Student activist Afreen Fatima vows resilience in adversity
Prayagraj: Afreen Fatima, the student activist whose family home in Prayagraj was demolished following her father Javed Mohammed's arrest, expressed unwavering determination on Thursday, emphasizing that she and her community would not be silenced despite facing threats.
Javed and Fatima are affiliated with the Welfare Party of India, with Fatima serving as the national secretary of the Fraternity Movement, the student wing of the party. Javed was arrested as one of the alleged co-conspirators of the June 10 violence stemming from suspended BJP leader Nupur Sharma's comments about the Prophet.
Speaking at a press conference organized by the Fraternity Movement via Zoom, Fatima asserted, "I stand in absolute solidarity with all Muslim families whose houses have been demolished... Whatever has happened with my father, Janaab Javed Mohammed Sahab, and with my family and to our house, is known to everyone."
Despite acknowledging her family's relative privilege, Fatima expressed empathy for those less fortunate whose homes were also destroyed. She declared her family's refusal to be intimidated, stating, "No matter how much you try to scare and threaten us, or trouble us by putting us in jail, we will not keep quiet or be silenced, nor are we going to disappear from this country."
Fatima remained steadfast in her belief in her father's innocence, and her commitment to proving it. Javed's wife, Parveen Fatima, echoed this sentiment, emphasizing that the charges against her husband were baseless. The family's primary focus, she stated, was to substantiate Javed's innocence and secure his release.
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
Russian military hardware, spare parts for Indian military to be manufactured in India
New Delhi (PTI): Russia agreed to encourage joint manufacturing in India of military hardware and spare parts for maintenance of Russian-origin arms and defence equipment.
Ways to bolster overall bilateral defence cooperation figured prominently during summit talks between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday.
It has been a long-standing grievance of armed forces that the supply of critical spares and equipment from Russia takes a long time, affecting the maintenance of military systems procured from that country.
"Both sides agreed to encourage joint manufacturing in India of spare parts, components, aggregates and other products for maintenance of Russian origin arms and defence equipment under Make-in-India programme through transfer of technology," a joint statement said.
ALSO READ: India, Russia explore cooperation on small modular reactors, floating nuclear power plants
It said both sides also agreed to set up joint ventures for meeting the needs of the Indian armed forces as well as subsequent export to mutually friendly third countries.
The joint statement said the India-Russia defence partnership is being reoriented to take up joint co-development and co-production of advanced defence technology and systems.
In their meeting on Thursday, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and his Russian counterpart Andrey Belousov resolved to expand bilateral defence cooperation.
In the meeting, the Indian side showed keen interest in procurement of additional batches of S-400 missile systems from Moscow to bolster its combat prowess.
In October 2018, India signed a USD 5 billion deal with Russia to buy five units of the S-400 air defence missile systems, notwithstanding a warning by the US that going ahead with the contract may invite US sanctions under the provisions of Countering America's Adversaries Through Sanctions Act (CAATSA).
Three squadrons have already been delivered.
The S-400 systems played a crucial role during Operation Sindoor. India may also look at procuring the S-500 missile systems from Russia.
In the Modi-Putin talks, the two sides also agreed to continue jointly developing systems of bilateral trade settlements through the use of national currencies.
Additionally, the two sides agreed to continue their consultations on enabling the interoperability of the national payment systems, financial messaging systems, as well as central bank digital currency platforms.
Modi and Putin appreciated the ongoing intensification of the joint work on a free trade agreement on goods between India and the Eurasian Economic Union, covering sectors of mutual interest, the joint statement said.
They also directed both sides to intensify efforts in negotiations on a mutually beneficial agreement on the promotion and protection of investment, it said.
India and Russia also welcomed steps to ensure long-term supply of fertilisers to India and discussed the potential establishment of joint ventures in this area.
