Jammu, July 19: A fresh batch of 6,365 pilgrims, including 1,499 women and 441 children, left the Bhagwati Nagar base camp here on Saturday to join the ongoing annual Amarnath Yatra in the south Kashmir Himalayas, officials said.

The pilgrims, which included 135 sadhus and sadhvis, left for the twin base camps of Nunwan-Pahalgam in Anantnag and Baltal in Ganderbal in separate convoys under tight security arrangements in the early hours of the day, they said.

While 3,514 pilgrims left for Pahalgam in a convoy of 119 vehicles, 2,851 pilgrims travelling in 92 vehicles preferred the Baltal route, officials said.

The 38-day annual pilgrimage to the 3,880-metre high cave shrine started from the two routes on July 3 and is scheduled to end on August 9, coinciding with the Raksha Bandhan festival.

Over 2.75 lakh pilgrims have so far paid their obeisance at the shrine, which houses a naturally formed Shivlingam.

Jammu, Jul 18: Senior BJP leader and J&K state secretary Pawan Sharma has criticised the statement made by the Chief Minister Omar Abdullah regarding the use of Urdu in revenue records.

“This move is a clear example of political opportunism, aimed at polarizing the masses rather than addressing the real issues affecting Jammu and Kashmir,” he said.

Chief Minister Omar Abdullah had stated, “Even before independence, our revenue records were in Urdu. How will a staff member in the revenue department work if he or she doesn’t know Urdu? Earlier, when officers of Jammu and Kashmir Administrative Service (JKAS) and Indian Administrative Service (IAS) used to get appointed, if they didn’t know Urdu, then they were given time to learn basics. I don’t think staff members of the revenue department who don’t know Urdu can be efficient.”

Pawan Sharma accused the Chief Minister of deliberately misleading the public.

“It is true that before independence, revenue records across Northern India – including Jammu and Kashmir -were maintained in Persian or Urdu. However, with time and administrative reforms, most states transitioned to Hindi, English, or local languages. Even in Jammu and Kashmir, the medium of instruction in government schools has shifted entirely to English,” he said.

Sharma alleged that CM Omar’s focus on Urdu in revenue records constituted a selective approach, disregarding the linguistic diversity of Jammu and Kashmir.

“The BJP has consistently advocated for the promotion of all official languages, including Hindi, Sanskrit, and Dogri, integral to the region’s cultural and linguistic heritage. The Chief Minister’s prioritization of Urdu over other languages is hypocritical. This biased approach raises concerns about his commitment to linguistic inclusivity and equality. The people of Jammu and Kashmir deserve better representation and recognition of their linguistic identities,” BJP leader said.

He also criticised CM Omar for, what he said, “having failed to focus on real issues facing the Revenue department.”

“Instead of encouraging the digitisation and modernisation of revenue records, Chief Minister Omar Abdullah is resorting to outdated language debates to divert attention,” Pawan Sharma added.

Jammu, Jul 18: High Court of J&K and Ladakh will hear the Public Interest Litigation (PIL) in arms licence scam on August 7, 2025. A Division Bench of High Court of J&K and Ladakh, headed by the Chief Justice (CJ) Arun Palli, directed the registry to relist the instant PIL on August 7 as the matter could not be considered by it (Division Bench) due to paucity of time on Friday (July 18, 2025).

The Division Bench of High Court of J&K and Ladakh at Jammu, comprising the CJ Palli and Justice Rajnesh Oswal, was hearing the PIL No 09/2012 (related to arms licences scam) titled Sheikh Mohd Shafi & Anr V/s Union of India and Others, through virtual mode.

When this PIL came up for hearing, Senior Additional Advocate General (AAG) Mohsin Qadri and assisting counsel, appearing for UT of J&K, informed the Division Bench that pursuant to order dated April 24, 2025, the General Administration Department (GAD) filed a comprehensive status report indicating the steps taken as directed by it (Division Bench) vide its detailed order passed on April 24, 2025.

Advocate S S Ahmed with another advocate appearing for the petitioners submitted that he had already received the copy of the status report filed by GAD.

The matter, however, could not be considered by the Division Bench due to paucity of time yet looking into the importance of the matter, the Division Bench directed the Registry to re-list the instant PIL on August 7, 2025.

The CBI is investigating the arms licences scam ranging from 2012 to 2016 which was transferred to it by the Government of J&K in the year 2018. CBI registered two FIRs RCCHG0512018S0006 and RCCHG0512018S0007.

In September, 2024, the Division Bench, headed by the then Chief Justice Tashi Rabstan (since retired) impleaded CBI as a party respondent.

The CBI, in its detailed status report, divulged that from 2012 to 2016, various District Magistrates in J&K, in lieu of monetary considerations in connivance with arms dealers, judicial clerks and middlemen issued 2.63 lakhs arms licences to non-deserving persons in contravention of Arms Act and the rules framed thereunder. The investigating agency (CBI), after completion of investigation in both the FIRs, sought prosecution sanction against more than 9 IAS officers, who in their capacity as District Magistrates in J&K, issued arms licences to the non-deserving persons.

So far, the Government of India has granted prosecution sanction only against one IAS officer and chargesheet or challan has been filed against him in the designated CBI court. The Government of J&K in March, 2021 granted prosecution sanction against the JKAS officers, allegedly involved in the arms licences scam. More than 15 charge-sheets have been filed by the CBI in the matter in both the designated courts at Jammu and Srinagar. DSGI Vishal Shamra appeared for the Union of India in the matter.