Tribune News Service

Pathankot, March 3

The BSF, working on specific inputs, sounded an alert in Pathankot district following reports that 3-5 persons were spotted “extremely close” to the international border, also called the Zero Line, on the Pakistani side.A Shreenivasan, DIG, Gurdaspur sector, confirmed that an alert had been sounded.“We received some specific reports from our Jalandhar office following which we are working on the inputs,” he said. Today’s high alert comes after weeks of relative calm in the area.The BSF also sounded the Pathankot police in the morning today following which the police went into overdrive, sealing the Narot Jaimal Singh area.Terrorists who were responsible for the January 2 Pathankot Air Force station and the July 27 (last year) Dinanagar police station attacks are said to have sneaked in through the Bamial area. Bamial falls under the Narot Jaimal Singh police station of Pathankot police district.Pathankot SSP RK Bakshi said, “All the villages near the border have been sealed and checking has been intensified.”The last threat received was on January 6 when some terrorists were spotted by villagers near Tibri Cantonment following which Gurdaspur SSP Gurpreet Singh Toor asked the administration to call in the Army.Two days later, the BSF and CRPF also joined the mega search operation. However, nothing tangible came out of the exercise even as the authorities extended their search towards the Dera Baba Nanak area falling under the Batala police district.Police check posts have been set up at various places on the roads leading to Bamial. In the last three months, the Intelligence Bureau (IB) sent at least three alerts to the Punjab Police and the Border Security Force (BSF) on a possible infiltration attempt, with detailed inputs including the number of terrorists, according to sources.

Lieut Gen Balwant Singh Negi, Army Commander, Central Command, with fellow officers, after witnessing an exercise at Purkazi, near Roorkee, on Wednesday. Tribune photo

Tribune News Service

Dehradun, March 2

Lieut Gen Balwant Singh Negi, Army Commander, Central Command, visited formations of Central Command at Roorkee and Raiwala today and witnessed combat engineering training undertaken by Surya Combat Sapper Formation at Purkazi.Lieut Gen Negi reviewed the collective training wherein all combat Sapper specialist units train together to hone their skills by physical execution on ground. He witnessed the complete range of multi-faceted training of mechanical mine breaching using trawl tanks, mechanical dry launch and wet bridging capable of sustained tank traffic and associated myriad activities.Lieut Gen Negi stressed the need to maintain the highest standards of operational preparedness. He commended the Sappers for their ‘josh’ and ‘hard work’ and exhorted them to uphold the glory of the Indian Army.At Roorkee, Lieut Gen Negi visited the Bengal Engineer Group and Centre where he was briefed about training activities, welfare measures for veterans and coordination and liaison of the centre with the civil authorities for internal security duty, including flood relief and response to anti-national elements. He held a windshield tour of the centre and saw the training infrastructure. He appreciated the modern infrastructure of the Hajipir Auditorium, Sainik Institute and the automated cook house for recruits at the centre.At the Raiwala military station, Lieut Gen Negi visited the Army formation. He was briefed on all aspects of operational readiness, training and welfare. He appreciated the cleanliness drive undertaken as part of the ‘Swachh Bharat campaign, yoga training for Army personnel in cooperation with Dev Sanskriti University and the efforts of the formation towards welfare of the veterans and veer naris in the region.Lieut Gen Negi also carried out an aerial reconnaissance of the areas of western Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand.

Simran Sodhi

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, March 2

India today made it clear that action against terror by Pakistan would take priority over any diplomatic activity with it in the aftermath of the Pathankot airbase attack.This was stated today by Foreign Secretary S Jaishankar at the Raisina Dialogue in response to a question. “In the aftermath of a terror attack, if you ask me what do you give priority to, a terrorist attack or a diplomatic dialogue, I think the answer should be obvious,” he said.He said India had been saying for a while now that both India and Pakistan continued to be in touch, especially through the National Security Advisers (NSAs) since the Pathankot terror attack.India has blamed Pakistan-based Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) for the Pathankot strike and has handed over evidence to Pakistan to prove its case. It is also demanding action against the JeM leader Masood Azar. Pakistan has formed an SIT and promised action, but not much has happened in terms of real action on the ground.On the context of improving ties with Pakistan, he said India was for a “much more modern relationship” with Islamabad. “I think there was a need to have change in attitude towards a number of issues of which terrorism is a central one,” he said.“It takes two hands to clap and that India would like to have same kind of ties with Islamabad like with other neighbours. We need to remove obstacles which are coming in between India and Pakistan. Most people in this country want to treat Pakistan as a normal neighbour,” Jaishankar said.Meanwhile, in Washington DC, Sartaj Aziz, the foreign policy adviser to PM Nawaz Sharif said Pakistan was “anxiously awaiting” the FS talks between the two countries to take place.

Afghan security personnel keep watch at the site of an attack in front of the Indian consulate in Jalalabad on March 2, 2016. — AFP

Jalalabad/New Delhi, March 2

India’s Consulate in Afghanistan’s Jalalabad city was attacked on Wednesday with a suicide bomber blowing himself up during the terror strike but all Indians at the mission were safe, Indian foreign office said.

One local staff sustained minor injuries in the attack, nearly two months after a similar assault was carried out by terrorists on the Indian mission in Mazar-i-Sharif in January.

“Indian Consulate in Jalalabad has been attacked. One suicide bomber blew himself up in front of the mission. All Indians in the mission are safe, while a local staff has sustained minor injuries,” External Affairs Ministry Spokesperson Vikas Swarup said in New Delhi.

The Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) fired after they detected some movement and gunfire near the consulate complex at about 1:30 pm IST, according to officials.

On January 3, heavily-armed terrorists carried out an attack on the Indian mission in Mazar-e-Sharif which lasted for over 25 hours with all the attackers who attempted to storm the building getting killed by the Afghan security forces.

Soon after that also in January, Islamic State jihadists claimed responsibility for a deadly gun and bomb siege targeting the nearby Pakistani consulate in Jalalabad.

Afghan forces have killed four militants involved in the attack. However, an exact number of attackers was not immediately known.

The combing operation is on after the attackers were killed, sources said.

No group has claimed responsibility for the attack. — PTI

Seoul, March 23

North Korea threatened a “miserable end” for South Korea’s president and her American allies today, in its latest colourfully worded attack.

Pyongyang declared it would wage a “retaliatory battle of justice” against Park Geun-Hye, with its artillery units standing ready to turn her office into a “sea of flames and ashes”.

“What the DPRK warns is not hot air. It will be clearly proved by the miserable end the US and the Park group will meet while going reckless,” said the Committee for the Peaceful Reunification of Korea (CPRK), using the formal name for North Korea.

The latest volley comes as Seoul and ally Washington stage their annual Key Resolve and Foal Eagle military drills, which this year are the largest ever, in the wake of a recent North Korean nuclear test and long-range rocket launch.

The massive drills — which include air strike exercises targeting key facilities in the North — are a “thrice-cursed provocation” against Pyongyang’s leadership, the CPRK said, according to the KCNA news agency.

In recent weeks, Pyongyang has maintained a daily barrage of nuclear strike threats against both Seoul and Washington over the drills it sees as a provocative rehearsal for invasion.

Tensions have been running high since the North carried out an atomic test in January, followed by a long-range rocket launch that was widely seen as a disguised ballistic missile test.

The UN Security Council responded by slapping its toughest-ever sanctions on the North for violating UN sanctions that ban the isolated state from conducting any ballistic missile test.

In an apparent show of anger, the North has launched a series of short-range and medium-range missiles into the sea off its east coast since last week.

Cross-border ties are at their lowest in years, with the conservative Park maintaining her hardline stance towards the impoverished but nuclear-armed North.

She warned last week Pyongyang was moving on a path of “self-destruction” as leader Kim Jong-Un ordered a nuclear warhead test, in a move that further raised tension. — AFP

Vijay Mohan

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, March 21

The Punjab and Haryana High Court has issued notice to the Central Government after the Armed Forces Tribunal (AFT) rejected the bail plea of a soldier who was awarded 10-year rigorous imprisonment by a court martial for his alleged role in the office-jawan clash at Nyoma in 2012.The notice has focused attention on provisions of the AFT Act and some recent judgments on it thereof, which have restricted the remedial measures available to armed forces personnel to appeal against orders passed by the AFT. A larger Bench of the Supreme Court is adjudicating on the issue and the matter is pending for settlement.Though the petitioner’s appeal was pending before the Armed Forces Tribunal, he was denied bail despite being in detention for more than three-and-a-half years. He has contended that the AFT Act specifically bars an appeal against interlocutory or interim orders passed by the Tribunal, even to the Supreme Court and bail being an interlocutory order, there is no option but to approach the High Court under Article 226 of the Constitution.Though the High Courts were granting relief till March 2015 to soldiers and ex-servicemen aggrieved by the AFT’s orders, this stopped after an SC order, which stated that since an appeal was provided to the Supreme Court under the AFT Act, final orders of the Tribunal should only be challenged before the apex court only.The situation caused a problem as it rendered litigants remediless because there was a statutory bar under Section 31 of the AFT Act in approaching the Supreme Court except in matters involving a ‘point of law of general public importance’.While civilians had a 3-tier appeal mechanism comprising the lower courts, high courts and the SC, the Armed Forces Tribunal became the first and last court for the defence community.It has been averred in the bail petition that since the Armed Forces Tribunal Act provides no scope of appeal for interim and interlocutory orders passed by the AFT and that even the Union of India has been approaching the High Courts against such orders.

SC ruling leaves litigants with no option

• The AFT Act bars an appeal against interlocutory or interim orders passed by the Tribunal, even to the SC and bail being an interlocutory order, there is no option but to approach the HC
• Though the HCs granted relief till March 2015 to soldiers and ex-servicemen aggrieved by the AFT’s orders, this stopped after an SC order, which stated that since an appeal was provided to the SC under the AFT Act, final orders of the Tribunal should only be challenged before the SC
• This rendered litigants remediless as there was a statutory bar under Section 31 of the AFT Act in approaching the SC except in matters involving a ‘point of law of general public importance’

AFT’s denial of bail to soldier: HC notice to Centre

Union Minister of State for External Affairs Gen VK Singh (second from left) with VC Prof AK Grover and other dignitaries at Golden Jubliee Hall, PU, in Chandigarh, on Saturday. Tribune photo: Manoj Mahajan

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, March 26

Indian universities should produce experts in defence strategic studies to guide military personnel not to repeat their old mistakes if any war is fought in the future. Former Army chief and Union Minister of State for External Affairs and Statistics and Programme Implementation (Independent Charge) Gen V K Singh stated this while addressing a seminar on ‘1962 War: an Appraisal’ at Panjab University here today. The event also marked the book release of “1962 The War That Wasn’t” by Shiv Kunal Verma.Referring to the PU Defence Studies Department where courses related to the strategic studies was going on, he said such departments were the need of the hour. He said in other developed countries special departments were created by the government so that specialisation and analysis of history and wars of the country could be done to understand the loopholes. This was done so that their soldiers did not repeat such mistakes in future wars. But in India, defence studies meant what we learn in NCC and nothing else, he said. During his address, he said those who did not learn from history suffered a lot in future.Referring to the 1962 war, he appreciated the courage of the Indian soldiers and said they performed well but the defeat was due to political establishment and leadership at the top of the military which lacked in taking the right decision at the right time. He stressed upon analysing the situation of 1962 war to learn what went wrong so that it should not be repeated by the military in the future.Clarifying the myth that after Independence,  the military was keen to go on war to show their might to the neighbours, he said during the 1962 war, military was not taken into confidence by political heads before taking a final call on the war. The political establishment cheated the military by not actively consulting it.Meanwhile, filmmaker and military historian Shiv Kunal Verma who authored the book “1962 The War That Wasn’t” mentioned that while signing the Panchsheel Agreement, India made concessions to China which was against the advice given by the military leadership. PU VC Prof Arun Kumar Grover called upon the Department of Defence and National Security Studies to reach out to the military leadership and retired military officers and create a think tank.  Gen Kulwant Singh, Maj Gen Rajendar Nath, Brig Amarjit Singh Behl and Brigadier DK Khullar also shared their views.The 1962 war veterans Maj Gen Rajendar Nath, Brigadier Amarjit Singh Behl and Brig DK Khullar were also present. They were given standing ovation by the audience.