Irfan Pathan and 100 other cricketers asked to leave Jammu & Kashmir
Srinagar, Aug 4: Kashmir remained on edge on Sunday as authorities stepped up security deployment at vital installations and sensitive areas amid heightened terror threat and flare up of hostilities with Pakistan along the Line of Control (LoC).
After the Jammu and Kashmir administration curtailed the Amarnath Yatra and asked pilgrims and tourists to leave the valley at the earliest on Friday, anxious residents continue to throng markets to stock on essentials and serpentine queues have been visible outside shops and fuel stations.
Former India all-rounder Irfan Pathan, the mentor of Jammu and Kashmir state teams who was in Srinagar to oversee the trials for the U-16 (Vijay Merchant Trophy) and U-19 (Cooch Behar Trophy) squads, has left Srinagar, along with the young players.
"We have for the time being postponed the second phase of junior team trials...since there has been a government advisory, I had a meeting with Jammu and Kashmir Cricket Association...Accordingly, it was decided that boys need to be sent back home," Pathan told PTI.
Various educational institutions also directed their students to vacate hostels.
Additional paramilitary forces, which arrived here last week, have been deployed across the city and in other vulnerable areas of Kashmir Valley, the officials said.
The strength of the security personnel has been increased around vital installations such as the civil secretariat, police headquarters, airport and various central government establishments in the city, they said.
Barricades have been erected on many arterial roads, including the entry and exit points to Srinagar, the summer capital of the state.
Riot control vehicles have also been kept on standby in some areas where apprehension of law and order disturbances is more, the officials added.
In Delhi, Union Home Minister Amit Shah held a meeting with top security officials on Sunday and is believed to have discussed the prevailing situation in Jammu and Kashmir, officials said.
The hour-long meeting was attended by National Security Advisor Ajit Doval, Union Home Secretary Rajiv Gauba and other senior officials.
The meeting came amidst fresh skirmishes between security forces of India and Pakistan along the border with the Army foiling an attack by BAT on a forward post along the Line of Control (LoC) in Keran sector, killing five to seven intruders.
The Indian Army has asked its Pakistani counterparts to approach them by raising white flags and take possession of bodies which are lying on the Indian side of the LoC.
The BAT generally comprises special forces personnel of the Pakistani Army and terrorists.
A civilian woman was killed in cross-LoC shelling in Gurez sector of Kashmir last week, while ceasefire violations by Pakistan were reported from several other areas of Kashmir close to the LoC.
Jammu and Kashmir Governor S P Malik has dismissed speculations that the Centre might be planning to do away with Article 35A of the Constitution, which gives exclusive rights to the state's residents in government jobs and land.
Political parties in J-K had expressed apprehensions about such action after the Centre deployed additional troops and curtailed the Amarnath Yatra.
The National Conference (NC) held a meeting of its Political Affairs Committee (PAC) where they expressed concern over the "uncertain and uptight" situation in Jammu and Kashmir. A spokesman said the party would fight any infringement upon the special constitutional position of the state. PDP president Mehbooba Mufti has called an all-party meeting at her residence on Sunday evening to discuss the situation.
Malik has urged political delegations led by National Conference leader Omar Abdullah and Mehbooba to tell their supporters to maintain calm and not to believe "exaggerated rumours" being circulated in the Valley.
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
UK imposes study visa bans on Afghanistan, Cameroon, Myanmar, Sudan
London (PTI): The UK on Wednesday imposed a study visa ban on four countries accused of using the route as a backdoor entry to seek permanent refuge in the country, as part of a wider clampdown on the soaring rates of asylum applications.
The so-called "emergency brake" on student visas applies to Afghanistan, Cameroon, Myanmar and Sudan, with Afghans also subject to a skilled worker visa ban following a major surge in asylum claims from these countries.
The move comes as UK Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood introduces new legislation in Parliament this week, with the visa brake to be introduced via an Immigration Rules change on Thursday to come into force on March 26.
"Britain will always provide refuge to people fleeing war and persecution, but our visa system must not be abused," said Mahmood.
“That is why I am taking the unprecedented decision to refuse visas for those nationals seeking to exploit our generosity. I will restore order and control to our borders,” she said.
According to official statistics released by the Home Office alongside the visa ban announcement, asylum applications by students from Afghanistan, Cameroon, Myanmar and Sudan rocketed by over 470 per cent between 2021 and 2025 – making them among the most likely nationalities to claim asylum.
Meanwhile, the number of Afghans on work visas claiming asylum now outstripping the number of visas issued.
In what has been described as an “unprecedented step”, the Home Office said it will end sponsored study visas from all four countries and skilled worker visas for Afghan nationals.
“Tough action is required as asylum claims from legal routes have more than trebled since 2021 – making up 39 per cent of the 100,000 people who applied last year. In total, 133,760 people have claimed asylum after arriving legally in the past five years,” the Home Office said.
It said these refugees end up having to be accommodated at the expense of the British taxpayer, with an “above average proportion” of people from the four countries claiming destitution.
“Asylum support is currently costing more than 4 billion pounds a year – with nearly 16,000 nationals from the four countries currently supported at public expense, including over 6,000 in hotels," it added.
According to official data, between 2021 and the year ending September 2025, the proportion of Afghan asylum claims to study visas issued was 95 per cent, applications by students from Myanmar soared 16-fold over the same period and claims by students from Cameroon and Sudan spiked by more than 330 per cent.
The government pointed to its success in reducing student asylum claims by 20 per cent over the course of 2025, but stressed that further action is needed as those arriving on study visas still make up 13 per cent of all claims in the system.
The visa ban announcement comes on the back of Mahmood's announcement earlier this week that asylum status in the UK will be temporary, to be reviewed after 30 months.
