Sanjha Morcha

To protect Chinese investment, Pakistan military leaves little to chance GWADAR, PAKISTAN | BY SYED RAZA HASSAN

The Chinese and Pakistani flags fly on a sign along a road towards Gwadar, Pakistan January 26, 2016. Picture taken January 26, 2016. REUTERS/Syed Raza Hassan
The Chinese and Pakistani flags fly on a sign along a road towards Gwadar, Pakistan January 26, 2016. Picture taken January 26, 2016. REUTERS/Syed Raza Hassan
Labourers work on the development site of a storm water drain along a newly constructed road on the outskirts of Gwadar, Pakistan January 26, 2016. REUTERS/Syed Raza Hassan
Labourers work on the development site of a storm water drain along a newly constructed road on the outskirts of Gwadar, Pakistan January 26, 2016. REUTERS/Syed Raza Hassan
A soldier mans a gun at a check post of a construction site on the outskirts of Gwadar, Pakistan January 26, 2016. Picture taken January 26, 2016. REUTERS/Syed Raza Hassan
A soldier mans a gun at a check post of a construction site on the outskirts of Gwadar, Pakistan January 26, 2016. Picture taken January 26, 2016. REUTERS/Syed Raza Hassan

A heavy police presence, guarded convoys, new checkpoints and troop reinforcements have turned parts of the southern port city of Gwadar into a fortress, as Pakistan’s powerful military seeks to protect billions of dollars of Chinese investment.

Securing the planned $46 billion economic corridor of roads, railways and pipelines from northwest China to Pakistan’s Arabian Sea coast is a huge challenge in a country where Islamist militants and separatist gunmen are a constant menace.

The armed forces and interior ministry have sent hundreds of extra soldiers and police to Gwadar, the southern hub of the so-called China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), and more are on their way.

“Soon we’ll start hiring 700-800 police to be part of a separate security unit dedicated to Chinese security, and at a later stage a new security division would be formed,” Jafer Khan, regional police officer in Gwadar told Reuters.

A senior security official in the town of around 100,000 people said a further 400-500 soldiers had been recruited as a temporary measure to protect Chinese nationals.

On a recent visit, an SUV carrying Chinese visitors was escorted by two police cars and an army vehicle, while police blocked traffic at every crossroad along the route. It was not clear who the passengers were.

Keeping foreign workers and executives safe in Gwadar, which has expanded significantly over the last 15 years largely thanks to Chinese investment, is relatively straightforward.

The same cannot be said of the corridor as a whole.

Its western branch passes north through Baluchistan province, where ethnic Baluch separatist rebels are opposed to the CPEC project and chafing under a military crackdown.

It skirts the tribal belt along the Afghan-Pakistan border where Islamist militant groups including the Pakistan Taliban and al Qaeda have long been based, and takes in Peshawar, scene of some of the worst insurgent atrocities of recent years.

CRACKDOWN AND ANGER

The main responsibility for securing the corridor, vital to Pakistan’s long-term prosperity, lies with a new army division established in the last few months and numbering an estimated 13,000 troops.

Pakistan’s Planning Ministry does not yet have specific estimates on how many jobs the CPEC will create in Pakistan, although officials believe the project could generate hundreds of billions of dollars for the economy over the long term.

Some of the police, army and paramilitary reinforcements deployed in the last year have been stop-gap measures while the new Special Security Division builds to full strength.

Enhanced security goes beyond Gwadar and across Baluchistan, an arid, sparsely populated province bordering Iran and Afghanistan which sits on substantial deposits of untapped natural gas.

“We have tightened our security in those areas where the corridor is supposed to pass. We cannot allow Pakistan’s economic backbone to be held hostage,” Sarfaraz Ahmed Bugti, the provincial home minister, told Reuters.

The tough approach means anger is growing among separatist rebels and the broader Baluch community, a potential problem for the military as it pursues a two-pronged approach: amnesty for rebels willing to disarm and hunting down those who are not.

“We consider the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor as … an occupation of Baluch territory,” said rebel spokesman Miran Baluch, a member of the Baluchistan Liberation Front (BLF), adding its fighters would attack anyone working on the project.

“Thousands of Baluch families have been forced to flee the area where the CPEC route is planned. (The) Baluch (people) will not tolerate such projects on their land.”

The low-level insurgency has hit development in the province for decades. In recent violence, five soldiers were killed by a remote-controlled bomb some 50km (31 miles) east of Quetta last month.

Also in January, two coastguards died in a bomb blast in Gwadar district, although in both cases it was not possible to determine who was behind the attacks.

PROGRESS SO FAR “QUITE SMOOTH”

Army chief General Raheel Sharif, who launched a prolonged assault on Islamist militants after Taliban gunmen massacred 134 pupils at a school in Peshawar in late 2014, will hope a sharp fall in violence nationwide will also benefit the CPEC.

Militant, insurgent and sectarian groups carried out 625 attacks across Pakistan in 2015, down 48 percent from 2014, said an independent think-tank, the Pak Institute for Peace Studies.

“Once people find they have a stake in this progress, the need for checkposts and barricades will disappear,” he said this month in Quetta, as he and Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif officially launched a new highway linking the city with Gwadar.

The Pakistani Taliban recently threatened to target important government and military installations that could inflict economic loss on the country, although they did not talk specifically about the CPEC.

Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Lu Kang said progress so far on the corridor was “generally speaking, quite smooth”.

“The Pakistani government has done a great deal of work to protect the security of Chinese organisations and citizens. China is deeply thankful for this,” Lu added.

(Additional reporting by Krista Mahr in ISLAMABAD, Jibran Ahmed in PESHAWAR, Gul Yousafzai in QUETTA and Ben Blanchard in BEIJING; Writing by Mike Collett-White)


LATEST ON OROP

The grant of ‘one rank one pension’ (OROP) by the government is nowhere near the definition of OROP accepted by both the UPA and NDA governments and Parliament. The ex-servicemen (ESM) have brought the fact to the knowledge of the PM and FM. Their hunger strike at the Jantar Mantar continues and so do agitations all over the country. A few days ago, the ESM had held a dharna outside the FM’s residence, which was lifted after the assurances given by the minister at the behest of the PMO. The minister has had a meeting with the representatives of ESM and promised to get back to them. The ESM await a reply.

BRIG JOGINDAR SINGH

(RETD)

http://paper.hindustantimes.com/epaper/viewer.aspx


JeM’s Masood renews threat post Pathankot raids

short by Smrithin Satishan / 02:50 pm on 02 Feb 2016,Tuesday
Alleged prime conspirator in the Pathankot terror attacks, Jaish-e-Mohammad chief Masood Azhar issued a fresh threat to retaliate if Pakistan shuts down terror groups operating against India. The article that appeared in the Peshawar-based Jihadi magazine al-Qalam on January 26 claimed the existence of an “army that adores death”, which will not let “enemies celebrate” if he was detained.

Nepal army chief to be conferred honorary rank of ‘General of the Indian Army

New Delhi: Nepalese Army chief General Rajendra Chettri, who is on a six-day visit to India ahead of Nepalese Prime Minister K P Oli’s proposed visit later this month, will be conferred with the honorary rank of ‘General of the Indian Army’ at a ceremony in Rashtrapati Bhavan on Wednesday.

This is the first foreign visit for General Chhetri, who is slated to meet defence minister Manohar Parrikar and Army chief General Dalbir Singh Suhag among others on Tuesday, since he took over the reins of the Ne- palese army last September

Indian Army organises medical camp in J-K

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The organised a day-long medical camp providing free health check-up and remedial treatment at Jammu and Kashmir’s Rajouri district.

The people turned up in large numbers at the camp yesterday to avail the services offered by the specialised doctors of the army.

“This medical camp is being organised under 25th infantry division in association with 150 general hospitals. In this camp, we are providing all the facilities, including medical specialists, surgical specialists, eye specialists, ENT (ear-nose-throat) specialists and dental surgeons. All the medicines will be provided free of cost,” said Purendu Kumar, an army official.

Meer Hussain, the headman of Sranoo village, said the locals appreciated this initiative.

Array

“The people here are very happy that a medical camp has been organised by the army doctors and their brigadier. The people here face different kinds of health issues and today the doctors checked all of it. People are offering their blessings to them,” said Hussain.

Array

The Indian army regularly takes such initiatives as part of its endeavour to win the hearts and minds of the people in the militancy-infested valley.


Participation of NCC cadets in R-Day parade a matter of pride: Paul

Participation of NCC cadets in R-Day parade a matter of pride: Paul
NCC cadets from Uttarakhand, who had participated in the Republic Day parade in New Delhi, with Governor KK Paul in Dehradun on Monday. Tribune photo

Tribune News ServicemDehradun, February 1

NCC cadets from the state, who participated in the Republic Day parade in New Delhi, met Governor KK Paul here today.As many as 103 cadets, including 37 girls, who participated in the parade, were present on the occasion.The Governor said the participation of cadets in the national camp and during the Republic Day celebrations was a matter of great prestige. “This experience will inspire you to work for the country with self-confidence and dedication,” he said.He said the activities of the NCC were inspiring and significant in the context of character-building. “This is the reason that an NCC cadet achieves success in all spheres of life,” the Governor said.ADG, NCC (Uttarakhand) Major General Pankaj Malhotra; Colonel Zoravar Singh, Lt Colenol Anurag Devgun, Colonel DS Shekhawat and Lt Colonel Sukhdev Singh were present on the occasion.


Ammunition cache found in canal in Pathankot

short by Aarushi Maheshwari / 09:02 pm on 31 Jan 2016,Sunday
An ammunition cache was found at the bottom of the Upper Bari Doab canal in Pathankot district, which has been on high alert since the recent terror attack. The police were alerted by a group of boys bathing in the canal. Fifty-nine live cartridges of the AK-47 rifle and 29 live cartridges of the INSAS rifle were recovered.
Pak seeks more evidence on Pathankot attack
short by Anupama K / 12:31 pm on 01 Feb 2016,Monday
In order to take the Pathankot attack investigation forward, the six-member Pakistan investigation team has written to India requesting to provide more evidence. The team has already identified five mobile numbers allegedly used to make calls to India from Pakistan but there is no further lead due to lack of evidence. The team was formed by Pakistan PM Nawaz Sharif.

Put Nepal on top in ‘Neighbourhood First’ policy

Put Nepal on top in ‘Neighbourhood First’ policy
The two army chiefs played a behind-the-scenes role in lifting of the blockade

Nepalese Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli’s self-congratulatory declaration during his visit to New Delhi last week was that his main mission was to remove misunderstandings (presumably over the Constitution). “No misunderstanding exists” he asserted at the end of the visit. For India though the glass is still half empty. The two major as issues of citizenship and demarcation of boundaries are to be settled over the next three months by a political commission chaired by Foreign Minister Kamal Thapa. Despite initial grandstanding, Oli opted to visit India (before going to China). Though high on optics, the visit produced no substantive new agreements. These must await settlement of residual constitutional issues. More than 50 persons, mostly Madhesis, lost their lives during the five-month long trade and transit blockade that severely hurt the people and resulted in a rampant black market. This ‘misunderstanding’ is by far the most serious bilateral incident in recent memory, causing an unprecedented anti-India sentiment, some stoked, but mostly spontaneous.As Oli blinked first, one Nepali columnist called it a victory for India. Clearly it was a failure of diplomacy. Constitutional inequities for Madhesis were resolvable through negotiations. There was no need for any of the defiance and trading of harsh words at the UN Human Rights Council at Geneva. Nepal invoking its strategic autonomy was a legitimate reaction to India’s belated and heavy-handed intervention on behalf of the Madhesis in full public glare. Both sides made mistakes: Kathmandu bulldozed the constitution ignoring Madhesi concerns. It even withdrew the rights granted to them in the interim constitution. New Delhi indelicately demanded the historical wrongs against the Madhesis be corrected. Given the open border, the unrest was inimical to India’s security interests. Nepal’s geostrategic location perched between two Asian giants makes it a natural avenue from the north to the strategic heartland of the Indo-Gangetic Plains.Unlike in 1989/90, this blockade evoked a strong sense of nationalism and independence among Nepalis especially in the Kathmandu valley. India was blamed for the shortages in cooking gas, fuels and other consumer goods. People were assured by the government that alternative sources of supply would be found, notably from China, which proved to be a big disappointment. Barring a few days of petroleum products supply, little else came from the North. The usual China card could not be played as the Khasa trading route has been out of commission since the earthquake.The Indian establishment feels that its intervention, though late, was justified. It had a clear aim: empowering Madhesis at an affordable cost. ‘We are on the right side of history, the anti-India feeling will dissipate and people will soon forget about it’ feels one policy maker. This is the crucial X factor. How badly damaged are India-Nepal relations and how deeply scarred are Nepali sentiments towards India? External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj reminded the Nepali delegation accompanying Oli of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s hearts-and-minds capturing speech in their Parliament in August 2014. She said that no Indian Prime Minister had visited Nepal for 17 years till Mr Modi and added that she was instrumental in reviving the Joint Ministerial Commission after 23 years. Applying balm to the troubled upshot of the blockade, without mentioning it, she pointed out that India does not take a Big Brother attitude but one of an Elder Brother.Swaraj seemed to have realised that the stand-off was fetching diminishing returns. Kamal Thapa’s three visits to New Delhi did not see any concrete steps for meeting the two major Madeshi demands.Only after Oli expressed a sense of urgency to visit India was he coaxed into getting the House to pass amendments by a two thirds majority. The passage of the amendments was the open sesame to lifting the blockade and his red carpet welcome in India. This was reinforced by the appointment of a political commission under Thapa to address residual constitutional issues especially demarcation of boundaries.A visit that did not attract much attention was that of Nepal Army Chief, Gen Rajendra Chhetri. He arrived two weeks before his Prime Minister even as the blockade was in place and constitutional amendments still in the pipeline. Indian Army Chief Gen Dalbir Singh and Gen Chhetri, besides being friends, are honorary Generals in each other’s armies, a tradition that took root four decades ago and is the bedrock of special relations between the two armies though Kathmandu views the use of this term as politically incorrect. The two Army Chiefs played a crucial behind-the-scenes role in fast-tracking the constitutional amendments and lifting the blockade.As the families of 40,000 Gorkha soldiers and more than 1 lakh ex-servicemen in Nepal were also affected, early lifting of the blockade was necessary. During the economic blockade in 1989-90 (officially the Trade and Transit Treaty had lapsed and not renewed except for keeping open two transit points) then Army Chief, Gen VN Sharma informed Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi of his concern for families of Gorkha soldiers. Similar concerns were expressed in 1986 during the Gorkhaland movement in the Darjeeling hills.Nepal was afflicted by a decade-long civil war followed by a decade of political instability culminating in a terrible earthquake which triggered the resolve to complete the constitution but without the necessary consensus. A stagnating economy plummeted due to the madness of the blockade. Though India will be in a wait and watch mode till the Thapa Commission submits its report, it must facilitate Nepal’s economic development and prosperity. New actors and scenarios are emerging on the political landscape. These require New Delhi to jolt itself out of old mindsets. Rebuilding trust and friendship between the two states and people is vital for India’s Neighbourhood First policy. And Nepal is certainly among the first.The writer was commissioned in  Gorkha Rifles and was the GOC, Indian Peace Keeping Force, Sri Lanka.


Women to get military combat roles, says Prez

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NEW DELHI: India seems to be taking steps to crush all gender barriers in the armed forces to allow women to serve onboard submarines, in ground combat positions and tank units. Even the US army does not have women in infantry and armoured units.

Indicating an imminent radical overhaul in the Indian military, President Pranab Mukherjee, who is the supreme commander of the armed forces, said on Tuesday that the government would allow women to serve in all fighter streams.

“In the future, my government will induct women in all fighter streams of our armed forces,” the President said. He made the significant announcement during his address to the joint sitting of the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha, barely four months after the government approved an Indian Air Force (IAF) plan in October making women eligible to fly warplanes from June 2017.

As first reported by HT, three IAF women are undergoing stage-II training at Hakimpet near Hyderabad to become India’s first female combat pilots. The decision — a watershed in the airforce’s 83-year history — has been taken on an “experimental basis” and the government will review it after five years.

The IAF had to crush internal resistance to grant women equal opportunity in the service. Women were allowed to join the military outside the medical stream for the first time in 1992.

“Shakti, which means power, is the manifestation of female energy. This shakti defines our strength,” the President said.

However, a cross-section of armed forces officers HT spoke to appeared clueless about any plan to open all combat roles to women. The armed forces account for more than 3,300 women officers, all of whom are in non-combat roles. The Indian army does not induct women at the level of jawans, unlike the para-military forces.

Sceptics have raised questions about having women in close-combat roles and feel mixed-sex units may not be able to deliver in a war or even during counterterrorism operations.

Other concer ns revolve around women being taken as prisoners of war and their ability to serve in extreme conditions such as Siachen.


Ex-servicemen oppose India, Pak match

himla, February 21

Ex-servicemen have demanded that both HPCA and the BCCI should address the concern of families of the martyrs before hosting the India-Pakistan match in Dharamsala on March 19.“We want to stay away from politics but expect that the HPCA and the BCCI will keep in mind the sentiments of the families of the martyrs”, says Brig Khushal Thakur (retd), Kargil war hero and state convener, Indian Ex-servicemen Movement.The Honorary Commissioned Officers’ Welfare Association demanded that the HPCA and the government should take up the matter with the Centre to cancel the match. “We are unhappy with the decision to hold the match”, says Capt. Jagdish Verma (Retd), president of the association. — TNS

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