Author: LokMarg

Actor Anushka Sharma is winning hearts with the latest Instagram post for her daughter Vamika.

On Thursday, Anushka, who is currently vacationing with husband Virat Kohli and daughter Vamika in the Maldives, took to Instagram and shared a glimpse of the little one’s stroller.

Alongside the image, mommy Anushka penned a sweet note, making a promise to Vamika.

“Will carry you through this world and the next and beyond my life,” she captioned the post.

A day ago, Anushka shared a photo with Virat where both of them could be spotted tanned and posing happily for the selfie.

Anushka looks pretty in a green dress and has accessorised her look with several golden necklaces. Virat, on the other hand, looks uber cool in a brown sleeveless t-shirt, showing off his tattoo.

Anushka and Virat got married in 2017 in Italy. Four years later, in January 2021, they entered into parenthood with the arrival of Vamika. (ANI)

On the occasion of Sonam Kapoor’s 37th birthday on Thursday, Bollywood celebrities took to their social media handles and sent warm birthday wishes to the soon-to-be ‘mother’ Sonam Kapoor.

Taking to Instagram stories, Kareena Kapoor Khan shared a glimpse of herself with her ‘Veere’ Sonam Kapoor from their film ‘Veere di Wedding’ and wrote, “Happy Birthday my Veere @sonamkapoor”.

Bollywood star Anushka Sharma also extended her birthday wishes and posted a picture of Sonam in an all white-attire. She wrote,” Happy Birthday Sonam! Wishing you love and light always”

Actor Ananya Pandey showered birthday love for Sonam. Sharing a photo of Sonam on her Instagram story, she wrote,” happiest of happies to the most beautiful biggest birthday hug @sonamkapoor” with a baby emoticon.

Bollywood diva Katrina Kaif penned a heartfelt wish for the ‘soon to be mom’ and wrote, “Happy happy birthday gorgeous soon to be mom! @sonamkapoor Wishing you lots of love and hugs”

Sonam’s ‘Bewakoofiyaan’ co-star Ayushmann Khurrana extended his wishes to his friend Sonam via an Instagram story, featuring him and Sonam in a throwback picture, he wrote, “Happy B’day Sonam”

Apart from other Bollywood celebrities, Sonam’s cousin brother and actor Arjun Kapoor wished his cousin sister Sonam in a unique way by sharing their throwback picture from childhood along with a special birthday note with it.

Sonam and Ahuja tied the knot on May 8, 2018, in a traditional Anand Karaj ceremony. She announced her pregnancy a few weeks back and is expecting her first child with her husband, Anand Ahuja this fall.

Meanwhile, on the work front, Sonam Kapoor Ahuja will be next seen in “Blind” directed by Shome Makhija, which also stars Purab Kohli, Vinay Pathak and Lillete Dubey in prominent roles. The film is expected to release later this year. (ANI)

For the first time, the pilgrims this year can avail of helicopter service directly from Srinagar for Amarnath Yatra, an annual Hindu pilgrimage in South Kashmir.

Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) has directed the Jammu and Kashmir administration to start the helicopter service for pilgrims directly from Srinagar to Panchtarni, the last stop point located at an elevation of 3,500 metres from where a six-kilometre trek takes pilgrims to the holy Amarnath cave, top official sources confirmed ANI.

The decision was taken considering the heavy tourist rush on the Amarnath Yatra route, said the source, requesting anonymity.

The helicopter facility was so far available for the pilgrims from Baltal and Pahalgam– the twin route to reach Amarnath temple– to reach Panchtarni from where pilgrims either walk or take help of ponies and palanquin facility.

Both Baltal and Pahalgam routes are about 61 kilometres from Amarnath Temple. The shorter route to Amarnath Temple is from Baltal which lies at a distance of 15 km from the holy cave and the pilgrims have an option to either travel by feet or by helicopter or ponies. However, the longer route from Pahalgam to Amarnath Temple is about 46 km which can also be covered either by trek, ponies, palanquin, or helicopters.

“With the beginning of helicopter service from Srinagar to Panchtarni will certainly reduce the time of those pilgrims who want to avoid visiting Pahalgam and Baltal by road to avail the facility,” said another official.

The move will add on a new route this year from Budgam, near the Srinagar airport, to Panchtarni.

“Expecting heavy rush of pilgrims as Amarnath Yatra is going to start after a gap of two years, the Central government has taken the decision to start the helicopter service from Srinagar,” the official told ANI.

The purpose behind the new helicopter route is to reduce the rush on road through Pahalgam and Baltal, which, in turn, will certainly be safe for pilgrims amid threats by terror groups to disrupt the pilgrimage, said another official.

As per agencies’ inputs, the security wing is concerned regarding the use of ‘sticky bombs’ by terrorists during the pilgrimage, and has tightened the vigil across Jammu and Kashmir to avoid any unprecedented incident during the pilgrimage.

For the safe and secure pilgrimage, special gadgets are learnt to be used by security personnel during the pilgrimage and drone services have been enhanced to keep a tab on each and every activity from a Centralised control room, said the official.

Besides, the source said, the number of drones are being increased during the pilgrimage and it is estimated that over 50 are to be used only on twin routes of Pahalgam and Baltal.

For the first time, another officer in the CRPF said, an “integrated” effort is being put across all forces concerned including Army, CRPF, Jammu and Kashmir Police, Jammu and Kashmir administration and Amarnathji Shrine Board members.

About three lakh pilgrims are likely to take part in the pilgrimage to the cave shrine located in the upper reaches of south Kashmir.

While online registration has already begun, the pilgrimage is scheduled to be held for 43 days between June 30 and August 11.

The Amarnath shrine pilgrimage to the 3,880-metre-high cave shrine of Lord Shiva is located in the upper reaches of the Himalayas. (ANI)

With the demise of India’s nightingale Lata Mangeshkar, a void has been created in her sister Asha Bhosle’s life that cannot be filled.

During an upcoming episode of ‘Naam Reh Jaayega’, Asha Bhosle will be seen paying tribute to Lata, who passed away on February 6 following multiple organ failure.

Asha Bhosle shared a few loving memories of her beloved sister on the show.

“Lata di once read that if you wash your parent’s feet and drink that water, you become very successful. So she asked me to get water, she got the plate, and washed their feet and asked us all to drink it like CharanAmrut. She used to believe that drinking that, will make us successful and I think it worked for us,” Asha Bhosle said.

Asha Bhosle said the life of Lata Mangeshkar had a lot of ups and downs. She revealed that her sister never asked for anything but only lived a simple life.

“Didi used to earn 80/- and we used to run our household in that money. We were 5 people, and we used to have many relatives who would visit us. Didi never said no to anyone, she used to believe in sharing. There were times we used to buy Kurmura (Puffed Rice) for 2 Annas and used to eat that with tea and sleep. We had no complaints, they were simply happy times,” she added, saying she still “can’t believe she is gone.’

“I still think I will get a call anytime saying ‘Asha, kashi aahes tu?’, shared Asha Bhosle.

In the 8 episodes show ‘Naam Reh Jaayega’, 18 of the biggest Indian singers including Sonu Nigam, Arijit Singh, Shankar Mahadevan, Nitin Mukesh, Neeti Mohan, Alka Yagnik, Sadhana Sargam, Udit Narayan, Shaan, Kumar Sanu, Amit Kumar, Jatin Pandit, Javed Ali, Aishwarya Majumdar, Sneha Pant, Pyarelal Ji, Palak Muchhal and Anwesha joined hands to pay tribute to the legendary Lata Mangeshkar. The show is conceived and directed by Gajendra Singh, Saibaba Studios. (ANI)

Putting Islamabad in a tight spot, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has asked Pakistan to renegotiate the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) energy deals before making payments of around Pakistani rupees 300 billion to the Chinese power plants.

The global lender has asked the government to treat the CPEC power plants at par with the power plants established under the 1994 and 2002 power policies, The Express Tribune reported citing sources. These plants had been set up under the CPEC framework agreement.

The IMF’s demand came after China’s refusal in the past to renegotiating the terms of agreements with the independent power producers (IPPs).

Citing sources, The Express Tribune reported that the IMF suspected that the Chinese IPPs might have been overcharging Pakistan and there was a need to reopen these deals.

The Mohammad Ali report on the IPPs had identified over payment of about Pakistani rupees 41 billion to the Chinese IPPs.

Quoting top officials in the Ministry of Finance The Express Tribune reported that the IMF had raised the issue of payments to the Chinese IPPs with their willingness to renegotiate the deals.

When contacted, Esther Perez, IMF’s Resident Representative, emphasised the need for equitable treatment of all power sector stakeholders due to the limited fiscal space.

“An important principle underpinning these (power sector) reforms is that all stakeholders contribute in an equitable manner to reduce the circular debt, between the government, IPPs and consumers, while protecting the most vulnerable consumers,” said Perez.

Perez added that in order to contain circular debt in the power sector, the government of Pakistan had engaged efforts to reduce the cost of power generation as part of a broad power sector reform strategy, including in concluding renegotiations of the capacity payment terms with over 30 IPPs last year.

She added that a number of partners of Pakistan were supporting those reforms, including the World Bank and the IMF. (ANI)

A Delhi court on Thursday has extended till June 13, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) custody of Delhi Health Minister Satyendar Jain in an alleged money laundering case.

Earlier today, Jain was produced before the Rouse Avenue District Court after nine days of ED custody after his arrest on May 30.

Meanwhile, the Delhi Health Minister today filed a bail application through his lawyer in court.

After the hearing, Jain was taken to the hospital for a medical check-up, as he complained of medical issues.

Special Judge Geetanjali Goel extended the remand of Delhi Health Minister Satyender Jain till Monday. The court said, “He will be produced on Monday at 10.30 am.”

ED had sought an extension of Jain’s custody for five days in order to confront him with evidence and documents recovered during the custody period.

Additional Solicitor General (ASG) SV Raju for ED submitted that during the remand they have conducted eight searches of premises of Lala Sher Singh memorial trust where Satyender Jain was president.

However, Jain has denied that he was part of the trust during interrogation.

Notably, during the search conducted on June 7, the ED has said it seized various incriminating documents and digital records.

The ED said that the total movable assets were seized from an “unexplained source” and were “found to be secreted” in the raided premises.

More than Rs 2 crore in cash and gold weighing 1.8 kg were seized by the ED after raids against Jain and those linked to him, in a money laundering case. The ED has submitted that Jain was not cooperating in the interrogation. “He takes a very long time to write his statements,” Raju submitted.

On the other hand, Senior Advocates Kapil Sibal and N Hariharan opposed the extension of the remand saying that the recoveries are not connected with Jain. “ED has not asked any question about the gold and jeweler in the last two days,” they submitted.

“ED doesn’t have the jurisdiction to investigate the new recoveries. They should have informed the other agencies for investigation of the same,” senior advocates submitted before the court.

They submitted that the alleged money laundering offence was finished at the moment when the Agricultural land was attached by the ED.

They also argued that Jain always cooperated in the investigation. “He was called by ED many times and his statements were recorded.”

The investigation has been underway since 2017 and the minister was arrested on May 30.

Jain’s counsel also opposed the contention of ED that Jain and his wife were connected with any trust. The court inquired from Satyender Jain about his health and whether he was taking food properly during custody, to which he replied that he doesn’t take food without going to the temple, “therefore he is taking fruits”.

Jain also informed the court that despite health problems, he Jain is cooperating in the investigation.

“ED officials waste time, they don’t ask me anything for hours. Now they are saying that I don’t know how to write. I am a Minister and I know how to write,” Jain said.

The Minister also said that he was not asked about the recovery of gold and cash, even after he asked them to question him on it.

“After reading the news of recoveries of gold and cash, I had asked the officials to ask me about that. They didn’t ask me anything. Now they are saying that there is a need to interrogate about the recoveries,” Jain said before the court.

He was sent to ED custody from May 31 till June 9. He was arrested in a money laundering case connected with Disproportionate Asset (DA) case registered by CBI. (ANI)

Congress leader and former Karnataka chief minister Siddaramaiah has sparked a controversy by comparing Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leaders to dogs.

“When I talk individually, 25 people from BJP start barking against me like Mudhol (hound) dogs. But when they bark, only I have to speak, no one else from our party speaks,” said Siddaramaiah, speaking at an event in Mysore on Wednesday.

“Our people don’t talk, and that’s why we have distributed books from our office,” said Siddaramiah.

The former chief minister also participated in a protest by the Karnataka Congress at the Vidhan Soudha against the alleged “saffronisation” of textbooks in the state and that their protests would continue till the government rolled back the revised textbooks.

“The textbook has been revised by Rohith Chakrathirtha (head of the textbook revision committee), who is an orthodox RSS man. I hope the government will consider revising it, if not, we will go to the streets,” said Siddaramaiah in Bengaluru earlier today.

Mudhol Hound, also known as Caravan Hound, is commonly used by villagers in Karnataka for hunting and as guard dogs.

The Karnataka government textbook revision committee set up in 2020 headed by writer Rohith Chakrathirtha, recently revised social science textbooks from Classes 6 to 10 and Kannada language textbooks from Classes 1 to 10. (ANI)

In yet another incident of atrocity against minorities in Pakistan, a Hindu temple was attacked by some extremists in Karachi, Sindh province of the country.

The incident took place at the Korangi Number 5 area of the country’s port city. The Shri Mari Mata Mandir, which also houses the residence of the Hindu priest, was attacked late on Wednesday, triggering fear among the Hindu community.

A violent mob attacked the house of the priest and vandalised the idols. No arrests have been made by Pakistan police so far.

The idols were brought by the priest a few days ago to be installed in the under-construction temple.

“We don’t know who has attacked and why,” The Express Tribune newspaper quoted a local Hindu resident as saying.

Eyewitnesses say six to eight individuals on motorcycles attacked the complex. “Five to six unknown suspects entered the temple and escaped after vandalising it,” said Korangi SHO Farooq Sanjrani.

Police said that they are collecting the evidence adding that they cordoned off the area and provided protection to the community.

Temples in Pakistan are often the target of mob violence. Last October, a historical temple located in Sindh’s Kotri was desecrated by unidentified people.

Activists say human rights in Pakistan records have touched a new low with several media reports and global bodies reflecting the dire situation for women, minorities, children, and media persons in the country.

In Sindh, forced conversions and attacks on minority communities have become even more rampant.

Forced conversion of minor Hindu, Sikh, and Christian girls, always under duress, has become an increasingly common phenomenon in the country. (ANI)

As the countdown for the Amarnath Yatra has begun, security personnel deployed in Jammu and Kashmir, especially those in Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF), will be equipped with high-tech gadgets being used “first time” during the annual pilgrimage of Hindus amid specific concern regarding the use of “sticky bombs” by terrorists, sources said.

The names of these special gadgets, which are withheld due to security reasons, are learnt to be used for some specific purpose, said a source in security wind requesting anonymity, adding that “these gadgets include some of them manufactured by Israel”.
Besides, the source said, the number of drones for surveillance is being increased during the pilgrimage and it is estimated that over 50 are to be used only on twin routes of Pahalgam and Baltal.

For the first time, another officer in the CRPF said, an “integrated” effort is being put across all forces concerned including Army, CRPF, Jammu and Kashmir Police, Jammu and Kashmir administration and Amarnathji Shrine Board members.

Meanwhile, the officer said security agencies are concerned over terrorist groups possessing “sticky bombs” — explosives that can be attached to vehicles and detonated remotely — and are reshaping their standard operating procedure for the pilgrimage which is all set to start on June 30 after a gap of two years.

The inputs came during the interrogation of arrested terrorists and their sympathisers and other evidence which suggests that while some “sticky bombs” have been recovered by security forces, many of them may have found their way into terror groups in Kashmir Valley, said the officer.

“As the sticky bombs can be only used in unattended civilian vehicles, the message is being circulated not to leave any vehicle unattended,” said the officer.

About three lakh pilgrims are likely to take part in the pilgrimage to the cave shrine located in the upper reaches of south Kashmir.

It has been decided that vehicles of pilgrims as well as of security forces will be secluded during their movement, some other officials, privy to the development said.

“Instructions have also been issued to the security forces as well as those managing the pilgrimage not to leave vehicles unattended.”

The ‘sticky bombs’ emerged on the terror scene in February last year in Kashmir when these were recovered from the Samba of the Jammu region, indicating the initiation of a new phase of terrorism in the union territory.

It was the first such recovery of “sticky bombs”, used largely in Afghanistan and Iraq. In India, it was used by suspected Iranian terrorists who targeted the vehicle of an Israeli diplomat in February 2012, resulting in injury to his wife.

Sticky bombs, which were also used by the British forces during World War II, can be put on any vehicle and detonated through remote control or an in-built timer, the officials said.

However, online registration for Amarnath Yatra 2022 has started on April 11 and the Home Ministry has already sanctioned over 200 companies of Central Armed Police Forces (CAPFs) for the purpose to provide security during the pilgrimage.

While online registration has already begun, the pilgrimage is scheduled to be held for 43 days between June 30 and August 11.

The Amarnath shrine pilgrimage to the 3,880-metre-high cave shrine of Lord Shiva, located in the upper reaches of the Himalayas, is held from the twin routes of Pahalgam and Baltal.

The J&K government had cancelled the annual Amarnath pilgrimage due to the prevailing Covid-19 situation in 2020 and 2021 after a discussion with Amarnathji Shrine Board members. (ANI)

Pakistan’s former Member of the National Assembly (MNA) and popular television host Amir Liaquat, 49, passed away in Karachi under mysterious circumstances, local media reported on Thursday.

The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leader was found unconscious at his home in Khudad Colony and shifted to a private hospital in a critical condition.

According to reports, Liaquat felt discomfort on Wednesday night, however, he refused to go to the hospital, reported Pakistan’s local media outlet Geo TV.

Javed, Liaquat’s employee said a scream was heard from Liaquat’s room Thursday morning. The room was locked from the inside. When there was no response from the other end, his domestic staff broke down his room’s door.

Afterwards, the doctors said that Liaquat was dead when he was brought to the hospital. Police initiated an investigation into Amir Liaquat’s death. The police also conducted a search at his home in Karachi’s Khudadad Colony.

Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) East said the police will also obtain CCTV footage to gather and ascertain the facts which led to the death of the PTI leader. As Liaquat’s death occurred under mysterious circumstances, the police authorities have decided to conduct a post-mortem.

As per the East SSP, the police examined Liaquat’s house and everything was in place.

The police cordoned off his bedroom after collecting evidence. Police said that the family’s permission has been acquired for an autopsy after which a report will be prepared on the cause of death.

Furthermore, the statement of Amir’s driver Javed will also be taken by the police as he is the one who informed the police about the incident. A time for Liaquat’s funeral prayers will be announced later, Geo News reported. (ANI)