Monthly Archives: August 2018

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he health department has been asked to keep adequate stock of medicine and other emergency drugs. Tribune photo

Anirudh Gupta

Ferozepur, September 29

Evacuation has started in villages along the India-Pakistan border here as people were told to vacate their houses by Thursday evening.Schools within 10-km radius of the border have been asked to shut down for an indefinite period till further orders. The situation became tense after India launched surgical strikes targeting terror launch pads across the LoC.Deputy Commissioner DPS Kharbanda has cancelled the leave of all civil staff and has asked those on leave to report back immediately. All kinds of strikes or union activity have been banned. The DC said they had asked the people residing in villages within 10 km of the border to evacuate to safer places by evening as a precautionary measure.The administration has also gone into an overdrive to work on the contingency plans and process has been started to set up relief camps. The health department has been asked to keep adequate stock of medicine and other emergency drugs.The revenue department has also been asked to arrange stock of food and emergency supplies. Meanwhile, the build-up can be witnessed along the borders as bunkers have sprung up. A lot of movement of army vehicles and other equipment was witnessed on Wednesday night. The owners of marriage place owners, dharamshalas and community places have been asked to keep their premises vacant to set up relief camps. Intelligence agencies are keeping an eye on every movement along the border. Surveillance has been spruced up along the entire stretch of zero line.The BSF officials said the Retreat ceremony had not been cancelled but they were silent when asked whether the people would be allowed to witness the drill.Kulwant Singh of Kamalewala village said they had no choice but to shift to their relatives’ place. “We have not been given time to collect our belongings as the administration has asked us to vacate by 5 pm,” he said.

The navy has alerted all agencies

Ajay Banerjee and Shiv Kumar

Tribune News Service

New Delhi/Mumbai, September 22All Indian naval bases and the Indian Air Force stations in the Mumbai area have been put on alert following reports of suspicious movement near the island of Karanja.Children returning from school around noon on Thursday reported seeing men wearing black pathan suits carrying weapons. The kids heard the men talk about the ONGC. The men were sighted close to INS Abhimanyu that houses missiles and ammunition and is also close to the ONGC facility at Uran, 50 km from Mumbai.

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It is being termed as the ‘highest state of alertness’.The INS Abhimanyu, near Uran in Mumbai, has been put on alert. Uran is a small island located opposite the naval harbour in south Mumbai near the Gateway of India. It is also close to the naval jetty where several frontline warships are docked. The island earlier housed the coastal battery and now holds missiles and ammunition.According to Director General of Police Satish Mathur, the two students separately spotted the armed men. While one claimed to have seen one armed man, another reported to have seen five.Both students were on way to school at 6.30 am when they claimed to have seen the armed men.The police have officially not released the names of the students though it is learnt that it was a boy and a girl.Shortly after the school authorities informed the police, the Indian Navy rushed in commandos from its MARCOS division while the anti-terror squad of the state police began a search operation in the area.The Uran coast is also closer to Raigad district where a consignment of RDX from Pakistan used to carry out the serial bomb blasts in March 1993 was landed by Tiger Memon and his associates.Though nothing has been found till late afternoon, the authorities have also roped in the Coast Guard to search suspicious vessels.Fisherfolk are also being called in to provide information on any suspicious movement on the coast, police sources said.Later in the day, checkpoints were thrown up on all the approach routes to Mumbai and Pune to scan vehicles, police said.

Lt Gen PJS Pannu with the Siachen trek team in Leh on Wednesday. Tribune Photo

Tribune News Service

Jammu, September 21

A high-altitude Siachen trek was today flagged off from Leh by Lt Gen PJS Pannu, General Officer Commanding, 14 Corps. The aim of the trek, comprising a team of 44 civilian trekkers, was to give an understanding to the participants of the difficult terrain and weather conditions encountered by the soldiers in Siachen and foster a better bonding between the Army and citizens.Initially, the trekking team would move to the Siachen base camp for acclimatisation and orientation training. Thereafter, the trek would be launched on October 2 and terminate on October 13.During his interaction with trekkers, the GOC complimented them for undertaking such a difficult mission and expressed hope that the trek would be a defining moment of their lives. The trek will also go a long way towards enhancement of mountaineering skills in civilians ably honed by the Army in the snow clad mountains of the highest battlefield of the world.

Simran Sodhi

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, September 20

Post-Uri, as India begins the process of “isolating Pakistan globally” there is some news to cheer. Most of the world stood with India in solidarity in condemning the attack and a few nations went a step further in asking that terrorist outfits based in Pakistan needed to be dealt with by the international community.In New York City, Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif met US Secretary of State John Kerry on the sidelines of the 71 session of the United Nations General Assembly and raised the Kashmir issue with him. Kerry, during the meeting, urged Sharif not to let terrorists use Pakistan territory as safe havens, while expressing his concern at the terror strike at the Uri Army base and at the situation in Kashmir. Kerry also stressed the need for restraint in nuclear weapons programmes.Earlier in the day, Afghan President Ashraf Ghani called up PM Modi and condemned the “cross-border” attack in Uri. Ghani also expressed Afghanistan’s solidarity and support with India for all actions to eliminate the threat of terrorism, according to a statement released by the PMO.Sri Lankan President Maithripala Sirisena also had a short telephonic conversation with Modi. He strongly condemned the cross-border terrorist attack. The two leaders also spoke of the need for “sustained cooperation among countries of the region to end the scourge of terrorism”.After the strong message of support from Russia and France earlier, Japan and Germany also stepped forward today in lending their support to India. German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier said, “As is often the case, terrorists’ aim is to escalate the situation; they want to trigger a spiral of violence. We must not give in to this logic, including in conflicts between India and Pakistan.”Russia, meanwhile, has come out with one of the strongest statements of support. Condemning the attack, the Russian foreign ministry said, “Regarding the Pathankot air base attack in January 2016, we are very concerned about the terrorist attacks near the Line of Control. We are also concerned about the fact that, according to New Delhi, the army base near Uri was attacked from Pakistani territory.”

World backs India

• Afghan President Ashraf Ghani expressed solidarity with India as regards all actions to eliminate the threat of terrorism
• Sri Lankan President Maithripala Sirisena said there was a need for sustained cooperation among countries of the region to end the scourge of terrorism
• Expressing solidarity with India, Japan said it condemned terrorism in all forms, regardless of its purpose
• France called for decisive action against terror groups targeting India, especially the LeT, the Jaish-e-Mohammed and the Hizb-ul-Mujahideen

The four-member suicide squad of Jaish-e-Muhammed (JeM) that carried out the Uri attack may not be the only militant group to have snuck into the Indian side of the Line of Control.

In all, there were three teams, each comprising three to four men that crossed over from LoC. Of this, one suicide squad was neutralized in Uri today, and the other in Poonch, a few days ago. The third team of Fidayeen, however, may have reached Srinagar or gone beyond, top sources have revealed based on the intercepts received before Eid Ul Adha.

Besides, another matter of serious concern is that there are nearly 200 terrorists in the Valley at the moment. They can launch an attack on security forces or their establishment any time.

PPCC chief Capt Amarinder Singh (left) with members of ex-servicemen organisations during a march in Chandigarh on Thursday. tribune photo: Manoj mahajan

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, September 15

Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee president Capt Amarinder Singh today joined the defence veterans’ march to Governor VP Singh Badnore to submit a memorandum. They stated that they supported the stand taken by three defence services’ chiefs against the alleged bias against defence personnel in the Seventh Pay Commission.The march was led by Lt Gen (retd) SS Brar, the seniormost amongst the veterans.Senior Congress leaders Ambika Soni, Asha Kumari and Harish Chaudhary too participated in the march.The memorandum addressed to the President, who is also the Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces, read, “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 said such repeated “wrong” steps on the part of the government demoralised the defence forces. He said India could not afford to do that considering it had “a belligerent China and a mischievous Pakistan” as its neighbours. “Just because our soldiers are disciplined does not mean their rights should be trampled upon,” he said, saying that the anomalies should be removed at the earliest.

Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar

Ajay Banerjee

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, September 12

Three days after the armed forces rejected the salary and emoluments recommended by the Seventh Central Pay Commission, Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar today told the forces, “What has been decided by the government has to be implemented and grievances, if any, can be taken up later.”It is now for the three services – the Army, the Air Force and the Navy – to decide on the matter, sources said. As of now, the Ministry of Defence (MoD) has “lobbed the ball” back to the forces even as some friction seems to be building between the forces and the government.IAF Chief Air Chief Marshal Arup Raha and Navy Chief Admiral Sunil Lanba today called upon Parrikar and explained him that the pay commission notification issued by the MoD on September 6 was inadequate and anomalies remained unresolved.The three services, in separate letters to their formations, had conveyed that they have asked the government to hold “in abeyance” the implementation of the Central Pay Commission in view of the “unresolved anomalies”. They believe the “unresolved anomalies” lower the status of the forces vis-à-vis their counterparts in the police and the civil administration.Sources in the MoD said Parrikar conveyed to the IAF Chief and the Navy Chief that “what all has been decided has to be implemented and legitimate grievances can be taken up later”.The government holds an opinion that demands of all arms of the government cannot be met in totality. The decision has to be implemented.On September 9, the Army, the Navy and the Air Force issued separate letters to inform senior commanders and the troops about the decision of the top brass. The services headquarters have asked serving personnel to show maturity and patience and not get swayed by hearsay or speculative reports.In March, the MoD had told an empowered panel that the status, pay and allowances of the armed forces be kept above the other “fighting” arms of the government.

Supreme Court , yesterday ( IA No. 1/2016 IN C A D 5112/2016) dismissed UOI appeal against AFT (PB) Delhi , OA 138/2013, implies that all Major/Lt Cdr/Sqn Ldr equivalents with more than 20 yrs but less  than 21  years and retired/ PMR in period 1 Jan 1996 and 14 Jan2000 are to be granted Lt Col/Cdr/Wg Cdr rank and pension. For circulation to other groups to benefit affected officers .

Army Chief to review security in Valley today

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, September 8Army Chief General Dalbir Singh Suhag will visit the Valley tomorrow to review the security situation, especially in the backdrop of the ongoing agitation.The street protests have gone out of control since the killing of Hizbul Mujahideen commander Burhan Wani by security forces on July 8. More than 70 people have lost their lives in the unrest so far.The Army Chief will be briefed in Srinagar by top officers of the Northern Command, including Northern Command chief Lt Gen DS Hooda and the Srinagar-based 15 Corps Commander Lt Gen SK Dua.The Army Chief will be briefed on the new military methods being planned to curb Pakistan-sponsored infiltration in Jammu and Kashmir. This comes in the backdrop of the government thinking of handing over south Kashmir to the Army for action against militants.The street protests have been vociferous in south Kashmir districts — Kulgam, Pulwama, Anantnag and Shopian — among other places.