Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah said the damages in the state due the worst floods in more than a century would run into "many thousands of crores" but he would approach the Centre only after the final assessment is complete.
Former Union minister of state for external affairs and president of National Conference, Omar Abdullah has said India and Pakistan needed to rise above mutual mistrust and work together against terrorism.
Omar runs a shadow government, complete with military, religious and cultural councils, and has appointed officials and commanders to virtually every Afghan province and district, just as he did when he ruled Afghanistan, the Taliban claim, the New York Times reported on Monday.
National Conference president Omar Abdullah on Sunday evening met Jammu and Kashmir Governor N N Vohra in the winter capital Jammu and staked claim to form the government. Omar was earlier chosen as the leader of the NC legislature party and state Congress president Saif-ud-Din Soz and another senior party leader Chowdhary Mohammad Aslam met Vohra and handed over a letter pledging the party's support to the NC.
When Omar Abdullah took his first plunge into Kashmir politics in 1998, the odds were stacked heavily against him. Separatists were at their peak and the National Conference, founded by his grandfather, Sheikh Abdullah, almost 50 years ago, was seen as a stooge of New Delhi.
"The rotation issue did come up during the discussion but Congress President Sonia Gandhi was kind enough to understand the point of view that rotation was damaging to the state and created uncertainty and confusion," Omar told reporters in New Delhi when asked if there would be a set-up similar to the one in the previous Congress-Peoples Democratic Party government in J&K
The National Conference, which will head a coalition government with Congress in Jammu and Kashmir, is all set to join the United Progressive Alliance, Congress sources said on Friday. NC President Omar Abdullah, who will take oath as the new J and K chief minister on January five, has written to UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi expressing his party's desire to join the UPA. The NC has two members in the Lok Sabha.
In a statement, the state public health engineering minister, Taj Mohi-ud-Din on Monday said that 'the coalition government led by Omar Abdullah will continue its full term'.
Maintaining that peace along the borders is in interest of both India and Pakistan, Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Sunday asked Islamabad to act responsibly to ensure that there is no violation of ceasefire.
The area has been cordoned off and a hunt launched to nab the attackers.
Jammu and Kashmmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Wednesday hit out at Narendra Modi for his "lies" during public speeches and also dared him to speak about dynasty politics in states like Punjab and Maharashtra.
Union minister Raosaheb Danve has caused a flutter by saying if the Bharatiya Janata Party needs victory in the Aurangabad Lok Sabha constituency in Maharashtra in 2024, then it must ensure that All India Majlis e Ittehadul Muslimeen leader and sitting MP Imtiaz Jaleel contests the election next year.
Taliban supremo Mullah Mohammed Omar was spotted last week in Pakistani city of Quetta, said the Afghan president.
Omar also said he would never prefer horse trading to end the stalemate.
Addressing a function to observe the 105th birth anniversary of his grandfather and National Conference founder Sheikh Abdullah in Srinagar, the chief minister said that from day one his government had 'underlined the necessity of addressing political issues of the state in a political way.
Bhartiya Janata Party's top leadership has been trying to avoid queries on whether Payal Singh, wife of Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister and National Conference leader Omar Abdullah, is joining the party. Omar and Payal been estranged for a while now. Payal is living separately in New Delhi at Akbar Road and is trying to find a footing in the political sphere.
Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Thursday said there was no increased threat perception to this year's Amarnath yatra compared to previous years and fears of attack as reported in the media were "gross exaggeration".
Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abullah was summoned by Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh and Congress president Sonia Gandhi on Monday and pulled up for not including the 73rd and 74 amendments in the Panchayati Raj despite the fact he had earlier committed to do the same.
Israel's Shin Bet released footage on Wednesday of a Hamas terrorist describing his actions in Southern Israel during the October 7 onslaught.
The 68-year-old Argentine soccer great was rushed to hospital with inflammation of the pancreas.
Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Monday met Home Minister P Chidambaram, ahead of a crucial meeting of the Cabinet Committee on Security which will deliberate on the issue of partial withdrawal of the controversial Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act in the state. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Congress president Sonia Gandhi had a threadbare discussion with Cabinet colleagues and senior party leaders in the Congress Core Group on Friday on the issue.
Home Minister P Chidambaram on Monday backed Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah saying Bharatiya Janata Party leader L K Advani had attacked the CM without getting the "real context" of the remarks made by him on the issue of the state's accession to India.
With Prime Minister Narendra Modi skirting any statement on Article 370, Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Sunday said Bharatiya Janata Party is shying away from committing on this contentious issue and is instead keeping its "feet in two boats" in Jammu and Kashmir which normally ends up "sinking".
Dr Omar Khalidi, the Muslim scholar who passed away on Monday, worked tirelessly to lift a mirror for the Indian polity to reflect on its secular credentials and to the Muslim community about the human potential that lay within, says Altaf Makhiawala
The agencies were able to contact Omar after his number was found on the satellite phone of a top Taliban commander Mullah Mujahed, who was captured.
The National Conference leader suggested that the CM should take responsibility for the prevailing situation and lead the recovery process from the front.
Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Wednesday spoke to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh over phone and briefed him on the law and order situation in the Valley.
Taliban's elusive leader Mullah Omar has claimed that his fighters are near victory and has asked United States President Barack Obama to withdraw his troops 'unconditionally and as soon as possible.'
Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah said none of the persons involved in waving of ISIS flags in the city had any links to militancy.
Pakistan Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani on Tuesday said neither Al Qaeda chief Osama bin Laden nor Afghan Taliban leader Mullah Omar were present in Pakistan, a day after US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton' assertion that the Laden is still in the country.
As thousands of civilians affected by the Pakistani shelling in the RS Pura sector thronged to shelter camps, Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah accompanied by his team went on to inspect the lodging facilities and quality of food provided to them.
Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Sunday met Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh in Jammu and briefed him about the peace and development scenario prevailing in the state at present.
The meeting took place at Bill Clinton's request, according to a report.
Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah, who took his ministers to a remote town near Line of Control (LoC) on Wednesday, has said the next month's cabinet meeting will be held at another LoC town of Gurez in Bandipora district.
Voicing hope that President Asif Ali Zardari's visit would mark the start of a "sustained" process to resolve all issues between India and Pakistan, Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Sunday said it would be a "forward movement" if the Pakistani leader comes to Jammu and Kashmir.
Omar, who began his political journey in the state from this assembly seat in 2002 elections, had been advised by some of his party men to choose another constituency in the backdrop of his previous poll debacle. National Conference had emerged as the largest party in the last polls with 28 seats in the 87-member House but chose to sit in opposition.
Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah today took "total responsibility" for complete rout of the National Conference-Congress coalition in Lok Sabha polls in the state, and said the result was a "rude awakening" for those who wanted to wish away the Modi factor.
Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah had a miraculous escape on Tuesday night when the engine of his official vehicle caught fire filling the entire jeep with smoke.
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