Monthly Archives: August 2018

Joining the veterans’ march to Punjab Governor VP Singh Badnore, Punjab Congress president Capt Amarinder Singh on Thursday submitted a memorandum supporting the stand taken by the three services chiefs against the alleged  bias against the defence services in the 7th Pay Commission. 

The march was led by Lt Gen (retried) SS Brar, the senior most amongst the veterans participating, and included among others senior retired army personnel including several Lieutenant Generals, Major Generals, Brigadiers, Colonels, JCOs and soldiers.

Senior Congress leaders including Ambika Soni, Asha Kumari and Harish Chaudhary also joined the veterans in their protest march.

The memorandum, addressed to the President, said: “The community of veterans across the country fully endorses the stand taken by the Chiefs of Army, Navy and Air Force with regard to the recommendations of the seventh Central Pay Commission.” Capt Amarinder and other veterans told reporters that it was the bias of the bureaucrats against the armed forces and the blind eye turned by the political parties which led to this situation.

He said that such repeated wrong steps on part of the government can only demoralize the defence forces. 

Jupinderjit Singh

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, September 12

Congress MLA Rana Gurjit Singh and Revenue Minister Bikram Singh Majithia were involved in a heated exchange during zero hour today over a case of alleged sexual harassment of a soldier’s wife by a tehsildar in Amritsar.Rana Gurjit alleged that the tehsildar sought sexual favours from the woman on the pretext of providing her property documents. He said the tehsildar made several calls to the victim from a Dubai SIM card. He said the woman informed her husband and relatives, who asked her to call the revenue official home. They allegedly beat him up when he reached there.Rana Gurjit claimed that a case was registered against the woman and six of her relatives, but no action was taken against the tehsildar due to political patronage. Reacting angrily, Majithia said the tehsildar had already been booked, adding that the ADGP (Crime) was investigating the matter.Majithia said the Congress MLAs had made it a habit to politicise every issue, but they should spare such sensitive ones. Deputy CM Sukhbir Badal intervened to end the verbal duel. He assured the House that strict action would be taken in the case within 24 hours

SRINAGAR: Assuring support to bring normalcy in the Valley, particularly the four restive districts of South Kashmir, Army Chief General Dalbir Singh reinforced the need to synergise efforts with all stakeholders.

Calling for high vigil along the Line of Control (LoC), Gen Singh urged the troops to sensitise people, especially the youth, to abandon violence and usher peace.

Singh is in Srinagar to review the security situation in the Valley, especially the volatile North and South districts.

Singh’s visit comes amid reports that army will be deployed in South Kashmir where widespread protests were reported after the death of militant commander Burhan Wani on July 8. At least 75 people have died in the Valley in clashes between the security forces and civilians.

The army spokesperson in Srinagar denied having any information about the new strategy, however, sources say the army will be used for increased “area domination and patrolling’’ and not for crowd control. Law and order enforcement will remain with the local police and the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF).

General Dalbir Singh arrived in Srinagar on Friday morning and was briefed by General Officer Commanding of Chinar Corps Lt Gen Satish Dua.

According to the army spokesman Gen Singh visited defence formations in the north and south of the Valley to get first-hand account of the situation.

He was accompanied by Northern Army Commander Lt Gen DS Hooda and Chinar Corps Commander Lt Gen Satish Dua. The chief reviewed the security situation and collaborative measures taken by the security forces to bring peace in the region.The Chief also interacted with the J&K DGP and briefed Governor N N Vohra about the prevailing situation.

“The chief commended all ranks of Chinar Corps for their operational preparedness and commitment. Reinforcing the need to maintain high vigil along LoC, he also appreciated humanitarian initiatives by the troops to bring relief to locals during the ongoing unrest. He asked them to sustain positive engagement with the people,’’ the spokesman said.

Later, the Army Chief also came to BB Cantonment, Srinagar where he was briefed by the Chinar Corps Commander on the initiatives taken by the Army all across the Valley to bring about peace.

India”s Scorpene Class submarine INS Kalvari taking part in its maiden sea trials off the coast of Mumbai. — AFP file

New Delhi, September 1

An Australian court on Thursday confirmed its preliminary decision made earlier this week asking ‘The Australian’ newspaper to provide all leaked data of India’s Scorpene submarine to French shipbuilder DCNS and to stop publishing any more detail.The paper, which has already withdrawn after the first decision on Monday information published on its website, will provide DCNS with all the documents in its possession and is prohibited from publishing any additional document.”The Supreme Court of the State of New South Wales (Australia) confirmed today the preliminary decision it had rendered on Monday, August 29 against The Australian,” DCNS said in a statement.Underlining that confidentiality of information and communication is a matter of utmost importance, DCNS said it welcomes this decision of the court.In parallel to this action, DCNS filed a complaint against unknown persons for breach of trust, receiving the proceeds of an offence and aiding and abetting before the Paris Public Prosecutor, it added.Over 22,000 pages of top secret data on the capabilities of six highly-advanced submarines being built for the Indian Navy in Mumbai in collaboration with the French company, have been leaked. — PTI

New Delhi, Sep 29 (IANS) India said on Thursday it carried out surgical strikes on terrorist launch pads across the LoC inflicting heavy casualties, triggering a sharp warning from Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif.

Eleven days after terrorists killed 18 Indian soldiers in Jammu and Kashmir, Indian Special Forces targeted “some terrorist teams” positioned at launch pads on the Line of Control (LoC), the military announced.

“During these counter-terrorist operation, significant casualties have been caused to the terrorists and those who support them,” Lt Gen Ranbir Singh, the Director General Military Operations (DGMO), told the media here.

The announcement followed a meeting of the Cabinet Committee on Security chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Pakistan denied any surgical strike by India but admitted to the death of two soldiers in cross-LoC firing by Indian troops.

Sharif warned that Pakistan’s “intent for peaceful neighbourhood should not be mistaken as our weakness”.

Gen Ranbir Singh said the targeted terrorists had planned “to carry out infiltration and terrorist strikes in Jammu and Kashmir and various other metros in our country.

“The operation was basically focussed to ensure that these terrorists do not succeed in their design of infiltration and carrying out destruction and endangering the lives of citizens of our country,” he said.

Gen Ranbir Singh said the operation had since ceased. “We do not have plans of further continuation of the operations. However, the Indian armed forces are fully prepared for any contingency that may arrived.”

The surgical strikes were based on “very specific and credible information”, he said.

The Pakistani military said there were no surgical strikes by India, “instead there had been cross-border fire initiated and conducted by India which is existential phenomenon.

“As per rules of engagement, the same was strongly and befittingly responded by Pakistani troops. The notion of surgical strikes linked to alleged terrorist bases is an illusion being deliberately generated by India.”

On Thursday, Pakistani military shelled Indian positions across the Line of Control — which divides Jammu and Kashmir between the two countries — at Danesh and Lakshmi posts in Naugam sector, the Jammu and Kashmir Police said. The Indian military retaliated.

Pakistan’s Inter-Services Public Relations said the exchange of fire began at 2.30 a.m. and continued till 8.00 a.m., leaving two Pakistani soldiers dead.

“Pakistani troops befittingly responded to Indian unprovoked firing on the LoC in Bhimber, Hotspring Kel and Lipa sectors,” it said.

Minutes after India announced the surgical strikes on Thursday, Prime Minister Sharif denounced what he called was an “unprovoked and naked aggression” by Indian forces.

“Our intent for peaceful neighbourhood should not be mistaken as our weakness as our valiant forces are fully capable of defending the territorial integrity of our country,” Sharif said.

He said Pakistan can “thwart any evil design made to undermine the sovereignty of Pakistan”.

The Indian DGMO said he spoke to his Pakistani counterpart and “explained our concerns and also shared with him the operation that we had conducted.

“It is India’s intention to maintain peace and tranquility in the region but we cannot — certainly not — allow the terrorists to operate across the LoC with impunity and attack the citizens of the country.

“We expect the Pakistan Army to cooperate with us to erase the menace of terrorism from our region,” he added.

“Indian troops are effectively retaliating Pakistani firing. Exchanges are still going on in the area,” the police added.

–IANS

Saba Naqvi
After Sharif’s latest speech at the UN and the Uri attack whatever goodwill there was may have gone for the immediate future.

A demonstration in Mumbai. PTI

The highpoint of my TV entertainment this week was to hear an RSS/BJP functionary who is an old friend of mine declare on prime time that Sri Aurobindo had predicted that Pakistan would cease to exist by 2018. Wonderful, I thought, problem solved! Before that another agitated panelist had held forth about the vile nature of the Pakistani army: among the sins he listed a proclivity for keeping many “mistresses”. A third panelist suggested in all seriousness that one of the panelists be sent forthwith to serve the nation in the PMO. It was a complete scream. But jokes apart we must ask if after the Uri attack the government is contemplating military options against Pakistan. Not being a retired general or retired foreign secretary I don’t know. But I do know that both the prime ministers of India from the BJP have had dramatic engagements with Pakistan, fluctuating from war noises to peace gestures to mobilizing troops. Atal Bihari Vajpayee, whose PMO I covered for six years, genuinely wanted to leave a legacy of a peace in South Asia. That was his passion (economics frankly bored him). But as it turned out we had the Kargil war instead (provoked entirely by Pakistani excursions) and then Operation Parakram that began after the attack on Indian Parliament. It cost us a bomb literally and metaphorically and killed 798 Indian soldiers, mostly due to stepping on land mines and ammunition accidents. The Kargil war claimed less lives: 527 Indian soldiers. Narendra Modi is a very different personality but even he has made a couple of friendly gestures towards Pakistan, most dramatically dropping in suddenly to greet Nawaz Sharif on his birthday on December 25 last year. Now after Sharif’s latest speech at the UN and the Uri attack whatever goodwill there was may have gone for the immediate future. But are we seriously thinking of military options? I wish Jaswant Singh, a critical part of the Vajpayee establishment, had been able to give his views about mobilizing troops on the border. (Sadly, he has been in a coma for two years). The man who served as Finance, Defence and External Affairs minister under Vajpayee had elaborated to me about his opposition to Operation Parakram.Here are his exact words as I recorded them: “I was not there when certain important decisions were taken. When I came back, I said, what have you done? No, no, it will be advantageous, I was told. Then it was fait accompli. Troops had already been deployed. I said I did not stand for war. Soldiers know what war is. A soldier can never be a war-monger. I had differences with Atalji too at that time. When he said “aar-paar ki ladai ho jaaye (let there be a fight to the finish)”, I said to him, what are you saying? Atalji said, “Us waqt kah diya (I just said it at that time).” Atalji was a man given to emotion and rhetoric. But he would never take offence at honest criticism.” The last time I met Jaswant Singh was in September 2012 when I moderated the discussion at the launch of his book titled The Audacity of Opinion: Reflections, Journeys, Musings. He did have a lot of opinions that did not sit well in the BJP post the Vajpayee era. I imagine he would have thought that if revenge is to be a trigger for action, then it is a dish best served cold.Meanwhile, it may be worth our while to reflect on the fact that Vajpayee possibly earned a certain level of credibility in Kashmir valley as he was prime minister when one of the fairest elections in Jammu & Kashmir took place in 2002 in four phases. Electronic voting machines were used for the first time and the elections were seen as a victory of the ballot over the bullet.  Mufti Mohammad Sayeed became chief minister after for three years in a seat-sharing arrangement with the Congress. I remember covering that campaign and meeting two candidates who were later shot dead by terrorists who were opposing the elections. There was also a close shave when I got delayed returning from the beautiful Lolab valley that was then a hiding place for separatists and militants. It was dark and we had not made it to Srinagar when an army post shot at our vehicle and missed. We could only move on when our Indian identities were revealed. This time round Mufti made a pact with the BJP. He has passed away but his party has for a complicated set of reasons not under their control, now lost all credibility. The valley should have by now been under Governor’s rule but I suspect the only reason that the PDP-BJP regime stays in power is because the BJP has stakes in government. It is a good question to ask why the people of Jammu should be denied their mandate. But what of the people in the Valley now entering the third month of their torment? Perhaps we should ask friends in the RSS if there are any prophecies about Kashmir. Pakistan, rest assured, will cease to exist.

India enjoys a strong numerical advantage over Pakistan in both conventional and nuclear weapons, giving it an edge in its current confrontation with its perennial foe, according to data released by a leading US think tank.

But a prominent US expert on South Asia also warned that the roughly two-to-one military advantage of the Indian armed forces makes it more likely that a cornered Islamabad could lash out with a nuclear strike.

“If you had a full war between India and Pakistan, not just skirmishes on the border, India would start winning,” said former US ambasador Dennis Kux, who has served in both India and Pakistan. “And at a certain point Pakistan, rather than going under, would push the button,” he said on CNN’s The Capital Gang show.

According to a report by the Washington-based , India has more than 12 lakh soldiers on active duty compared to Pakistan’s 6.2 lakh.

A similar advantage is observed in practically all major conventional weapons category, the survey showed. New Delhi’s arsenal includes 3,414 main battle tanks and 1,540 light tanks, while Islamabad’s heavy armor is limited to a total of 2,300 pieces.

India is also better positioned in the sky, if its current tensions with Pakistan were ever to boil over into a shooting war.

India’s air bases house a total of 738 combat aircraft while Pakistan’s house 353, according to CSIS. New Delhi also has nearly a five-fold advantage in transport aircraft and a six-fold advantage in combat helicopters, which, as events in Afghanistan have shown, can inflict devastating damage on ground troops.

In addition, India has 37 Naval aircraft compared to Pakistan’s five, the reported indicated.

Islamabad has an advantage only in self-propelled artillery, being able to field 240 pieces compared to India’s 180. But it loses out in towed artillery where New Delhi has a 4,175-to-1,467 advantage, the data showed.

Kux said geography also favored India because an armored blitz across arid Punjab province toward the Afghan border could cut off Islamabad, the capital, from Sindh, the country’s economic owerhouse and its main port of Karachi.

“India could just cut across the middle of Pakistan,” said the former diplomat. “In the desert, it should be fairly easy to do.”

US experts believe that even in an exchange of nuclear strikes, India, while suffering tremendous losses, could have an advantage. Although no reliable official data is available, it is estimated that New Delhi has 400 kg of weapons-usable plutonium, according to the CSIS report.

Since it takes about six kg of plutonium to manufacture a nuclear bomb, the amount would be sufficient to produce some 65 bombs if old technologies are used, or 90 bombs employing more advanced methods.

By contrast, Pakistan is believed to have more than 200 kg of weapons-grade uranium, which is enough to construct 15 to 25 nuclear weapons, the report said.Copyright © 2001 Mid-Day Multimedia Ltd all rights reserved

http://googleweblight.com/?lite_url=http://www.rense.com/&lc=en-IN&s=1&m=334&host=www.google.co.in&ts=1474687908&sig=AKOVD646cRKjev0ela0sWZkQjOXYaqXHXA

In this handout photograph released by Pakistans Inter Services Public Relations (ISPR) on September 23, 2016, Russian troops arrive at a Pakistan military base at an undisclosed location.- AFP

Islamabad, September 23

A mechanised infantry unit of the Russian military on Friday arrived in Pakistan to participate in the first-ever joint military drills dubbed ‘Friendship-2016’ starting from tomorrow, reflecting growing military ties between the two former Cold War rivals.

“A contingent of Russian ground forces arrived in Pakistan for the first-ever Pak-Russian joint exercise from September 24 to October 10,” Army spokesman Lt General Asim Bajwa tweeted along with some photographs of the Russian and Pakistan troops.

A statement by Russia’s Southern Military Command said the drills will involve over 70 servicemen of the Southern Military Command, including the Mountain Mobile Brigade’s personnel deployed to the Karachay-Cherkessia Republic (North Caucasus), and also officers from the headquarters’ staff.

(Follow The Tribune on Facebook; and Twitter @thetribunechd)

“The Southern Military Command’s mechanised infantry servicemen are fully equipped and have their mountain gear with them, as well as ammunition for their standard weapons,” Russia’s Itar-Tass news agency reported, citing the statement.

The two militaries will share their experience and employ teamwork in fighting in mountainous areas, particularly destroying illegal armed groups, it said.

“The joint military drills are aimed at bolstering and building up military cooperation between the two countries,” it said ahead of the opening ceremony tomorrow which is scheduled to take place at Pakistan Army’s High Altitude School in Rattu, Gilgit-Baltistan, Pakistan-occupied Kashmir.

About 200 troops from the two countries will take part in the two-week-long military drills called as ‘Friendship 2016’, which have been termed as a sign of growing military ties between the former rivals of Cold war era.

The joint drill is seen as another step in growing military-to-military cooperation, indicating a steady growth in bilateral relationship between the two countries, whose ties had been marred by Cold War rivalry for decades.

Pakistan decided to broaden its foreign policy options after its relations with the US deteriorated following a secret CIA raid in Abbottabad that killed al-Qaeda chief Osama bin Laden in May 2011.

Its relations with the US were soured recently when US lawmakers blocked funds for the sale of eight Lockheed Martin Corporation’s F-16 fighter jets to Pakistan.

Pakistan decided to look at alternative sources to purchase the aircraft, including from Jordan.

Over the last 15 months, the chiefs of Pakistan’s Army, Navy and Air Force travelled to Russia. The flurry of high-level bilateral exchanges resulted in the signing of a deal for the sale of four MI-35 attack helicopters to Islamabad.

The agreement, signed in Moscow in August 2015, was considered a major policy shift on part of Russia in the wake of growing strategic partnership between the US and India.

Islamabad is eager to improve its ties with Moscow to diversify its options in the event of any stalemate in ties with Washington.

After securing the helicopters deal, Pakistan is also exploring options to buy Su-35 fighter jets from Russia. For this purpose, Chief of Air Staff Air Chief Marshal Sohail Aman visited Moscow in July. — PTI

The mother of martyr Hawaldar Madan Lal Sharma lends a shoulder to his coffin. Tribune photo

Ravi Dhaliwal

Tribune News Service

Gharota (Pathankot), September 22Dharmo Devi (82), mother of martyr Havildar Madan Lal Sharma (40), who was killed in a gun battle with militants in the Kashmir valley on Tuesday, stunned everybody present by walking 3 km while lending her shoulder to the coffin in which the body of her son lay.The soldier’s mortal remains were brought to the family house in the village on Thursday morning by the jawans of the 2nd Dogra Regiment. Earlier, it was flown in to the Pathankot IAF base from Kashmir.The moment the body was placed in the house for people to pay their last respects, the soldier’s mother made it clear that out of the four persons who would carry the body to the cremation ground she would be one. She was dissuaded from doing so by senior army officers who told her that keeping in view her age and the long distance to be travelled it would not be feasible for her to lend a shoulder. However, she was adamant and told the officers if that was the case the body would not leave the house.On the entire course, she kept on saying that the country needed more soldiers like her son who could rise to the occasion to defend the nation.More than a thousand people had gathered to pay last respects to the soldier.

A child hit by pellets lies in a hospital bed in Srinagar.

Ishfaq Tantry

Tribune News Service

Srinagar, September 21

The Jammu and Kashmir High Court today declined a plea by the High Court Bar Association to ban pellet guns in the region, observing that these had helped minimise casualties during violent protests in the Valley.The court said that with mobs resorting to violence, the use of force was inevitable. It also said security personnel, if attacked, had to use force for self-defence and for protecting public property.The Bar Association, in its public interest litigation filed in August, had sought a “complete ban” on the use of pellet guns “that have maimed and blinded scores of civilians.”A Division Bench of Chief Justice N Paul Vasanthakumar and Justice Ali Mohammad Magrey, referring to replies filed by the Union Home Ministry, the state police and the CRPF, observed: “Almost every day, security personnel, their camps and police stations are targeted by unruly crowds. It is true that many persons have been injured…, some of them seriously. It is also true that because of the use of pellet guns, the loss of life has been less.”Regarding human rights violations, the Bench said: “If the protest is not peaceful and the security personnel are attacked by a violent mob, they have to necessarily use force for self-defence and for protecting public property.” It, however, observed that only an investigative agency could ascertain if in a particular situation or place the use of force had been excessive.”Thus, it is manifest that so long as there is violence by unruly mobs, the use of force is inevitable. What kind of force has to be used at the relevant point of time or in a given situation or place has to be decided by the persons in-charge…”