Key Points

In August 2019, the Central Government, led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, repealed Article 370 of the Indian Constitution, effectively ending the special status given to Jammu and Kashmir and bifurcating the state into two Union Territories - Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh.

"The Union Home Minister visited Jammu and Srinagar recently. I had a good meeting with him. I am hopeful that Jammu and Kashmir will regain the status of a state," Omar Abdullah told reporters here.

Last week, Union Home Minister Amit Shah visited Jammu and Kashmir and chaired a high-level security review meeting in the Union Territory to assess the current law and order scenario.

Jammu and Kashmir CM also said that the National Conference has filed a petition in the Supreme Court to challenge the new Waqf Act.

"We have approached the Supreme Court. We will see what the court decides on it," Abdullah said.

The Waqf (Amendment) Act, 2025, came into force on April 8 (Tuesday).

Meanwhile, other organisations have also approached the Supreme Court, raising similar concerns about the Act's implications.

All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) Member of Parliament Asaduddin Owaisi, Congress MPs Mohammad Jawed and Imran Pratapgarhi, AAP MLA Amanatullah Khan, MP and President of the Azad Samaj Party Chandra Shekhar Azad, Samajwadi Party MP from Sambhal Zia Ur Rehman Barq, President of the Islamic cleric's body Jamiat Ulema-i-Hind Maulana Arshad Madani, Kerala Sunni scholars' body Samastha Kerala Jamiatul Ulema, Social Democratic Party of India, Indian Union Muslim League, and NGO Association for Protection of Civil Rights have already approached the top court against the Act.

- ANI