Labbaik Allahumma Labbaik…Two Million Hajjis pray for world peace, Unity of Ummah

Labbaik Allahumma Labbaik… Chanting “Labbaik Allahumma labbaik (Here I am, O Lord here I am!) around two million Hajj pilgrims entered the plain of Arafat Thursday morning to cry and supplicate for the atonement of their sins and hoping for the acceptance of their Hajj pilgrimage. All eyes were watery and all lips parched beseeching Almighty Allah to forgive all their sins, asking favors and bounties from Allah for a disunited and incoherent Ummah. Standing on Arafat is the climax of Hajj rituals and the pilgrims will now proceed to…

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Lighter school bags for students govt sets up panel

The J&K Government has constituted a committee of experts to suggest steps to reduce the weight of schoolbags of students. In an order issued by the Secretary of School Education Department, Farooq Ahmad Shah, the government has constituted a four-member committee of educational experts to look into ways to help reduce the weight of schoolbags. The committee members include former Head of Department, Commerce, University of Kashmir, AG Madhosh, former college principals Nusrat Andrabi and Abdul Jabbar, and secretary of Jammu and Kashmir Board of School Education Veena Pandita. The…

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High Alert in Valley; Intelligence Warns of Fidayeen attack by Jaish-E-Mohammad

After years of lying low, the terror group Jaish-e-Mohammad is has taken the centre stage now. The security forces in Jammu and Kashmir have also intercepted communications indicating possibility of major fidayeen attacks in the Valley around Eid-ul-Azha festivities beginning on 2 September. A high alert have been sounded in the Valley. Jaish is believed to have no more than 40 terrorists in the valley and lags behind Hizb-ul-Mujahideen and Lashkar-e-Toiba in terms of manpower. However, Jaish is supposed to be more aggressive in strategy and audacious strikes. The Jaish,…

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Jammu airport awaits runway expansion, passengers at risk

Land acquisition: Airports Authority of India yet to get approval of Defence Ministry Putting the lives of hundreds of passengers on risk, the Airports Authority of India (AAI) is waiting for the Defence Ministry’s approval to take over 17 acres since February, which is delaying the expansion of runway at the Jammu airport. The airport that requires at least 8,000-feet-long runway as per the aircraft landing in the winter capital has a 6,700-feet-long runway, which is posing a serious threat to passengers travelling to Jammu. Due to the short length…

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Omar Abdullah asks PM Modi to fulfil Independence Day resolve

‘Let Centre come forward, help Jammu and Kashmir come out of its difficulties’ Former Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Thursday recalled Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s outreach to the people of the state on Independence Day, saying “a hope had been rekindled and time had come to translate his resolve into action by making a real difference on the ground”. Winding up his five-day visit to the border districts of Poonch and Rajouri, the National Conference working president, while referring to the Prime Minister’s statement that the persistent issue could be…

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Shoppers throng markets, but Overpricing, Traffic jams play spoilsport

While markets across Kashmir witnessed an increased hustle and bustle on Thursday ahead of Eid-ul-Adha or the festival of sacrifice on Saturday, massive traffic jams across the summer capital Srinagar, especially in the evening hours, caused a huge inconvenience to commuters. Massive traffic jams were witnessed at Pantha Chowk, Dalgate, Lal Chowk, Raj Bagh, Sonwar, MA Road and various other areas of the city on Thursday. While traffic in various parts of the city plied fairly smoothly till the afternoon, massive traffic jams were seen during the evening hours, much…

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Panun Kashmir hatching conspiracies against State’s interests: Er Rasheed

‘Organization doesn’t represent Kashmiri Pandits’ Reacting sharply to what he called self styled Kashmiri Pandit Organization (Panun Kashmir) president Ashwani Kumar Chrangoo’s demand “to abrogate Article 370 and 35-A from Indian constitution”, AIP chief and MLA Langate Er Rasheed Thursday said organizations like Panun Kashmir do not represent the sentiments of Kashmiri Pandit community. In his statement, Rasheed said: “Chrangoo should apologize for his meaningless, irresponsible and anti-state remarks and he needs to read the history to understand the significance of Article 35-A or Article 370.” Rasheed said: “The claim…

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