Army personnel carry out a door-to-door search operation after a convoy was ambushed in Pampore on Saturday. Mohd Amin War

Suhail A Shah

Tribune News Service

Anantnag, December 17

Three soldiers were killed after militants targeted an Army convoy in Pampore town along the Srinagar-Jammu National Highway, some 15 km south of Srinagar, this afternoon.Army spokesperson Col Rajesh Kalai said a search operation was on “to try and corner the attackers”. He added that the identities of the martyred Army men will be revealed only after their next of kin have been informed. The attack took place at the busy Kadlabal Chowk of Pampore town in Pulwama district around 3.30 pm.Police sources said the militants, believed to be riding a motorbike, appeared from a bylane and opened indiscriminate fire at the Army convoy, which was moving slowly amid the traffic.“The militants are believed to have been two to three in number. We have cordoned off certain localities and efforts to locate the militants are on,” a senior police official from the area said.Panic gripped the entire Kadlabal area and traffic on the national highway came to a standstill as gunshots were fired in the air.“People ran for safety into the narrow bylanes and alleys as intense firing was heard. Shopkeepers downed shutters and took refuge in their shops to wait out the exchange of fire,” an eyewitness told The Tribune.No militant outfit has so far claimed responsibility for the attack even as police sources reveal there were prior intelligence inputs regarding the planning of such an attack.“There were some inputs with the security agencies and the security along the national highway had been heightened. Random stoppages and searches were being carried out on the Srinagar-Anantnag stretch of the highway. The militants, however, chose a busy place with heavy civilian movement for the attack,” a police source said.This is the second major militant attack to have been carried out in the Pampore area in less than six months.On June 25, militants from Lashkar-e-Toiba attacked a CRPF convoy, killing at least eight men and injuring 20  less than a kilometre north of today’s attack site. Two militants were also killed. The cordon and search operations, meanwhile, were continuing in Pampore town.

3 soldiers killed in Kashmir ambush

SRINAGAR: Motorcycle-riding militants fired on an army bus in southern Kashmir on Saturday, killing three soldiers, but the fatalities could have been higher had the driver not kept going despite being shot, police said.

Most of the soldiers were returning from leave or moving to their new deployment, and were unarmed. The attack occurred around 2pm at a crowded place in Pampore, limiting the soldiers’ ability to retaliate with full force, an army spokesman said.

The wounded soldiers were moved to the base hospital in Srinagar but three of them did not survive.

Two security personnel, including the driver of the army bus, were wounded.

The bus was going from Jammu to the state’s summer capital Srinagar. The shooting led to panic in the area, and the attackers fled once the soldiers prepared to retaliate.

After years of decline, militant violence increased in Kashmir this year, deepening a chill in ties with Pakistan whom India directly or indirectly blamed for at least three deadly attacks on military bases in Pathankot in Punjab and Kashmir’s Uri and Nagrota.

The attack comes at a time Kashmir has been limping back to normal after the killing of militant Burhan Wani by government forces sparked five months of protests across the region that left some 90 people dead

“A bad year in terms of security force casualties just got worse,” Omar Abdullah, the leader of Jammu and Kashmir’s main opposition party National Conference, said in a Twitter post following the attack.

Officials said security forces cordoned off the attack site and launched a search for the attackers. This was the fourth militant attack on security force this year in Pampore on the outskirts of Srinagar, including two major holdups. Eight CRPF personnel were killed and 20 injured on June 25 in an ambush on a convoy in the town’s Frestbal area. Two militants had also been killed in the attack.

In February, five security personnel and a civilian were killed after militants first attacked a CRPF convoy and then stormed the landmark EDI building on the Srinagar-Jammu highway. An ensuing encounter lasted about 48 hours and ended with the killing of three militants. The building saw another militant holdup in October.

TERROR STRIKES: URI & AFTER

Sept 18: Heavily armed militants storm army base near LoC in Uri, killing 18 soldiers. Oct 4: Militants attack BSF and army camps in Baramulla, 1 dead. Oct 10: Two militants storm govt building in Pampore, neutralised after a 57-hour operation. Oct 28: Militants mutilate 30-year-old sepoy Mandeep Singh’s body in Machil sector. Nov 22: Ultras kill three soldiers in north Kashmir’s Machil; body of one of the soldiers mutilated. Nov 25: Encounter in Naidkhai area of Bandipora district leaves a solider and two militants killed

HT PHOTOSecurity forces in Pampore on the outskirts of Srinagar on Saturday.

NEWS ANALYSIS

Pro-militancy narrative encourages ultras to attack security personnel

Soldiers carry out door-to-door searches at Pampore in Pulwama district after militants attacked an Army convoy killing three jawans on Saturday. Tribune Photo: Amin War

Amit Khajuria

Tribune News Service

Jammu, December 17

The killing of three soldiers in an ambush by militants in Pampore, near Srinagar, on Saturday among other things is the result of pro-militancy and violence narrative by Kashmiri political leaders and the BJP’s inability to take a stand against these elements.All the energies for the next couple of days would be channelised in determining how and why of the terror attack at Pampore, which has become a favourite spot of the militants to attack the convoys of security forces, but the fact that how this overall atmosphere has turned in favour of such attacks would remain unaddressed.The political leaders like Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti and her predecessors Farooq Abdullah and Omar Abdullah have created a halo around Hizbul Mujahideen commander Burhan Wani, who was killed in an encounter with security forces on July 8. So far, none of these leaders and those from other parties like the Congress and CPM has been critical of Burhan. If separatists and Pakistan hailed him as a “martyr”, these leaders and parties have silently endorsed that aura-filled profile.The Army is made to defend its own acts of omission and commission. There are high-profile visits, which have become rather more frequent after the September 18th attack at the Army base at Uri in which 20 soldiers lost their lives. November 29 — exactly two months after the surgical strikes at the terrorist infrastructure in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (September 29th), the political narrative in the Valley has been accusatory toward the Army.Mehbooba, Omar and Farooq Abdullah have adopted a single line that the dialogue with Pakistan should be started. Omar says the need for the dialogue with Pakistan and other stakeholders is “unquestionable.” Mehbooba asserts that there is no other option available except to talk to Islamabad. Farooq claims that no solution would come forth unless the talks are held with Pakistan leadership. Except for some appeal to Pakistan not to allow its soil to be used for disturbances in Jammu and Kashmir by Mehbooba Mufti, all other leaders speak as if the whole fault lay with India for making talking terror-first as a starting point of bilateral talks with Pakistan.The home-schooling in Kashmir is encouraging hate-India campaign. This is generating a atmosphere conducive for terrorists and their actions. In this atmosphere, it is neither the first, nor the last attack.

Uri attack

In the worst attack on the Army in many years, heavily armed militants suspected to be from Pakistan-based JeM stormed an army base in Uri in Kashmir. 17 jawans were martyred.

Pathankot attack

An NSG commando was martyred in mopping up operations against terrorists at an IAF base in Pathankot in Punjab.

Lt Col Niranjan, a member of the NSG’s Bomb Disposal Squad, was martyred while he was defusing the grenade at the scene of the terror attack as part of the combing operations that continued through the night

Siachen avalanche

Four days after being miraculously found alive in Siachen, Indian Army’s brave soldier Lance Naik Hanamanthappa Koppad attained martyrdom on Thursday, February 11. The Lance Naik breathed his last around 11:45 AM.

Siachen avalanche

As we mourn Hanumanthappa Koppad’s martyrdom, let’s remember those martyr who guarded Siachen with Lance Naik Hanumanthappa.

Pampore martyrs

Total seven soldiers were martyred in the Pampore encounter.

Kupwara martyr Santosh Mahadik

Colonel Santosh Mahadik was martyred while battling terrorists in Kupwara. His wife Swati Mahadik has cleared Services Selection Board (SSB) selection, the final hurdle for her induction into the Army.

Pampore attack

Captain Pawan Kumar was martyred in the fierce gunfight with a group of terrorists holed up inside a government building on the outskirts of Srinagar.

Soldiers at the Army camp in Nagrota. Tribune file photo

Srinagar, December 12

Terrorists, who stormed the Army camp at Nagrota in Jammu region on November 29, used a silencer-fitted weapon to kill a sentry before gaining entry into the premises, a tactic adopted by ‘fidayeen’ (suicide attackers) for the first time in the troubled state.After sneaking into the camp from the rear, which had thick vegetation that provided natural cover of elephant grass, one of the terrorists fired at the sentry using a silencer-fitted weapon, official sources said.As someone noticed the fall of the sentry, panic gripped the Army camp, which houses an artillery unit and also has presence of families of soldiers. Soon firing erupted.The sources said night illuminators were fired to locate the terrorists, who had by then entered an adjacent two-storey building where families of soldiers were staying.Anticipating a hostage-like situation, the Army troops with the help of para-commandos rescued the women and children first before launching a final onslaught on the terrorists.Drones were pressed into the service which helped the snipers eliminate the terrorists inside the camp, the sources said.Seven Army personnel, including two officers, were killed in the attack by the three terrorists, who were also eliminated in the counter-offensive which lasted nearly four hours.Seeking to join the dots related to the attack, multiple security agencies have indicated that the three attackers had infiltrated into India from across the International Border at Hiranagar in Kathua district of the Jammu region.The security agencies had recovered an iCom wireless set near a tree in Hirnagar that matched the frequency of the sets carried by the militants, the sources said.Not ruling out the possibility of local assistance being provided to the terrorists, the sources said they had possibly entered into India on the night of November 28-29 and travelled a distance of 78 km to the Army camp using a well-connected national highway before mounting the assault in the morning.Initially, it was speculated that the terrorists could have travelled to the Army camp from Kashmir, a possibility that was rejected after the vehicular movement was scrutinised from the CCTVs installed at vantage points along the national highway linking the Valley to the rest of the country. There were some intelligence leads suggesting that a militant sympathiser from Poonch had ferried the terrorists to the Army camp, they said.BSF officials had initially rejected suggestions that terrorists entered through the International Border but after the |recovery of the wireless set, they started their internal probe. The case is now being probed by National Investigation Agency. —PT

Sentry becamefirst casualty

• After sneaking into the camp from the rear, one of the terrorists fired at the sentry using a silencer-fitted weapon
• Multiple security agencies have indicated that the three attackers had infiltrated into India from across the International Border at Hiranagar in Kathua
• The possibility of local assistance being provided tothe terrorists was not ruled out as they travelled a distance of 78 km to the Army camp before mounting the assault in the morning

Call it just a coincidence. The CBI has gone into an overdrive just when the Supreme Court had asked the government to justify the appointment of Rakesh Asthana as its interim Director. In three days the CBI netted former chief of the Indian Air Force SP Tyagi and slapped a fresh chargesheet on former Coal Secretary HC Gupta. Asthana’s appointment has appeared unusual. Not only was the seniormost official in the CBI moved out to accommodate Asthana, his two immediate subordinates are also drawn from the Gujarat cadre: YC Modi (clean chit to Modi in the Gujarat 2002 riots) and Arun Kumar Sharma (Ishrat Jahan encounter probe).As was the case with surgical strikes, the ruling party’s cheerleaders are reluctant to let the investigation agency corner the glory. The BJP views Tyagi’s arrest in the AugustaWestland helicopter case as “the manifestation of the Modi government’s zero tolerance towards corruption.” The Congress, equally expectedly, suggests that the arrest is a diversionary tactic from the mismanagement of the demonetisation drive. Tyagi will have his day and say in the court, the travails of former Coal Secretary Gupta, considered among the best of his time, sent a chill down the spine of every serving official. Gupta had even sought jail instead of bail because he was a man of limited means.Tyagi’s arrest has much wider ramifications than that of Gupta. If it is only about changing the technical specifications in the helicopter tender, we may be looking at a Bofors moment all over again. A generation of fine bureaucrats in the Defence Ministry opted for procrastination over decisions in order to avoid getting snared in a Bofors-like situation. A long chain of service and civilian officials vet every major defence deal. The extant tender pertained to VVIP choppers. It naturally went all the way to the Prime Minister’s Office, beginning with the time when Atal Behari Vajpayee was the incumbent. The CBI has a huge task on its hands. Any mishandling will have a deleterious impact on defence purchases. India can hardly afford another lost decade of defence modernisation.

Arrest of Former CAS.

 

UNWARRANTED AND UNTIMELY WISDOM

COMMENTS BY   Gp Capt TP Srivastava

There is an old saying “ Lightning does not strike the same place twice”. But the current NDA government being led so ably by one of our best prime minister, Sri Narendra Modi has proved it to be wrong.

 “ LIGHTNING DOES STRIKE TWICE AT THE SAME PLACE”.

·   NDA government led by one of the most outstanding statesman/politician of India Sri Atal Bihari Vajpayee had the dubious distinction of dismissing the then Naval Chief, Admiral Vishnu Bhagwat merely because the CNS had the guts to question the autocratic style of the then Defence Secretary. Indeed credit must be given to the government of the day because the then Defence Secretary too was punished. He was ‘punished’ by appointing him Secretary of yet another department.

.  Current NDA government led by Mr Narendra Modi has gone a step further by arresting former Chief of Air Staff, Air Chief Marshal SP Tyagi, fondly known as ‘Bundle’ Tyagi to his colleagues in blue, white and olive green on charges of his role in Augusta Westland bribery scandal.

·  Congress government, too, has not been far behind in this respect. Thimmy’s dressing down in parliament by Mr Nehru nearly 50 years back and nearer times hounding out of Admiral Joshi after a submarine blew up are feathers in their cap.

· ACM Tyagi has been charged under IPC 120B and 420. If the same logic was to be applied to politicians, a majority might land up in Tihar.

I write this piece not in anger but deep anguish. How could a man of unquestionable integrity and outstanding foresight like Mr Modi could commit such irrational act. Let it be categorically stated here that the current interim Director of CBI Rakesh Asthana cannot be faulted for this. He, obviously, had his task listed out by the powers that be. Alternatively he must be a God’s gift to mankind that within days of taking over, he unraveled the secrets of the said case in a few days.

It is nauseating to suggest (to put it politely) that ACM Tyagi altered the height parameters on his own to facilitate Agusta Westland to enter the fray. Were the then Raksha Mantri, Defence secretary, Head of SPG, NSA and many other functionaries behaving like ‘noddies’ and said ‘yes’ to whatever ACM Tyagi said.

Mr Modi let me share few things. After effect of Admiral Vishnu Bhagwat’s unceremonious removal resulted in subsequent Service Chiefs (most of them would decline to admit) declining to question the powers that be. Abysmal state of defence preparedness is the reward but the deaf, blind and mute politicians of this country cannot see that. Now you have gone a step further; let me forecast this day the 10th December, 2016 with 100% certainty that no future Service Chief is going to render an honest professional advice on any matter in future, lest he be targeted few years later. Let the ignorant politician and arrogant bureaucrat take all decisions with regard to defence procurement. National interests and security be damned.

You have erred Mr Modi. I tell you this without mincing any words because you are the hope of the nation.

As a soldier and an ordinary citizen I must be told as to where is the ‘MONEY-TRAIL’ that leads to ACM Tyagi? If it is so clear, should the nation not be told? Now a few things about statecraft, which you apparently do not know or is it that the political expediency blinds you and you  are willing to sacrifice the INSTITUTION OF SERVICE CHIEF on the altar of party/political interests.

Every politician of this nation is corrupt, you included. Corruption does not mean that one has to be dishonest himself/herself. One is corrupt if he/she is in company of the corrupt persons. Can you vouch for honesty and integrity of every BJP member of Parliament and state assemblies? You cannot!  Merely asking for their bank statement wef 08 November till date is not the answer. Would you like to also ask them as to how did they make their millions prior to 8th November, 2016? Before being elected to legislative assemblies and/or parliament quite a few of present millionaires/billionaire politicians were paupers ; a fact you cannot deny.  Just look at what BJP has done in UP by admitting in BJP fold one of the most corrupt BSP legislature only recently for mere political gains. Having said that let me state that nation believes you to be an honest politician.

I must compliment you that in 30 months of your government rule not a single act of corruption has surfaced, at least as yet. But it does not behove a man of your character and integrity to look for and find a ‘scape goat’. Let me even more specific; Let us assume that ACM Tyagi did take illegal gratification (as believed by sleuths of ‘caged’ parrot) and irrefutable evidence exists, even then Mr Modi arresting him is not an option. Why?

Mr Modi, a Service Chief is an ‘INSTITUTION’ and must be protected. You have destroyed the ‘INSTITUTION’ of SERVICE CHIEF in the name of misplaced sense of honesty in public life. Your (not mine) minister was indeed right in calling and addressing ACM Tyagi in parliament on 4th May this year by addressing him as ‘CHOTE AADMI’. Are you trying to make a service chief stand in the same queue as the ‘street urchins’? Indeed the nation wants to see you arrest the ‘BIG FISH’ if you can. Political compulsions will never permit you to take that route because BJP cupboard too is full of skeletons.

My plea to you is not to protect/save an individual but the reputation and sanctity of an institution. Mr Modi an ordinary man on the street even today says

“ Hindustani Fauj Cheen ki Fauj se Maat kha gai 1962 mein”.

They do not say or remember that Pandit Nehru or Krishna Menon lost the 1962 war. No one remembers, rather cares to remember as to which minister or bureaucrat went to jail for corruption (if at all). But generations will remember you for sending a service chief to jail, not with pride but with scorn.

Too much of everything is bad Mr Modi. I will finish my ‘sermon’ by narrating what great saint Kabir Das said for people like you:-

“ Ati ka bhala na barsana, Ati ki bhali na dhoop

Ati ka bhala no bolna ati ki bhali na choop”.

Translated into English it simply means “ EXCESS OF EVERYTHING IS BAD”.

Yajurveda mantra amplifies it further:-

“Satyam Bruyat priyam bruyat, na bruyat satyam apriyam”.

Translated into English it means “ Speak the truth, speak the pleasant truth. But do not speak unpleasant truth”.

I dare say even if irrefutable evidence suggests that ACM Tyagi accepted illegal gratification, he should be honourably acquitted not as SP TYAGI but as CHIEF OF AIR STAFF and allowed to fade away quietly. In the process ‘BIG FISH’ might also get away ; so be it.

Your well being is of utmost concern to all of us for we hope to see emergence of a great nation under your leadership. You may like to consider my advice on a macro platform. Your advisors, most of them conformal thinkers, will not render you this advice.

“Nindak niyare rakhiye aangan kuti chavay,

Bin pani sabun bina nirmal karo subhay.”

I remain your most ardent admirer.

Regards,

Gp Capt TP Srivastava

9818926254; 10th December, 2016

Since 2005, the Navy’s surface, sub surface and air fleet have been involved in close to 70 accidents killing 40 personnel. The latest accident of INS Betwa has been cited as rarest of rare. What’s wrong with the seventh largest Navy of the world?

Seven naval officers were found guilty following a probe into the fire that occurred on board submarine INS Sindhuratna in 2014.

For long, air crashes in the Indian Air Force, which continue to occur with monotonous regularity, has become an ‘accepted’ norm. For the past decade the Navy’s warship and submarine fleet is being afflicted with alarming regularity by a malady of mishaps, some of which are among most horrific and unusual in the world. As if loss of high-technology aircraft is not bad enough, mishaps in the Navy involve the loss of considerably more human lives along with very expensive high-technology vessels. This at a time when the country’s multi-dimensional blue water fleet is entrusted with a wide array of challenges, which include preparing for the strategic role of retaliatory missile strikes fitted with nuclear warheads in the event of a nuclear war. The latest mishap is the sideways toppling of INS Betwa, an indigenously built guided missile frigate, while it was undocking in Mumbai Dockyard on December 5. The 12-and-a-half-year-old warship was undergoing a medium refit since April which was expected to take two years. Described as ‘rarest of the rare’ and ‘unimaginable’, this bizarre incident is probably unprecedented. Another similarly unprecedented incident was the sinking of a docked submarine (INS Sindhurakshak), also in Mumbai, following a series of explosions in its torpedo section in August 2013. These two incidents have been embarrassing for the world’s seventh largest Navy: in the last two decades, it has recorded the first-ever resignation (Admiral Devendra Kumar Joshi in 2014) and the first-ever sacking (Admiral Vishnu Bhagwat in 1998) of a Service Chief in India’s post-Independent history. Indeed this ‘silent Service’, as navies worldwide are known, which also happens to be the smallest of the three Services in India, has been disproportionately loud in making news for the wrong reasons. In the last 11 years, starting from December 2005, the Navy’s surface, sub surface and air fleet has been involved in close to 70 mishaps and has lost about 40 personnel including male and female officers. In the last five years alone, the Navy has lost four vessels including a submarine. Prior to 2011, it lost a warship each in 2006 and 1990. The Navy has announced that it will endeavour to get INS Betwa, the 3,850-ton warship built at a cost of about Rs 600 crore, sailing again. But this appears a herculean task. Defence planners have been steeped in a land-centric mindset but have occasionally also been acknowledging that India has a complex maritime environment for which it is important to have a capability-based Navy. Statistically, India comprises a 7,516 km coastline, 1,197 islands across two seas, 1,55,889 sq km of territorial waters, 2.01 million sq km exclusive economic zone, 1.2 million sq km continental shelf, two stations in Antarctica (Maître and Bharati) and one in the Arctic (Himadri) and conducts 90 percent of trade by volume and 70 percent by value. Conventional military threats apart, smuggling, piracy and, in recent years, sea-based movement of terrorists, have added to India’s maritime concerns. The menacingly growing Chinese naval presence in the semi-landlocked Indian Ocean and in India’s immediate maritime neighbourhood (Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Myanmar and Thailand) is a cause for concern for New Delhi. Also, the all-weather Sino-Pakistan strategic alliance is clearly inimical towards India.The intense ongoing maritime activity in the Indian Ocean across the world’s third largest ocean (10,000 km in width and 13,000 km in length) needs to be kept under surveillance which requires substantial reconnaissance and anti-submarine capabilities. A highly busy Indian Navy has evolved into a major instrument of diplomacy continually engaged as it is in bilateral and multi-lateral exercises, joint patrolling, port calls, hydro graphic surveys, flag-showing deployments and maritime security on specific requests from some maritime neighbours.But like the Army and the Air Force, the Indian Navy too is mired in a wide range of shortcomings and challenges, some of which fall outside its domain. Depleting force levels, especially that of the submarine fleet which is down to just 13 diesel-electirc and one nuclear-powered submarine on lease from Russia; the long delays and escalating costs involved in inducting both indigenously built and imported vessels; an over-dependency on imported equipment due to the country’s limited indigenous capability; a sluggish shipbuilding industry; inefficiently managed, congested and heavily silted ports along with inadequate port infrastructure have combined to adversely affect India’s maritime security environment. Clearly there is need for better coordination and a seriousness of purpose among the 16 different ministries, departments and organisations that are engaged in ocean related matters. The fact that the Navy is smitten with mishaps occurring with alarming regularity reflects poorly on training, competence and the quality of leadership is only adding to the problem which the Navy needs to urgently address. Even more, the government as a whole has to share the bigger responsibility.

dkumar@tribunemail.com

Minutes of the meeting of the Committee set up to examine feasibility of implementation of recommendation of 7thCPC for revision of pension of pre- 2016 pensioners held on 02.12.2016 -reg.

CLICK TO OPEN

minutes of the meeting (2-12-16)

Tribune News Service

Mahendragarh, December 6

Sepoy Shri Bhagwan of the Assam Rifles, who was killed in a terrorist attack in Longding district of Arunachal Pradesh on December 3, was cremated with full military honours at his native Baans village in the district.The martyr’s five-year-old son Lovesh lit the pyre. A contingent of the Army bid farewell to the department soul. Mahendragarh SDM, DSP and people from all walks of life paid tributes to the martyr who is survived by his parents, wife and two minor children.Krishna Devi, inconsolable mother of the martyr, told mediapersons that Shri Bhagwan had called her up a few hours before his martyrdom and asked her to get operation of her eyes done without further delay. Even, he made a call to his younger brother Pradeep in Gurugram to ensure surgery of her eyes at the earliest, she added.“Shri Bhagwan also inquired about the health of his father over phone and asked me to take care of him as he had undergone heart surgery last year,” said Krishna, adding that Shri Bhagwan was to come to home on leave in January.Rajpal, an ex-serviceman and father of the martyr, said he was proud of his son for making the supreme sacrifice. “I shall also send my grandson to the Army for serving the country,” he added.Meanwhile, Education Minister Ram Bilas Sharma said the state government would provide all possible succors to the martyr’s family.

CAUGHT ₹3 lakh is in new currency, ₹1.6 in scrapped, rest are in denomination of ₹100, ₹50

Police arrested a man with ₹11.08 lakh in old and new currency in Rohtak in the wee hours of Sunday. The man was identified as Paramjeet, a resident of Bahuakbarpur village in the district.

HT PHOTOAccused Paramjeet in the police custody in Rohtak on Sunday.

Paramjeet is a constable with the Indian Air Force and posted in Pune. He was coming to Rohtak from Delhi when the police stopped him for checking. The police said Paramjeet broke a naaka at Arya Nagar, after which the cops nabbed him from the city. During the checking, the police found a bag with ₹11.08 lakh in his car. The police added that Paramjeet was unable to give an explanation of how he possessed the money.

“We have impounded over ₹3 lakh from him in new currency. Around ₹1.6 lakh are in scrapped currency, while the rest of the money is in ₹100, ₹50, ₹20 and ₹10 notes,” said Sunita, Rohtak city SHO. Paramjeet has been booked for cheating, rash driving and for endangering life of others.

Meanwhile, Paramjeet’s brother Sandeep said the former had taken money on credited from one of his friend . Sandeep added that Paramjeet had got the money in order to gift a new car to his wife on her birthday on December 31. The I-T department has been informed.

Islamabad, December 2

Pakistan has reminded India of its obligations under the Indus Waters Treaty (IWT) and cautioned that New Delhis own credibility would suffer if the accord was violated, an official has said here.

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

Foreign Office spokesperson Nafees Zakaria said at the weekly media briefing: “India has to abide by its international obligations, if it wants to be taken seriously by the international community.”

He was commenting on Thursday evening about Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s remarks that the water that “rightfully belongs to India” under the water sharing accord could not be allowed to go to Pakistan.

Zakaria said the treaty was a binding agreement under the Vienna Convention.

India has been, since the escalation of tensions after the Uri militant attack, indicating its intention to revisit the accord.

—IANS

The Navy contributed significantly to India’s win during the war. The bombing of the Karachi port and sinking of Pakistan submarine Ghazi, PNS Muhafiz and Khaibar and merchant ship Venus Challenge turned the tide in our favour

Sea worthy: An Osa class missile boat. These were used for bombing of the Karachi port

Vijay Mohan

The bombing of the Karachi port and its surrounding areas by the Indian Navy during the opening days of hostilities was the most striking aspect of the naval operations during the 1971 War. The destruction of Pakistani submarine, PNS Ghazi, in Indian waters and the sinking of the Indian warship, INS Khukri, were among other key naval incidents of the war. This war also saw the Indian maritime force transform itself into a multi-dimensional force making a significant contribution to the war effort from its virtually non-existent role in the 1965 India-Pak War.The Indian Navy executed a series of covert operations on the Eastern seaboard in the last months of 1971 and effectively undertook a naval blockade in the Bay of Bengal that isolated East Pakistan and bottled up the Pakistan Navy and eight foreign merchant ships in ports.On December 4, aircraft carrier INS Vikrant was also deployed near East Pakistan and its Sea Hawk aircraft bombed several coastal towns, including Chittagong and Cox’s Bazar, which also neutralised the Pakistan Air Force’s capability to retaliate. Bombing operations were carried out over several days, hitting ships, fuel dumps and other port facilities.Pakistan had deployed the American-origin Ghazi, its only submarine capable of operating in the Bay of Bengal. It had been tasked to destroy INS Vikrant, but could not trace it. As an alternative, the submarine approached Vishakhapatnam to mine the approaches to its port. The Indian destroyer INS Rajput was deployed to counter submarine Ghazi, which reported underwater disturbances and launched depth-charges to counter it. Controversy still shrouds the submarine’s destruction. While official history claims that the submarine was sunk by the Indian Navy, some people have contended that it was destroyed due to an internal explosion while laying mines.The sinking of Ghazi was a huge setback to Pakistan, severely diminishing its ability to carry out effective operations in the Bay of Bengal and eliminating the threat posted to the Eastern Naval Command. The Indian Navy therefore decided to carry out an amphibious landing at Cox’s Bazar with the aim to cut off the line of retreat for Pakistan Army troops. On 12 December, an amphibious battalion aboard INS Vishwa Vijaya sailed from the Calcutta port and on the night of 15/16 December it landed at Cox’s Bazar.Simultaneously, on the western seaboard, the Indian Navy launched Operation Trident against Karachi on December 4, which, being the headquarters of the Pakistan Navy as well as the hub of Pakistan’s maritime trade, was a prime target and hence well defended. The strike by Indian missile boats was hugely successful, resulting in sinking of the minesweeper PNS Muhafiz, destroyer PNS Khaibar and the merchantman MV Venus Challenger which was carrying ammunition for Pakistan, while the destroyer PNS Shah Jahan was totally damaged. The missile ships also bombed the Kemari oil storage tanks of the port which were burnt and engulfed causing massive loss to the Karachi harbour.A second attack on Karachi, Operation Python, was launched on December 8, which resulted in the Panamanian vessel Gulf Star and the British ship SS Harmattan being sunk and Pakistan Navy’s Tanker PNS Dacca being heavily damaged. Most of Karachi’s oil reserves were destroyed and warehouses and naval workshops destroyed, inflicting a severe blow to Pakistan’s logistics as well as economy.On December 9, INS Khukri was lost with194 sailors, including its captain, Captain Mahendra Nath Mulla, to a Pakistani submarine off the coast of Gujarat. This is the Indian’s Navy’s only ship to have been lost in combat. In retaliation to the December 4 attack, Pakistani aircraft hit Okha harbor, damaging fuelling facilities, jetties and shooting down an Alize aircraft.India had established complete control over the sea route from the Persian Gulf to Pakistan, whose major ships were either destroyed or forced to remain in port. The Indian Navy was able to block the Karachi port and merchant traffic to and from Karachi ceased.At the end of the war, the damage to the Pakistani Navy was the loss of two destroyers, one submarine, seven gunboats, one minesweeper, three patrol crafts, 18 cargo and supply vessels, that accounted for over a third of its force, besides large-scale damage inflicted on the naval base and docks of Karachi. Three merchant ships and 10 smaller vessels were also captured.