Eid celebrated in Jammu region amid tight security
Jammu (PTI): Eid-ul-Fitr was celebrated with religious fervour and traditional gaiety across the Jammu region on Monday amid tight security arrangements, with a large number of people gathering at different eidgahs to pray for peace.
Eid-ul-Fitr marks the end of the period of fasting, prayer and charity during the holy month of Ramzan, culminating in an occasion for festivities, joy and togetherness.
On the eve of Eid, Jammu and Kashmir Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha and Chief Minister Omar Abdullah greeted the people on the Union Territory.
On Monday, the largest congregation was held at the eidgah on Residency Road in Jammu, followed by the Mecca Masjid and the Jama Masjid Khatikan Talab, where hundreds of Muslims offered Eid prayers in the morning.
Muftis and religious scholars spoke about the significance of the day, explaining the philosophy behind the customary sacrifice.
"I want to extend my wishes to everyone on Eid, the festival of happiness. There's a tradition in Jammu where people come together during religious functions," Mufti Anayat Tullah, head priest of the Jama Masjid in Jammu, said.
Emphasising the love and brotherhood among various communities in Jammu, he said, "I hope this bond of love continues. I want to appeal to everyone -- do not fall into the trap of those spreading hate."
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Tahawwur Rana being brought to India in special flight: Sources
New Delhi, Apr 9 (PTI): Mumbai terror attack accused Tahawwur Rana is likely to be brought to India in a special flight on Thursday after all hurdles for his extradition were removed by the US, people familiar with the matter said on Wednesday.
Rana, 64, a Canadian national of Pakistani origin, was lodged in the Metropolitan Detention Centre in Los Angeles.
A multi-agency team has gone to the US and all paperwork and legal issues are being completed with US authorities to bring him to India, they said.
Rana is being brought to India after his last-ditch attempt to evade extradition failed as the US Supreme Court justices rejected his application.
"You are all aware that the US Supreme Court has rejected his plea. As far as extradition of Rana is concerned, at this point, I do not have an update," External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said.
"We will provide you an update at an appropriate time," he said while replying to a question during his weekly media briefing.
Rana is known to be associated with Pakistani-American terrorist David Coleman Headley, one of the main conspirators of the 26/11 attacks.
On November 26, 2008, a group of 10 Pakistani terrorists went into a rampage, carrying out a coordinated attack on a railway station, two luxury hotels and a Jewish centre, after they sneaked into India's financial capital using the sea route in the Arabian Sea.
As many as 166 people were killed in the nearly 60-hour assault that sent shockwaves across the country and even brought India and Pakistan to the brink of war.
In November 2012, Ajmal Amir Kasab, the lone surviving gunman among the Pakistani group, was hanged to death in Yerawada Jail in Pune.
At a joint press conference with Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the White House in February, President Donald Trump announced that his administration has approved the extradition of a "very evil" man "to face justice" in India.
In his emergency application, Rana had sought a "stay of his extradition and surrender to India pending litigation (including exhaustion of all appeals) on the merits of his February 13 petition."
In that petition, Rana argued that his extradition to India violates United States law and the United Nations Convention Against Torture "because there are substantial grounds for believing that, if extradited to India, the petitioner will be in danger of being subjected to torture."
