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PM Package Housing: 5,176 of 6,000 Flats Completed in Kashmir

Srinagar, Sep 16 (NVI): The Jammu and Kashmir government has fixed deadlines for completion and handover of the remaining flats under the PM Package for employees in the Kashmir Valley, officials said on Wednesday.

A total of 6,000 flats have been approved at 20 locations across the Valley for PM Package employees, of which 5,176 have been completed, they said.

The decision was taken at a meeting chaired jointly by Additional Chief Secretary, Public Works (R&B) Department, Anil Kumar Singh and Principal Secretary, Department of Disaster Management, Relief, Rehabilitation and Reconstruction (DMRR&R), Chandraker Bharti, to review ongoing and proposed projects.

Officials said allied works, including installation of lifts, construction of internal roads, drainage systems and community halls, are nearing completion at most of the sites.

“Specific deadlines for completion of the balance works and handover/takeover were fixed,” an official statement said, adding that possession of completed flats would be handed over to eligible employees in a phased manner as per allotments made under government norms.

The meeting also reviewed major repair and renovation works at migrant camps in Jammu, for which the government has approved Rs 82.45 crore.

Tender formalities for the works have been completed and construction is expected to commence shortly, officials said.

Directions were also issued for preparing a detailed project for upgrading infrastructure at migrant schools, health dispensaries, internal roads and parks in the camps.

The construction of PoJK Bhawan at Suketar was also reviewed, with emphasis on completing the project in all respects within the current financial year.

The Chief Engineer, PW(R&B) Jammu, informed the meeting that the detailed project report (DPR) for construction of additional flats for Kashmiri migrants at Purkhoo is being finalised.

A Multipurpose Community Hall at Jagti, estimated to cost Rs 6.50 crore, has been completed, the officials said.

Tender formalities are also underway for new projects worth around Rs 20 crore proposed during the current financial year at migrant camps in Purkhoo, Nagrota, Muthi and Jagti.

DPRs are being prepared for projects proposed for the next financial year, including e-learning centres, digital libraries and reading rooms, career counselling and guidance centres, skill development and vocational training centres, entrepreneurship facilitation centres, sports infrastructure, and solar power and water conservation projects in migrant camps.—(NVI)

Questions over Mecca Pact as Pakistan Shies Away Despite Saudi Troubles

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and Pakistani PM Shehbaz Sharif after signing pact in Mecca on Aug 7, 2026

By Ajay Kaul

New Delhi, Sept 16 (NVI) As the Islamic Holy city of Mecca faced security threat for the first time ever, it has put a huge question mark on the utility of Saudi Arabia’s much-touted defence pact with Pakistan and the latter’s intentions to implement it.

Saudi Arabia said the city of Mecca was targeted by a drone fired by the Houthi militia of Yemen on Tuesday evening and it was intercepted, averting any damage.

“The Royal Saudi Air Defense Forces intercepted and destroyed a hostile drone launched by the Terrorist Houthi Militia before it entered the prohibited airspace of the Holy City of ‘Makkah Al-Mukarramah’,” Saudi coalition spokesperson Turki al-Malki posted on X.

The security alerts were sounded not only in Mecca but various other parts of Saudi Arabia, including Jeddah and Taif regions.

Saudi Arabia has lately faced increased aerial attacks from the Houth militia in response to the military air strikes by the Saudi forces.

Mecca Agreement Useless?

These attacks have put under scrutiny a trilateral mutual defence pact signed by Saudi Arabia, Pakistan and Turkiye on August 7.

The agreement was signed in Mecca by Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. It is thus called the ‘Mecca Agreement’.

In fact, this trilateral pact was an add-on to an already existing bilateral agreement between Saudi Arabia and Pakistan, with the same provisions, which stipulate that “any armed attack against any one of the three states shall be regarded as an attack against them all.”

However, even as Saudi Arabia has been suffering repeated attacks for days now, Pakistan has not joined it either in defence or in counter-offensive against the Houthis.

Pakistan has clearly been shying away from implementing its commitments made to Saudi Arabia under the Mecca Pact.  Perhaps, it is scared of inviting the wrath of Iran which is supporting the Houthis.

A week ago, even after Houthis carried out a barrage of attacks on Saudi Arabia, Pakistan’s Defence Minister Khawaja Asif said any attack on the Kingdom could activate the Mecca agreement.

“If there is unprovoked aggression, or a spillover of whatever is happening in Yemen into Saudi Arabia, definitely the Mecca agreement will become operational,” he told Geo News TV channel of Pakistan on September 9.

“There should be no doubt about that. We are bound by the terms and conditions of this pact, and … we will honour them in case there is a need,” he added.

Despite that assurance, Pakistan is yet to come to the defence of Saudi Arabia, at least openly.

Today, Pakistan Military spokesperson Lieutenant General Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry, during an interview to Al Arabia, was asked about his country’s position in the wake of repeated attacks on Saudi Arabia over the last week or so.

He evaded a direct reply and merely said that Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Turkiye will decide “how to operationalize” their defence commitments under the trilateral agreement.

“It is defensive, as the word also implies…. It is a collective deterrence,” he said.

Pakistan’s Foreign Office, a few days back, said the possibility of Pakistani forces striking Houthi targets inside Yemen was only a “hypothetical” situation.

Lip Service

After the Mecca incident, Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif did offer the customary lip service through social media.

Pakistan, Sharif said, “condemns in the strongest possible terms the dastardly and heinous attempted drone attack against the Holy Site of Makkah Al-Mukarramah.”

He added, “Pakistan stands unwaveringly, shoulder to shoulder with the brotherly Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, in the defence of its sovereignty, and territorial integrity, as well as for the security and sanctity of the Haramain Sharifain – a duty that every Pakistani carries close to their heart.”

The military fight between Saudi Arabia and Iran-backed Houthi militia has put Pakistan to a severe test in terms of its commitments.

If Pakistan joins Saudi Arabia, it will mean becoming a target for the Houthi militia and spoiling relations with Iran.

In any case, Pakistan is known for not keeping its commitments and Saudi Arabia is realizing it the hard way. (NVI)

J&K govt approves free public transport travel for differently-abled persons

Srinagar, Sep 16 (NVI) The Jammu and Kashmir government has approved free travel on public transport for differently-abled persons, fulfilling a key Budget announcement made in March this year, officials said on Wednesday.

The facility will be available on services operated by the Jammu and Kashmir Road Transport Corporation (JKRTC) and e-buses run by Jammu Smart City Limited and Srinagar Smart City Limited, the Chief Minister’s Office said.

The decision is aimed at improving accessibility and ease of travel for differently-abled persons and promoting inclusive mobility across the Union Territory, it said.

Chief Minister Omar Abdullah congratulated Transport Minister Satish Sharma on the initiative and said the move reflects the government’s commitment to social justice, according to a post by his office on X.

The government had announced the provision of free public transport for differently-abled persons as part of its Budget presented in March.—(NVI)

Balochistan: BLA attacks hideout of Pakistani military affiliated militia, kills 5 operatives

Baloch fighters somewhere in Balochistan (File Pic)

Quetta, Sept 16 (NVI) Baloch Liberation Army (BLA) today said it carried out a successful attack on a key hideout of a militia leader affiliated with the Pakistani military in Balochistan, killing 5 of their armed operatives.

The attack on the “important and active hideout of the Pakistan-backed, notorious national traitor and death squad ring leader Shafiq Laghor Mengal” was carried out in the Owak area of Wadh in Khuzdar district of Balochistan, BLA spokesman Jeeyand Baloch said.

“As a result of this operation, all 5 armed operatives present at the hideout were killed on the spot,” he added in a statement.

Following the successful operation, the BLA fighters seized all enemy weapons and other military equipment from the site.

“This operation is a continuation of the decisive resolve of the Baloch Liberation Army, under which ‘Operation Marg-e-Ghdaran’ was launched this year for the complete eradication of national traitors and armed death squads operating under the patronage of the occupying state.

“Previously, the BLA’s fedayee wing, the Majeed Brigade, killed 34 operatives of Shafiq Mengal through a fedayee attack on his central military compound in Khuzdar itself, where this cowardly ringleader fled in a bulletproof vehicle, leaving his companions to die,” the BLA spokesman said.

“Under ‘Operation Marg-e-Ghdaran’, no escape route remains for these traitors of the soil and their operatives, and the organization’s military units remain continuously active to reduce every single one of their hidden hideouts to dust,” he said. (NVI)

Drone attack on Mecca, says Saudi Arabia

Mecca (file pic)

New Delhi, Sept 16 (NVI) The war in West Asia assumed a new dimension today as Saudi Arabia said the Islamic holy city of Mecca was attacked with drones by Yemen’s Houthi militia, who, however, denied the allegation.

For the first time in history, Saudi Arabai activated an aerial threat alert over the religious city.

Saudi Arabia said its military intercepted a Houthi drone before it could reach the holy city of Mecca.

The drone fired by the Houthis was intercepted at 6:50 pm Saudi time south of Mecca on Tuesday (local time), Saudi government said, warning the attack on Islam’s two holiest sites and on pilgrims was a “red line”.

It threatened to take necessary deterrent measures against the Houthis.

“The security of the Two Holy Mosques and the pilgrims is a red line, and the Joint Forces Command of the Coalition will not hesitate to take the necessary and deterrent measures against the Terrorist Houthi Militia,” the coalition said in a statement shared by spokesman Turki al-Maliki on X.

Houthi spokesperson Hazem al-Assad rejected the allegation of its involvement, writing on X: “The claims about targeting Mecca are a worn-out lie that has been used before and no longer fools anyone.”

The incident is likely to further stoke tensions between the two warring sides.

Last week, the Iran-backed Houthis seized control of the entirety of Yemen’s Red Sea coast and the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, a vital artery for Saudi oil exports.

Meanwhile, the US embassy issued an advisory for Americians, asking them to “reconsider travel” to Saudi Arabia and Yemen border.

The advisory warned of the “risk of Iranian drone and missile targeting of American interests, armed conflict, terrorism, exit bans and local laws regarding social media activity…. Do not travel to the Yemen border due to threat of terrorism.

The Organisation of Islamic Cooperation, which is a bloc of 57 Muslim countries, condemned “the heinous attacks launched by the Houthi group on the holy city of Mecca and the Medina region”, saying they were intended to “terrorise civilians, violate the sanctity of holy sites and mosques, and provoke the feelings of Muslims around the world”.

In a statement, the OIC General Secretariat said attacks on “holy sites, mosques and civilian objects constitute terrorism that contradicts Islamic values, international norms and laws”. It added that violating the sanctity of holy sites was “a transgression that cannot be accepted or tolerated” and required deterring those responsible.

The organisation expressed “full solidarity” with Saudi Arabia and support for measures taken by the kingdom to protect holy sites and civilians, as well as its security and sovereignty. (NVI)

Wage ceiling for PF deductions raised to Rs 25,000

Employees at work

New Delhi, Sept 16 (NVI) The central government today decided to raise the monthly wage ceiling for deductions of Provident Fund (PF) from Rs 15,000 to Rs 15,000.

The decision taken by the Union Cabinet will apply to employees working in industries across the country, Union Information and Broadcasting Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw.

Accordingly, Rs 25,000 per month will be the new ceiling for PF deductions.

Approximately 51 lakh employees, specifically those falling within the Rs 15,000 to Rs 25,000 salary bracket, will benefit from this change and will now be covered under the revised PF regulations, he said.

The estimated annual expenditure for the Government of India on this measure will be Rs 11,339 crore, the minister said. (NVI)

IGP Kashmir reviews security preparedness in Central Kashmir Range

Srinagar, Sep 16 (NVII) Inspector General of Police, Kashmir Zone, Sujit Kumar on Wednesday chaired a security review meeting at the Police Control Room (PCR) Kashmir to assess the prevailing security situation and preparedness of police formations in the Central Kashmir Range, officials said.

The meeting was attended by senior police officers, including DIG Central Kashmir Range, SSPs of Srinagar, Budgam and Ganderbal, SSP PCR Kashmir, SDPOs and other officers.

The officers briefed the IGP about the security situation in their respective areas and measures taken to maintain peace and public order, officials said.

Kumar reviewed the security grid and operational preparedness, with emphasis on strengthening counter-insurgency operations, area domination and intensified naka checking at vulnerable locations.

He also directed officers to strengthen checking and surveillance along inter-district borders and ensure that security arrangements remain dynamic and responsive to emerging situations.

The IGP stressed the need for regular assessment of security arrangements and timely strengthening of deployments wherever required.

He directed the officers to maintain round-the-clock vigilance, take preventive security measures and ensure close coordination among field formations to maintain peace and public safety across the Central Kashmir Range, officials said.—(NVI)

Pakistani Navy ship hits Indian Warship in international waters

Representative pic

New Delhi, Sept 16 (NVI) Pakistani Navy ship has rammed into an Indian Navy warship in international waters off the coast of Oman after closing at high speed.

No major damage has been reported

India lodged a strong protest as Pakistan’s Charge d’Affaires was summoned by Ministry of External Affairs (MEA).

The Pakistani diplomat was told that the act was “unacceptable and unprofessional”.

The Indian government cited violation of the 1991 India-Pakistan agreement on advance notice of military exercises and movements.

Article 10 of the 1991 agreement says the Navy ships  must stay at least 3 nautical miles apart in international waters. (NVI)

Indus Water Treaty with Pakistan is outdated, needs review: Indian NGO

POK and Kashmir News
File pic of the Indus basin

Geneva, Sep 16 (NVI) The 66-year-old Indus Waters Treaty (IWT) between India and Pakistan is outdated and needs to be reassessed from the perspective of contemporary needs and human rights aspects, an Indian NGO has said at a UN convention.

The NGO Shivi Development Society argued that the water-security conditions in the region have changed since the time of the signing of the IWT under which right over the usage of 6 common rivers between India and Pakistan is determined.

Under the Treaty, India has rights over usage of waters of Ravi, Beas and Sutlej rivers while Pakistan gets the rights over Indus, Jhelum and Chenab rivers, all flowing from Jammu and Kashmir.

At the 63rd Session of the UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC) on the Interactive Dialogue with the Special Rapporteur on the human rights to safe drinking water and sanitation, the Delhi-based NGO said access to water is closely linked to the rights to life, health, food, housing, dignity and development.

Referring to the UN recognition of access to safe and clean drinking water and sanitation as a fundamental human right, the NGO said international water treaties should be implemented in a manner that strengthens, rather than constrains, states’ ability to meet their human-rights obligations.

It said the Indus Waters Treaty, despite being an important example of long-standing international cooperation, was signed more than six decades ago and the region’s water-security environment has since changed significantly.

It cited population growth, climate change, glacier retreat, groundwater depletion and increasingly unpredictable river flows as factors that have transformed water-security challenges in the region.

The statement argued that contemporary treaty implementation should not prevent states from fulfilling their obligations towards communities under their jurisdiction.

It said ensuring water security for communities should remain a fundamental priority and described a review of the Indus Waters Treaty as an imperative, referring also to its present abeyance.

The NGO concluded that human rights and international cooperation are complementary and that trans-boundary water governance should place people, dignity and fundamental rights at the centre.

After heinous Pahalgam terror attack on April 22 last year, India placed the IWT in “abeyance” until Pakistan credibly and irrevocably abjures its support for cross-border terrorism.

Pakistan approached the International Court of Arbitration, which last month issued an award on the “Status” of the Indus Waters Treaty and an order on interim measures concerning the Ratle Hydro-Electric Plant (RHEP).

The court said that India must observe its obligations under the Treaty, including those relating to the design and operation of its hydro-electric projects on the Western Rivers.

On August 31, India rejected the “award”, saying it was issued by an “illegally constituted” Court of Arbitration (CoA).

The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said that the so-called “Court of Arbitration” was set up by the World Bank in patent breach of the terms of the treaty.

“Today, the illegally constituted so-called Court of Arbitration (CoA) has issued what it termed as an award concerning Interim Measures and Status of the Indus Waters Treaty. This so called Court was constituted by the World Bank in patent breach of the terms of the Treaty and India categorically rejects its so-called award, just as it has firmly rejected all prior pronouncements by this illegally constituted body,” the MEA said in a statement.

The MEA stressed that India has never recognised the existence in law of “the illegally-constituted and so-called Court of Arbitration” and consistently maintained that the creation of this alleged arbitral body constitutes a grave violation of the IWT.

“Accordingly, India has never appeared before this body and has refused to take any cognisance of its earlier pronouncements. This so-called Court of Arbitration has no jurisdiction whatsoever to pronounce on India’s sovereign decisions. Its pronouncements, now or in the future, will have no effect on India’s actions in connection with the projects being undertaken by India,” the MEA mentioned.

The MEA also stated that India’s decision to hold the IWT in abeyance remains in force. (NVI)

Teacher suspended over alleged harassment of female student in J&K’s Ramban

Shivam Bakshi

Ramban, Sep 16 (NVI): A government school teacher has been suspended following allegations of harassment of a female student at a school in Jammu and Kashmir’s Ramban district, officials said on Wednesday.

The action was taken against Raiz Ahmed, posted at Government High School Harroge in Zone Gool, after an inquiry committee submitted its report to the authorities.

The inquiry was ordered following a complaint by a girl student alleging harassment by the teacher at the school. The committee was constituted on September 14.

According to the suspension order issued by the Chief Education Officer, Ramban, Ahmed has been placed under suspension under Rule 31 of the Jammu and Kashmir Civil Services (Classification, Control and Appeal) Rules, 1956.

During the suspension period, he will remain attached to Government Primary School Bhatta in Zone Khari, the order said.

Further administrative action will be taken based on the findings of the inquiry, officials said.—(NVI)

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