NEW DELHI: BSF trooper Tej Bahadur Yadav is back with a fresh video.

Yadav, whose self-shot videos about bad quality food served to jawans went viral, has now appealed to Prime Minister Narendra Modi for support, saying he is being mentally tortured as he exposed corruption in the force.

“The new video started circulating on WhatsApp around five days ago. Now, it has found its way to social media. The video was shot when his wife went to meet him in Jammu, following a petition in this regard in the Delhi high court. The curtains shown in the video are the ones put on the windows of the Jammu guesthouse where the meeting took place in the second week of February,” said a senior Border Security Force (BSF) official.

The Union home ministry has taken serious note of the fresh video put out by Yadav, with a senior official terming it “gross indiscipline”.

In the new video, the BSF trooper alleges that his phone was taken away on January 10 and may have been tampered with to show that he has contacts in Pakistan.

“Please don’t trust these rumours and believe only when I put out a video,” he says. He also complained that his voluntary retirement application has been cancelled.

However, the BSF official said Yadav’s phone was taken away as part of the court of inquiry proceedings because it is material evidence.

“When his wife went to meet him, she presented him a new phone that he is using. No work has been assigned to him and there are no restrictions on his movement also. There is due process of inquiry and his voluntary retirement application cannot be processed now due to pending inquiry against him,” said the official.

The video appears to be edited and captioned, indicating a professional effort behind it.

DISGRUNTLED JAWAN’S CASE

Our Correspondent

KANGRA, March 1

The Indo-Oman joint Army exercise Al Nagah-II 2017 will be conducted from March 6 to 19 in the Dhauladhar ranges at Bakloh in Chamba district.This is the second joint military exercise. The first one was held in Oman in January 2015.Disclosing this today, Lt Col Manish Mehta, a Defence spokesperson, said the troops had been drawn from one Infantry battalion each from the Indian Army and the Royal Army of Oman. Approximately 60 troops from both countries would participate in the exercise, he added.Lt Col Mehta said the aim of the exercise was to build and promote bilateral military relations and enhance inter-operability while exchanging skills and experiences between the Army and the Royal Army of Oman. He said an added aim of the exercise was to qualitatively enhance the knowledge of each other’s military procedures, thus increasing the scope for inter-operability and better responsiveness to a common threat.He said the Indian troops had undergone extensive training on rock craft, slithering, counter-terrorism or low-intensity conflict operations in addition to tactical drills of close cordon and house intervention drills to fulfil the mandate of the joint exercise.He said the 14-day exercise with the Royal Army of Oman was scheduled to be conducted in multiple modules in order to achieve complete integration between the two contingents at every stage. The vast experience and expertise gained by the Indian troops in counter insurgency operations held special importance to the Oman Army. The joint exercise would, therefore, set the stage for greater defence cooperation between the two nations, he disclosed.

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BJP leader Ishfaq-ur-Rehman Poswal meets Army Chief General Bipin Rawat in New Delhi on Monday. Tribune Photo

Tribune News Service

Jammu, February 27

BJP leader Ishfaq-ur-Rehman Poswal met Army Chief General Bipin Rawat in New Delhi today and urged him to organise a special recruitment drive for Gujjar and Bakerwal youths in the country and raise a ‘Gujjar regiment’ to fight Pakistan-backed militants and anti-India extremist forces, particularly in J&K.“In absence of jobs, these youths who are living close to the border are vulnerable to traps of militants who have been luring and engaging them as their over-ground workers (OGWs) to create disturbance, drug trafficking or narco-terrorism in the country,” Poswal said in a letter written to the Army Chief.“Last month, the police established Pakistan’s role in spreading ‘narco-terrorism’ in the strife-torn Jammu and Kashmir after six persons were caught transporting drugs valued at millions of rupees from across the border in Kupwara district,” he said. Powal urged the Army Chief to organise a special recruitment drive in the Army for Gujjar youths for a ‘Gujjar regiment’ so that youths of this ignored community could be offered a chance to fight militants and anti-India forces.The BJP leader said a large population of people living in remote areas had not participated in any violent activity, such as stone-throwing or anti-India protests, in the two decades of turmoil in the state.“However, most of these people do not have any permanent source of income and also lack other means of sustenance. In such a scenario, I submit to you that a general recruitment drive in the Army should be organised in these specified areas to engage a large number of educated but jobless youths in the Army so that their youthful energy can be utilised in a positive way,” he said.Poswal, who is national executive member of party’s ST Morcha, said the educational qualification for ST youths in the Army recruitment should be middle pass and for the general category, it should be matriculation.“A large number of Gujjar and Bakerwal youths in Poonch, Rajouri and Doda districts should be offered an opportunity to try their luck in armed forces, particularly the Army,” he said.

A group of runners from Rajasthan take part in a run at the Attari-Wagah Joint Check Post in Amritsar on Sunday. A tribune photograph

Neeraj Bagga

Tribune News Service

Amritsar, February 26

A group of seven runners today concluded their nearly 360-km run at the Attari-Wagah Joint Check Post (JCP) after running in main cities of Rajasthan, Delhi, Haryana and Punjab.An initiative by the Rajasthan Police, the group was led by Inspector Sunil Sharma.He said the objective of the run was to pay regards to martyrs who were sacrificing their lives while guarding frontiers with Pakistan and to create awareness against terrorism among the masses.Sharma said it was named ‘Hunkar Dhod’. He said the run had begun from Amar Jawan Jyoti in Jaipur on February 19 and concluded today at the Attari border.Nearly 360-km distance was covered by Sunil Sharma, Anil Parnami, Manoj Soni, Virnder Soni, Ashwin, Bhanwar Singh and Mohnish.Sunil Sharma said they ran from Jaipurto Delhi.Subsequently, they ran in popular cities like Karnal, Panipat, Ambala, Ludhiana, Jalandhar and Amritsar.With an aim to spread a message against terrorism among all members of society and pay tributes to marytrs of the Indian forces who were died guarding the borders, it took them eight days to conclude the run.

The Army should be allowed to function without political pressures, even as serious efforts should be made to avoid collateral damage that hurts the sentiment of locals. Apparently, the mishandling of post-Burhan Wani protests was a major reason for the renewed violence.

The year 2017 has had an unhappy dawn for the Indian Army, with an unexpectedly large number of soldiers getting killed in encounters. A distressingly high number was also killed by avalanches. While the loss of lives in counter-terror operations is understandable, death by snow in this age of technology and forecasts was avoidable.Kashmir is witnessing a rising trend of local mobs supporting militants in fleeing from encounter sites. Concerned over the development and increasing violence, the Chief of Army Staff (CoAS) declared the Army’s intention of “acting tough” against supporters, which later led to a political controversy.February has been particularly bad. On February 12, two Army personnel were killed in a skirmish with combined cadres of Hizbul Mujahideen (HM) and Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) at Nagbal in Frisal area of Kulgam district. Two civilians also lost their lives in the crossfire, as locals had suddenly turned up in the street to pelt stones at the security forces, helping three militants to escape. In a similar gunfight on February 14, a Major of 30 Rashtriya Rifles (RR) was badly injured by LeT members in Handwara area of Kupwara. The wounded officer was not able to reach the hospital in time and died because of protests in the streets and a roadblock by locals. Earlier on the same day, three jawans had been killed and five injured, including one CRPF Commanding Officer, in an encounter at Parray Mohalla Hajan in Bandipora district. Members of the public had come out at the encounter site and started pelting stones at soldiers, disturbing their operation and facilitating the escape of a militant. On February 23, three Army jawans were killed and five others, including two officers, were injured in a militant attack in south Kashmir’s Shopian district. A woman was also killed in the cross-fire.Infuriated by the subversive activities of locals and their repeated causing of impediments in counter-military operations (compromising the Army’s initiatives), on February 15 the CoAS, General Bipin Rawat, said “tough action” would be taken against the people responsible. He further stated that the Army would continue to conduct relentless operations with harsher measures if the locals persisted in stone-pelting. Separatist leaders and Opposition parties, however, attacked the government saying the Chief’s statement was potentially dangerous as it would worsen the already hostile situation in the region.Members of the J&K National Conference (JKNC) said General Rawat’s statement would increase public aggression in Kashmir. Later, a separatist leader from the All Parties Hurriyat Conference (APHC), Syed Ali Geelani, claimed it was an open threat to kill civilians freely. Moderate APHC chairman Mirwaz Umar Farooq and J&K Liberation Front (JKLF) chief Yasin Malik believed it was the result of a “tyrannical mindset” against Kahmiris and immature politics, and was a direct threat to citizens. Former Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) leader Tariq Hameed Karra, who recently joined the Congress, also condemned the remark as politically motivated and alleged the Army was being used by the ruling party.Nonetheless, the Chief found full support from the political leadership in the Union government as well as the top brass of other security services. Jitendra Singh, Minister of State in the Prime Minister’s Office, accused the Congress of “politicising the issue” and speaking the language of separatists. Kiran Rijiju, Union Minister of State for Home, explained that the statement of the Army Chief should not be misinterpreted, and should rather be seen from the perspective of national interest and the prevailing circumstances in J&K. A.V. Chauhan, Inspector General (Jammu sector) of the CRPF, said his force was working closely with the Army, and reiterated that the miscreants that help armed militants escape should be treated firmly under the law of the land.Concerned over the hurdles being created by locals during encounters, on February 15, a high-level security review committee gave out important guidelines for the security forces (the CRPF, J&K Police, and the Army) and the state administrative machinery involved in counter-militancy operations. First, a joint control room with an armour-protected vehicle would be set up at the encounter site. Next, the Deputy Commissioner concerned would take the responsibility of preventing the assembly of civilians at the encounter site. The police would identify over-ground workers who provide shelter to militants. Local police officials would also trace the stone pelters and take stern judicial action against them. Subsequently, on February 16, the state government issued an order to ban people’s assembly at encounter sites and imposed prohibitory orders within a radius of 3 km.Undoubtedly, the recent developments illustrate the intention of local elements to provide direct or indirect support to militants during encounters. This is adding to the increase in the casualty figures of soldiers and compromising counter-militancy efforts.The Army should be allowed to function without political pressures, even as serious efforts should be made to avoid collateral damage that hurts the sentiment of locals. Apparently, the alleged mishandling of protesters by security forces after the death of Burhan Wani in July 2016 was one of the major reasons for Kashmiri youth picking up arms (or stones).The sad loss of soldiers in avalanches was, of course, avoidable. On January 25, a Major from the High Altitude Warfare School was killed when an avalanche hit an Army camp at Sonamarg in Ganderbal district. Again on January 27, ten soldiers were killed and four went missing after an avalanche knocked down a camp in Gurez sector in Bandipora district. Our inability to protect the soldiers from such natural disasters needs introspection on our use of technology. If need be, India should collaborate with foreign agencies that have the necessary expertise.The writer is an Assistant Professor at the Department of National Security Studies, Central University of Jammu.

WASHINGTON: China, in an early test of US President Donald Trump, has nearly finished building almost two dozen structures on artificial islands in the South China Sea that appear designed to house long-range surface-to-air missiles, two US officials told Reuters.

REUTERSAn aerial view of the Pagasa (Hope) Island, which belongs to the disputed Spratly group of islands in the South China Sea.

The development is likely to raise questions about whether and how the US will respond, given its vows to take a tough line on China in the South China Sea. China claims almost all the waters, which carry a third of the world’s maritime traffic. Brunei, Malaysia, the Philippines, Taiwan and Vietnam also have claims. Trump’s administration has called China’s island building illegal.
Building the concrete structures with retractable roofs on Subi, Mischief and Fiery Cross reefs, part of the Spratly Islands chain where China has already built military-length airstrips, could be considered a military escalation, the US officials said in recent days, speaking on condition of anonymity.

“It is not like the Chinese to build anything in the South China Sea just to build it, and these structures resemble others that house SAM batteries, so the logical conclusion is that’s what they are for,” said a US intelligence official, referring to surface-to-air missiles.

Another official said the structures appeared to be 20 metres long and 10 metres high.

A Pentagon spokesman said the US remained committed to “non-militarisation in the South China Sea” and urged all claimants to take actions consistent with international law.

In Beijing, Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Geng Shuang said on Wednesday he was aware of the report, though he did not say if China was planning on placing missiles on the reefs.

“China carrying out normal construction activities on its own territory, including deploying necessary and appropriate territorial defence facilities, is a normal right under international law for sovereign nations,” he told reporters.

In his Senate confirmation hearing last month, US secretary of state Rex Tillerson raised China’s ire when he said Beijing should be denied access to the islands it is building in the South China Sea. Tillerson subsequently softened his language, and Trump further reduced tensions by pledging to honour the long-standing US “One-China” policy in a February 10 telephone call with Chinese President Xi Jinping.

Greg Poling, a South China Sea expert at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington, said in a December report that China apparently had installed weapons, including anti-aircraft and anti-missile systems, on all seven islands it has built in the South China Sea.

The officials said the new structures were likely to house surface-to-air missiles that would expand China’s air defence umbrella over the islands.

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STATE­OWNED BHARAT DYNAMICS LIMITED HAS CHALKED OUT A PLAN TO EXPORT ANTI­TANK GUIDED MISSILES AND AKASH SURFACE­TO­AIR MISSILES

NEW DELHI : The world’s largest importer of weapons is taking baby steps towards positioning itself as an exporter of military hardware.

State-owned Bharat Dynamics Limited (BDL) has chalked out a plan to export anti-tank guided missiles (ATGMs) and Akash surface-to-air missiles.

BDL managing director V Udaya Bhaskar told HT that the defence public sector undertaking was in preliminary discussions with countries such as Turkey, Egypt, Kazakhstan, Vietnam and Myanmar to tap the export potential of the weapon systems.

“We are exploring opportunities to export Konkur and Milan ATGMs as well as Akash surface-to-air missiles. The ATGMs are built under license from Russian and French firms, and they will give us country-specific export clearance,” Bhaskar said. BDL has already inked a deal with Myanmar for supplying light-weight torpedoes.

India has identified 15 weapon systems for exports including Astra beyond-visual-range air-to-air missile, Prahar surface-to-surface missile, light combat aircraft (LCA), BrahMos supersonic cruise missile, sonars, Arjun Mk-2 tanks, airborne early warning and control systems, a variety of unmanned systems and battlefield radars.

India has set a target of exporting weapons and systems worth $2 billion by 2019, six times the size of India’s current exports.

The government has allowed defence PSUs to earmark 10% of their production for exports to help India increase its defence exports. PSUs could earlier export only after meeting the demands of the Indian armed forces.

Bhaskar said the orders were unlikely to be very big but it would help India get a foothold in the global market.

Last week at Aero India-2017, BDL signed a memorandum of understanding with French firm Thales to assess the opportunity for the transfer of technology of the laser-guided STARStreak missile to India.