There is no term as &quot;martyr&quot; or &quot;shaheed&quot; in the Army or the police and instead, a soldier or a policeman killed in action is called a &quot;battle casualty&quot; or &quot;operations casualty&quot; respectively, the ministries of defence and home have submitted before the Central Information Commission.

The issue surfaced after an RTI applicant approached the Union home ministry seeking to know the meaning and detailed definition of word &quot;shaheed&quot; (martyr) according to the law and the Constitution.

He also asked about the legal provisions to ensure restriction on its misuse and punishment for violation.

The application was transferred to different officials of the home and defence ministries but when the applicant could not get a satisfactory response, he approached the CIC, the highest appellate body in matters relating to the Right to Information Act.

The respondents from the ministries of defence and the home affairs were present and heard, Information Commissioner Yashovardhan Azad said.

&quot;The respondent from the Ministry of Defence stated that word &#39;shaheed&#39; or &#39;martyr&#39; is not used by the MoD. Instead the one used is &#39;battle casualty&#39;. The respondent from the Ministry of Home Affairs stated that in the MHA the word used is &#39;operations casualty&#39;,&quot; Azad said.

Quoting the submissions, he noted that the decision to declare cases of &#39;battle casualty&#39; and &#39;ops&#39; were taken after a report of a court of inquiry in both the matters.

&quot;After hearing the respondents and the perusal of the record, the commission finds that the averments made by both the respondents have duly explained the correct usage of the terms and directs the respondents to send a revised reply to the appellant accordingly,&quot; he said.&nbsp;

A soldier or a policeman killed in action is called a 'battle casualty' or 'operations casualty' respectively, the ministries of defence and home have submitted before the Central Information Commission

There is no term as "martyr" or "shaheed" in the Army or the police and instead, a soldier or a policeman killed in action is called a "battle casualty" or "operations casualty" respectively, the ministries of defence and home have submitted before the Central Information Commission. The issue surfaced after an RTI applicant approached the Union home ministry seeking to know the meaning and detailed definition of word "shaheed" (martyr) according to the law and the Constitution. He also asked about the legal provisions to ensure restriction on its misuse and punishment for violation. The application was transferred to different officials of the home and defence ministries but when the applicant could not get a satisfactory response, he approached the CIC, the highest appellate body in matters relating to the Right to Information Act. The respondents from the ministries of defence and the home affairs were present and heard, Information Commissioner Yashovardhan Azad said. "The respondent from the Ministry of Defence stated that word 'shaheed' or 'martyr' is not used by the MoD. Instead the one used is 'battle casualty'. The respondent from the Ministry of Home Affairs stated that in the MHA the word used is 'operations casualty'," Azad said. Quoting the submissions, he noted that the decision to declare cases of 'battle casualty' and 'ops' were taken after a report of a court of inquiry in both the matters. "After hearing the respondents and the perusal of the record, the commission finds that the averments made by both the respondents have duly explained the correct usage of the terms and directs the respondents to send a revised reply to the appellant accordingly," he said.

No term like 'martyr' or 'shaheed' in our lexicon: Government

The Saudi-led coalition carried out two air strikes on the defence ministry in Yemen&#39;s rebel-held capital Sanaa late today, witnesses and rebel media said, without reporting casualties.

Warplanes continued to circle in the skies above Sanaa after the strikes, the witnesses added.

The Huthi rebel media outlet Al-Masirah also reported the two air strikes. There was no word of any casualties.

The coalition has targeted the defence ministry in the past, leaving it heavily damaged, but the fresh strikes come amid a ratcheting up of tensions between Saudi Arabia and its rival Iran, which backs the Huthi rebels.

The coalition shut down Yemen&#39;s borders earlier this week after Saudi forces on Saturday intercepted a ballistic missile fired by the Huthis near the Riyadh airport.

The rebels have threatened additional attacks on Saudi Arabia and its coalition partner the United Arab Emirates in response to the blockade.

The United Nations said today that the coalition is still blocking desperately needed UN aid deliveries to Yemen despite the re-opening of the Yemeni port of Aden and also a land border crossing.

This week, UN aid chief Mark Lowcock warned the Security Council that, unless the blockade was lifted, Yemen would face &quot;the largest famine the world has seen for many decades, with millions of victims&quot;.

The world body has listed Yemen as the world&#39;s number one humanitarian crisis, with 17 million people in need of food, seven million of whom are at risk of famine.

More than 2,000 Yemenis have died in a cholera outbreak now affecting nearly one million people.

Saudi Arabia and its allies intervened in neighbouring Yemen in March 2015 with the stated aim of rolling back Huthi rebel gains and restoring the government of President Abedrabbo Mansour Hadi to power.

The Huthis continue to control the capital Sanaa and much of Yemen&#39;s north.

The conflict has left more than 8,650 people dead, including many civilians. (AFP)

Warplanes continued to circle in the skies above Sanaa after the strikes, the witnesses added

The Saudi-led coalition carried out two air strikes on the defence ministry in Yemen's rebel-held capital Sanaa late today, witnesses and rebel media said, without reporting casualties. Warplanes continued to circle in the skies above Sanaa after the strikes, the witnesses added. The Huthi rebel media outlet Al-Masirah also reported the two air strikes. There was no word of any casualties. The coalition has targeted the defence ministry in the past, leaving it heavily damaged, but the fresh strikes come amid a ratcheting up of tensions between Saudi Arabia and its rival Iran, which backs the Huthi rebels. The coalition shut down Yemen's borders earlier this week after Saudi forces on Saturday intercepted a ballistic missile fired by the Huthis near the Riyadh airport. The rebels have threatened additional attacks on Saudi Arabia and its coalition partner the United Arab Emirates in response to the blockade. The United Nations said today that the coalition is still blocking desperately needed UN aid deliveries to Yemen despite the re-opening of the Yemeni port of Aden and also a land border crossing. This week, UN aid chief Mark Lowcock warned the Security Council that, unless the blockade was lifted, Yemen would face "the largest famine the world has seen for many decades, with millions of victims". The world body has listed Yemen as the world's number one humanitarian crisis, with 17 million people in need of food, seven million of whom are at risk of famine. More than 2,000 Yemenis have died in a cholera outbreak now affecting nearly one million people. Saudi Arabia and its allies intervened in neighbouring Yemen in March 2015 with the stated aim of rolling back Huthi rebel gains and restoring the government of President Abedrabbo Mansour Hadi to power. The Huthis continue to control the capital Sanaa and much of Yemen's north. The conflict has left more than 8,650 people dead, including many civilians. (AFP)

Saudi-led strikes hit defence ministry in Yemen capital: Witnesses

Afghan security forces killed the last surviving gunman more than 10 hours after a complex attack that began with a car bomb in central Kabul, interior ministry spokesman Sediq Sediqqi said today.&nbsp; 
 
&quot;Forty-two people including 10 foreigners were rescued,&quot; the ministry spokesman said on Twitter, confirming at least one fatality in the attack. Three assailants were gunned down by the security forces. 
 
In the message posted on Twitter, he said the forces had killed all those involved in Monday night&#39;s attack in the Share Naw area of Kabul.&nbsp; 
 
Series of explosions in Kabul&nbsp; 
 
The attack on a charity called Pamlarena (meaning &#39;care&#39; in Pashto) began hours after a bomb exploded in Kabul and a Taliban double bombing killed at least 41&nbsp;people and left 110&nbsp;others wounded.&nbsp;A plume of smoke rose over the upscale neighbourhood of Shar-e Naw after the attack began when a third massive explosion jolted the Afghan capital late Monday. 
 
No militant group has so far claimed responsibility for the raid on the charity, but it comes as the Taliban ramp up their nationwide offensive against the US-backed government. 
 
The toll from Monday&#39;s twin suicide attacks on the defence ministry in&nbsp;Kabulwas revised up to 35 dead, including a general and four other officers and 103 wounded, ministry spokesman Mohammad Radmanesh said today.&nbsp; 
 
The attack on defence ministry&nbsp;apparently aimed at inflicting mass casualties. 
 
Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said on Twitter that the defence ministry was the target of the first attack, while police were targeted in the second.&nbsp;The second blast struck just as soldiers, policemen and civilians hurried to help the victims of the first explosion, which occurred on a bridge near the ministry. 
 
Condemning the attack, President Ashraf Ghani said,&nbsp;&quot;The enemies of Afghanistan are losing the fight in the ground battle with security forces. That is why they are attacking, highways, cities, mosques, schools and ordinary people.&quot; 
 
The uptick in violence in the capital comes as the Taliban escalate nationwide attacks, underscoring the worsening security situation since NATO forces ended their combat mission at the end of 2014.&nbsp; 
 
The latest bombings&nbsp;come more than a week after 16 people were killed when militants stormed the American University of Afghanistan in Kabul, in a nearly 10-hour raid that prompted anguished pleas for help from trapped students. 
 
(WION with inputs from agecies)&nbsp;

Hours-long siege of Kabul charity ends; Taliban twin suicide attack on defence ministry leaves at least 41 dead

Afghan security forces killed the last surviving gunman more than 10 hours after a complex attack that began with a car bomb in central Kabul, interior ministry spokesman Sediq Sediqqi said today. "Forty-two people including 10 foreigners were rescued," the ministry spokesman said on Twitter, confirming at least one fatality in the attack. Three assailants were gunned down by the security forces. In the message posted on Twitter, he said the forces had killed all those involved in Monday night's attack in the Share Naw area of Kabul. Series of explosions in Kabul The attack on a charity called Pamlarena (meaning 'care' in Pashto) began hours after a bomb exploded in Kabul and a Taliban double bombing killed at least 41 people and left 110 others wounded. A plume of smoke rose over the upscale neighbourhood of Shar-e Naw after the attack began when a third massive explosion jolted the Afghan capital late Monday. No militant group has so far claimed responsibility for the raid on the charity, but it comes as the Taliban ramp up their nationwide offensive against the US-backed government. The toll from Monday's twin suicide attacks on the defence ministry in Kabulwas revised up to 35 dead, including a general and four other officers and 103 wounded, ministry spokesman Mohammad Radmanesh said today. The attack on defence ministry apparently aimed at inflicting mass casualties. Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said on Twitter that the defence ministry was the target of the first attack, while police were targeted in the second. The second blast struck just as soldiers, policemen and civilians hurried to help the victims of the first explosion, which occurred on a bridge near the ministry. Condemning the attack, President Ashraf Ghani said, "The enemies of Afghanistan are losing the fight in the ground battle with security forces. That is why they are attacking, highways, cities, mosques, schools and ordinary people." The uptick in violence in the capital comes as the Taliban escalate nationwide attacks, underscoring the worsening security situation since NATO forces ended their combat mission at the end of 2014. The latest bombings come more than a week after 16 people were killed when militants stormed the American University of Afghanistan in Kabul, in a nearly 10-hour raid that prompted anguished pleas for help from trapped students. (WION with inputs from agecies)

Three explosions in Kabul in one day leave dozens dead

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