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Fake fatwas create trouble

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Fake fatwas create trouble

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Singer Nahid Afrin was in fact asked not to sing at a college function set to be held close to a mosque and graveyard as musical nights and dancing were deemed “un-Islamic” by 46 community elders in a leaflet they circulated in the state. It was the media which did not get its facts right

By Sucheta Dasgupta

Welcome to yet another instance of misreporting by the media.

On March 15, India’s No. 1 newspaper, The Times Of India, reported on its front page, that Assamese reality TV star Nahid Afrin had been served a fatwa by 46 Muslim clerics asking her to stop performing in public following her singing songs against Islamic State terrorism. The story was titled “Fatwa against teen singer”. In today’s frantic industry atmosphere of copycat journalism, other media outlets, too, felt compelled to (mis)report the story. Some reports mentioned she was being targeted for a performance scheduled in a college in Assam’s Lanka town that is close to a mosque and a graveyard.

And that is how they got exposed—for their neglect to verify the reports, lack of domain knowledge—the reporter should have found out the meaning of the word, fatwa—and their failure to do due diligence to a story. 

It so turns out that the purported fatwa is in fact naught but a leaflet circulated in some districts of the state. Its 46 signatories are office bearers of the Assam State Jamiat Ulama and teachers from various madrasas around the state.

A fatwa is a legally non-binding ruling on a point of Islamic law given by a recognized authority issued by a qualified jurist or mufti. The leaflet in question wants the venue of a show in which Afrin is supposed to sing be shifted from Udali Sonai Bibi College as it is in the vicinity of a mosque and graveyard. It also states that musical nights are “anti-Sharia” as is magic, drama, dance and theatre.  “If we don’t keep our children away from such things, Allah will not spare any of us,” it reads, and that the proximity of the venue to the mosque would “definitely anger Allah”. The show is slated for March 25.

Later in the day, NDTV issued an apology for reporting unverified news. Scroll, meanwhile, carried a report titled, “The ‘fatwa’ against Assam singer Nahid Afrin that never was”. It quoted the secretary of the Assam State Jamiat Ulama, Maulvi Fazlul Karim Qasimi as saying that no fatwa had been issued in the case.

TOI meanwhile carried a follow-up story on March 16 in its inside pages—“Assam teen singer defies fatwa, says I’m not afraid”. Significantly, however, Afrin was under the impression that she had been issued a fatwa when she first learnt about the matter.

The 16-year-old Class X student, who lives in Biswanath Chariali, a town in northern Assam, got to know about the so-called fatwa, only when “a few media people called up my father last night”. “I didn’t even know what a fatwa means,” she said. “For a few minutes, I thought I had done something wrong and I should give up singing,” she told the media.

However, she did find it in her to stand up against the albeit-less-official opinions of her community elders. “I am speechless. I think my music is God’s gift to me. I will never bow down to it (such rulings and warnings) and never leave singing,” she had said.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]

India News

What is SACHET, the app PM Modi mentioned in Mann Ki Baat?

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PM Modi on BJP Foundation day

During his Mann Ki Baat broadcast on Sunday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi highlighted the Sachet app, an innovative alert system developed by the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA).

Rolled out across India, Sachet harnesses geo-intelligence to provide near-instantaneous disaster warnings through diverse channels like SMS, web browser notifications, and RSS feeds.

The app’s website advises users to stay alert for SMS alerts marked with the “XX-NDMAEW” header. Beyond disaster alerts, Sachet offers weather updates and allows users to track multiple locations, delivering notifications directly to desktops or laptops. Subscribed entities, such as news outlets, can access alerts via RSS feeds to amplify public warnings.

The app has gained significant traction, with roughly 5.4 crore downloads in Uttar Pradesh, 4.6 crore in Delhi, and 1.1 crore in Maharashtra, underscoring its vital role in bolstering disaster readiness.

Modi praised Sachet as a testament to India’s use of technology to empower citizens, ensuring timely information to mitigate risks during emergencies.

The Prime Minister also addressed the tragic Pahalgam terror attack in Jammu and Kashmir on April 22, which claimed 26 lives, predominantly tourists, in the tranquil Baisaran valley.

The investigation has been handed over to the National Investigation Agency (NIA), with the Ministry of Home Affairs urging a swift probe into one of the region’s most lethal civilian attacks in nearly two decades.

The NIA, in a press release, outlined its approach: “Under the supervision of senior officers, including an Inspector General, Deputy Inspector General, and Superintendent of Police, our teams are meticulously interviewing eyewitnesses to piece together the chilling sequence of events.”

The agency is delving into granular details to identify the culprits, linked to The Resistance Front, an affiliate of the Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Taiba. As the NIA intensifies its efforts, the focus remains on securing justice and fortifying security, especially with the Amarnath Yatra scheduled to commence on July 3, a time when Kashmir expects a surge in visitors.

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NIA takes over Pahalgam terror attack case from J&K Police

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The National Investigation Agency (NIA) has assumed control of the investigation into the devastating Pahalgam terror attack, taking over from the Jammu and Kashmir Police to probe the April 22, 2025, assault that killed 26 tourists, including one Nepali citizen, and injured over three dozen others.

The agency registered a fresh First Information Report (FIR) late Saturday, April 26, following directives from the Ministry of Home Affairs’ Counter Terrorism and Counter Radicalisation (CTCR) division, prompted by the attack’s severity and the involvement of The Resistance Front (TRF), a proxy of the Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), which claimed responsibility.

Five days after the attack and four days after an NIA team, led by a Deputy Inspector General, visited the Baisaran meadow attack site near Pahalgam, the agency formally launched its probe. The team had initially supported local police in investigating what is considered the deadliest civilian attack in Jammu and Kashmir in nearly two decades.

The NIA is now tasked with conducting a comprehensive assessment, collecting forensic evidence, and identifying the perpetrators of the 2 p.m. massacre, which shattered the tranquility of a popular tourist destination. Helicopters were deployed to evacuate the wounded, underscoring the scale of the tragedy.

The attack coincides with a surge in tourist arrivals to Kashmir, raising concerns ahead of the 38-day Amarnath Yatra, set to begin on July 3. Against this backdrop, intelligence agencies have compiled a list of 14 local terrorists, aged 20 to 40, actively supporting Pakistan-based operatives with logistics and ground operations.

These individuals, affiliated with Hizbul Mujahideen, LeT, and Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM), include Adil Rehman Dentoo (LeT’s Sopore commander since 2021), Asif Ahmed Sheikh (JeM’s Awantipora commander since 2022), Ahsan Ahmed Sheikh (LeT, Pulwama, since 2023), Haris Nazir (LeT, Pulwama, since 2023), Aamir Nazir Wani (JeM, Pulwama, since 2024), Yawar Ahmed Bhat (JeM, Pulwama, since 2024), Asif Ahmed Khanday (Hizbul Mujahideen, Shopian, since 2015), Naseer Ahmed Wani (LeT, Shopian, since 2019), Shahid Ahmed Kutay (LeT/TRF, Shopian, since 2023), Aamir Ahmed Dar (LeT, Shopian, since 2023), Adnan Safi Dar (LeT/TRF, Shopian, since 2024), Zubair Ahmed Wani (Hizbul Mujahideen’s Anantnag commander since 2018), Haroon Rashid Ganai (Hizbul Mujahideen, Anantnag, trained in PoK in 2018), and Zakir Ahmed Ganie (LeT, Kulgam).

Security forces have intensified operations in South Kashmir, particularly Anantnag and Pulwama, targeting these operatives to disrupt terror networks. The NIA is also exploring links between these 14 individuals and five terrorists involved in the Pahalgam attack, including three Pakistani nationals—Asif Fauji, Suleman Shah, and Abu Talha—whose sketches were released earlier, and two local operatives, Adil Guri and Ahsan, with a ₹20 lakh bounty on each.

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Terrorists shoot dead social activist Ghulam Rasool in J&K’s Kupwara

His words underscore a growing international consensus on the need for collective action to address the scourge of militancy, particularly as India-Pakistan tensions flare.

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In a grim reminder of the region’s fragile security, suspected terrorists shot dead 45-year-old social activist Ghulam Rasool Magray in his home in Kandi Khas, Kupwara district, late Saturday night.

According to officials, the assailants fired at Magray inside his residence, and despite being rushed to a hospital, he was declared dead on arrival. The motive behind targeting the activist remains unclear, deepening the unease in a region still reeling from the recent Pahalgam terror attack.

Authorities have launched an investigation to uncover the circumstances and perpetrators of this brazen killing.

The murder follows the devastating Pahalgam attack on April 22, which claimed 26 lives, mostly tourists, and was attributed to The Resistance Front, a front for the banned Lashkar-e-Taiba. In response, security forces have escalated their crackdown on the terror ecosystem. On Saturday night, officials demolished the homes of three active terrorists across Jammu and Kashmir, signaling zero tolerance for militancy. In Shopian’s Wandina, the residence of Adnan Shafi, who joined terrorist ranks in 2024, was razed. In Pulwama, the house of Amir Nazir met a similar fate, while in Bandipora, the home of Jameel Ahmad Shergojri, a Lashkar-e-Taiba operative since 2016, was reduced to rubble. These actions reflect the government’s resolve to dismantle terror networks in the wake of escalating violence.

The Pahalgam attack has reverberated beyond India’s borders, drawing condemnation from Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian during a phone call with Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday, April 26. In a statement shared on X by Iran’s embassy in New Delhi, Pezeshkian labeled the attack “inhumane” and called for regional solidarity to combat terrorism. “Such tragedies compel nations to unite in empathy and cooperation to uproot terrorism and secure lasting peace,” he said. His words underscore a growing international consensus on the need for collective action to address the scourge of militancy, particularly as India-Pakistan tensions flare.

The killing of Magray comes amid heightened India-Pakistan friction, with New Delhi suspending the 1960 Indus Waters Treaty and Islamabad retaliating by closing its airspace to Indian airlines and threatening to suspend bilateral agreements. Cross-border skirmishes along the Line of Control have intensified, with the Indian Army reporting exchanges of fire for two consecutive nights

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