, about halfway along the 12-km trek from Katra to the shrine.
The summer floods devastated Jammu. The government data suggested that overall, it claimed 199 human lives, killing nearly 11,700 livestock, damaging more than 8,400 houses and affecting close to 77,915 hectares of crop area.
The floods impacted everything. The Amarnath Yatra, another major pilgrimage, faced repeated suspensions throughout July and early August.
The incessant rains ran havoc with the Srinagar-Jammu National Highway, Kashmir’s arterial connectivity with the rest of the world. By early September, Kashmir’s apple harvest, hailed as potentially the best in decades, fell victim to devastating floods. On September 4, knee-deep water submerged orchards across Pulwama and Kulgam districts. Ripe apples lay scattered across the ground, and fully grown trees were uprooted. Growers reported losses of up to Rs 200 crore, with nearly 70 per cent of produce destroyed in some orchards.
The closure of the Srinagar-Jammu national highway due to landslides choked trade, leaving hundreds of fruit-laden trucks stranded. The devastation is being compared to the 2014 floods, when apple orchards in Kashmir suffered losses of more than Rs 1,000 crore. Though the authorities deployed trains to help the fruit move fast to the market, not more than 15000 tons could utilise the service.
Rotten Meat Scandal
Amid these crises, another scandal emerged that struck at the heart of Kashmir’s culinary culture. In August, authorities discovered hundreds of kilograms of rotten, unlabelled meat across various locations in Kashmir. The revelations exposed a calculated betrayal of public trust, with nearly every prominent hotel brand serving meat sourced from outside Kashmir, often of questionable quality and origin.
The scandal raised disturbing questions beyond immediate food safety. In a Muslim-majority region where strict Halal compliance is paramount, the unclear origins of imported meat cast doubt on both safety and religious adherence. More troubling still were the potential long-term health implications.
Though more than 11.6 tons of substandard mutton and other food material were seized, and formal cases were also registered, consumers still do not know the gangs behind the mess. Experts had warned that the consumption of hugely sub-standard foods, freely available in the market, was linked to the massive morbidity reported by the region.
Sports Scene
The year saw a few professional player contracts and some national competitions being held in Kashmir. While participation reached record levels, the year was also marked by the collapse of a private cricket league that has since triggered a police investigation.
In December, Baramulla cricketer Auqib Nabi Dar set a regional record at the Indian Premier League auction, where he was signed by Delhi Capitals for Rs 8.40 crore. The contract followed his performance in the 2024–25 Ranji Trophy season, in which he claimed 44 wickets. In domestic cricket, first-class red-ball matches returned to Srinagar as the Sher-e-Kashmir Stadium hosted a Ranji Trophy fixture between Jammu and Kashmir and Mumbai.
In the private sector, however, the Indian Heaven Premier League (IHPL) proved a humiliating setback. Its non-native organisers defaulted on payments exceeding Rs 80 lakh owed to hotels and players and fled during the dead of the night. Following the departure of organisers and refusal of players to take the field, Jammu and Kashmir Police registered an FIR and initiated a probe into the league’s finances.
Gulmarg hosted the 5th Khelo India Winter Games, featuring alpine skiing, snowboarding, and Nordic skiing. The first Khelo India Water Sports Festival was held at Dal Lake, with 409 athletes competing in rowing and kayaking.
The International Indian Style Wrestling (Dangal) Championship was held at Maulana Azad Stadium in Jammu, featuring wrestlers from Iran and India.
Athletes from the Union Territory secured 15 international medals in 2024-25.
Political Renaissance
Despite the tragedies, 2025 marked a significant political milestone. The region held Assembly elections in late 2024, the first since the abrogation of Article 370 in 2019, with results declared in October. The National Conference emerged victorious, and Omar Abdullah returned as Chief Minister, heading the first elected government after 2018.
For the first time in Jammu and Kashmir’s history Chief Minister presented the budget as he also holds the finance portfolio. Omar’s budget was a landmark because it represents the first time a civilian government has overseen public spending, resource allocation, and outcomes since Dr Haseeb Drabu’s 2018 budget. This transition followed a period of administrative interventions that established several fiscal trends now requiring review or redirection. While some initiatives launched under the LG administration showed positive results and deserve further scaling, the return of civilian oversight provides a critical opportunity to realign the budget with public priorities.
Though seen as a rework of the Central Sponsored Schemes (CSS), Omar’s budget carried a series of ‘welfare initiatives’ that are expected to touch a large mass base, mostly Antyodaya Anna Yojana (AAY) households. Some of these initiatives were part of the ambitious poll manifesto that fetched the party a landslide mandate.
“To further support women from economically weaker sections, I propose an enhancement of financial assistance under the Marriage Assistance Scheme from Rs 50,000 to Rs 75,000 for AAY category girls,” Omarsaid. “This increase aims to provide greater financial relief to underprivileged families.”
Omar Abdullah also announced a hike in the monthly pension for 10,07,324 individuals under the Integrated Social Assistance Scheme (ISSS) and the National Social Assistance Programme (NSAP). Now, the revised pension structure is Rs 1,250 per month for individuals below 60 years; Rs 1,500 per month for those aged between 60 and below 80 years and Rs 2,000 per month for those aged 80 years and above.
The Zero-Ticket Travel Initiative, launched on April 1 as part of the budget, allowed women free travel in government-run buses across Jammu and Kashmir, including smart electric buses operating in Srinagar and Jammu. While this initiative phenomenally surged the women passenger traffic to the Smart City-run Red Bus fleet, the 98 buses are still booking a loss of Rs 48.74 very kilometre they drive, with cumulative loss almost touching Rs 10 lakh a day.
Regardless of the massive trust deficit between the two parallel centres of power, the Lok Bhawan run by LG, Manoj Sinha, and the office of Chief Minister Omar Abdullah, in November, the restored government demonstrated its democratic functioning with Rajya Sabha elections and by-elections in Budgam and Nagrota constituencies. The BJP retained the Nagrota seat, while the PDP scored a surprise victory in Budgam, defeating the ruling National Conference in a contest that revealed continuing political divisions within the Valley.
Perhaps most symbolically significant was the restoration of the Darbar Move in November. Omar Abdullah’s revival of the biannual shift of the secretariat between Srinagar and Jammu marked more than administrative nostalgia; it represented a symbolic assertion to reunite the two regions after years of centralised governance from Delhi.
Restrictions and Restraints
Unlike the Darbar Move, the Omar government failed to manage the restoration of public holiday on Martyrs’ Day or that of Sheikh Abdullah’s birthday as a holiday. Interestingly, Manoj Sinha managed Jammu and Kashmir Police (JKP) did not permit Omar, his party workers or other political parties to visit the Martyrs Cemetery on July 13.
A day after restrictions prevented political gatherings at Mazar-e-Shuhada, Chief Minister Omar Abdullah and senior party leaders visited the Naqashband Sahib shrine in Srinagar to pay tributes to the July 13 martyrs.
This, however, was not the only incident of its kind in which the elected lot did not face the music despite being in power. At the peak of a crisis in Jammu, the police prevented the movement of the Deputy Chief Minister. Even Omar was prevented from going to Martyrs Cemetery.
On December 28, authorities foiled a planned sit-in by open-merit students and job aspirants in Srinagar seeking rationalisation of the reservation policy, a year after a similar protest outside the Chief Minister’s residence led by Srinagar MP Aga Ruhullah Mehdi. Leaders said the protest was prevented after Ruhullah, who was expected to lead it, and several political and student figures were placed under house arrest, while heavy security was deployed in the city centre.
However, the height of it was the arrest of Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) legislator Mehraj Malik from Doda under the Public Safety Act. At times celebrated for his bold stances, other times criticised for his controversial statements, Malik’s presence in the political landscape of the region has been hard to ignore. The PSA came a day after Malik was detained at Dak Bungalow Doda for allegedly using abusive language against the district magistrate during a dispute over shifting a damaged government health centre to a private building. Malik had broadcast the confrontation live on his Facebook page on September 5.
The detention raised questions about political freedoms even after the restoration of democratic governance. Despite the entire political class reacting to the arrest, he is still in jail.
Major Policy Paralysis
In the bicentric power structure of Jammu and Kashmir, what is being seen as a major failure in addressing a crucial issue is the reservations. It continues to be one of the most contentious policy issues since the restoration of an elected government, exposing deep anxieties among open-merit students and job aspirants and raising questions about the political will of Chief Minister Omar Abdullah to resolve it.
At the heart of the controversy is a reservation framework that, following multiple amendments over the past decade, has steadily expanded quotas for various categories, shrinking the share available to the open merit pool to around one third.
After the formation of the government, the administration constituted a Cabinet sub-committee to examine demands for rationalisation of the reservation policy. The move was initially welcomed as a sign that the government had acknowledged the scale of discontent. However, months later, the sub-committee’s report remains pending with the Lok Bhawan, while job notifications continue to be issued under the existing reservation regime.
This gap between process and outcome has fuelled anger among students, who say the government has failed to provide either clarity or timelines, allowing uncertainty to persist at a critical stage of their careers.
JKNC claims that the sub-committee has made its recommendations, but it is not offering any idea what it has suggested. Unverified reports claim that the committee has recommended halving the 20 per cent quote of RBA (Reserved and Backwards Area) and adding 10 per cent to the open merit. Nobody knows the status of the issue or where the file is pending.
Another major issue that dominated the discourse but did not indicate any breakthrough was altering the status of Jammu and Kashmir, which was downgraded to a Union Territory. Barring the BJP, the entire political class has been seeking the restoration of the status of the State, but the government of India has been insisting that it will be done at the “appropriate time”. This is despite the Supreme Court also passing a direction.
The status of UT has reduced the significance of the Omar Abdullah-led government that had come to power with a landslide mandate. The twin power centres in the erstwhile state have impacted governance as every decision-making process lands in controversy. Omar has been on record many times that he is unable to govern, as the Jammu and Kashmir police and the central services (IAS, IPS, IRS) fall under the jurisdiction of the Lt Governor. For more than a year now, Jammu and Kashmir has had no Advocate General and the top attorney has not been appointed despite the High Court regretting the crisis.
The Year’s Toll
By the year’s end, the security grid said that 46 militants were killed in 35 violent incidents across Jammu and Kashmir in 2025, while overall violence remained near a 25-year low. Most of the civilians slain in militancy-related incidents were in the Pahalgam massacre. On the counter-insurgency front, the worst was the explosion within the premises of Nowgam police station in November that killed nine people and left 32 injured. The explosion took place when the officials were sorting nearly 3,000 kilograms of explosive-making material that had been recovered in Haryana during the investigations of the Delhi Red Fort explosion, in which 15 civilians, including the Kashmiri bomber and a rickshaw puller, were killed. The probe in the Delhi blast case led to the arrest of nine people, all but one Kashmiri, including many doctors. The gang was believed to have been led by Dr Umar Nabi, who died in the Red Fort blast.
The security grid remained overactive, carrying out raids on families, some of whose members had a history of violent political activity. In scores of cases, the properties belonging to erstwhile militants were also attached.
The Year End
As the clock struck midnight and Kashmir stepped from 2025 into 2026, hundreds of tourists ushered in the New Year in Lal Chowk, a few of them residents. Jammu and Kashmir stood neither transformed nor frozen, but poised uneasily in a tense in-between. The year brought undeniable advances in connectivity, visibility, and political process, yet it also exposed how swiftly such gains can fray under the weight of violence, environmental stress, and unresolved structural questions.
Militancy-related incidents were fewer in number, but their impact was concentrated and devastating. Governance returned to elected hands, but authority remained divided. Economic recovery flickered, only to be repeatedly interrupted.
The year did not resolve Kashmir’s long-running contradictions; it sharpened them. As the region steps into another year, it carries forward not only new infrastructure and fresh mandates, but also unanswered questions about power, security, and the terms on which stability itself can endure.
