In this handout photograph released by The Presidential Palace on April 28, 2016, President Pranab Mukherjee is watched by officials as he lays a wreath at Bomana War Cemetery in Port Moresby, during a two-day visit to Papua New Guinea. —AFP

Port Moresby, April 29The mood went sombre as President Pranab Mukherjee, the supreme commander of Indian armed forces, arrived at the historic Bomana cemetery in Papua New Guinea (PNG) to pay his respects to the fallen World War-II soldiers, including from India.80-year-old Mukherjee walked up to a pillar erected in memory of the troops killed during World War-II while fighting along with the British forces.This was the second engagement of the Mukherjee, who arrived here yesterday on the first ever state visit from India to this largest island in the Pacific.Immediately after meeting the Governor General of PNG Sir Michael Ogio, President drove to the war cemetery to lay a wreath on the pillar.As he placed a wreath, a Papua New Guinea Defence Force (PNGDF) band sounded the “Last Post,” signifying the end of the troops’ journey in life. A minutes’ silence was observed in their memory after which Mukherjee went around the cemetery.The cemetery contains 3,824 Commonwealth burials of the second World War out of which 699 of them unidentified. Around 250 of the unidentified soldiers are from undivided India who were fighting along with the British and allied forces.Indian High Commissioner to PNG Nagendra Kumar Saxena has been extensively working on the role of Indians during the World War.During the banquet hosted by the Ogio in honour of the President last night, the Governor General also said the linkages between the two countries go back to the second world war where Indian servicemen, some 615 brave sons who were part of the British Army and Allied Forces, fought and died in PNG.”Their mortal remains lie buried in war cemeteries throughout the country,” he said.The troops were fighting the Japanese forces who had landed at Lae and Salamaua in March 1942 with Port Moresby as their chief objective. —PTI

Jaish-e-Mohammed chief Maulana Masood Azhar. Reuters file photo

Beijing, April 26

India and Pakistan should resolve the issue over Masood Azhar through “direct” and “serious consultations”, China today said, weeks after blocking India’s bid in the UN to ban the JeM chief that generated negativity in bilateral ties.“We encourage all parties related to the listing matter of Masood Azhar to have direct communication and work out a solution through serious consultations,” Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying said in a written communication to PTI here on the issue which drew serious protests from New Delhi over Beijing’s last minute move to block its bid to slap a UN ban on Azhar.Replying to a question about whether there is any change in China’s stand on the issue after a number of top Indian officials conveyed India’s strong concerns over the move, Hua said as per the rules of the UN Committee on counterterrorism, the relevant countries should have direct talks.In addition to Hua’s comments, Chinese officials expressed confidence that the issue will be resolved as Beijing is also in touch with Islamabad on the issue.Her comments came as Foreign Secretaries of India and Pakistan held talks in New Delhi today, in which India raised the Azhar issue.While External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj took up the issue with her counterpart Wang Yi on the sidelines of Russia, India, China (RIC) Ministers meet in Moscow on April 18, it was raised by Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar with his Chinese counterpart the same day in Beijing.The issue was subsequently raised by National Security Adviser (NSA) Ajit Doval with his Chinese counterpart Yang Jiechi during the just-concluded 19th round of India-China border talks.China — one of the five veto-wielding members of the 15-member UN Security Council, which plays a leading role in banning terrorist outfits through the 1267 committee on counterterrorism issues — was the only country that put a technical hold on India’s bid to ban Pakistan-based Azhar in March.The move was criticised by India’s Permanent Representatives to UN Syed Akbaruddin as “hidden veto”.Hua, however, once again defended China’s move to put technical hold, saying that Beijing’s move is in line with the UNSC rules and procedures.”On the listing matter of the (UN) Security Council Committee established pursuant to Resolution 1267, I want to point out that China has been fairly dealing with the matter in accordance with the Security Council resolutions and relevant rules of procedures on the basis of facts,” she said.”It is in line with the Security Council resolutions and 1267 committee’s rules of procedure for China to place a technical hold on the listing of Masood Azhar,” she said.Stating that the relevant rules are in the public domain of the UN for all to verify, she said “in accordance with the rules of procedures of the 1267 Committee, the Committee encourages communications between countries that ask for the listing and countries where individuals and entities in the listing come from and live in.”Stating that China and India are victims of terrorism and have similar stances on the issues of counterterrorism, she said “the Chinese side supports the central coordination role of the UN in the international cooperation against terrorism and takes active part in this regard”. — PTI

Tribune News Service

Jammu, April 19

The All India Sainik Schools Entrance Examination was conducted at Sainik School, Nagrota. It was a qualifying examination for admitting cadets to Class VI and IX for the academic session 2016-17.Over 2,000 candidates belonging to various categories as well as states appeared in the examination that had witnessed 40 per cent rise in the number of candidates compared to previous years.On the directions of Col Kapil Dev Koushal, Principal of the school, elaborate arrangements were made to accommodate unprecedented number of candidates in the school for the examination.Security arrangements were made with the assistance of the Military Police and J&K Police. The examination was conducted at three centres simultaneously, viz Nagrota, Srinagar and Leh.

An Indian security personnel stands guard on a building at the Indian Air Force base at Pathankot in Punjab on January 5, 2016. — Reuters file photo

New Delhi, April 19

NIA has readied fresh Letters Rogatory (LRs) to be sent to Pakistan containing the addresses of four Jaish-e-Mohammed terrorists who attacked the strategic Pathankot IAF base in January.The LRs are being despatched notwithstanding indications from the Pakistani side that it was not yet ready to receive Indian investigators to carry forward the probe in the January two attack that left seven security personnel dead. Four terrorists were also killed in the 80-hour gunbattle.A LR is a letter formally requesting a foreign court to help in a certain case.The National Investigation Agency (NIA) had put the pictures of the four dead terrorists on its official website and asked general public for help in identifying them.According to official sources, the Central probe agency, set up in the aftermath of 26/11 Mumbai attacks, was flooded with many emails, some of which originated from Pakistan also, giving information about the terrorists.NIA, during its interaction with the Joint Investigation Team (JIT) of Pakistan, had sought details about the place of residence of the terrorists whose names had been shared with the visiting probe team. However, there was no response from Pakistan on the India’s request.The five-member JIT also comprising an ISI officer had visited India from March 27 to April one during which they visited the air base and recorded statements of 16 witnesses.During the exercise of verification of the information gathered through emails, the NIA showed the pictures and addresses to some of the jailed terrorists of Jaish-e-Mohammed terror group lodged in jails here and got important inputs from them.The address of Nasir Hussain, one of the terrorists, was located at Vehari, a town 100 km from Multan in Punjab province of Pakistan. He is the son of Mohd Mansa and stays at House number WB-89, Mohalla Chak in the town.Hussain was the Jaish terrorist who had called his mother Khayyam Babbar minutes before the terror group launched a suicide attack inside the IAF base on the intervening night of January 1 and 2.The other terrorist was identified as Hafiz Abu Bakar, son of Mohammed Fazil and resident of Gujranwala in Pakistan.While Umer Farooq was stated to be son of Abdul Samad who stays in Madni Road, Mohalla Madisah, Shahdadpur in Sindh province of Pakistan, the fourth terrorist Abdul Qayum was the son of Mohamed Amin, resident of Chachar, Tehsil Pano Akil in district Sukkur of the Sindh province of Pakistan.India has already sent Letters Rogatory to Pakistan in which it had asked for voice samples of Jaish chief Maulana Masood Azhar, his brother Abdul Rauf and Khayyam Babbar, mother of Hussain.In the meanwhile, NIA Director General Sharad Kumar today said his team was ready to visit Pakistan as and when there was a clearance from Islamabad.”We have handed over all the documents sought by the JIT and I believe that the evidence handed over to Pakistan can stand scrutiny in any court of law internationally,” Kumar said.After the JIT returned home, Pakistan High Commissioner to India Abdul Basit had poured cold water on India’s expectations that a team of NIA investigators would be allowed to visit Pakistan in connection with the Pathankot terror strike probe on the basis of reciprocity.”The whole investigation is not about the question of reciprocity in my view. It is more about extending cooperation or our two countries cooperating with each other to get to the bottom of the incident,” Basit had said earlier this month.In Islamabad, Pakistan Foreign office had issued a statement about JIT’s visit and said “…the witnesses belonging to the Indian security forces were not produced before it.” — PTI

Martyr Maj Amit Deswal with his father after getting commissioned in Army.

Imphal/jhajjar, April 14

The body of Major Amit Deswal, who was killed in an encounter yesterday, was recovered from a remote place in Tamenglong district of Manipur today and flown to Jorhat.The body will be taken to Surheti village in Jhajjar district of Haryana for last rites.Maj Deswal, who belonged to 21 Para Special Forces, was paid tributes with full military honours. His father, Subedar Rishiraj Deswal (retd), who was visiting his son, was the first to lay a wreath on the coffin.Maj Deswal was killed in a gunbattle with ZUF militants in the densely forested Nungba area during a combing operation undertaken jointly by Rashtriya Rifles and Special Forces personnel. One of the militants was also killed.The officer is survived by his wife and three-year-old son Arjun. The combing operation, which was on for the past few days, has been called off, official sources said.Major Deswal cleared the CDS exam at the age of 19 in 2005. Physically robust, he was awarded ‘Commando Dagger’ after he joined elite 21 Para in January 2011. “He loved challenges and faced them with courage,” recalled his crestfallen uncle Shamsher Singh. Amit’s father, Rishiraj Deswal, retired as Subedar in the Army. His grandfather Nathu Ram too had served in the armed forces. Rishiraj was in Manipur visiting his son when the tragic news came. “Originally belonging to Surheti village, Rishiraj built a house in Jhajjar three years ago. Amit had come home for his brother Ankit’s marriage in February,” recalled Shamsher Singh. Ankit said he last spoke to his brother over the phone on Saturday when he, along with his unit members, was headed to Tamenglong for combing operations.  — Ravinder Saini & Agencies

Kin of Army martyrs during a protest in Patiala on Monday. Tribune photo: Rajesh Sachar

Tribune News Service

Patiala, April 11

Having exhausted all other options, widows of 1962 and 1965 war martyrs today sat on a dharna to press for their pending demands with the state government at the Mini-Secretariat complex here.Bant Kaur, who lost her husband Pyara Singh in the 1965 India-Pakistan war, and Surjit Kaur, the widow of Jangir Singh who died in the 1962 Indo-China war, are running from pillar to post to get financial justice. As many as 20 other such war widows have also joined the protest that would continue outside the DC office.War widows said their protest should not be politicised but their “pending pension and other promised assurances be given to them”. There are at least 60 such pending cases in Punjab. Three pertained to Patiala. While one died in penury the other two are continuing the fight for their rights. A letter from the Director, Defence Services Welfare Department, written in 2015 informed these widows that “their cases are pending along with 60 other similar cases as no decision has been taken by the government”.    “I have worked as a daily wager and even washed utensils to earn a livelihood waiting that someday I would be given the promised 10-acre land. Despite writing letters and raising our issue time and again, all we hear is that the government is yet to clear 60 odd cases of war widows residing in Punjab,” rues Bant Kaur, who resides in Duladdi village.“Fed up with the whole system, I would now be leaving my home and sit on a regular dharna till the Chief Minister intervenes,” she adds. The dharna will continue till the issue is taken to its logical end. Some political parties also contacted to extend support but the families had politely declined, the association claimed.