Amid tension with Pak, media told to refrain from live coverage of defence ops
The ministry of information and broadcasting, in an advisory, contended that such reportage might inadvertently help hostile elements.
'In the interest of national security, all media platforms, news agencies, and social media users are advised to exercise utmost responsibility and adhere strictly to existing laws and regulations while reporting on matters concerning defence and other security-related operations,' the advisory said.
'Specifically: No real-time coverage, dissemination of visuals, or reporting based on 'sources-based' information related to defence operations or movement should be undertaken,' it said.
'Premature disclosure of sensitive information may inadvertently assist hostile elements and endanger operational effectiveness and the safety of personnel,' it said.
The advisory added, 'Past incidents have underscored the importance of responsible reporting. During events such as the Kargil War, the 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks, and the Kandahar hijacking, unrestricted coverage had unintended adverse consequences on national interest.
'Media, digital platforms, and individuals play a vital role in safeguarding national security. Apart from the legal obligations, it is a shared moral responsibility to ensure that our collective actions do not compromise ongoing operations or the security of our forces.
'No programme should be carried in the cable service which contains live coverage of any anti-terrorist operation by security forces, wherein media coverage shall be restricted to periodic briefing by an officer designated by the appropriate government, till such operation concludes,' it stated.
The ministry describes such telecast as violation of the Cable Television Networks (Amendment) Rules, 2021.
Pakistan ups deployment along Jammu border
Meanwhile, Pakistan has beefed up the deployment of Chenab Rangers along the 200-km border in Jammu region, people familiar with the development said.
'Pakistan has increased the presence of its men opposite Kathua, Samba and Jammu border. Additional deployment of men from 13 Chenab Rangers opposite Jammu and 14 and 26 Chenab Rangers opposite Samba and Kathua districts, respectively, have been made,' official familiar with the matter said, adding: 'Earlier, Pakistan posts opposite Jammu border had two to three Rangers but now their number has gone up to 10 to 12 in each post.'
The border in the region starts from Paharpur adjoining Kathua and runs up to Akhnoor sector in Jammu district.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Hindustan Times
4 hours ago
- Hindustan Times
Not a single religious structure has loudspeaker in Mumbai, says CM Fadnavis
MUMBAI: Chief minister Devendra Fadnavis declared on Friday that the city has been made loudspeaker-free. The police have removed 1,608 loudspeakers from religious structures in Mumbai alone. Out of these, 1,149 were used in mosques, 48 in temples, 10 in churches, four in gurudwaras and 147 in other religious establishments. Thane, India - May 04, 2022: A general view of a loudspeaker atop a mosque in Thane, Mumbai, India, on Wednesday, May 04, 2022. (Praful Gangurde/HT Photo) (HT PHOTO) He was responding to a debate over complaints made by BJP legislators about the daily use of loudspeakers in the state and police inaction. The law is equal for all and appeasement of any community must stop, said BJP MLA Sudhir Mungantiwar. In his response, Fadnavis said, 'Not a single religious structure has a loudspeaker in Mumbai.' The government has formulated a standard operating procedure for removing loudspeakers, which is being implemented across the state. He added that a compliance report was presented to the Bombay High Court, which was pleased with the action. 'We have started this in all districts in the state. A total of 3,367 loudspeakers have been removed from all the religious structures.' The police harmoniously removed all loudspeakers from religious structures in the last few months and registered no cases against anyone while doing so, he said. 'There is no resistance from any community. However, if someone resists or tries to reinstall, then the law will take its course.' To curb illegal use, he said the government plans to hold the local police station accountable if a religious structure in their jurisdiction is found to have an illegally installed loudspeaker. NCP legislator Sana Malik pointed out that the Noise Pollution (Regulation and Control) Rules (2000), which regulate noise levels and protect citizens from excessive noise, is outdated and needs revision. 'The ambient noise level is much more than what was determined in the rules in 1986. I request the state to recommend a revision in it,' she said. The CM agreed and stated that the state would make such a recommendation to the central government, which could then amend the relevant law. 'I agree with her point. The ambient noise level is very low in the rules. The government will conduct a study and make a recommendation based on its findings,' Fadnavis told the state assembly. He also assured the House that the police would not harass the pandals for using loudspeakers during the Ganeshotsav and other festivals as long as they abide by the decibel rules. Shiv Sena (UBT) legislator Aaditya Thackeray made this request.
Hindustan Times
4 hours ago
- Hindustan Times
Main intent behind PSA is to crush dissent: Mihir Desai
Mumbai: At an event to mark the 19th anniversary of a series of bomb blasts on local trains in the city, popularly known as the 7/11 blasts, senior advocate Mihir Desai on Friday questioned the motive of the state government after the Maharashtra Legislative Assembly passed the Maharashtra Special Public Security Bill on Thursday, and said the main intent behind it was to crush dissent. Senior advocate Mihir Desai (HT Photo) 'Laws like the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) already have provisions to ban an organisation. So what was the need for a new law,' Desai, who practises in the Bombay high court, asked. Organisations like the Popular Front of India (PFI) and the Students' Islamic Movement of India (SIMI) had been banned under the UAPA in the past, he said. 'But under the new law, if the government thinks you are an organisation, it can ban you.' It would not matter in such cases if the organisation was registered or unregistered, he mentioned. Though the Bill was purportedly targeted against 'urban naxals', it did not define who an urban naxal was, leaving scope for anyone to be implicated, Desai said. He said the new legislation was aimed at 'crushing dissent'. It was important to hit the streets and protest against the law, he noted, referring to massive protests in 2020 over the three farm laws which were eventually repealed by the central government. 'Such laws need to be protested against, so that they are taken back or at least, not misused,' the senior advocate said. Desai was speaking at an event organised by the Innocence Network founded by Abdul Wahid Shaikh, the only person acquitted by the special Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA) court in the 7/11 bomb blasts trial in 2015. Among twelve other accused convicted in the case, five men were sentenced to death while seven others were sentenced to life imprisonment. All twelve accused subsequently challenged their conviction before the Bombay high court, which reserved its judgment in the case after hearing both the prosecution and the defence at length. Shaikh Sohail, son of Mohamed Ali who was sentenced to life imprisonment, hoped his father would return home soon. 'We have faith in the judiciary. My father has been in jail for 19 years and we have faced great hardship in these years. We are hopeful that he will return home,' he said. Lawyers and relatives of the other accused read statements issued by their families, recounting their fight for justice over the past 19 years.
Hindustan Times
4 hours ago
- Hindustan Times
Land pooling for Amaravati put on hold
The Andhra Pradesh government has decided to put on hold the process for the pooling of around 42,226 acres of additional land for the second phase of Amaravati capital city development, following resistance from the farmers in the villages, officials familiar with the development said on Friday. Land pooling for Amaravati put on hold The decision was taken at the state cabinet meeting chaired by chief minister N Chandrababu Naidu on July 9. 'The pooling of additional land for the capital was to be decided by the cabinet, but it was decided to keep the decision in abeyance, as some ministers expressed apprehensions over the negative fallout of the decision,' an official of the municipal administration and urban development (MAUD) department, privy to the matter said. He said the cabinet decided to refer the matter to a group of ministers that is currently engaged in allotment of land to various entities in Amaravati capital city to 'talk to and convince the farmers.' It was only July 1 that state municipal administration and urban development principal secretary Suresh Kumar issued the gazette notification on Andhra Pradesh Capital Region Land Pooling Scheme (Formulation and Implementation) Rules – 2025. The notification was aimed at acquiring the required land from farmers belonging to 28 villages in four revenue blocks of Guntur and Palnadu districts around the present Amaravati capital region for the development of additional infrastructure projects like airport, railway lines and roads. It was proposed to acquire 7,257 acres from the farmers under the second phase of land pooling system in Tadikonda mandal (block), 10,878 acres in Thullur mandal, 19,504 acres in Amaravati mandal and 4,586 in Pedakurapadu mandal. 'The lands will be acquired from the famers after taking their written consent by conducting gram sabhas,' said Kumar. As per the notification, the authorities would invite objections and suggestions from the stakeholders and they must verify their ownership and rights, and then submit a surrender form. An APCRDA functionary confirmed that the conduct of gram sabhas in the villages where the land was proposed to be acquired was put on hold till further orders from the government. 'It is for the government to take a call on the additional land acquisition,' the functionary said. During the cabinet meeting, some of the ministers brought to the notice of the chief minister that the farmers were raising a lot of queries in the gram sabhas and opposing the additional land acquisition, even as the first phase of Amaravati work has just started, said the MAUD official quoted above. 'Let us first concentrate on completing the first phase of Amaravati in the next three years, which will create a positive image for the government. Till now, the farmers who gave away their lands to the first phase of the capital city project haven't got their returnable plots and there was no visible development of infrastructure in their layouts,' a cabinet minister said. Another minister pointed out that if the layouts in the first phase were completed and fully developed plots given to the farmers concerned, it would give some kind of assurance for the farmers in the surrounding villages. 'We can then think of pooling additional land for Amaravati 2.0,' he said.
