Washington, March 10

Restricting or conditioning of military aid to Pakistan will be detrimental to US interests as it may “reduce” the country’s willingness to continue its counterterrorism operations, top Pentagon commanders have warned lawmakers.

“The risks of ineffective and unclear signals and conditioning may risk us losing our access and frank dialogue to Pakistan in areas critical to our US interests,” General Joseph L. Votel, nominee of the Commander of US Central Command told members of Senate Armed Services Committee during a confirmation hearing.

Votel warned that curtailing aid “may reduce” Pakistan’s willingness to continue its counterterrorism and counterinsurgency (CT/COIN) and “risks our current access” to Pakistan Air Lines of Communication and Ground Lines of Communication to support operations in Afghanistan and the region.

“We will need to continue cooperation with Pakistan to defeat al-Qaeda, support Pakistan’s stability, and achieve a lasting peace in Afghanistan,” said Lieutenant General Raymond Thomas, nominee for US Special Operations Command during his confirmation hearing before the Senate Armed Services Committee.

The US-Pakistan relationship is fundamental to our vital national security interests, Thomas said.

“If confirmed, I would in consultation with Commander United States Central Command (USCENTCOM) continue to evaluate the specifics of the relationship based on my assessment of our shared interests with Pakistan and its effectiveness of achieving our shared goals,” Thomas said.

“I will continue to evaluate the efficacy of the SOF-to-SOF military cooperation we have with Pakistan and identify ways in which we can support USCENTCOM efforts to work with Pakistan to enhance regional stability,” Thomas added.

Votel said Pakistan’s counterterrorism and counterinsurgency campaigns remain vital to targeting militants that threaten the United States and Pakistan.

“Our security assistance, which focuses on enhancing Pakistani CT/COIN capabilities is critical in this regard,” he said, adding that the risks and benefits of conditioning US assistance and support to Pakistan vary.

“The important thing will be for the United States to maintain credibility while still accruing benefits toward our US CT/COIN interests,” he added.

“If we are able to strike such a balance and remain consistent in our bilateral relationship, we may see Pakistan increase its transparency and cooperation with Afghanistan on the full range of security, border control, and economic issues,” he said.

“Likewise, Pakistan may take further action against violent extremist organisations, such as Haqqani network,” Vitol said. — PTI

GOC-in-C, Western Command, Lt Gen KJ Singh (left) interacts with gallantry award recipients during the triennial convention.

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, March 5

The Army is renaming important landmarks in military stations after the names of gallantry award winners of the armed forces to give them due recognition and inspire the present generation.Lt Gen KJ Singh, General Officer Commanding-in-Chief, Western Command, stated this while addressing participants at the silver jubilee convention of the War Decorated India (WDI). He said many residential colonies, office complex entrances and important structures had names that had little or no relevance with India’s contemporary military history.The Western Command, he said, was associating such landmarks with war heroes who had set professional standards for others to look up to. The WDI is an association of Param Vir Chakra (PVC), Maha Vir Chakra (MVC) and Vir Chakra (VrC) recipients and is engaged in looking after the welfare of the soldiers decorated for gallantry in war or their next of kin. Over a 100 gallantry awardees, many of them now in their sunset years, their widows or survivors from various parts of the country attended the convention. They were also honoured on the occasion.Prominent among the attendees were Wg Cdr Jagmohan Nath, the only survivor among six officers decorated with the MVC twice.

War heroes, kin divided over Indo-Pak tie

Ajay Banerjee

Tribune News Service,New Delhi, March 3

Indian security agencies are searching for an “enemy within”, who allegedly helped a person based in Pakistan to spread military-related information in real-time using Twitter.A probe is on in New Delhi as to how a man in Karachi was uploading pictures on the web in real time of the gunfight between terrorists and security forces at Pampore in Jammu and Kashmir between February 20 and February 22. Seven tweets of the person are under scrutiny.The Army and the CRPF had been locked in an encounter with terrorists, who had stormed a building of the Jammu and Kashmir Entrepreneurship Development Institute (JKEDI) at Pampore.Security agencies were baffled over the real-time pictures being uploaded on Twitter from an account, which suggested the person was based in Karachi. Also, the pictures are from such locations where it’s impossible for any photographer to reach. The person has 13,000 Twitter followers. (The name of his Twitter handle is being withheld as a probe is on). The Karachi-based person, in one of his tweets, credited a Mumbai-based person (name withheld) for the pictures.The Twitter account of the Mumbai-based person is accessible to only 72 persons.The most vital link is the person, who clicked the pictures and possibly circulated the same using either WhatsApp or Hike to the Mumbai-based person, who further tweeted them to his closed group, and from thereon, the Karachi-based person picked them up.Here are the tweets that are under probe.At 10.28 am on Feb 22:  A tweet from Karachi showed the bullet-riddled body of Capt Pawan Kumar Khatkarat a hospital. It’s a close-up shot taken from less than 5 feet away and inside a hospital. The media was reportedly not allowed inside the hospital.At 10.32 am on the same day, the Karachi-based man posted two pictures of an Army mini-UAV – one ready to take off and another one flying at a low altitude to locate terrorists at Pampore. The tweet appeared almost real-time and the UAVs were used in the operation, said sources.The Karachi-based Twitter handle also uploaded pictures of a CRPF convoy, the JKEDI building set on fire and bodies of terrorists surrounded by Army men.

EME beat ITBP (red) 4-0 in the semifinals of the Dashmesh Hawks Festival in Ropar. Tribune Photo

Ropar, March 29

Electronics and Mechanical Engineers (EME) will take on Signals in the final of the 28th Dashmesh Hawks All India Hockey Festival at the Hawks Stadium on Tuesday. Electronics and Mechanical Engineers (EME) blanked ITBP 4-0 in the first semifinal, while Signals defeated Jalandhar XI by a solitary goal on Monday. In the first semifinal, EME took the lead through a penalty corner by Saimon (10th min). Saimon scored again through a field goal in the 29th minute to make it 2-0. The second-half started on brisk note and EME scored the third goal through a solo effort by Mandeep Singh (Sr.) (37th min). Saimon scored his third goal (57th min) of the match to give EME  an unassailable 4-0 lead. In the second semifinal, Signals and Jalandhar XI made a number of moves early on but the forwards failed to give the finishing touches. As a result, the first-half ended goalless. Jalandhar XI was the first one to concede a goal in the 39th minute when G Das of Signals scored a field goal. Signals won the match by a margin of 1-0 and booked a seat in the final. — TNS

Pakistan JIT visits a spot near the Pathankot IAF base on Tuesday. PTI

Tribune News Service & PTI

Pathankot, March 29

A five-member Pakistan Joint Investigation Team (JIT), accompanied by NIA officials, today visited the Pathankot air base that was for most part visually barricaded as scores of Congress and AAP workers protested outside against their probe into the terror attack.On January 2, a group of Pakistan-based Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) terrorists had launched a pre-dawn attack on the air base, killing seven security men.The team that arrived in Amritsar in the morning from Delhi in a special plane was taken to Pathankot by road to avoid giving it an aerial view of the strategic base. The team was ferried in six bullet-proof vehicles for the 118-km journey.Around 11.30 am, the members were led into the complex through a specially created entrance at the perimeter wall that was breached by the terrorists. White curtains were used as visual barricades to ensure they could not have a glimpse of valuable defence assets.The team, officials said, was taken to only the “scene of crime”. After spending around 40 minutes at the air base, the visitors were taken in a mini bus to other places relevant to the case. The team was driven to Koliyan village area where Punjab Police SP Salwinder Singh, his friend Rajesh Verma and cook Madan Gopal were abducted. It also visited Gulpur village where the SP and his cook were dumped.They were then taken to Tajpur village where the SUV in which Rajesh in injured condition was finally found.The team also visited the spot near Kathlour bridge where Ikagar Singh, a taxi driver, was killed after being kidnapped. The proposed tour to the civil hospital mortuary, where the bodies of the four terrorists have been kept, was called off at the last minute. The team could also not go to the forward post in Bamial as the BSF had reservations given its strategic importance.NIA wants undertakingNew Delhi: The NIA has asked the JIT to give an undertaking that the evidences gathered in India will be admissible in a Pakistan court. NIA DG Sharad Kumar said: “During the 26/11 trials, we had sent several evidences and dossiers to Pakistan, but they said they were not admissible in their court. So we have asked them to give the undertaking.” TNS.

Srinagar, March 28

The Army in Baramulla district carried out a plantation drive at Kashmir University’s north campus in Delina. It planted more than 1,000 saplings in a joint effort with the Forest Department. “This drive is an endeavour to augment the expanse of forest cover in Baramulla to preserve the environment,” an Army officer said.The 21 Rashtriya Rifles conducted a seminar on “youth engagement” in north Kashmir’s Handwara town. “The seminar was aimed to provide guidance to industrious youth about various options available to them for becoming self-reliant. — TNS

Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar

Panaji, March 27

India’s Defence Procurement Policy (DPP) would be launched online during Defence Expo India-2016, to be held in south Goa from Monday, Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar said.

We will be launching the Defence Procurement Policy online during DefExpo. It will be put on Ministry’s website,” Parrikar told PTI ahead of the inauguration of the two-day mega event.

Parrikar said expo’s current edition is one of the most important events in the field of production, exports and Indianisation of the sector.

He, however, clarified that ‘Make in India’ in the defence sector and DefExpo are two different things.

“The basic concept of Defence Expo is a commercial exchange between various companies which will happen here,” the former Chief Minister said.

The website of Defence Expo, monitored by the Defence Ministry, has listed 1,054 companies who will be setting up their stalls for the exhibition to be held at Naqueri-Betul village in south Goa.

“Defexpo India is clearly steering the path of steady growth and has been receiving overwhelming and unprecedented international response with each edition,” ministry’s website on the mega event said.

The exhibition will have live demonstration of air display on March 28-29 at the site which is located adjacent to the Arabian Sea.

The land that was acquired for setting up an industrial estate has been temporarily allotted to the Defence Ministry for the expo. The exhibition would be spread over six lakh square metres of land.

The event earlier witnessed protest by locals and activists claiming that they were not taken into confidence.

Petitions had also been filed before the Goa Bench of the Bombay High Court opposing it.

The High Court, which would be hearing the matter on Wednesday, refused to stay the event. — PTI

Hyderabad: Chief of Army Staff General Dalbir Singh said that the pace of modernisation in the Indian Army has been accelerated and efforts were being made to replace old and obsolete machinery and equipment with new ones. The results of these efforts will be seen in two to three years, he said, while addressing the valedictory function of the Higher Defence Management course at the College of Defence Management in Secunderabad on Wednesday.
“The Indian Army will overcome the shortage of infrastructure soon,” he said during the function. The Army Chief said that the defence forces need to be vigilant across borders as the ‘neighbouring country’ is indulging in a proxy war with the help of non-state actors and accumulating its forces at the borders.He expressed confidence that training in identifying cognitive biases during the course would help the participating officers take timely action and positive decisions as senior military leaders.
The Army Chief awarded degree certificates in Master of Management Studies by Osmania University and a certificate of Advanced Course in Management by the All India Management Association to students.