Monthly Archives: August 2018

BSF commandant Murari P Singh and Pakistani Wing Commander Afzal Mehmood Chaudhary shake hands at a meeting. Tribune Photo

Fazilka, December 23

To welcome the New Year, the security forces of India and Pakistan have decided to conduct the Retreat with a ceremonial parade daily till January 1. Official sources said that this was decided in a flag meeting between the officials of the two countries. The Indian side was led by Border Security Force Commandant Murari Prasad Singh and the Pakistani side by Wing Commander Afzal Mehmood Chaudhary. The meeting was held in Pakistan territory. Border Security Force officials exhorted the residents, particularly schoolchildren, to come to Joint Check Post, Sadiqi, to witness the flag-lowering ceremony. The two sides reportedly discussed various means to maintain peace at the international border. — OC

An out-of-turn promotion always creates ripples in the organisation with extreme loyalties coming to the fore. It has happened in this case too. However, there is a serious side to what will just blow over as emotional rhetoric. The intensity of inter- Arm and Service rivalry has never been so intense.

Lt Gen Bipin Rawat

THE unseemly controversy concerning the appointment of Lt Gen Bipin Rawat as the next Army Chief is hopefully past. Time is now upon us to examine what his main challenges are going to be. In all probability, he will have a three-year tenure which is a good duration to produce results. However, before that a final word on his selection. It is still hoped that Lt Gen Praveen Bakshi the very fine General Officer who was bypassed will be finally appointed the equivalent of the Chief of the Defence Staff (CDS) or whatever the final head of the joint system is going to be. General Rawat’s elevation was done on the basis of seniority-cum-merit with the five senior-most eligible Generals being considered and the third in seniority among them being picked by the civilian authority. Most knowledgeable people have always believed that the seniority system alone is insufficient but in the same breath have also projected the need for a credible system of selection by merit so that there is broad consensus and not the kind of divide which has occurred this time. It is hoped the government will examine this and consider the feasibility of a collegiate or some such system in which there can be representation of civil society, veteran community, the opposition and the government. Future generations will sing paeans to the wisdom of today’s political leaders if this is instituted. The Chief’s challenges are in so many domains that to cover them all in an essay with any detail is a task well-nigh impossible. It will be done in parts but there has to be a start point and that should necessarily be from the very reason why Gen Rawat is being elevated over the head of others; the domain of asymmetric and hybrid threats to India’s security, especially pertaining to Jammu and Kashmir. It is his hands-on experience of dealing with counter-terrorism/militancy, LoC and LAC that has got the General the apex post. What exactly are these threats? The year 2016 has indeed been worrisome, with three major terrorist strikes at Pathankot, Uri and Nagrota. While terrorist strength is still sub-optimal as far the terror groups’ intent is concerned, this has been a successful year for them in terms of infiltration, the best in the past few years. The counter-infiltration grid, successfully based on the LoC fence as its focus, is now leaking and needs innovations and perhaps induction of new surveillance equipment on a fast track. The LoC ceasefire is just about holding. There have been large scale violations and unlike in the past we seem to be suffering casualties due to questionable quality of operational works assets and even the absence of snipers. Response to ceasefire violations have been intense so far and caused much damage to the other side but the casualties on own side are also unacceptable. The domain which is begging to be addressed is the security of garrisons in depth areas. It is not the Valley which is being subjected to this but the Jammu region and the same can go further into Punjab. The terrorists and their masters are aware that targeting soft elements of the Indian armed forces or police draws more mileage. It is well understood that armed forces and police cannot be strong everywhere but need to have credible response mechanisms to limit damage. The quantum of casualties we have suffered is not acceptable to the public. In the period between 1999 and 2006 we suffered a similar phase and overcame it through a series of very strong measures, training and awareness. The Army having conducted successful credible surgical strikes once is now under increasing pressure to respond similarly for every Pak-sponsored terror strike. The surgical strikes were misread by many as a deterrent action; they were not and were just conveyors of message of intent. The credibility will have to be maintained. All the above will need Gen Rawat to act quickly through a set of proficient advisors who are well versed with Jammu and Kashmir affairs. It will have to be done even as he wrestles with issues such as OROP,  Seventh Pay Commission and earlier anomalies, jawan and veteran welfare, the North-East and the Line of Actual Control and various equipment-related issues all of which place demands on the time of a Chief. He cannot root himself to Jammu and Kashmir affairs or be considered just as a Chief oriented to General Staff. There will be much on his plate from the Adjutant General (AG) and the Military Secretary (MS). Till March 2017, he will have the services of a hands on AG, who is his senior and is his ex-Commanding officer, Lt Gen Rakesh Sharma. Fortunately General Rawat is no stranger to the MS Branch having handled the policy desk himself. An out-of-turn promotion always creates ripples in the organisation with extreme loyalties coming to the fore. It has happened in this case too. However, there is a serious side to what will just blow over as emotional rhetoric. The intensity of inter-Arm and Service rivalry has never been so intense. It is all based on a set of promotion policies which are highly skewed in favor of the Infantry. While everyone recognises the need to compensate the Infantry for the hardship it endures perhaps the personnel managers of the past may just have gone overboard bringing light-hearted banter to a state of bad blood. This can only take the Army in one direction, downhill. There will be protests from different lobbies of the veterans who are strong on social media which too cannot be ignored but the new Chief would be well advised to review the entire gamut of promotion policy and not fall to pray to pressure from lobbies. This will need intense courage and impartiality, two qualities any Chief would be proud to wear on his sleeve. Perhaps General Rawat can start with what has been under severe criticism, the undue concentration of too many senior officers of the Gurkha Rifles in positions of importance at the Army Headquarters and select a deputy (Vice Chief) from a different Arm than his. It will send a tremendous message to the rank and file and drown out some of the negativity which has taken place on his appointment. General Rawat has proven himself in various challenging appointments in his 38-year-long career and it is not for nothing that he has built for himself the reputation of being a doer. The nation and the Army should wish him the best and stand by him in his earnest mission ahead.The writer is a former GOC of the Srinagar-based 15 Corps and Military Secretary. He is now associated with the Vivekanand International Foundation and the Institute of Peace and Conflict Studies.

Legal Correspondent

New Delhi, December 19

The Supreme Court has ruled that desertion by security personnel amounted to “gross misconduct” that required suitable punishment.A three-member Bench headed by Chief Justice TS Thakur made the remark while ordering compulsory retirement of a constable of the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) for deserting the force for five days in 1999.Constable Abrar Ali had joined the force in September 1990. The CISF Commandant, Dhanbad, had dismissed Ali from service in November 2000. In August 2014, the Delhi High Court directed the CISF to reinstate the constable and pay him the entire arrears of his salary and other allowances in two months. The CISF challenged the HC ruling in the apex court.“Indiscipline on the part of a member of an armed force has to be viewed seriously. It is clear that the respondent (Ali) intentionally disobeyed the orders of his superiors and deserted the force for five days.Such desertion is an act of gross misconduct and the respondent deserves to be punished suitably,” the apex court Bench held. Justices DY Chandrachud and L Nageswara Rao were the other members of the Bench.The apex court also ruled that the past conduct of a delinquent employee could be taken into consideration while imposing penalty. Prior to his dismissal, Ali had been awarded three punishments, two of these were major involving pay deduction.The apex court, however, reduced the punishment from dismissal to compulsory retirement. It asked the CISF to pay him pension by treating that he had notionally completed 10 years of service, the minimum period for the benefit.

Army personnel visit the Pampore attack site on Sunday where three soldiers were killed on Saturday. Tribune photo

Tribune News Service

Srinagar, December 18

The Army today released the identities of the three soldiers who were killed in an ambush yesterday in a town outside Srinagar city.In a statement, the Army said Naik Ratheesh C, 35, Gunner Farate Sourabh Nandkumar, 33, and Gunner Shashikant Pander, 24, were killed in yesterday’s attack near Pampore.The Army said Ratheesh had joined the Army in 2001 and hailed from Kotolipram village of Kerala, Nandkumar had joined the Army in 2004 and was from Bhekrai Nagar village of Pune, while Pandey had four years of service and hailed from Dhanabad district of Jharkhand.The three soldiers were killed on Saturday afternoon when militants opened fire on a convoy of Army vehicles on the Srinagar-Jammu highway near Pampore town. The identities of the martyred soldiers are withheld till the next of their kin are informed by the Army.The Army today paid “befitting tributes” to the three soldiers at a ceremony at Badamibagh cantonment, which houses the headquarters of 15 Corps. Lt Gen JS Sandhu, commander of the 15 Corps, led the tributes for the soldiers and offered wreath to them.“Many senior officials from the civil administration, including Divisional Commissioner Baseer Ahmed Khan, and other security agencies, including police, CRPF, BSF and SSB, joined Lt Gen JS Sandhu, Chinar Corps Commander, and all ranks in paying homage to the martyrs on behalf of a proud nation,” the Army said in its statement.

Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar. —PTI

New Delhi, December 16

Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar said on Friday that he will soon name the next Indian Army and Indian Air Force chiefs.

He was speaking after paying tributes at the Amar Jawan Jyoti here on Vijay Diwas or Victory Day that is observed on December 16 to mark the military triumph over Pakistan in 1971 which led to the creation of Bangladesh.

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The Defence Minister, however, did not give a timeline for naming the new chiefs.

Asked whether the line of succession might be broken in the appointment of the next army chief, Parrikar said cryptically: “Line of succession is decided by the people.” The Indian Army chief, General Dalbir Singh, and the Indian Air Force Chief, Air Chief Marshal Arup Raha, are both set to retire on December 31.

A file with nominations for the new chiefs is with the Prime Minister’s Office, and a formal announcement is expected after parliament’s winter session concludes on Friday, sources said.

The sources also added that the Eastern Army Commander, Lt. Gen. Praveen Bakshi; the Southern Army Commander, Lt. Gen. P.M. Hariz and the army vice chief, Lt Gen Bipin Rawat are in the fray to succeed Gen. Dalbir Singh.

Air Marshal Birender Singh Dhanoa, a Kargil war veteran, and the IAF vice chief is in the fray for the top job.

Talking about the significance of December 16, Parrikar said it was a day when India achieved a “decisive victory”.

“I don’t have to stress on the importance of this great day. This is the day when we achieved a decisive victory and created a new country,” he said.

On the next canisterised test for Agni V missile, the minister said he would not like to comment much on it and said: “Testing goes on, I will not comment much. We have achieved 100 percent success in all the tests this year.” —IANS

File photo of former Air Force Chief SP Tyagi. PTI

New Delhi, December 10A local court on Saturday sent former Indian Air Force (IAF) chief SP Tyagi and others to custody of the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) till December 14 in the Rs 3,767-crore AgustaWestland helicopter deal case.Metropolitan Magistrate Sujit Saurabh allowed the CBI to quiz Tyagi, his cousin Sanjeev Tyagi alias Julie Tyagi and a Delhi-based lawyer, Gautam Khaitan, till December 14.(Follow The Tribune on Facebook; and Twitter @thetribunechd)

Meanwhile, Air Chief Marshal Arup Raha on Saturday said former air force chief SP Tyagi’s involvement in the AgustaWestland scam is unfortunate and would adversely affect the reputation of the Indian Air Force (IAF).“It is a very unfortunate episode and the incident adversely acts on the reputation of a very professional force that is the Indian Air Force. I am sure that law of the land and the judicial system will dwell into it and finally deal with the subject,” he said.Air Chief Marshal Raha assured that the Indian Air Force will correct every error quickly and will serve the nation to best of its ability.“I can rest assure you the Indian Air Force and the armed forces  will continue to serve the nation to best of its abilities and if anything is wrong, we will correct it quickly,” he added.Air Chief Marshal SP Tyagi (retd) was arrested by the Central Bureau of Investigation on Friday, along with his cousin Sanjeev Tyagi and lawyer Gautam Khaitan, for their alleged involvement in the Rs 3,700-crore AgustaWestland VVIP helicopter scam.They have been accused of routing kickbacks.The CBI has determined that about Rs 450 crore, or 12 per cent of the Rs 3,767-crore deal for procurement of 12 helicopters was paid as bribe. The government rescinded the contract in January 2014 in view of the bribery allegations. — Agencies

Manohar Parrikar with Ashton Carter in New Delhi. Tribune photo

Ajay Banerjee

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, December 8

India’s diplomatic dexterity of having separate-yet-equal military relations with the US and Russia showed up again today. New Delhi engaged with Washington on the outcomes of getting ‘Major Defence Partner’ status, besides increased military-to-military exercises and counter-terrorism.Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar met his US counterpart Ashton Carter in New Delhi along with delegations of both the countries. The meeting comes just weeks after Parrikar had met his Russian counterpart General Sergey Shoigu in New Delhi and proposed India-Russia joint ventures in producing spares for military equipment and to make military contact the guiding force in the ties.Parrikar-Carter meeting today was the seventh in the past year-and-a-half. Parrikar said at the meeting: “It is not an exaggeration that our defence engagements are a major driver in our bilateral relations.” He also pointed out how discussions had concluded to have a major defence partnership.Carter, who is on his way out with the end of President Barack Obama’s term, told the delegates: “Today, our defence partnership takes a major step as we designate India as Major Defence Partner (MDP).”A joint statement issued later tonight said: “Today, we finalised India’s designation as a “Major Defence Partner” of the United States. The designation as a “MDP is a status unique to India and institutionalises the progress made to facilitate defence trade and technology sharing with India to a level on a par with that of the United States’ closest allies and partners.“It permits us to do things with India that have never been possible before. And it creates a presumption of approval for transactions with India,” Carter was quoted by the official US website as having said.

Pak must act on terror havens: US

• US Defence Secretary Ashton Carter has asserted that Pakistan needs to make a “historic shift” to stop providing safe havens to terrorists who destabilise Afghanistan, threaten American soldiers and target India
• “It is important that Pakistan recognises, as we’ve all said to them — I have said to their leaders for some time now that kind of terrorism poses a principal strategic danger to the Pakistani state,” Carter said
• State Department Deputy Spokesperson Mark Toner, meanwhile, said, “We have consistently expressed our concerns to Pakistan about their continued tolerance for Afghan Taliban groups”
• Toner’s remarks came days after India and Afghanistan hit out at an isolated Pakistan at the Heart of Asia conference for sponsoring and supporting terrorism and called for “resolute action” against terrorists as well as their masters

Faridkot, December 1

Panic spread among the residents of Thara and Maur villages on the Muktsar road this morning following an Army drill about which even the district administration and police were not aware.The residents started fleeing the villages after they saw heavily armed persons in Army fatigue. Since the South Indian Army jawans were facing difficulty in communicating with the residents, the latter ran towards “safer locations”.It all started when some morning walkers spotted the Army men on the outskirt of the villages. In view of the escalated tension between Indian and Pakistan and the Nabha jailbreak, the panicky residents raised alarm.Sarbjit Singh, sarpanch, Thara village, said: “I immediately brought the matter to the notice of the SSP Faridkot and Kotkapura.”Police force was rushed to Thara village, but the police later found out that the “suspects” were jawans from Faridkot cantonment. The Army authorities maintained that it was a routine training. Charajit Singh, officiating SHO, Sadar police station, Kotkapura, said they had no prior information about it. — TNS