AFSPA reimposed in Manipur's 6 police station areas, including strife-torn Jiribam
MHA says 'continuous volatile' situation'
New Delhi/Imphal, Nov 14: The Centre on Thursday reimposed the Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA) in Manipur's six police station areas, including the violence-hit Jiribam, with the Union home ministry asserting that the decision was taken given the "continuous volatile situation" there due to the ongoing ethnic violence.
The Central government notification on the reimposition of AFSPA came the same day the Manipur police announced the seizure of a cache of arms and ammunition from Manipur's Jiribam and Churachandpur districts.
During cordon and search operations in Champanagar, Narayanpur and Thangboipunjre areas of Jiribam district on Wednesday, one 2-inch mortar, thirty-six live barrel cartridges and five empty barrel cartridges were seized, a police statement said.
The police statement also said that one .303 rifle, one 9mm pistol, two short-range locally made cannon, two long-range locally made cannon, five AK 47 live rounds, two 9mm live rounds, four 12-bore cart cases, and eighteen .303 rifle modified live rounds were also seized from H Kotlian village in Churachandpur district.
An area or district is notified as "disturbed" under AFSPA to facilitate operations by the armed forces. AFSPA gives armed forces operating in disturbed areas sweeping powers to search, arrest and open fire if they deem it necessary for the "maintenance of public order".
The decision to reimpose AFSPA was taken given the continuous volatile situation there due to the ongoing ethnic violence, the Union Home Ministry said in the notification.
The police station areas where AFSPA has been reimposed are Sekmai and Lamsang in Imphal West district, Lamlai in Imphal East district, Jiribam in Jiribam district, Leimakhong in Kangpokpi and Moirang in Bishnupur.
On October 1, the Manipur government imposed AFSPA in the entire state, barring 19 police station areas that included these six.
The police stations excluded from the Manipur government's order were Imphal, Lamphal, City, Singjamei, Sekmai, Lamsang, Patsoi, Wangoi, Porompat, Heingang, Lamlai, Irilbung, Leimakhong, Thoubal, Bishnupur, Nambol, Moirang, Kakching, Jiribam.
The Manipur police on Monday said 10 suspected militants were killed in a fierce gunfight with security forces after insurgents in camouflage uniforms and armed with sophisticated weapons fired indiscriminately at a police station and an adjacent CRPF camp in Manipur's Jiribam district.
The suspected militants allegedly abducted six civilians, including women and children from the same district.
Also on Thursday, school and college students across the Imphal valley formed multiple human chains outside their respective educational institutions to protest against the alleged abduction.
Holding black flags and wearing black badges, the students raised slogans demanding immediate safe release of the six and called for action by the Central and State governments. The event was organised by COCOMI Students Front, a Meitei community outfit.
More than 200 people have been killed and thousands rendered homeless in ethnic violence between Imphal Valley-based Meiteis and adjoining hills-based Kuki-Zo groups since May last year.
The ethnically diverse Jiribam, which was largely untouched by the clashes in Imphal Valley and the adjoining hills, witnessed violence after the mutilated body of a farmer was found in a field in June this year.
The disturbed area declaration was in force in Manipur (except the Imphal municipality area) from 2004 till early 2022.
In April 2022, the Manipur government issued a notification where it said the disturbed area tag would no longer be applicable in seven police station areas of Imphal West district, four police station areas under the Imphal East district and one police station area each in the districts of Thoubal, Bishnupur, Kakching and Jiribam.
There are 16 districts in Manipur.
There have been protests and demands for the complete withdrawal of AFSPA from the northeast as well as Jammu and Kashmir for its alleged "draconian" provisions.
Manipuri activist Irom Chanu Sharmila fought against the law by being on hunger strike for 16 years, before ending it on August 9, 2016.
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Rajnath to top commanders: Outmaneuver adversaries with strategic surprise
Jaipur/New Delhi (PTI): Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Friday directed the top military commanders of the three services to integrate an "element of surprise" into modern warfare to outmaneuver India's adversaries and bolster strategic posture.
In his address at the joint commanders conference in Jaipur, Singh also described the Operation Sindoor as a testament to the "swift, precise, and joint response" of the Indian armed forces to safeguard national interests and called upon the military to remain ready to deal with any security challenges.
In their two-day deliberations, the commanders carried out a comprehensive review of the combat preparedness of the military in the wake of the evolving regional security situation.
Operation Sindoor was a demonstration of India's growing capabilities and a symbol of the nation's collective resolve and new military ethos, Singh said, a day after the first anniversary of Operation Sindoor.
He also unveiled a 'Joint Doctrine for Integrated Communication Architecture' that is aimed at strengthening doctrinal clarity, interoperability and integrated communications across the armed forces in future multidomain operations.
The joint commanders' conference, themed 'Military Capability in New Domains', brought together the top leadership of the defence ministry and the three services to deliberate on emerging security challenges and future readiness.
Comprehensive deliberations were held on future warfare, multidomain operations, technological transformation and joint capability development.
The conference witnessed extensive discussions on cognitive warfare, cyber resilience against evolving quantum and AI-enabled threats, military capability development in emerging domains, indigenous innovation and AI-enabled warfighting concepts.
It was attended by Chief of Defence Staff Gen Anil Chauhan, Chief of the Naval Staff Admiral Dinesh Kumar Tripathi, Chief of the Army Staff Gen Upendra Dwivedi, Chief of the Air Staff Air Chief Marshal AP Singh and Defence Secretary Rajesh Kumar Singh among others.
In his remarks, Singh asked the commanders to remain "future-ready" by learning from the operation as well as the current global security landscape.
He underscored the need to strengthen capabilities in artificial intelligence, autonomous systems, data analytics and secure communication networks to stay prepared in the rapidly evolving geopolitical security scenario. He emphasised that future conflicts will increasingly be shaped by hybrid threats, information dominance and operations conducted simultaneously across cyber, space, electromagnetic and cognitive domains, according to an official readout.
Highlighting the transformative impact of emerging technologies, Singh stressed on the importance of ensuring integrated national preparedness across all spectrums of conflict, it said.
Singh's remarks at the conference came a day after the first anniversary of Operation Sindoor.
The defence minister appreciated the progress achieved in enhancing jointness, integration and technological adoption across the three services, the readout noted.
Singh said that jointness constitutes a pivotal dimension within the transformative changes sweeping across the global defence sector.
"Future wars will not be won solely through weaponry, but through innovative thinking and enhanced synergy," he said.
The defence minister exhorted the commanders to cultivate the "element of surprise" to remain unpredictable to the nation's adversaries and secure a strategic edge in any given situation.
He, however, urged them to remain vigilant of the element of surprise of the enemy and always stay two steps ahead.
Singh also reiterated the Narendra Modi government's commitment to enhancing the capabilities of the defence forces through state-of-the-art weapons and platforms. He added that special focus is being laid on research in niche domains.
During the conference, he released a documentary film on Operation Sindoor.
The film reaffirms the nation's and defence forces' commitment to operational preparedness and decisive national response capabilities.
Demonstrations of advanced systems and platforms developed for intelligence fusion, operational planning and information management were also showcased during the conference reflecting growing integration of cutting-edge technologies into joint operational structures, according to the defence ministry.
The discussions will contribute significantly towards shaping India's future military transformation and integrated operational preparedness, it said.
