Visakhapatnam Feb 26 PTI Union Minister of State for Defence Ajay Bhat said here on Saturday that India was committed to tackle maritime challenges through a collaborative and regulation-based system to foster growth in coastal nations Addressing Naval officers from friendly nations after inaugurating the Multilateral Naval Exercises MILAN-2022 at the Eastern Naval Command here Bhat noted that not only securing trade but also promoting development and mutual cooperation was the specific responsibility of coastal nations Free trade navigational independence and flying independence over international seasIndia always stands hand-in-hand with other nations through a collaborative and regulation-based system Building a strong foundation for security of oceans is the need of the hour the Union Minister said MILAN would help in strengthening mutual ties among maritime nations he said Bhat said India was also committed to tackling the various maritime challenges and strengthening maritime security in the Indian Ocean region Chief of Naval Staff Admiral R Hari Kumar noted that terrorism arms smuggling piracy drug trafficking illegal migration and natural disasters became the major challenges in the maritime domain that affected all of us To address these challenges we need to work as onebuild inter-operability and enhance mutual cooperation Admiral Hari Kumar said Observing that the path to future was paved with friendships and common purpose he said MILAN would further augment ties between India and other friendly nations and take them to the next higher level The Union Minister of State for Defence released a First Cover on the occasion depicting ships exercising in close quarter signifying the essence of MILAN PTI DBV SS SS

Srinagar Nov 18 PTI The Hurriyat Conference on Thursday called for a shutdown on November 19 in support of the families of the two civilians killed in the Hyderpora encounter demanding justice for the victims and return of their bodiesA controversy has erupted over Mondays encounter in Hyderpora following conflicting claims about the two deceased as their family members contested the polices charge that they were terror associatesThe Hurriyat Conference in a statement said the Hyderpora encounter has stunned the people of Kashmir Since most leaders and political activists are either in jails or under house detention to protest such inhumanity Hyderpora encounter and in solidarity with the devastated families of the slain civilians and their demand that the bodies of their loved ones be returned to them for burial people should observe a shut down on Friday on their own it saidAccording to the police Mohammad Amir of Famrote village in Ramban was a militant and was killed along with his Pakistani accomplice in the Monday evening encounter in Hyderpora where an illegal call centre and a terror hideout were allegedly being runTwo civilians -- Altaf Bhat and Mudassir Gul -- were also killed in the firing triggering an angry reaction from their family who claimed they were innocent and not linked to militancyThe family members of two civilians staged a sit-in at the Press Enclave in Srinagar on Wednesday and held a candlelight vigil after the daylong protest They were forcibly removed from the site by police around midnight and a few of them were detained officials said on ThursdayOn Thursday the Jammu and Kashmir administration ordered a magisterial probe into the Hyderpora encounterLieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha said in a tweet A magisterial inquiry by an officer of ADM rank has been ordered in Hyderpora encounter The government will take suitable action as soon as the report is submitted in a time-bound manner J-K admin reiterates its commitment of protecting lives of innocent civilians and it will ensure there is no injustice PTI MIJ NSD

Jammu Nov 17 PTI PDP President Mehbooba Mufti on Wednesday led a strong protest here against the civilian killings by security forces and demanded handing over of bodies of the deceased to their families The former chief minister said since the Armed Forces Special Powers Act AFSPA has been in force there has been no accountability for the killings of the innocents Four people including two civilians were killed in a gunfight by security forces on Monday evening during an anti-terror operation According to the police Haider a Pakistani terrorist and his local associate Mohammad Amir along with two civilians - Altaf Bhat and Mudassir Gul - were killed in the encounter in Hyderpora locality where an illegal call centre and a terror hideout were allegedly being run Inspector-General of Police Kashmir range Vijay Kumar claimed that Gul was an active associate of militants and was running the call centre on premises owned by Bhat who was killed in cross-firing with the terrorists He expressed regret over Bhats death but said he would be counted among the harbourers of militants Mohammad Amirs father Latief Magray a resident of Gool area of Ramban district has refuted the official claim that his son was a militant Holding a placard that read Stop killing us probe Hyderpora killings end impunity and handover bodies to families Mehbooba along with party activists and leaders staged a protest against these killings outside the partys Gandhi Nagar headquarters A strong posse of policemen stopped the protesters from moving towards the main road Mehbooba told reporters that the families of the slain civilians are holding protests in Srinagar and demanding handover of their bodies This cruel government is not even handing over the bodies after killing people They BJP want to convert this nation of Gandhi Nehru and Ambedkar into a country of Godse What else can I say the PDP leader said Asked about the IGPs claim of there being digital evidence against those killed she said If they had prior evidence why the police did not arrest them as they have been doing on a daily basis Whenever anybody gets killed in their firing they dub him an Over Ground worker and that is wrong Since the AFSPA has been in force there has been no accountability and no ones been answerable she said They are innocent civilians and their families are denied even performing of their last rites she added Referring to a previous incident of fake encounter in which three youths were killed she said the security agencies made the claim of having digital evidence even then but the reality is that they have no evidence Three orchard labourers were killed in a staged encounter in Amshipora village of Shopian on July 18 2020 In another incident this January Athar Mushtaq a class 11 student was killed along with two other youths in Lawaypora Srinagar Mushtaqs father disputed the claim that his son was a militant and demanded an SIT probe into the matter Mehbooba is scheduled to return to Srinagar later in the day after completing her five-day tour of Jammu PTI TAS AB VN VN

Srinagar : Kin of a terrorist killed in an encounter at Srinagar, said that he was used as a ‘human shield’ and has no links with the militant group. A civilian was also killed in the encounter that took place late Monday. On Monday night the family of the civilian named Mohammad Altaf, staged protests demanding his body to be handed over. For the last two years, police in Kashmir do not hand over the bodies of militants killed in encounters to the family for last rites citing their funerals create a law and order situation.