BJP Yuva Morcha activists protest against the film “Ae Dil Hai Mushkil”. PTI

New Delhi, October 22Senior Army officials and veterans were “upset” over the force being dragged into “politics” over films after the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) demanded that producers of movies employing Pakistani actors pay Rs 5 crore to an army welfare fund.The controversy erupted after Karan Johar’s ‘Ae Dil Hai Mushkil’ ran into a storm of protests led by MNS because Pakistani actor Fawad Khan has a role in it.

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The film has been allowed to be released after its producers met with three conditions put forward by MNS chief Raj Thackeray, including payment of Rs 5 crore to Army Welfare Fund.”All contributions (to welfare fund) are to be voluntary.Extortion is not allowed. We would want people to contribute on their own rather than under any coercion,” a senior army official said today.He said the army is “upset” over being dragged into this politics.”The army is completely apolitical. It is wrong to drag the force into politics,” another army official said.”(We) would never support it,” Lt Gen Syed Ata Hasnain (Retd), former military secretary, said when asked if he supports the move of the MNS.”Why should the armed forces be made a part of this extortion? By accepting this money they would become a ‘receiver’ of tainted money,” tweeted Air Vice-Marshal Manmohan Bahadur (retd).Army sources said they have a system in place to check all contributions and can even reject a contribution made under duress or by any person whom the force does not want to be associated with. — PTI

Islamabad, October 19

Amid Indo-Pak tensions, Pakistan’s media regulatory authority on Wednesday decided to enforce a complete ban on Indian TV and radio contents from Friday and warned that the licences of those found guilty of violating the ban will be suspended.

Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (PEMRA) decided to ban airing of Indian content from October 21 at the request of the federal government, it said.

“The ban will come into effect at 3 pm on October 21, and radio and television stations which violate the ban will have their licences suspended without a prior show cause notice,” PEMRA said in a statement.

The ban extends to all Indian content on cable and radio being aired in Pakistan.

The authority also decided to cancel one-sided rights given to Indian media by the government of former military dictator Pervez Musharraf in 2006.

PEMRA has already decided to get tough with Indian contents after complaints that most of the local channels were using more than 5 per cent foreign contents as allowed by it.

The regulator on August 31 said that strict action would be taken against the channels airing foreign content more than the prescribed limit and traders selling illegal DTH sets.

The decision was implemented from October 16 as PEMRA launched crackdown on those channels using foreign contents illegally.

Earlier in October, PEMRA granted its chairman Absar Alam final authority to revoke or suspend licences of companies illegally using Indian content.

Tensions have run high between India and Pakistan since the terror attack on an Indian Army base in Uri on September 18.

Later, India said it carried out “surgical strikes” across the LoC and destroyed terrorist launch pads on September 28.

Pakistan has denied any surgical strikes took place, but said two of their soldiers were killed in cross-border firing by the Indian Army. — PTI

Punjab CM will open the memorial and museum on October 23.

Vijay Mohan

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, October 18

When a 97-year-old British Army Colonel who had fought in World War II lands in Amritsar on October 21 for the inauguration of the Punjab State War Heroes Memorial and Museum, he would be carrying a rare regimental association with the erstwhile British Indian Army and the present-day Indian Air Force that goes back four generations of warriors.Col Tom Conway had served with the Guides Cavalry that was raised at Peshawar in 1846 and primarily recruited Sikhs, Dogras and Pathans. It is the same regiment in which Marshal of the Air Force (MAF) Arjan Singh’s grandfather and great-grandfather had reportedly served. The 97-year-old Grand Old Man of the Air Force, the sole officer at present to hold a five-star rank, has also been invited by the Punjab Government to the inaugural function scheduled for October 23, though his presence is not yet confirmed.MAF Arjan Singh’s father retired as a Risaldar from Hodson’s Horse. His grandfather Risaldar Major Hukam Singh served with the Guides Cavalry between 1883 and 1917 while his great-grandfather, Naib Risaldar Sultana Singh, was among the first two generations of the regiment who had enlisted in 1854, according to available historical records.The Guides Cavalry’s pre-Independence campaigns included the North West Frontier Province, Second Sikh War, Indian Mutiny, Second Afghan War and the two World Wars. Col Conway’s squadron was mechanised during World War II where he served as a tank commander in the Battle of El Alamein, fought in the deserts of Egypt during the North African Campaign.Accompanying Col Conway are Hugh Mackay and Richard Hill. Mackay is a co-trustee in the Sikh Pioneer and Sikh Light Infantry (LI) Regimental Association in the United Kingdom, whose father had served in 34 Royal Sikh Pioneer Regiment (now Sikh LI). Hill is secretary of the Commonwealth War Graves Commission that looks after graves and memorials of the World Wars.Col PS Bajwa (retd), Deputy Director, Defence Services Welfare, said the invitees would be treated as state guests.The war memorial will be inaugurated by Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal. The project coordinator, Maj Gen Raj Mehta (retd), said a team of 10 researchers have been toiling over the past two years to collect, document and compile historical facts in chronological order covering the martial history of the Greater Punjab area over the past 3,000 years that would be displayed along with artifacts and war trophies in the museum.

Brigadier Satinder Singh, deputy GOC of 25 Infantry Division, paying tribute to sepoy Sudees Kumar, who was killed after being hit by a sniper fire at LoC, in Rajouri on Monday.

Tribune News Service

Jammu, October 17

The Army, in its bid for civic-military partnership has initiated an e-literacy programme for 15 teachers at the Rashtriya Rifles Battalion based at Kalakote in Rajouri district.The four-week course will cover the broader aspects of elementary computer knowledge to include Windows operating system, MS Office, Internet and system management amongst others.The course themed “Train the Trainer” is being conducted by experienced staff from certified institutes. It is aimed at bringing a change in imparting education to rural students by embracing e-literacy and making students as well as teachers prepared for a challenging future.The teaching faculty of schools in the region expressed their gratitude to the Army for the course and said it would go a long way in maintaining the continuity of e-literacy in schools and help students sharpen their technical skills apart from connecting them with the outside world through the internet.

Tribune News Service

Srinagar, October 13

The Army stepped forward to facilitate peaceful processions through traditional routes as Muharram was observed with religious fervour and solemnity.An Army spokesman said in a show of solidarity and bonhomie the Army camps at Sumbal and Widdipora in Ganderbal district undertook a unique initiative to assist the mourners in every possible way.“The camp established various “sharbat” points for mourners taking part in the processions and also provided water tankers as a part of the processions. Medical camps were also set up for providing immediate medical aid to the mourners,” the spokesman said.

A soldier takes position near an Army Brigade camp during a terror attack in Uri, Jammu and Kashmir. PTI file photo

Baramulla/New Delhi, October 9

Pakistan-based terror outfit Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT) suffered the maximum damage in the cross-LoC surgical strikes on terror launch pads carried out by the Indian Army, with assessment reports of radio intercepts indicating that around 20 of its militants were killed.

The assessment reports available from Indian Army field units, which included radio conversations between various Pakistani formations, showed maximum damage was inflicted on the LeT, a banned terror group, at Dudniyal launch pad in Pakistan-occupied-Kashmir, opposite to Kupwara sector of North Kashmir, according to sources in the know of details of the recent surgical strikes.

The sources said on Sunday that five teams culled out from the Army division in the area were tasked to destroy launch pads of terror groups located at Kail, also known as Kel and Dudniyal.

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In a well calibrated operation, which started on the intervening night of September 28 and 29, the Indian Army moved across the LoC and smashed four launch pads that were under the guard of a Pakistani post located 700 metres from the LoC.

The sources said that the terrorists were not expecting an action by the Indian Army and therefore were taken by surprise.

The terrorists, mainly belonging to the LeT, were seen running towards the Pakistani post when they were killed by the Indian troops, according to the assessment reports.

After the successful strike inside the PoK, an effective radio monitoring and strict vigil was maintained, the sources said, adding the wireless messages from radio intercepts of the Pakistani Army indicated that at least 10 LeT terrorists had been killed during the multiple and near-synchronised surgical strikes on four launch pads.

There was heavy movement of Pakistani Army vehicles till the break of dawn and all the bodies were cleared off and taken away, the sources said, adding as per the radio intercepts there was a mass burial in the Neelum Valley.

Similar blow was dealt to the terrorist launch pads located at Balnoi area opposite of Poonch in which nine terrorists belonging to the LeT were killed as per the radio intercepts of the Pakistani Army, the sources said.

Two Pakistani soldiers belonging to 8 Northern Light Infantry were also killed in the strike in this sector, they said.

However, the sources said that post 8.30 am of September 28, radio and wireless intercepts between various formations of Pakistan have fallen silent.

According to the sources, there were intelligence reports that terrorists were planning to enter into India from various directions in Kashmir as well as Jammu region.

The sources said that the Army waited for the opportunity when the terrorists were in the process of gathering at one place before giving them a bloody nose.

Pakistan has contested the claims of the Indian Army and said that there was no surgical strike carried out. They only admitted that two of their soldiers were killed in cross-border firing.

However, after the operation was over, the sources said, duty officer at the Director-General of Military Operation in Pakistan was informed about the strikes carried out by the Indian Army in PoK.— PTI

The hand grenades recovered are ARGES 84 which are manufactured by Pakistan’s ordinance factories. Photo courtesy: Twitter handle @NorthernComd_IA

Srinagar, October 8

The Army on Saturday said Pakistani markings were found on grenades seized from four slain terrorists in Naugam sector of Kashmir on Thursday, confirming the complicity of the neighbouring country in abetting terrorism.“Pakistan Ordinance Factory markings on hand grenades (ARGES 84) and UBGL grenades seized from the terrorists confirms Pakistan’s complicity in abetting terrorism,” an Army spokesman said.

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“Pakistani markings are also seen on medicines and eatable items seized by the force,” he said.Four terrorists were killed in a gunbattle with the Army in Naugam sector on Thursday while they were trying to sneak into the Valley from Pakistan-occupied-Kashmir.He said highly inflammable material, including six plastic explosive slabs, six bottles of petroleum jelly, six bottles of inflammable liquid and six lighters were also seized.”Similar type of inflammable material was used at Poonch on September 11 and in the Uri attack on September 18. This shows the sinister design of Pakistan to aid terrorists is causing maximum destruction,” he added. — PTI

The meeting in Jaisalmer. Photo courtesy HMO India

Jaisalmer, October 7

India will completely seal its border with Pakistan by December 2018 by using effective means, including technological solutions, Home Minister Rajnath Singh said here today.  Proposing a border security grid, he said suggestions had been invited from all stakeholders, including states that shared borders with Pakistan.(Follow The Tribune on Facebook; and Twitter @thetribunechd)Speaking to the media after reviewing the security situation on the border with ministers and officials of four states, he said the government planned to seal the entire border with Pakistan by December 2018 and a proper monitoring mechanism would be in place for it.“This project will be periodically monitored by the Home Secretary at the Central level, the BSF from the security forces’ perspective and Chief Secretaries at the state level,” the Home Minister said. “In riverines and Sir Creek area in Gujarat, we will make use of technology to seal the border.”Rajnath chaired a meeting which was attended by Rajasthan CM Vasundhara Raje, Deputy CM of Punjab Sukhbir Singh Badal, Gujarat and Rajasthan’s Home Ministers and the Jammu and Kashmir Chief Secretary. — PTI

By making khoon ki dalali remarks, Rahul Gandhi has crossed all limits. He insulted the bravery of our soldiers, 125 crore people… question is why you (Cong) are not happy and proud of this (surgical strikes) —Amit Shah, BJP chief

It (sealing border) is sheer rhetoric since the India-Pakistan border is already adequately sealed with two-tier fencing and a flood-lit concrete area between the two fences.

 —Capt Amarinder Singh, PPCC Chief

Lieutenant General MM Naravane pays tributes to martyrs in Ambala Cantonment on Thursday. Tribune Photo

Ambala October 6

Kharga Corps of the Army today celebrated its 45th Raising Day here. To commemorate the occasion, a wreath was laid at the Kharga War Memorial by Corps Commander Lt Gen MM Naravane to pay homage to the martyrs.The Kharga Sainik Institute set up for junior commissioned officers, other ranks and their families was also inaugurated on the occasion.Talking to mediapersons, Naravane said the Corps was raised in Krishna Nagar, West Bengal, in 1971 by Lt Gen TN Raina, who later became the Army Chief, to carry out operations in the Eastern Theatre during the Indo-Pak War. It proved its mettle by capturing important towns of Khulna, Jessore, Jhenida, Magura and large swathes of territory between Ganges and Padma rivers. Subsequently, the Corps shifted to the western theatre where it was initially headquartered in Chandimandir and then moved to Ambala in 1985, he said. He said the sign of the Corps was the ‘Kharga’ or Scythe – the mythological weapon of Goddess Kali, which was adopted from a 200-year-old Kharga that was presented by the Raja of Krishna Nagar to the Corps on its raising.