Students and faculty of Chandigarh Group of Colleges, Landran, celebrating Army Day on Friday. They presented a cheque for ₹85,000 to the Army Wives Welfare Association. The dignitaries present included senior adviser to Punjab CM Lt Gen TS Shergill, former general officer commanding­in­chief, northern command, Lt Gen Deependra Singh Hooda; BSF north frontier director general Kamal Nayan Choubey and Lt Gen HS Panag (retd).

Mumbai, January 12

Warships INS Nirbhik and INS Nirghat were decommissioned here, after serving the Navy for 30 and 28 years respectively.The warships were decommissioned at a solemn ceremony at the Naval Dockyard yesterday, a Defence spokesperson said on Friday.The ceremony involved traditional lowering of the ensign and commissioning pendants with playing of ‘Last Post’.The chief guest for the ceremony was Rear Admiral R B Pandit, Flag Officer Commanding Western Fleet, who had commanded INS Nirghat earlier, the spokesperson said in a statement here.Cdr V R Naphade, (Retd) and Commodore S Mampully, (Retd), the commissioning Commanding Officers of Nirbhik and Nirghat respectively were the guests of honour.The ships, belonging to the Killer squadron, are inheritors of a proud legacy as their original avatars were flag bearers of the naval offensive action on Karachi harbour during the India-Pakistan war in 1971.The warships, in their new avatar, were commissioned at Poti, in the erstwhile USSR on December 21, 1987 and December 15, 1989 respectively.They participated in many operations including Op Parakram and Vijay and were deployed off Gujarat on many occasions for patrolling, the spokesperson said. — PTI

Any country that repeatedly calls upon its armed forces to take care of active security threats finds itself having to concede resources, honours and space to the uniform brass. The state of civilian-military relationship in India is getting marked by an increased testiness; particularly elusive remains a satisfactory protocol of equivalence between the serving military officers and the civilians working in the Ministry of Defence. In October 2016, an order was passed and it was intended to address the perceived anomalies in the rank-parity; instead, it ended up aggravating matters.

The military brass felt offended. The disciplined force members flagged their objections at the administration level, while their ex-fauji comrades took to the social media, even invoking an affront to izzat. Last week, Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman ordered the withdrawal of the October 2016 order. The minister’s belated action, in effect, calls for a truce in the Armed Forces Headquarters (AFHQ). Created about 50 years ago, the AFHQ was to provide continuity in the functioning of the Integrated Headquarters, Defence Staff Headquarters and the Inter-Service Organisation under the Ministry of Defence.

The restoration of status quo ante will not resolve the crux of the grievance. The civilian and the military officers work in close proximity on a daily basis. Familiarity does not always produce admiration and mutual respect.The armed officers remain a part of a disciplined, and hierarchical organisation, and they are not unaffected by the increasing sense of impatience among the military officers towards the civilian and bureaucratic leadership.  All bureaucracies in India — civilian or military, federal or state — have issues of promotions, pay, perks, parity; each pay commission becomes an occasion for another round of bad blood between the civilian and uniformed bureaucracies.  In the last decade, as the political leadership has come to depend for its success on the competence, dedication and professionalism of the armed forces, there is an all too discernible angst among the soldiers’ fraternity. Political opportunism has also encouraged the glorification of the soldier.Yet, it would be worth our while to keep in mind that we still have in place something called the Constitution of India.

Mumbai attack mastermind Hafiz Saeed. AFP file

January 1

Pakistan’s government plans to seize control of charities and financial assets linked to Islamist leader and Mumbai attack mastermind Hafiz Saeed, who Washington has designated a terrorist, according to officials and documents reviewed by Reuters.

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Pakistan’s civilian government detailed its plans in a secret order to various provincial and federal government departments on December 19, three officials who attended one of several high-level meeting discussing the crackdown told Reuters.

Marked “secret”, a December 19 document from the Finance Ministry directed law enforcement and governments in Pakistan’s five provinces to submit an action plan by December 28 for a “takeover” of Saeed’s two charities, Jamaat-ud-Dawa (JuD) and the Falah-e-Insaniat Foundation.

The United States has labelled JuD and FIF “terrorist fronts” for Lashkar-e-Toiba (“Army of the Pure” or LeT), a group Saeed founded in 1987 and which Washington and India blame for the 2008 attacks in Mumbai that killed 166 people.

Saeed has repeatedly denied involvement in the Mumbai attacks and a Pakistani court saw insufficient evidence to convict him. The LeT could not be reached for comment.

The December 19^th document, which refers to “Financial Action Task Force (FATF) issues”, names only Saeed’s two charities and “actions to be taken” against them.

The FATF, which is an international body that combats money laundering and terrorist financing, has warned Pakistan it faces inclusion on a watch list for failing to crack down on financing terrorism.

Asked about a crackdown on JuD and FIF, Interior Minister Ahsan Iqbal, who co-chaired one of the meetings on the plan, responded only generally, saying he has ordered authorities “to choke the fundraising of all proscribed outfits in Pakistan”.

In a written reply to Reuters, he also said Pakistan wasn’t taking action under US pressure. “We’re not pleasing anyone.

“We’re working as a responsible nation to fulfil our obligations to our people and international community.” Spokesmen for the JuD and FIF both said they could not comment until they receive official notifications of the government’s plans. “We don’t have any intimation about any crackdown so far,” FIF spokesman Salman Shahid told Reuters. “No one has asked us about our work or assets.” Saeed could not be reached for comment. He has frequently denied having ties to militants and says the charitable organisations he founded and controls have no terrorism ties. He says he promotes an Islamic-oriented government through doing good works.

First major move

If the government follows through with the plan, it would mark the first time Pakistan has made a major move against Saeed’s network, which includes 300 seminaries and schools, hospitals, a publishing house and ambulance services. The JuD and FIF alone have about 50,000 volunteers and hundreds of other paid workers, according to two counter-terrorism officials.

Participants at the meeting raised the possibility that the government’s failure to act against the charities could lead to UN sanctions, one of the three officials said. A UN Security Council team is due to visit Pakistan in late January to review progress against UN-designated “terrorist” groups.

“Any adverse comments or action suggested by the team can have far-reaching implications for Pakistan,” the official said.

The December 19^th document gave few details about how the state would take over Saeed’s charities, pending the plans submitted from the provincial governments. It did say it would involve government entities taking over ambulance services and accounting for other vehicles used by the charities.

It says law enforcement agencies will coordinate with Pakistan’s intelligence agencies to identify the assets of the two charities and examine how they raise money.

The document also directs that the name of JuD’s 200-acre headquarters, Markaz-e-Toiba, near the eastern city of Lahore be changed to something else “to make it known that the Government of “Punjab (province) solely manages and operates the Markaz (headquarters)”.

The move to seize the charities could spark some concern from the powerful military, which has proposed plans to steer Saeed and the JuD into mainstream politics. The military did not respond to a request for comment.

In August, JuD officials formed a new political party, the Milli Muslim League, and backed candidates who fared relatively strongly in two key parliamentary by-elections.

The JuD publicly disavows armed militancy inside Pakistan, but offers vocal support for the cause of rebel fighters in Indian-administered Kashmir and has called for Pakistan to retake Kashmir. Nuclear-armed India and Pakistan have fought two wars over the disputed region.

Washington, which has offered a $10 million reward for information leading to Saeed’s conviction over the Mumbai attacks, warned Islamabad of repercussions after a Pakistani court in late November released him from house arrest.

Punjab’s provincial government had put Saeed under house arrest for 10 months this year for violating anti-terrorism laws. Reuters

Tribune News Service

Jammu, January 29

The National Conference (NC) on Monday demanded the arrest of soldiers named in an FIR in the killing of two civilians in Jammu and Kashmir’s Shopian district, while the ruling BJP demanded withdrawal of the FIR.

“Politics apart, this cycle of killings must end. We all have to end  this bloodshed,” former Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah said in the state assembly.

“As per news reports soldiers, including a Major, have been named in the FIR.

“Bullets have been fired at chest height, which means the forces were not controlling the situation, but only firing,” he said, and added, “What was the purpose of ordering a magisterial probe if the police have already lodged an FIR into the incident.” Earlier, senior NC leader, Ali Muhammad Sagar demanded the arrest of the soldiers named in the FIR lodged in the killing of two civilians, Javaid Ahmad and Suhail Ahmad, in Ganowpora village on Saturday.

The incident had occurred when a stone pelting mob had attacked an administrative convoy of the army.

On the other hand, ruling BJP legislator, R.S. Pathania demanded withdrawal of the FIR lodged against the army personnel.

Pathania demanded that a fresh FIR be lodged in the incident without naming any army personnel.

The BJP legislator said “serious charges” had been levelled against the army in the FIR which appeared that it had been “done under pressure”.

IANS

PTI

In an olive green pilot’s G-suit and a helmet, Nirmala Sitharaman on Wednesday soared high on a Sukhoi-30 MKI jet, the first Indian woman Defence Minister to go on a sortie on the all-weather, long-range fighter. The supersonic jet took off at 1 pm; after a 45-minute flight seated behind the pilot, Group Captain Sumit Garg, Sitharaman, 58, was back at Jodhpur Air Force station. Then President Pratibha Patil had also flown in the jet in 2009, as did APJ Abdul Kalam. In 2003, then Defence Minister George Fernandes had also taken a sortie aboard an SU-30 jet.

Actor Mohit Raina strikes a pose during a promotional event in Amritsar on Monday. Photo: Vishal kumar

Tribune News Service

Amritsar, January 22

Actor Mohit Raina today visited the city to promote his upcoming TV show ‘21 Sarfarosh: Saragarhi 1897’. The show is based on the Battle of Saragarhi.Mohit is playing the role of Havildar Ishar Singh who, along with other 21 Sikh soldiers of the 36th Sikh regiment of the British Indian Army, had successfully defended a remote outpost in the North-West Frontier Province from an attack by over 10,000 Afghan tribesmen.Produced by Contiloe Productions, ‘21 Sarfarosh: Saragarhi 1897’ will be aired on Discovery JEET from February 12.Talking about his role, Mohit, who was also one of the leads in Devon Ke Dev Mahadev, said, “The moment I heard about the role, I wanted to play the character and understand the situation. My fascination for uniform also motivated me to grab the role.”The show will be aired for a period of over two months, depicting the courage of Sikh soldiers who laid down their lives in the line of their duty.On preparations, the actor said, “I am so excited to be in Punjab. I have learnt a lot about Punjab and its culture while playing the role of Ishar Singh. I had listened to many Punjabi songs and watched movies. Ishar Singh was ready to sacrifice his life for his motherland. The intensity and passion of the character have to be lived from the core of the heart.”The show has been shot in the Leh-Ladakh region. Bollywood actor Mukul Dev is also playing the role of Afghan leader Gul Badshah.

Tribune News Service

Jammu/Rajouri, January 20

Four persons, including a soldier, were killed on Saturday as Pakistan continued shelling border posts and civilian areas along the International Border (IB) and Line of Control (LoC) in Jammu region. Eighteen persons were injured, an SSB and a BSF jawan in the Pargwal sector among them. With the authorities sounding a red alert, more than 10,000 residents of border villages have shifted to safer places. Over 300 educational institutions along the IB and the LoC in Jammu region have been shut for three days.(Follow The Tribune on Facebook; and Twitter @thetribunechd)“Pakistani troops initiated unprovoked and indiscriminate firing of small arms and automatics and mortar bombs in Krishna Ghati sector along the LoC in Poonch at 8.20 am. The Indian Army retaliated strongly and effectively. However, in the exchange of fire, Sepoy Mandeep Singh of Alampur village in Punjab’s Sangrur district was grievously injured and succumbed to his injuries. He is survived by his father Gurnam Singh,” a defence spokesperson said. He said as Pakistan resorted to unprovoked shelling in Gajansoo area of Kanachak sector in Jammu this afternoon, shells exploded at the Gajansoo bus stand, injuring two persons. One of them, Tarseem (25), died in hospital later. Pakistan Rangers also shelled forward hamlets in RS Pura. Gaura Ram (17) of Kapurpur and Gahar Singh (45) of Abdullian were killed and five others injured.Already this year, Pakistan has violated the ceasefire over 100 times, resulting in the death of three Army soldiers, three BSF men and six civilians. The Indian Army has lost two soldiers and the BSF two jawans since Thursday. The shelling has caused extensive damage to property and livestock. “The border hamlets have virtually turned into war zones,” the Sub-Divisional Police Officer (SDPO) of RS Pura, Surinder Choudhary, who led a police team to rescue and shift the injured, said. “Border residents would not have died or been injured had the government constructed bunkers or given us land in a safe area, as promised several years ago,” said Sudershan Singh of Arnia.While firing and shelling ended in Hiranagar, Samba and Arnia at 1.30 am today, it continued in Ramgarh sector till 5.30 am. (With PTI inputs)