On Friday, December 16, Anjuman Auquaf, which manages the Jamia Masjid in Srinagar, posted a notification in the mosque complex banning women and men sitting together on the lawns.
The last Friday prayers of Ramzan (Jumatul Vida) were not allowed to be held at the historic Jamia Masjid in Srinagar.
Authorities in Kashmir have decided not to allow 'Shab-e-Qadr' and 'Jumat-ul-Vida' congregational prayers at the historic Jamia Masjid in Sringar, a move denounced by mainstream and separatist parties.
Congregational prayers were held on Wednesday at the historic Jamia Masjid in Srinagar for the first time since the Centre abrogated certain provisions of Article 370 and Jammu and Kashmir was bifurcated into two Union territories.
Protests erupted in Kashmir following the killing of Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, leading to restrictions on movement and mobile internet speeds.
However, the attendance of devotees was thin as the people from adjoining localities only were not able to reach the grand mosque due to non-availability of public transport in view of the strike.
Authorities had allowed regular prayers inside the mosque on Wednesday for the first time after it was sealed on August 5. After eruption of militancy in the valley, this was for the first time in recent memory that no congregational prayers were offered at the mosque for 19 consecutive Fridays because of curbs by authorities.
Following reports of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei's death, widespread protests erupted in Kashmir, with demonstrators expressing strong anti-US and anti-Israel sentiments.
"Similarly, 60 launchpads are working in the other depth areas away from the border," BSF DIG Vikram Kunwar told reporters in Jammu.
Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi stated that China mediated tensions between India and Pakistan, a claim disputed by India which maintains that the matter was resolved bilaterally.
In a statement, the managing body of the Jamia Masjid said on Wednesday, 'This is to inform the public that authorities have conveyed to Anjuman Auqaf Jama Masjid that once again, Eid ul Adha prayers will not be allowed at the historic and central Eidgah Srinagar.'
In a viral video uploaded to a YouTube channel on Tuesday, JeM commander Ilyas Kashmiri can be heard fuming over the Indian attack that killed the family members of Azhar and also bragging about fighting in neighbouring countries for Pakistan.
JeM commander Ilyas Kashmiri also said that the Pakistan Army and the jihadis have become one after 25 years of his outfit's struggle.
Hurriyat Conference chief Mirwaiz Umar Farooq condemned the Pahalgam attack, calling it an "act beyond belief" and "totally unacceptable." He also called for unity and condemned the communal narrative surrounding the incident, urging the government to allow him to visit the injured and offer condolences to the families affected.
Hurriyat Conference chairman Mirwaiz Umar Farooq was released from house arrest on Friday, September 22, 2023, four years after he was taken into detention.
Jaish-e-Mohammad chief Maulana Masood Azhar has acknowledged that 10 members of his family and four close associates were killed in India's missile attack on the outfit's headquarters in Bahawalpur. The statement attributed to Azhar said those killed included his elder sister and her husband, a nephew and his wife, another niece, and five children from his extended family. The attack also claimed the lives of one of Azhar's close associates and his mother, along with two other close companions.
Radical Islamist networks are deliberately targeting Muslim youths embedded within the country's professional and academic ecosystems, leveraging their skills, mobility, and digital reach to quietly strengthen operational capabilities. This trend highlights a dangerous evolution in terror recruitment -- one that exploits ideological faultlines, online echo chambers and transnational radical Islamist influences to attract individuals who outwardly embody India's modern and aspirational narrative, points out Dr Kanchan Lakshman.
'The President's expectations shifted. The goal post moved and India didn't realize that the goal post had moved.'
Kashmiri Muslims offered Shab-e-Qadr (The Night of Power and Forgiveness) prayers for the first time after the abrogation of Article 370 in August 2019 at the historic Jamia Masjid in Srinagar on the night of 27 Ramadan.
'I wanted to go for the heart, and at the same time, open the audience's mind.'
Delivering the sermon, he said election and "resolution of the Kashmir issue" were two different things.
Pakistan claims it was a mosque and an educational complex that were hit in the strikes at Muridke, located at about 40 km from Lahore.
Protests and a partial bandh were observed in the communally sensitive Bhaderwah town of Doda district in Jammu and Kashmir on Saturday following an objectionable social media post allegedly put up by a leader of a Hindu group. The post drew resentment from members of both Hindu and Muslim communities, prompting authorities to suspend mobile internet services as a precautionary measure. An FIR has been registered against the accused, Virender Razdan, and raids are underway to nab him.
Mrs Gandhi's power ebbed and peaked with the times. Mr Modi's has almost been constant, barring the few months of hard dip after the 240 seats of 2024, points out Shekhar Gupta.
The Bahawalpur centre is notorious for hoarding arms and ammunition left behind by the NATO forces in Afghanistan, the officials said.
'Munir is clearly insecure and hence he needs the prop of a field marshal.'
'The Pakistani State has to realise that the pigeons have come home to roost.'
'Trump's sons, and the son of Trump's Mideast envoy Steven Witkoff, are in the crypto business and recently signed deals with Pakistan's crypto council.' 'It may not be coincidental that not long before the Trump-Munir meeting, the head of Pakistan's crypto council met with Trump's White House crypto policy czar.'
Kashmiris across the region condemned the terror attack in Pahalgam that killed 26 people, mostly tourists, with widespread protests and a shutdown in Srinagar and other parts of the valley. The attack was seen as an assault on the foundation of Kashmir's economy, with residents highlighting the importance of tourism to the region's livelihood. Protests were held in various districts, including Srinagar, Kulgam, Handwara, and Ramban, with residents united in their condemnation of the violence and calling for an end to terrorism.
The deployment came on the day of the consecration of the new idol of Ram Lalla at the Ram temple in Ayodhya.
'The ruling elite are supporting those attacking the people of Gaza.' 'As a nation we should not cooperate with the oppressor regime that is allowing mass starvation as a weapon of war.'
'You can be sure that the Pakistanis knew when the Indian Air Force aircraft took off, which type these were, and what their likely targets were.' 'The question was: How would they determine that the IAF wanted to fire, and when to bounce them?', notes Shekhar Gupta.
Tripura Chief Minister Manik Saha on Sunday claimed that Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Mann Ki Baat programme was more popular among the masses than Mahabharat and Ramayan mega TV serials of the 1980s.
Eid-ul-Fitr celebrations in Kashmir were a low-key affair on Thursday as the faithful marked the culmination of the fasting month of Ramzan by offering the thanksgiving prayers in small congregations at local mosques by observing social distancing in view of the COVID-19 pandemic.
National Investigation Agency officials seized Mushtaq Ahmad Zargar's home in Srinagar on Thursday, March 2, 2023. On December 31, 1999, Zargar was released along with Jaish e Mohammed founder Masood Azhar and the British terrorist Omar Saeed Shaikh in exchange for the passengers and crew on board IC-814, the Indian Airlines flight hijacked from Kathmandu and flown to Kandahar in Afghanistan.
Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti warned that there could be a backlash if the force loses patience.
Wearing saffron scarves and holding saffron flags, the Bajrang Dal and VHP activists on motorcycles raised 'Jai Sriram' slogans.
Restrictions were imposed in north Kashmir and some areas of central Kashmir to thwart the march announced by separatists to Jamia Masjid.
Friday prayers have not been allowed at Jamia Masjid - the grand mosque of Kashmir in downtown (old city area) - for the past over two months now.
Addressing the congregation at the historic Jamia Masjid in old city Srinagar on Friday afternoon, the Mirwaiz said: "We will oppose all efforts aimed at fanning division of the Kashmiri Muslims on sectarian lines. If need be, we will expose the elements and institutions patronised by the government for the purpose."
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