Jammu and Kashmir’s senior religious leader and chief cleric, Mirwaiz Umar Farooq, delivered the Friday sermon at the Jama Masjid in Srinagar, saying that the historic pulpit has always stood for the rights of the people.

Mirwaiz Farooq said that after nearly two weeks of restrictions, during which he was ‘prevented’ from delivering the Friday sermon at Jama Masjid and also ‘denied’ the opportunity to address the gathering of Khwaja Digar at Naqshband Sahib, he was once again among the people.

He said that every opportunity to be there he “counted as a blessing from Allah”, as restrictions and attempts to “silence the pulpit, unfortunately, seemed to be part of the state policy” right now. He said it was a time to bear with patience and continue the good work, however possible.

Addressing those who placed these restrictions, Mirwaiz said that the pulpit has for generations played an important role in educating individuals and shaping society on religious and moral lines. “It has helped in creating awakening and awareness among people not only regarding their rights but also their duties,” he added.

He said that whenever the need arose, it became their forceful voice, articulated their concerns and advocated their aspirations. It has promoted peaceful coexistence among communities and strongly voiced minority rights, he said.

Mirwaiz said that the activities have always been in accordance with Islamic teachings — peaceful, principled and dignified; dialogue over confrontation and issue-based over personal. “Inshallah, it will continue to do so whenever given the chance. It is the legacy of my forefathers and the shared inheritance of the people of Jammu and Kashmir,” he said.

He also heads the Awami Action Committee (AAC), which has been declared an unlawful organisation by the Union Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA).

The AAC was banned for five years by the MHA under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) on March 11, 2025.

The government cited the group’s involvement in anti-national activities, secessionist propaganda and supporting terrorism.

The Dwarka District Police have arrested a 26-year-old Nigerian national, who was a proclaimed offender in an earlier narcotics case, and recovered 8.43 grams of amphetamine from his possession, officials said on Friday.The arrest was made by the Anti-Narcotics Cell of the Dwarka District Police during ‘Operation VISTA 1.0’, a special drive launched to verify overstaying foreigners and check suspicious persons staying in hotels.

According to the officials, the Delhi Police Commissioner recently launched the operation to verify foreigners who have overstayed in the country. Following directions from Dwarka Deputy Commissioner of Police Kushal Pal Singh and under the supervision of ACP Operations Cell Subhash Malik, the Anti-Narcotics Cell was tasked with tracing overstaying foreigners and checking suspicious individuals staying in hotels across the district.On August 11, a team of the Anti-Narcotics Cell, headed by Inspector Satish Kumar Yadav and comprising Sub Inspectors Prem Narayan, Naveen and Naveen Kumar, Head Constable Vikas, and Constables Rahul and Vinod, was deployed as part of the operation.

Based on technical surveillance and human intelligence, the police apprehended a foreign national from a hotel in Mohan Garden.The accused was identified as Kingsley Eze, son of Eze, a resident of Anambra State, Nigeria.During his personal search, police recovered 8.43 grams of amphetamine, classified as an intermediate quantity under the relevant provisions of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act.

Following the recovery, an FIR No. 205/2026 was registered under Sections 8 and 22 of the NDPS Act at Mohan Garden Police Station in Dwarka.During interrogation, the accused told the police that he had arrived in India in 2019 on a business visa.Police said that further verification revealed that Kingsley Eze had been declared a proclaimed offender by a court in connection with FIR No. 940/2022, registered under Section 22 of the NDPS Act and Section 14A of the Foreigners Act at Nihal Vihar Police Station.He was declared a proclaimed offender through a court order dated May 30, 2026, police said.

According to the police, the accused had earlier been involved in a case related to the alleged supply of heroin and had been absconding while staying at a hotel in the Mohan Garden area. His arrest came during the ongoing VISTA 1.0 operation.The police said the recovery of amphetamine from the accused marked another step in the Dwarka District Police’s campaign against narcotics, being carried out under the slogan, “Nasha par Lagam, Desh ko Salam”.Further investigation is underway to identify and trace the supplier of the seized narcotic substance and determine the wider network, if any, connected to the accused.

Karnataka Congress MLAs and MLCs staged a protest against the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Friday, accusing the opposition party of disrupting Assembly proceedings while demanding the resignation of Minister for Planning and Statistics B. Nagendra over his alleged involvement in the tribal welfare scam.The Congress legislators gathered near the Mahatma Gandhi statue on the Vidhana Soudha premises and staged the protest.

They raised slogans against the BJP by holding placards, saying the party had no moral right to lecture them on morality, alleging that some of its leaders were involved in the theft of temple valuables. Minister B. Nagendra also participated in the protest.KPCC President and MLC B.K. Hariprasad stated, “There is a serious situation prevailing in the state. Drought relief work is being taken up in 18 districts, and people are not getting drinking water. The BJP is not allowing these issues to be discussed in the House. The CM has already met all-party MPs and urged them to seek the release of Rs 10,000 crore in drought relief funds.”

“The Opposition is scared of a discussion because it fears criticism of the Centre. They want to divert attention from everything. Let the discussion happen on Minister Nagendra; it will be over in one day. We will provide all the material to prove that he has no role. The BJP should not follow double standards. Even Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Minister Amit Shah face allegations. If we demand their resignations, will they resign?” Hariprasad questioned.

“If they have the courage, let them discuss all these issues. This is being done to prevent the questioning of the Central government over the release of drought relief funds to Karnataka. BJP leaders do not want this to happen. We will run the session until August 27. The people will decide whether the BJP is anti-people,” he said.Minister for Home, IT and BT Priyank Kharge said, “Who are the BJP leaders to demand his resignation? Has the BJP become the Supreme Court or the High Court by itself? Is it the Lokayukta? Let them seek the resignation of the Assam Chief Minister, who faces cases. Even the Bihar Chief Minister faces cases. There are also people in the Central government facing cases. They are also tainted.”

“The BJP should have some morality. Dr Chandru Lamani was caught by the Lokayukta. Why are you keeping him? There are MLAs in the BJP who have been trapped by the Lokayukta. Why don’t they talk about them? The CID does not have Nagendra’s name. The CBI has named him in its second chargesheet. It is very clear that this is motivated by the Centre. Let them discuss all these issues if they have the courage,” he challenged.Minister B. Nagendra alleged that the BJP could not tolerate Dalits becoming ministers. “The Congress party and CM D.K. Shivakumar have repeatedly called them for discussions. They have to listen to why I am not resigning. They are unnecessarily indulging in politics. They claim that it is a Rs 184 crore scam, but all the money has been recovered. The SIT subsequently gave me a clean chit.”

“They are outraged because a Dalit has become a minister. I am on bail in connection with the ED and CBI investigations. Haven’t there been Chief Ministers in other states who obtained bail and continued in office? Have I been convicted? I have faced allegations and have come out clean in court,” Nagendra said.