Shopian

The Shopian Police on Friday carried out major coordinated searches across multiple locations in the district, targeting individuals and premises linked to the banned organisation Jamaat-e-Islami (JeI), according to an official press release.

The searches were conducted under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA), under which Jamaat-e-Islami Jammu & Kashmir remains proscribed for alleged separatist and militant-linked activities. The organisation was banned in 2019, and the Central government extended the ban for another five years in February 2024.

Jamaat-e-Islami, founded in 1941 by Islamic scholar Syed Abul A’la Maududi, later split into separate entities after Partition, emerging as Jamaat-e-Islami Pakistan and Jamaat-e-Islami Hind in India.

Details of Friday’s Shopian searches are awaited.

This follows a wider crackdown in Jammu & Kashmir, with Anantnag Police conducting similar raids on November 12. On November 20, the State Investigation Agency (SIA) also carried out a raid at the Kashmir Times office in Jammu.

Commenting on recent searches involving media institutions, Deputy Chief Minister Surinder Choudhary urged agencies to avoid selective targeting, stating that investigations should be fair and should not “create pressure” on the press.

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Founded in 1954 by Ved Bhasin, Kashmir Times is the oldest English-language daily from Jammu & Kashmir.