The Kashmir Pulse

SRINAGAR — Mirwaiz-e-Kashmir Dr Moulvi Muhammad Umar Farooq on Saturday said Kashmiri Pandits are "our own people" and an "integral part" of Kashmir's culture, history and future, while condemning threats against them.

Speaking with reporters, Mirwaiz, as reported by the news agency KNO, said efforts should continue for the return of Kashmiri Pandits to the Valley.

"Kashmiri Pandits are not outsiders; they are our own people. They are a part of our culture, our history and even our future," he said, adding that he hoped the government would also continue its efforts in this regard.

It is in place to mention here that threat letters allegedly targeting Kashmiri Pandit government employees in Jammu and Kashmir surfaced online on August 7, 2026 and August 23, 2026. The letter was attributed to the United Liberation Council (ULC), a group security agencies are examining for possible links to Lashkar-e-Taiba. However, the authenticity of the letter had not been verified by police or security agencies.

The first letter targeted Kashmiri Pandit employees working in the Valley and the second letter reportedly included names, addresses and vehicle numbers of some employees. The employees work under the Prime Minister’s employment package for Kashmiri migrants.

Following the threats, their forum sought enhanced security from the Jammu and Kashmir administration and have pressed for complete work-from-home provision for minority employees across the Kashmir Valley.

The Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah termed fresh threats to Kashmiri Pandit employees “highly concerning” and directed security agencies to conduct a thorough investigation to trace the source of the intimidation.

SHOPIAN — Patients requiring continuous oxygen support at District Hospital Shopian are facing inconvenience as the hospital's central oxygen generation and pipeline system has remained non-functional for more than two months, leaving the health facility dependent on individual oxygen cylinders.

According to the news agency KNO, the prolonged disruption has become a matter of concern for patients and their attendants, particularly those suffering from serious respiratory ailments and elderly patients who require uninterrupted oxygen support.

Attendants said the dependence on cylinders has added to the logistical burden on both patients and hospital staff and could pose difficulties in situations where several patients need oxygen simultaneously.

In the absence of the central oxygen supply system, oxygen cylinders are reportedly being shifted between different wards to meet the requirements of patients. Attendants said that while cylinders are being arranged, the system is less convenient than a functional central pipeline, especially during emergencies and periods of increased patient load.

The issue has caused particular concern among families of patients suffering from chronic respiratory conditions such as Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD), for whom any interruption in oxygen support can become critical.

Hospital staff and attendants have also expressed concern over the repeated transportation and replacement of oxygen cylinders in various wards, saying the arrangement requires constant monitoring and movement of cylinders and may become challenging during busy periods when multiple patients simultaneously require oxygen.

The situation has also raised concerns about the hospital's preparedness to deal with emergencies involving several patients who may need continuous or high-flow oxygen support, particularly during critical cases and sudden increases in patient admissions.

Attendants have sought the attention of higher authorities in this regard, so that patients in need do not continue to suffer.

An official of the health department said the issue had been taken up with the concerned Mechanical and Hospitality Division for restoration of the oxygen generation plant. The official said repair and restoration work was in progress and the facility was expected to become functional within the next 10-15 days.

NEW DELHI — A prominent Kashmiri Pandit activist has criticised a recent comedy exchange involving Samay Raina and Sharon Verma on India's Got Latent, saying jokes touching on Bihar and Kashmiri identity crossed from humour into "deeply sensitive territory" involving displacement and regional identity.

In a press statement issued Saturday, Satish Mahaldar, Chairman of the JK Peace Forum, said the exchange — which reportedly began as a roast — should not be treated as a routine comedy controversy, given its connection to the decades-long displacement of Kashmiri Pandits from the Kashmir Valley.

"Bihar is not an insult. Kashmir is not a punchline," Mahaldar said in the statement, adding that the Pandit community's history of displacement "cannot be reduced to a convenient joke, a social-media clip, or a publicity moment."

A roast that went viral

The controversy stems from an episode of India's Got Latent, the comedy roast show, in which jokes referencing Bihar and Kashmiri identity between Raina and Verma circulated widely on social media.

Mahaldar's statement noted that Raina himself has previously spoken publicly about his family's experience of displacement from Kashmir.

"Not asking for censorship"

Mahaldar said his organisation was "not asking for censorship" but "sensitivity," and acknowledged that comedians retain the right to joke about their own experiences and communities. However, he argued that when "historical suffering becomes material for entertainment," it raises a legitimate public question about where comedy ends and humiliation begins.

He said the Kashmiri Pandit community was not seeking "special treatment," but rather what he described as more fundamental demands: truth, dignity, justice, recognition, and the right to return to their ancestral homeland "with security and honour."

"The answer to an offensive joke should not be another offensive joke," Mahaldar said. "It should be facts, courage and historical memory."

Warning against communal framing

Mahaldar's statement also sought to head off any broader communal reading of the controversy, explicitly rejecting attempts to frame it as hostility "between Kashmiri Pandits and Kashmiri Muslims, or between Kashmiris and Biharis." He said no community should be judged by the words of an individual, and described Kashmir's history as "complicated," calling for its future to be "built on truth, reconciliation, justice and mutual dignity."

Mahaldar's remarks come as Kashmiri Pandits mark more than three decades since mass displacement from the Kashmir Valley began in 1990. His statement described the community's position as unchanged despite the passage of time: "We may have lost our homes, but we have not lost our voice."