Monthly Archives: August 2018

Vijay Mohan

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, October 3

It has taken 40 long years of struggle for a differently abled soldier, who had suffered amputation of his leg and consequently invalided out of service, to finally get his due pensionary benefits after the Armed Forces Tribunal came to his rescue.The Tribunal, in order passed a few days ago, has granted him pension from the date of his discharge in 1977. Sepoy Jagdish Chand, who hails from Kangra in Himachal Pradesh, had only about two years of service when while proceeding from his unit to his home on a single day’s casual leave, the bus he was travelling in met with an accident and he lost his left leg.Though the statutory military authorities had declared his disability “attributable to military service” since he was travelling from his unit to his home, the Defence Accounts Department declined to release him his pension, causing him a lot of hardship.Spending most party of his life without pension and running from pillar to post, he ultimately sought his documents under the RTI Act, which proved that not only the Court of Inquiry but the Invaliding Medical Board too had held his disability attributable to service. He thereafter approached the Armed Forces Tribunal (AFT) for grant of pension.Holding the action of accounts authorities illegal, the AFT granted him disability pension from the date of his release in 1977. The AFT has cited decisions of the Supreme Court and Punjab and Haryana High Court to conclude that administrative or accounts bodies cannot override the declaration of attributability to service by military or medical authorities.

A Pakistani soldier patrols in Mandhole village in Tatta Pani sector near the LoC in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir on October 1, 2016. — AFP

Mandhole (Pakistan), October 2

Pakistani military officials point to an Indian Army post high on a forested ridge along the Line of Control dividing Kashmir, insisting any incursions are impossible, after skirmishes ignited dangerous tensions between the two countries.

The Pakistani Army took the rare step of flying international media to the de facto border to make its case in a battle of competing narratives, after India said its elite commandos penetrated up to 3 km into Pakistan on anti-militant raids.

The presence of Indian forces so far across the Line of Control (LoC) would be a stinging blow to Pakistan, particularly after the 2011 US raid that killed Osama bin Laden which took place on its territory without its consent.

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The media visit came yesterday as Army Chief Dalbir Singh congratulated commandos involved in what New Delhi has described as “surgical strikes” to take out terrorist launch pads after a deadly attack on an Indian Army base by Pakistan-backed militants last month that killed 19 soldiers.

Pakistan has flatly denied the claim, saying two of its soldiers were killed but only in cross-border fire of the kind that commonly violates a 2003 ceasefire on the LoC.

The helicopter tour took journalists to sectors just 2 km from the dividing line, and near the locations India said it targeted in assaults on four militant camps.

On hand were senior local commanders as well as army spokesman Lieutenant General Asim Bajwa — an omnipresent media personality who has taken centre stage on Pakistani television since the tensions erupted.

In villages like Mandhole, daily life was going on largely as normal despite the tensions, with shops and businesses open and children in pressed white uniforms walking to school.

“You have seen the lay of the land,” said Bajwa, speaking from a command post overlooking the lush green Bandala Valley, with Pakistani and Indian fortifications visible on the opposite hill.

“You can see the way the fortifications are built and the way Pakistan has layers of defence and they have layers of defence … the LoC cannot be violated,” he said.

“If they’ve caused that damage to us, we don’t know any has been caused to us! You can go and meet the civilian population. Our side is open: to the UN mission, to the media, to the general public,” he said.

It was not possible to verify the general’s claims, though villagers who spoke with a second AFP reporter in the area independent of the military-guided trip were also incredulous.

Sardar Javed, a 37-year-old journalist for Kashmiri newspapers and a resident of Tatta Pani sector, which lies just west of J&K’s Poonch sector, where one of the strikes was said to have been carried out, said he had seen no evidence of a raid.

“I’m not saying it’s not true because that’s the Army line. It’s because I’m from the LoC and I’m a local journalist. News spreads fast around here and people get to know whatever happens,” he said. — AFP

The message has been conveyed to Pakistan. Thinkstock

Washington, October 1

The United States has strongly objected to threats of nuclear warfare made by Pakistan against India and has conveyed its displeasure to that country in this regard.“We made that (American objection on nuclear threat) clear to them (Pakistan). Repeatedly,” a senior State Department official said.The official who spoke on condition of anonymity, however, would not reveal the level at which the message was conveyed to Pakistan.

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“It is very concerning. It is a serious thing,” the official said when asked about Pakistan Defence Minister Khawaja Asif’s assertions, twice in the past 15 days, that his country could use nuclear weapons against India. “We will destroy India if it dares to impose war on us,” Asif had told a Pakistani news channel in his latest interview. “Pakistan army is fully prepared to answer any misadventure of India,” he had said.“We have not made the atomic device to display in a showcase. If such a situation arises we will use it (nuclear weapons) and eliminate India,” Asif had said.The statements raised eyebrows in the Obama Administration and are seen as “irresponsible” behaviour by top Pakistani leadership.In a tacit acknowledgement that it has concerns over the safety of nuclear weapons in Pakistan, the official said the US is closely monitoring the safety and security of those weapons of mass destruction.“The safety of these weapons is always a concern for us. So we are always monitoring it, regardless of what they said on this particular occasion,” said the State Department official.Meanwhile, Deputy State Department Spokesman Mark Toner told reporters at his daily news conference that nuclear-capable states had “a very clear responsibility to exercise restraint regarding nuclear weapons and missile capabilities”.The United States, meanwhile, continued to urge both India and Pakistan to take steps to de-escalate tension following the Uri terror attack.“At the same time, we have made it very clear that what happened in the Indian army base (Uri) is an act of terror,” the senior State Department official said. According to another official of the department, “everyone knows” where the perpetrators of the Uri terrorist attack came from.At his news conference, Toner said the US continued to follow the situation on the ground very closely.“From our perspective, we urge calm and restraint by both sides. We understand that the Pakistani and Indian militaries have been in communication and we believe that continued communication between them is important to reduce tensions.“I think we certainly don’t want to see any kind of escalation and certainly any kind of break in that communication. We have repeatedly and consistently expressed our concerns regarding the danger that cross-border terrorism poses for the region, and that certainly includes the recent attacks–terrorist attacks in Uri,” he said.“We continue to urge actions to combat and de-escalate–and delegitimise terrorist groups like Lashkar-e-Taiba, Haqqani Network, as well as Jaish-e-Mohammad,” Toner said. PTI

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Vijay Mohan

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, October 9

The Indian Air Force has drawn up plans to acquire 12 high-powered radars to counter the threat posed by the induction of new combat aircraft in the region, some of which are claimed to have stealth capabilities, as well as ballistic missiles.Such radars have the capability to detect airborne targets at a range of several hundred kilometres. These will combat the growing obsolescence and plug gaps in the country’s existing air defence network.The IAF has specified that the radars should be able to detect targets at an altitude of 30 kms with the ability to detect and track targets having a radar cross section of 0.1 square metre or less following a parabolic trajectory. The systems, which can also be deployed in high altitude areas, should also have measures to counter electronic warfare and anti-radiation missiles.The move to procure high-powered radars comes in the backdrop of India being in the process of acquiring several other systems, including long-range surface-to-air missiles, to strengthen defences against aerial threats.The IAF has an array of low, medium and long range radars to meet different operational requirements. At present, its requirement of high-power radars, which are large and static systems with an elaborate infrastructure, is met by a mix of Russian and French systems. The French Thales radar, which that has a range of about 600 kms, has been in service for several decades. Besides imported systems, a number of indigenously developed radars such as Rohini, Arudhra and Indra series met low and medium range requirements. The private sector in India is also reported to be working on high-powered radar systems.The Russian S-400 missile that has a range of 380 km, Israeli Spyder low-level quick reaction missiles, the indigenous Akash and the under development medium range surface-to-air missile along with the missile shield for important cities are among the systems being put in place to enhance air defence capabilities.

Reports about Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif berating the army, which he later denied, had warmed the cockles of even the most realist heart in India. Ram Madhav, a member of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s inner group, hailed Nawaz’s counsel to the Pakistan military on terror as an “extraordinary development.” Ram Madhav’s reaction is more like clutching at a straw than a rational scrutiny of the circumstances that would have rendered inoperative had the Pakistan PM actually made the observation. Nawaz Sharif, like all Pakistan PMs in the past, is engaged in perpetual shadow warfare with the army to gain control over the levers of the state. The Sharif brothers have repeatedly tried to clearly demarcate responsibilities for investigation of terror crimes in the domestic sphere.Nawaz had taken this line after the Pathankot attacks by entrusting the probe to the Intelligence Bureau chief who reports directly to him. Asif Zardari had also tried to ensure impartial trials of the Mumbai attack masterminds. Mysterious forces stymied both investigations including the unexplained assassinations of two public prosecutors in the Mumbai attack case. Nawaz has found an ally in the Pakistan People’s Party on Pakistan’s diplomatic isolation in the entire neighbourhood. Even the Pakistan army should find it galling that Sri Lanka boycotted the SAARC summit even though both countries have a long-standing defence relationship. Only Maldives, in the throes of acute political crises, acted neutral.Should India take on face value Nawaz and PPP’s deviation from remaining in denial mode? The firing on the LoC and attempts to storm Indian Army camps indicate that Pakistan’s Kashmir policy marches to a different drum beat. Nawaz may be playing the good cop in a routine that has been performed earlier. In fact, the stand of Pakistan’s political parties and its army on Kashmir is the same. They believe India unfairly snatched away the Valley and the final word has not yet been said. Thus even if Nawaz believes what he is saying, he neither has the capability to implement his views nor can it temper the ardour of forces trying to destablise J&K.

NO EVACUATION IN RAJASTHAN, GUJARAT MEANS CLEARING OF PUNJAB BORDER IS JUST TO DELAY POLLS, SAYS JAKHAR

KHEM KARAN (TARN TARAN): Punjab Congress chief Captain Amarinder Singh on Tuesday asked Prime Minister Narendra Modi to clear whether India was at war with Pakistan even as he criticised the eviction of villagers from the border areas of Punjab.

Addressing meetings in Khem Karan and Tarn Taran along the International Border, the former CM said surgical strikes were carried out across the Line of Control (LoC) even during the Congress regime, but nobody tried to take political mileage out of it.

Expressing solidarity with border villagers, he assured his party’s support to them in this hour of crisis. The former CM said he would take a house on rent in the border village of Rajatal, 500 metres from the International Border, to stay with the villagers. He also asked the border villagers to stay put in their homes and carry on with their harvesting.

“I am concerned for the people of the border belt who are being asked to move out of their homes leaving their properties, crops and livestock behind,” the state Congress chief said.

He also promised to take up the problems being faced by the border villagers in Parliament’s next session. “If need be, we will stage a dharna in the Lok Sabha,” he added. ‘WHERE’S SUKHBIR IF THERE’S WAR THREAT’ CHANDIGARH: Punjab Congress chief spokesperson Sunil Jakhar has questioned the absence of deputy chief minister Sukhbir Singh Badal from the state for four days when its border belt was evacuated over war threat.

“If there was war threat, he should have been in the state… or the evacuation was just a ploy to delay the 2017 assembly elections that the ruling Akali-BJP combine is sure to lose,” he told the media on Tuesday in Chandigarh, seeking Sukhbir’s whereabouts.

Jakhar said there was no evacuation in the border belt of Rajasthan and Gujarat. “So there’s no war threat in these states. The BJP-led government at the Centre has built up a war-like situation for advantage in the ensuing polls in Uttar Pradesh and Punjab,” he said. “The Punjab government has lost credibility and the imposed-evacuation tactic is taking the central government the same way.”

Demanding President’s rule in Punjab, Jakhar said the situation with Pakistan forced people to believe the government. “But if farmers are also evacuated, who will harvest the paddy crop that’s ready?” He said that previous Congress government at the Centre had carried out four surgical strikes in Occupied Kashmir but never disclosed it.

AGRA: A court in Agra on Tuesday sent a man to jail in connection with posting objectionable posts against Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The accused, identified as Mohd Arif, is the group admin of WhatsApp group ‘Hum Hai Aharan Ke Log’ on which the post was uploaded. Police are in search of another accused, Azad Ali, after he uploaded the post on Monday. The accused is absconding after an FIR was lodged against him at Barhan police station. Sources said the objectionable WhatsApp

Giving a befitting reply. PTI file

Jammu, October 30

Pakistani Rangers pounded BSF posts and civilian areas using small arms and mortar shells in overnight ceasefire violations along the International Border (IB) in Samba, Kathua and Jammu districts.This was stated by a senior BSF officer.“Firing started from Pakistan side at 9.15 pm in RS Pura sector and continued intermittently till 3 am,” Deputy Inspector General (DIG) BSF Jammu Frontier Dharmendra Pareek said on Sunday.Small arms and mortar shells were fired by the Rangers but were not effective. The BSF retaliated appropriately to the firing, Pareek added.

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He said at 2 am Pakistan started firing in gaps in Hiranagar and Samba sectors which continued till 6 am.“The BSF retaliated appropriately wherever required,” he said.The firing stopped at 8.20 am in all parts of the International Border. There was no loss of life or injury, the DIG added.On Friday, two civilians were killed and as many injured when Pakistan targeted civilian areas and forward Indian posts along the LoC and IB in Jammu, Kathua, Poonch and Rajouri districts, following which Indian troops retaliated and killed 15 Pakistani soldiers.The BSF said as per the ammunition used in firing and shelling it appeared that Pakistani Army was supporting Pakistani Rangers along the IB.On October 25, at least 2-3 Pakistani armymen were believed to have been killed in retaliatory firing by Indian troops in the Noushera sector of Rajouri district.Over 60 ceasefire violations have taken place since surgical strikes by Indian Army on terror launch pads in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir. PTI

Raheel”s comments come as Pakistan continues to refute India’s surgical strikes on terrorist launch pads on its soil. File photo

Islamabad, October 6

Pakistan Army chief General Raheel Sharif on Thursday accused India of spreading lies and warned that acts of “aggression” against the country would not go “unpunished”, as relations between the nuclear-armed neighbours continues to sour.

“We have recently witnessed an unfortunate display of utter desperation” playing out inside Kashmir and along Line of Control through a litany of falsehoods and distortion of facts by India”, Raheel said while addressing the passing out ceremony of Pakistan Air Force (PAF) cadets in Risalpur, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa. “We expect international community to condemn Indian insinuations and fabrications about a nation that has made unparalleled contributions in the global fight against terrorism.”

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Raheel’s comments come as Pakistan continues to refute India’s claims of surgical strikes on terrorist launch pads on its soil. The strikes came as direct fallout of a militant attack on an army camp in north Kashmir Uri.

“Any aggression, born out of deliberate intent or even a strategic miscalculation, will not be allowed to go unpunished and will be met with the most befitting response,” Raheel said. “We will be highly relentless in defending our motherland against entire spectrum of threat. I am confident that with the united resolve of our nation and its armed forces, those inimical to regional peace will not be allowed to succeed. Their evil plots and plans will be defeated.”

Raheel claimed that “enemies” of Pakistan’s peace and prosperity have been distressed by the country’s “successes” and that they were now trying to “reverse the gain:’ and “derail” the progress “through direct and indirect strategy”.

Raheel said Pakistan was a “responsible” country that remained committed to following the policy of friendship with all other countries.

“While doing so, the armed forces of Pakistan remain fully prepared to give the most befitting response to any kind of internal and external threat posed to our nation,” he said.

“Their (enemies’) nefarious designs will not be allowed to succeed at any cost. Resolute efforts to consolidate our gains is the only way forward for which we will not leave any stone unturned,” Raheel said.

Reports of cross-border firing and truce violations continue to take their toll on the already strained relations between the two-nuclear armed neighbours.

In the latest act of terrorism, some gunmen attacked an army camp in Kashmir’s Langate, 75 km from Handwara, in the small hours of Thursday. All three militants were killed in the standoff that followed. — Agencies