BREAKS RANKS WITH CONGRESS ON EVIDENCE, SAYING ASKING FOR IT WAS ‘INSULTING ARMY’ Arvind Kejriwal has an income tax background and suspects everything. He believes in the doctrine of guilty unless proven innocent. CAPT AMARINDER SINGH, Punjab Congress president

CHANDIGARH: Breaking ranks with the Congress that has asked the Narendra Modi government to counter Pakistani propaganda on cross-LoC strikes, Punjab unit chief Captain Amarinder Singh said on Wednesday that anyone asking for evidence was “insulting the army”.

“When the director general of military operations says terror launch pads across the LoC were destroyed, I believe every word he says. I have been a captain in the army and served it in the 1965 war. I have friends in the army and I am in regular touch with my regiment. I do not need a proof as I believe in the valour of my country’s forces,” Amarinder told HTinaninterview. CHANDIGARH: Breaking ranks with the Congress that has asked the Narendra Modi government to counter Pakistani propaganda on cross-LoC strikes, Punjab unit chief Captain Amarinder Singh said on Wednesday that anyone asking for evidence was “insulting the army”.

“When the director general of military operations says terror launch pads across the LoC were destroyed, I believe every word he says. I have been a captain in the army and served it in the 1965 war. I am a writer on military history. I have friends in the army and I am in regular touch with my regiment. I do not need a proof as I believe in the valour of my country’s forces,” Amarinder told HT in an interview.

His views are contrary to the party’s as Congress spokesperson RPN Singh said: “Subject to the considerations of national security, we again request the government to use all information, evidence and instruments at their disposal in calling the Pakistani bluff.”

Amarinder, however, had opposed the evacuation of border villages in Punjab and called for defying government orders.

TARGETS KEJRIWAL Training his guns on Aam Aadmi Party chief Arvind Kejriwal, Amarinder said the Delhi chief minister comes from an income tax background and suspects everything. “He believes in the doctrine of guilty unless proven innocent. Can we believe the propaganda of Pakistan, which is showing the international media — and CNN even broadcasts it — by putting its own men dressed in olive green uniform as Indian soldiers at the LoC? He is a joker to ask for proof to unmask such propaganda,” Amarinder said.

The Congress, which has come back into Punjab’s poll game not as much owing to its own campaign but recent setbacks suffered by the AAP starting from manifesto goof-up, sacking of its state convener Sucha Singh Chhotepur and reverse swings being played by cricketer-turned-politician Navjot Singh Sidhu, has stolen a march over Kejriwal’s party in the poll-bound state by questioning the evacuation of border villages after the strikes.

Backed by loyalist MLAs from border areas, Amarinder has thrown the ruling SAD-BJP alliance off balance by asking villagers to defy government evacuation orders. He attacked both the Narendra Modi government at the Centre and the Parkash Singh Badal government in Punjab on the motive behind the evacuation without discrediting the surgical strikes.

“Badal is playing Modi’s game of creating war hysteria with an eye on the Uttar Pradesh polls to show his chest of 56 inches has expanded to 58. Both the striking and holding units of the army are in their barracks in places such as Bathinda, Jalandhar and Ambala. Why did the CM try to create panic by displacing border villagers? On Wednesday, he ordered border schools be reopened. How can children go to school if their families are told to move out? I asked villagers not to be misled by Badal and stay put in their villages and look after their crop, cattle and children,” he said.

DISAGREES WITH NIRUPAM

Amarinder, however, distanced himself from remarks of Congress leader Sanjay Nirupam saying he is not concerned about what a party leader said in Maharashtra. On Congress spokesman Randeep Surjewala asking the Modi government to release evidence to discredit Pakistan propaganda that no strikes took place, he said former Union minister P Chidambaram said that surgical strikes took place even during the UPA rule but it never made them public. “The party is opposed to the Modi government’s bid to take political mileage out of the strikes,” the former CM said.

The AAP, which is battling hostile fire over Kejriwal’s demand for proof even in Punjab, is now toeing Amarinder’s line. Its leaders led by state convener Gurpreet Singh Waraich (Ghuggi) on Tuesday asked Badal at a press meet that if the evacuation orders came from the Centre, why was the BSF unaware? He was referring to BSF director general KK Sharma’s tweet: “India never gave orders for evacuation of villages near international border post(s).”

Have proof of strike, but will not release it: Centre

No chest-thumping needed, PM tells his ministers

NEW DELHI: The army has handed over video evidence of its September 29 surgical strikes on terrorist launchpads in Pakistanoccupied Kashmir but the government doesn’t see the need to make them public, two senior ministers said on Wednesday.

PTISoldiers patrol the LoC in Pallanwal sector. After a brief lull, Pakistan Army resumed shelling a major portion of the LoC on Wednesday.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has asked his ministers not to indulge in chest-thumping over the raid, sources said, adding the army, too, is not in favour of making public the details of the sensitive operation.

Urban development minister Venkaiah Naidu rejected the opposition’s demand for proof of the strikes, saying any further discussions would be an “insult” to the army. “There is no need to respond to such irresponsible comments and demands. Fortunately, the Congress has also realised its mistake and distanced itself from the comments of its leaders,” Naidu told mediapersons a day after he said that the proof would be presented at an appropriate time.

Defence minister Manohar Parrikar has also concurred with the army. Parrikar and National Security Advisor Ajit Doval were shown unedited footage of the September 29 operation on October 1, followed by a presentation of an edited version the next day by the Director General of Military Operations (DGMO). After seeing the visuals, Parrikar conveyed to the Prime Minister that he was satisfied and felt there was no need to release the footage.

Hindustan Times had reported on October 3 that Modi had on September 23 — five days after an army camp in Uri was attacked by militants that India says were based out of Pakistan — first told Parrikar and Doval of his decision to strike across the LoC.

“The opposition should understand the difference between a covert and overt strike. And it is not incumbent on the Indian army to release video footage every time they do their duty,” a senior official said on conditions of anonymity.

South Block sources said there was no need to rub Pakistan’s nose in the dirt after the successful surgical strike. Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal and a section of Congress leaders have been calling for evidence, couching it as a must to debunk “Pakistan propaganda” that the raid was nothing but crossborder fighting.

The Congress repeated its demand on Wednesday but tempered it by saying the government should provide proof only after considering national security. Saying it had unequivocally supported the armed forces and the government on the cross-LoC action, the Congress said it was time to “expose the malicious lies and false propaganda” of Pakistan.

Several ministers had taken on the opposition for “questioning” army’s courage in demanding evidence for the raid. “I don’t think any Indian citizen has got any doubt… It would be an insult to the army if we further discuss,” Naidu said. “Only Pakistan is saying something because they have to say something. They are not in a position to conduct funeral or last rites of their own citizens…This is their culture.”

Sources in the army said the force was not in favour of releasing the evidence though the final decision lay with the government. The army would like to keep under wraps the tactics of its special forces. The army, they said, was proud of its apolitical and secular credentials and didn’t want to be dragged into political wrangling.

GPS device, wire-cutters found during search; India, Pak NSAs discuss de-escalation

SRINAGAR/NEW DELHI: Militants who attacked a paramilitary camp in north Kashmir’s Baramulla used civilians to “shield” their escape, police said on Monday, even as the national security advisers of India and Pakistan spoke over phone to reduce hostilities along the defacto border.

NITIN KANOTRA / HT AND PTIBSF men stand guard near the International Border fence in Akhnoor sector on Monday; and (right) tributes being paid to a BSF trooper who was killed in the Baramulla attack, in Srinagar.

A Border Security Force (BSF) soldier was killed and another jawan wounded after at least six gunmen attacked the 46 Rashtriya Rifles camp in Janbazpora on the outskirts of Baramulla city around 10.30pm on Sunday, triggering retaliation from the forces. The attack continued till 1am.

A “GPS device and wire cutters” were found during a search after the attack, a BSF spokesperson said, indicating that the attackers may have crossed over from across the LoC.

Wire cutters, compass and GPS devices were also recovered after the Uri camp attack, which India blames on the Pakistan based Jaish-e-Mohammed. The Army, however, said the attack was not in “retaliation” to the “surgical strikes” by India across the LoC as the militants may have crossed over “a month or two” ago.

The Baramulla attack came three days after India claimed to have conducted “surgical strikes” to wipe out seven to eight militant launch pads in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK).

Army sources said attackers were unlikely to have crossed the LoC in the past few days when vigil along the LoC has been very tight.

Reports of two militants being killed during the attack were untrue, sources said.

Ties between India and Pakistan have nosedived since the September 18 attack on an Indian Army garrison in northern Kashmir’s Uri that killed 19 soldiers. While India has blamed Pakistan-based terrorists for the strike, Islamabad has denied the charges.

North Kashmir DIG Uttam Chand told HT that the militants involved in the Baramulla attack used the large population near the camp as “shield” to escape under the cover of darknes. He said forces could not retaliate heavily as it would have otherwise caused civilian casualties.

The BSF company deployed in Baramulla shares the 46 RR headquarters with the army. At the time of attack both BSF and army men were on guard.

“A massive combing operation is on to nab the attackers,” said Vikas Chandra, the BSF’s inspector general in Srinagar.

Reports said the BSF also foiled an infiltration attempt by a group of 8-10 militants near the Chakri border out post (BoP), 30 km from Gurdaspur in Punjab.

Meanwhile, Pakistan’s top diplomat Sartaj Aziz said the NSAs of both countries have spoken to reduce hostilities along the LoC.

A home ministry spokesperson in New Delhi confirmed the telephonic discussion.

Aziz, the adviser to prime minister on foreign affairs, told Geo. tv that Pakistan wants to “reduce tensions on LoC”, and added Pakistani NSA Nasser Janjua and his Indian counterpart Ajit Doval have stressed the need to establish contact.Aziz, however, alleged that India was escalating tensions with Pakistan “to deflect the attention of the world from Kashmir issue”.

Pervez Musharraf

Lahore, October 2

Taking on the Nawaz Sharif-led government, former prime minsiter General Pervez Musharraf (retired) has claimed that Pakistan is facing international isolation thanks to its own wrong policies.

Musharraf’s statement comes in the wake of the postponing of the SAARC summit, which was scheduled for November in Islamabad, as Bangladesh, Afghanistan and Bhutan, joined by Sri Lanka on Friday, pulled out citing concerns over terrorism.

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According to Dawn, the Chairman of the All Pakistan Muslim League (APML) spoke by telephone to APML workers on the party’s sixth foundation day and lashed out at the government.

“It is astonishing that the government has taken and spent a loan of $35 billion, but not a single beneficial megaproject has been completed with that money. Instead, the people have been suffering because of the government’s corruption,” he said.

Training his guns on New Delhi, Musharraf stated that India is only good at hurling threats but if Pakistani military decides to act on them the response will assume a far more practical form.

“India should realise that Pakistan is not Bhutan. India has a habit of levelling allegations against Pakistan each time there’s an attack on its soil,” he said. — ANI

The Jamaat-ud-Dawah chief at it again. AFP

Lahore, October 1

Hafiz Saeed, chief of Jamaat-ud-Dawah (JuD), an Islamic charity linked to outlawed militant group Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), has said that New Delhi staged the “surgical strike” drama following domestic pressure on Prime Minister Narendra Modi to retaliate after 19 soldiers were killed in the Uri attack.“They (some people in India) started asking that ‘you had said that you would attack Pakistan, you would do a surgical strike’. Everyone who was in grip of this fever started asking Modi and the Indian government. For this Ajit Doval staged a drama. He made up a surgical strike drama while sitting indoors,” Saeed said.

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Saeed was of the opinion that no raid was actually carried out by the Indian troops.“The whole film was made in which this surgical drama was shown in which they said their 150 expert paratroopers, after crossing the control line and entering Pakistan, carried out a raid. Actually, no raid was carried out, neither in Bhimber nor in Lipa, Chamb and Dudhnial,” he added.The Indian Army has said it conducted surgical strikes on terror launch pads across the Line of Control (LoC) in response to the terrorist attack at Uri sector. Two Pakistani soldiers and over 30 terrorists were reportedly killed in the attack.Director General of Military Operations Lt General Ranbir Singh said the motive of the operation was to hit out at the terrorists who were planning to infiltrate into the Indian territory.Lt Gen Singh said significant casualty was caused to terrorists during the operation.The DGMO said it was a matter of serious concern that there had been many infiltration bids by terrorists at the LoC and it was reflected in the terror attacks in Poonch and Uri on 11th and 18th of this month.Meanwhile, anti- India protests were held in Lahore, Multan, Karachi and some cities of Balochistan in wake of the rising tensions between the arch-rivals. ANI

MUMBAI/NEW DELHI: The lone Indian soldier, who strayed across the LoC after the surgical strikes on Wednesday, was identified as 22-year-old Chandu Chavan, who hails from Borvihir village in Dhule district of Maharashtra. Local Marathi television channel IBN Lokmat reported that his grandmother, Lilabai Patil, died after she heard of his capture by the Pakistan army. It is reported that the maternal grandmother had brought up Chavan since he was a child after his parents were killed. Minister Rajnath Singh said, “The government has taken note of media reports that say our soldier is in Pakistan’s captivity… India will take up the matter with Pakistan,” TV channels reported him as saying. Singh also spoke to the Chavan’s family and assured them of all support.

File photo of a Rafale fighter jet

Beijing, September 30

China apprehends that India will deploy the 36 nuclear-capable Rafale fighter jets to be acquired from France in the border regions of China and Pakistan to enhance its deterrence capability, a media report here said.

India will deploy the new French-made fighters in the disputed areas bordering Pakistan and China, state-run Global Times reported quoting Shenzhen Television.

A recent report by Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) said India is the largest arms importer in the world, the newspaper said.

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Increased arms imports into the Asian region are primarily due to the unstable security environment in the Middle East and concerns from China’s neighbours over its rise.

The Rafale fighters in flyaway condition carry tactical nuclear warheads, and this means India’s nuclear deterrence capability will be greatly improved, Shenzhen Television reported.

“India also wants to purchase the Rafale technology from Dassault but France refused, meaning France has no intention to help India promote its military industrial system,” Zhao Gancheng, director of South Asia Studies at the Shanghai Institutes for International Studies said.

While India is rapidly expanding its military capabilities spending an estimated $100 billion on new defence systems, many other countries with an advanced military industry are also competing for India’s market, such as Russia, the US and Israel, the daily quoted SIPRI report as saying.

Zhao said before this deal with France, India was also considering the US-made F-16s.

“India picked French-made jet fighters because they are cheaper and have a nuclear-deterrence capability,” he said.

SIPRI’s list of the top 10 arms importers for 2011-2015 has nine Asian or Asia-Pacific countries.

Many of China’s neighbours are also on the list of top 10 importers, such as Vietnam, South Korea and India, he said.

“Due to the South China Sea dispute and the increasing power of the Chinese navy, countries like Vietnam and the Philippines are very concerned, but the US is not helping China solve the problem peacefully,” said Song Zhongping, a Beijing-based military expert.

“The US government and media are hyping the ‘China Threat Theory,’ trying to convince countries in Asia that China is on the offensive,” he said. — PTI

Ajay Banerjee

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, October 26

The Ministry of Defence (MoD) has decided to do away with having a system of “blanket blacklisting” and put in place a new “blacklisting” policy that will remove the dichotomy between tackling corruption in defence deals and having a method to deal with foreign companies which pay bribes.The new “blacklisting” policy has been okayed, it will be formally approved in the forthcoming Defence Acquisition council (DAC) meeting planned after Diwali. Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar heads the DAC, which is the apex decision-making body of the MoD.The new policy will have a pointed product specific ban, aimed at punishing the corrupt among the foreign suppliers and not hold to ransom the country’s military and defence needs. The new policy envisages that a person of a foreign company, if found to be indulging in corruption, will not be allowed to deal in another case of the company’s subsidiary. During the tenure of the Congress-led UPA (May 2004 to May 2014), a “blanket blacklisting” was followed and several new procurements were held up.The MoD has decided to do away with “blanket blacklisting” of foreign companies, which were found guilty of offering bribes, a top official in the MoD said. Blacklisting a firm may not be a good option as it just forecloses options for India. There are no more than four to five equipment makers that are largely integrators of specialised parts produced by niche companies.A sub-committee formed by the MoD will issue guidelines on the extent of blacklisting, its tenure and the procedure.The challenge is from corrupt elements on the one side and cutting down on the delays in equipping the forces with the best equipment, weapons and aircraft on the other.In 2015, a committee headed by former Union Home Secretary Dhirendra Singh submitted a report on defence procurement procedure (DPP) and suggested that misdeeds of an entity or its employees should not be visited on the equipment or system.In other words, it has been suggested that there is no need to block the supply of equipment in case some bribery charge emerges.The question before the MoD was how to deal with foreign companies which — despite being the best in their class — offer bribes or are forced to offer bribe to bag contracts in India.In August 2014, just months after the Narendra Modi Government took over the MoD informally decided that “blanket bans” will not help, now this has been firmed up in way of a policy.The MoD banned the Bofors artillery gun in the late 1980s. Since then, there has been no artillery gun purchase. In 2013, the purchase of AgustaWestland helicopters was stopped midway. In both cases, suspected bribery charges emerged.After the new policy is implemented, the MoD will not buy helicopters or have any business relationship with AugustaWestland – a subsidiary of the Finmeccanica – but will be free to negotiate with the other company within the conglomerate.To give an example, a source said Finmeccanica, headquartered in Italy, is the source of critical equipment like main guns for warships and heavy torpedoes. The Navy has been affected as companies owned by Finmeccanica are needed. The Navy hasn’t been able to procure torpedoes for the Scorpene submarine, which is slated to be commissioned in January 2017.

Military procurement won’t be held up

• The new policy will have a pointed product-specific ban that will aim at punishing the corrupt suppliers and not holding toransom the country’s military and defence needs
• It envisages that a foreign firm’s employee, if found to be indulging in corruption, will not be allowed to deal in another case of the company’s subsidiary
• During the tenure of the Congress-led UPA (May 2004 to May 2014), a “blanket blacklisting” was followed and several new procurements were held up

NEW DELHI: The government has downgraded the status of military officers compared to their counterparts in civilian administration, a new defence ministry letter accessed by Hindustan Times has revealed.

A civilian principal director, who was equivalent to a brigadier, has been equated to a twostar general, a director-ranked officer to a brigadier and a joint director to a colonel, triggering widespread resentment in military circles.

Until now, a colonel was equivalent to a director and a lieutenant colonel to a joint director.

The letter, dated October 18, talks about rank ‘”equivalence” between defence officers and “armed forces headquarters civil service officers”. It says issues regarding rank equation were examined in detail.

“By this equation, a captain is equivalent to a civilian Group B section officer. This isn’t mischief, but mischief-plus by bureaucrats,” said an army officer on condition of anonymity.

The letter, signed by a joint secretary, says the government has referred to administrative orders issued by the army, navy and air force during 2003-08.

Several serving officers Hindustan Times spoke to said the orders mentioned in the letter were only for internal cadre management.

“They have deliberately misinterpreted the orders. It’s an attempt to reverse clearly established protocols established by successive pay panel reports and court rulings,” said another officer, who did not wish to be named.

He said the diktat was also against the spirit of recommendations made by a GoM headed by Pranab Mukherjee after the 6th Pay Commission report.

The letter states the rank equation laid down in it is to be followed in assigning duties/ functional responsibilities and for all purposes such as channel of reporting, detailing of officers for training courses, providing stenographic assistance etc. Hindustan Times is in possession of the letter.

A defence ministry official said he was aware of the communication but not all the details, adding that the letter says some points have been reiterated.

The letter says in the recent past some directorates have sent communications questioning the established rank equations by relying on incorrect information.

BJP Yuva Morcha activists protest against the film “Ae Dil Hai Mushkil”. PTI

New Delhi, October 22Senior Army officials and veterans were “upset” over the force being dragged into “politics” over films after the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) demanded that producers of movies employing Pakistani actors pay Rs 5 crore to an army welfare fund.The controversy erupted after Karan Johar’s ‘Ae Dil Hai Mushkil’ ran into a storm of protests led by MNS because Pakistani actor Fawad Khan has a role in it.

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The film has been allowed to be released after its producers met with three conditions put forward by MNS chief Raj Thackeray, including payment of Rs 5 crore to Army Welfare Fund.”All contributions (to welfare fund) are to be voluntary.Extortion is not allowed. We would want people to contribute on their own rather than under any coercion,” a senior army official said today.He said the army is “upset” over being dragged into this politics.”The army is completely apolitical. It is wrong to drag the force into politics,” another army official said.”(We) would never support it,” Lt Gen Syed Ata Hasnain (Retd), former military secretary, said when asked if he supports the move of the MNS.”Why should the armed forces be made a part of this extortion? By accepting this money they would become a ‘receiver’ of tainted money,” tweeted Air Vice-Marshal Manmohan Bahadur (retd).Army sources said they have a system in place to check all contributions and can even reject a contribution made under duress or by any person whom the force does not want to be associated with. — PTI

Islamabad, October 19

Amid Indo-Pak tensions, Pakistan’s media regulatory authority on Wednesday decided to enforce a complete ban on Indian TV and radio contents from Friday and warned that the licences of those found guilty of violating the ban will be suspended.

Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (PEMRA) decided to ban airing of Indian content from October 21 at the request of the federal government, it said.

“The ban will come into effect at 3 pm on October 21, and radio and television stations which violate the ban will have their licences suspended without a prior show cause notice,” PEMRA said in a statement.

The ban extends to all Indian content on cable and radio being aired in Pakistan.

The authority also decided to cancel one-sided rights given to Indian media by the government of former military dictator Pervez Musharraf in 2006.

PEMRA has already decided to get tough with Indian contents after complaints that most of the local channels were using more than 5 per cent foreign contents as allowed by it.

The regulator on August 31 said that strict action would be taken against the channels airing foreign content more than the prescribed limit and traders selling illegal DTH sets.

The decision was implemented from October 16 as PEMRA launched crackdown on those channels using foreign contents illegally.

Earlier in October, PEMRA granted its chairman Absar Alam final authority to revoke or suspend licences of companies illegally using Indian content.

Tensions have run high between India and Pakistan since the terror attack on an Indian Army base in Uri on September 18.

Later, India said it carried out “surgical strikes” across the LoC and destroyed terrorist launch pads on September 28.

Pakistan has denied any surgical strikes took place, but said two of their soldiers were killed in cross-border firing by the Indian Army. — PTI