Chief Minister, Ms Mehbooba Mufti Saturday morning received the first batch of Hajj pilgrims at the Srinagar International Airport, who returned from Saudi Arabia after performing the Haj-e-Baitullah.Minister of State for Hajj and Auqaf, Syed Farooq Andrabi, Member Parliament, Nazir Ahmad Laway, Director General Police, K Rajendra Kumar, Divisional Commissioner Kashmir, Baseer Ahmad Khan, IGP Kashmir, Syed Javaid Mujtaba Gillani, Deputy Commissioner Budgam, Mir Altaf Hussain and other officers of Civil Administration and Police were present on the occasion.Ms Mehbooba welcomed and congratulated the Hajj pilgrims on their smooth performance of Arkan-e-Hajj during the Holy Pilgrimage.Hajj flights from Saudi Arabia to Srinagar will operate from September 24 to October 3, 2016 with two flights per day.As many as 6457 Hajis performed Hajj from Jammu and Kashmir this year. They were earlier flown in around 20 flights to Madina Munnawarra from Srinagar International Airport.Arrangements to facilitate hassle-free arrival of Hajj Pilgrims and subsequent smooth journey from the airport to their respective destinations have been put in place.