SOURCE: Al Jazeera

Earlier this month, Indian-administered Kashmir lost its most powerful voice demanding freedom from New Delhi’s rule: Syed Ali Shah Geelani. Geelani died on September 1 after a prolonged illness at his residence in the main city of Srinagar, where he had been under house arrest for years. He was 92.

For decades, Geelani headed the Kashmiri separatist group, All Parties Hurriyat Conference (APHC), which campaigns for either the region’s merger with Muslim-majority Pakistan or the creation of an independent nation out of the Himalayan territory. Fearing a mass funeral procession over the iconic leader’s demise, Indian authorities “snatched his body” shortly after his death and hurriedly buried it in at night – without even the presence of his family members.

SOURCE: PTI

The Indian Army is continuously monitoring the situation in the country’s neighbourhood and is ready to meet any security challenge that comes its way, Army Chief General M M Naravane said on Wednesday. Addressing the AIMA National Management Convention, the Chief of Army Staff noted that the army is prepared to tackle even a dual-front war if the need arose. He highlighted that the Indian Army was making rapid strides in changing itself from being a manpower intensive army to a technologically empowered one in order to keep an edge over opponents. “We always continue to do a regional and environmental scan and based on that scan we do keep reviewing what threat perceptions could be.

Based on those threat perceptions, we recalibrate our possible responses. “That is always work in progress and we will always be prepared to meet whatsoever security challenges that come due to this changed situation,” Gen Naravane stated.

SOURCE: PTI

The United States has ruled out adding India or Japan to the recently created security partnership with Australia and the United Kingdom in the Indo-Pacific popular as AUKUS. On September 15, US President Joe Biden, Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison and British Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced the trilateral security alliance AUKUS under which Australia would get a fleet of nuclear-powered submarines.

“The announcement of AUKUS last week was not meant to be an indication, and I think this is the message the President also sent to (French President Emmanuel) Macron, that there is no one else who will be involved in security in the Indo-Pacific,” White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki told reporters at her daily news conference on Wednesday. France had criticised its exclusion from the alliance, saying it reflects a lack of coherence when common challenges are being faced in the Indo-Pacific region.

SOURCE: TIMES NOW

Jammu and Kashmir Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha on Wednesday categorically stated that for him the government money is like ‘Gau maas’ and he will ensure that each penny is used for J&K’s benefit. Addressing an event, Sinha lambasted the ones criticizing his decision to end the ‘Darbar Move’ – the 149-year-old tradition in Jammu and Kashmir. The Lt Governor said that a huge racket was going on under the garb of ‘Darbar Move’ which needed to be ended.

“It’s being said that stopping Darbar Move will affect J&K’s economy. There was a huge racket that wanted it to continue as some people were making huge amounts of money from the practice. Now it’s been converted into e-office so there is no need to shift hundreds of files twice a year. For me, government money is like ‘Gau Maas’, and every penny will be used for J&K’s benefit.,” Sinha was quoted by ANI as saying.

SOURCE: ZEE NEWS

Yogesh Ramanathan, founder and CEO of Vinata Aeromobility, said his company hopes to perform flight trials of their hybrid-electric flying car by 2023 and make it available for commercial flights by 2025.  At present, they have the proof-of-concept for their technology and a scaled-down model is ready. Their designs show a 1-ton-weighing, two-seater vehicle that resembles a quadcopter. The company says that their vehicle is designed to carry a payload of 250 kgs, at a top speed of 120kmph, with a 60-minute flight time endurance, while being powered by both bio-fuel and batteries. 

In a conversation with Zee media, Yogesh elaborated on the plans of his company and the flight path that lay ahead for them.  

SOURCE: PTI

Setting aside the acquittal of a Pakistani national of the charge of spying in India, the Uttarakhand High Court today held him guilty and ordered his arrest. The Pakistani national had been acquitted by a sessions court and had been residing in Roorkee. He could not go back to Pakistan as he did not have the required travel documents, including a passport.

Hearing a petition by the state government challenging his acquittal by the sessions court, Justice Ravindra Maithani said there is enough evidence against Pakistani national Abid Ali alias Asad Ali alias Ajit Singh, a resident of Lahore, for espionage in India.

SOURCE: INDIA TODAY

Asocio-religious organisation of Kashmiri Pandits in Jammu has decided to build a memorial dedicated to community members who were killed by terrorists in the early 90s. The foundation stone of the memorial was laid down last week. Speaking to India Today, president of Mata Bhaderkali Asthapan Trust, Dileep Pandita, said no one knows about the sacrifices of Kashmiri Pandit. He said successive governments have failed to give due recognition to Kashmiri Pandits were were killed by terrorists.

“Kashmiri Pandits, who were assassinated by the terrorists, are the unsung heroes. The present and coming generations need to know about their sacrifices. That’s why we decided to build a memorial for them on our own. We hope to complete the construction work in the next two years,” said Dileep Pandita.

SOURCE: INDIA TODAY

An encounter broke out between security forces and militants in Chitragam village of South Kashmir’s Shopian district in the early hours of Thursday.

One militant, named Anayat Ahmad Dar, was killed in the encounter, the Jammu and Kashmir police said. It is the same area where a civilian was injured by militants late on Wednesday evening. It is believed that the same militants have been trapped by the forces.

SOURCE: PTI

 A combing operation launched in Uri sector by the Army after it detected suspicious movement along the Line of Control entered its fourth day on Wednesday, but telephone and internet services have been restored, officials said. The operation was launched on the night of September 18, and all telecommunication facilities in the border town were suspended on Monday as a precautionary measure, they said.

A defence spokesperson here said the search operation were going on but refused to give out details. Officials said one soldier had sustained injuries in “initial contact” with the adversary near the fence along the LoC, which had prompted the massive search operation to ensure that the infiltrators, if any, do not get to the hinterland.

SOURCE: ZEE NEWS

Former Nagaland Governor RN Ravi resigned as the Centre’s interlocutor for Naga peace talks on Wednesday (September 22). The Ministry of Home Affairs informed that it accepted his resignation with immediate effect. “Shri RN Ravi’s resignation as interlocutor for the Naga peace process, submitted by him today, has been accepted with immediate effect by Government of India,” a home ministry spokesperson was quoted as saying by PTI.

Ravi currently serves as the Governor of Tamil Nadu. Ravi was leading the peace negotiations with the Nagaland insurgent group NSCN-IM since 2014. He continued his role as the interlocutor even after he was appointed the governor of Nagaland in July 2019.

SOURCE: ANI

Terrorists on Wednesday opened fire on a civilian in Jammu and Kashmir’s Shopian, the police said. The area has been cordoned off and searches in the area are underway. The police have identified the civilian who is a shopkeeper and a resident of Dangerpora Chitragam Kalan.

According to the police, the civilian has suffered gunshot injuries in his leg and was rushed to a nearby hospital for treatment where his condition is said to be stable. “Today at about 9:45 pm, the Shopian Police received information about a terror crime incident in at Chitragam Kalan area of Shopian where terrorists had fired upon a civilian. Senior Police officers reached the terror crime spot,” the statement issued by the J-K police read.

SOURCE: ET

The biggest military order placed on the private sector – a deal to manufacture new transport aircraft for the air force – is set to be signed on Thursday, with the location for the manufacturing plant now being finalised. The Rs 22,000-crore deal is part of a series of initiatives to promote the private sector in defence manufacturing.

Sources said that the deal with Tata – Airbus is likely to be signed on Thursday, two weeks after it was given a go ahead by the Cabinet Committee on Security. The signing is likely to include top officials from Tata and Airbus besides the ministry of defence.

SOURCE: Swarajya

Over the years, several cybersecurity investigations have highlighted China’s state-sponsored hacking campaign, targeting foreign governments, businesses and intellectual property. Recently, a probe by United States’ Massachusetts-based cybersecurity company has revealed that the latest targets of the Chinese cybercriminals include an Indian government agency and one of the biggest media organisations in the country.

American cybersecurity company Recorded Future, as India continues to be a target of hostile cyber activities carried out by Chinese state-sponsored hacking, has identified “suspected intrusions” targeting the Indian media house Bennett Coleman And Co Ltd (BCCL), also known as the Times Group, which publishes the Times of India; the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI), which contains the private biometric information of more than 1 billion citizens of India — the identification database also known as Aadhaar — and the Madhya Pradesh Police department.

SOURCE: WION

Hours after Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, a close ally of Pakistan, raked up the Kashmir issue in his address at the UN General Assembly world leaders’ summit in New York, India called for respecting UNSC resolutions on Cyprus.

In his address on Tuesday, Erdogan said, “We maintain our stance in favour of solving the ongoing problem in Kashmir for 74 years, through dialogue between the parties and within the framework of relevant United Nations resolutions.” Last year also, Erdogan in his pre-recorded video statement to the General Debate, had made a reference to Jammu and Kashmir—a disputed region between Indian and Pakistan.

SOURCE: ZEE NEWS

The designated committee in J&K UT for scrutinizing and recommending cases under Article 311(2)(c) of the Constitution of India recommended the dismissal of 6 employees from the Government service for having terror links and working as overground workers (OGW).