Monthly Archives: August 2018

Beijing/Washington, Feb 9

China today said it is in touch with India to discuss a way to resolve the political turmoil gripping the Maldives and underlined that Beijing doesn’t want the issue to become another “flashpoint” in ties with New Delhi. This comes on a day the White House said Prime Minister Narendra Modi and US President Donald Trump in a telephonic conversation expressed concern over the political crisis.“Both (Trump and Modi) expressed concern about the political crisis in the Maldives and the importance of respect for democratic institutions and rule of law,” the White House said in a readout of the phone call, the first between the two this year.(Follow The Tribune on Facebook; and Twitter @thetribunechd)While China officially continues to maintain that there should not be any external interference, especially in the light of reports of India’s Special Forces ready for deployment, Beijing is in touch with Delhi to resolve the crisis, Chinese official sources said. The standoff between India and China in Doklam and Beijing’s opposition to declaring Pakistan-based Masood Azhar as a global terrorist at the UN had been major irritants in bilateral ties in the past. Maldives President Abdulla Yameen sent his Economic Development Minister Mohamed Saeed to China but India said it did not find the dates “suitable” for the visit of Maldives’ foreign minister as a special envoy to New Delhi. — AgenciesMEA: Hope nations can play constructive roleNew Delhi: India on Friday hoped that countries, including China, could play a constructive role in Maldives. An MEA statement said, “We note that China has said that Maldives Government has the ability to protect the security of Chinese personnel and institutions. We hope all countries can play a constructive role in Maldives, instead of doing the opposite.” TNS

Tribune News Service

Jammu, January 31

The Army had exhausted all procedures from verbal warnings to firing aerial shots before opening fire to disperse a violent mob targeting its convoy with stones and petrol bombs in Shopian on Saturday. Seven men of the Army were injured and its 11 vehicles were damaged in the attack.“The action was taken as per the standard operating procedures (SOPs) laid down,” the Army has maintained in its written statement to the police on January 28, a day after the incident took place in which two youths died (now the number has risen to three with one more youth succumbing to injuries on Wednesday). The statement has highlighted how the crowd was bent upon harming Army personnel and damaging their vehicles.The police had lodged an FIR slapping charges of murder and attempt to murder on the Army and named Major Aditya, who, the FIR said, was “leading the convoy”. However, the Army has contested this and maintained that the said officer was not on the spot. The Army’s statement is its version, not a counter FIR, the police said.The statement has mentioned the sequence of events that make it clear that the Army first warned the stone-throwing and petrol bomb-throwing crowd to disperse and thereafter aerial shots were fired to keep them at a distance. “It was only after the crowd came dangerously close and injured seven personnel, and was about to lynch a Junior Commissioned Officer that the Army was constrained to open fire in self-defence,” the statement with the police said.Additional Director General of Police Muneer Khan confirmed to The Tribune that the police had received a written statement from the Army. “It will be treated as the Army version and taken into account. It has become part of the investigations.”He said that the investigation into the FIR lodged on January 27 at Shopian police station on the basis of the report of the subservient police post Keegam, Shopian, had begun. “The Army version will be read as part of the investigations.”Khan said that the Army was cooperating with police in the investigations.

To verify quantum of provocation: ADGP

• The police probe will cover all aspects, including circumstantial evidence, version eyewitnesses, injured and kin of the dead as also the Army version. The police will verify the “quantum of provocation” for the action resorted to by the Army. They will also examine the empties (fired bullet rounds) and whether those match with the rifles with the Army unit present on the spot. “Our probe will be based on the statements plus evidence on the ground,” the ADGP said.

SOME VEDIOS  SPEAKS THE REALITY 

GOC-IN-C NORTHERN COMMAND

LIEUTENANT GENERAL DEVRAJ ANBU, AVSM, YSM, SM

Former CM of Jammu & Kashmir Farooq Abdullah showing his golfing skills at Imperial Golf Estate near Ludhiana on Sunday. Tribune photo: Himanshu Mahajan

Ludhiana, February 11

Pakistan is living in a fool’s paradise in thinking that it could ever capture Kashmir, Former Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Farooq Abdullah said here on Sunday.The National Conference chief emphatically said “Kashmir was, is, and will remain an integral part of India”.”Pakistan is living in a fool’s paradise in thinking that it could ever capture Kashmir…Pakistan should better think of itself and its future rather than keeping an eye on Kashmir,” Abdullah told reporters at Imperial Golf Club in Mullanpur, about 25 km from here.In reply to a question, Abdullah said that peaceful co-existence was the only solution and war would lead to total destruction of all.”War would only spell disaster, the type of which can be seen in Syria, Iraq, Afghanistan and some other nations,” he said.Abdullah had yesterday warned that India would not keep from waging war on Pakistan if it did not stop sending terrorists.His remark came after Jaish-e-Mohammed terrorists attacked an Army camp in Jammu, killing two junior commissioned officers and injuring 6 others, including a Major and a daughter of an Army personnel.”If Pakistan continued to send militants, India would not stop itself from waging war against it,” he said yesterday.Meanwhile, he also responded on a senior lawmaker of the National Conference raising Pro-Pakistan slogans in the Jammu and Kashmir Assembly.”Fools could be found in every party. God knows what he had eaten up or consumed on that day. But we cannot shoot him now,” he said when asked to react on party MLA Mohammad Akbar Lone’s pro-Pakistan sloganeering yesterday.Notably, the NC has already distanced itself from Lone’s sloganeering which had come at a time when the operation to flush out terrorists from the Sunjuwan camp in Jammu was underway.To a question, Abdullah expressed grave concern over the unabated rise in the prices of petroleum products.Meanwhile, the NC president called upon the union government to promote the game of golf through ministry of sports. — PTI 

To,

             The President of India,

            The Supreme Commander.

            Rashtarpati Bhawan. New Delhi.

 PREVENTION OF CRUELTY TO ANIMALS IS AN OFFENCE  SINCE 1960 – WHAT ABOUT CRUELTY TO SOLDIERS ON MILITARY DUTY IN J&K?

 Sir,

             President of India as the Supreme Commander & the Armed Forces are under oath of allegiance to the Constitution of India; continue to silently suffer ‘cruelty’ in J&K, when it is an offence against Animals but for some unknown reasons, Soldiers continue to suffer, not objected by RM or COAS, except their Children or Parents of the Soldiers.

2. Is RM not responsible to prevent cruelty to Soldiers? Fundamental Duty of all Citizens including Military Officers Article 51A is to bring to the notice of concerned authority, if something is going wrong.

3,         Why Rajya Sainik Board of J&K / Kendra Sainik Board of MoD ares keeping quite when Welfare of AFs is on ‘concurrent list’?

4. As a responsible War Veterans request the President of India to protect Soldiers from cruelty of Stone Pelting by issuing Presidential Order please since Political Leaders have failed to en-act Law in this respect.

Dated 9 Feb 2018.

   Brig HS Ghuman, SC, Retd.

# 1043 Sector 71, SAS Nagar.

Punjab, Pin 160071.

Dastgir said Pakistan was committed to the 2003 ceasefire agreement with India but said that it should not be interpreted as weakness to respond in case of a war.

Islamabad, February 6

Pakistan’s Defence Minister Khurram Dastagir has warned India of a “response” in case of a “misadventure” by it.Dastagir’s remarks came during a Kashmir Solidarity Day gathering at the President House here on Monday which was hosted by President Mamnoon Hussain.“They [India] may have the right to start an [unprovoked] misadventure but the right to respond, at what level and with what magnitude will be reserved by us,” The Express Tribune quoted Dastagir as saying.He said Pakistan was committed to the 2003 ceasefire agreement with India but said that it should not be interpreted as weakness to respond in case of a war.

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

“Our commitment to abide by the ceasefire agreement is not a response limitation,” the Defence Minister said.He claimed that the Indian forces were involved in crimes against humanity in Kashmir.“It makes it incumbent on me to demand that there must be an international inquiry to determine the exact spectre of the crimes being committed by the Indian forces in Kashmir,” he said.Speaking at another event, the Defence Minister said Islamabad retained the right to decide the measure and modicum of response to ceasefire violations by India. PTI

Changing tunes: Bands perform during the ‘Beating Retreat’ at Vijay Chowk in New Delhi on Monday.   | Photo Credit: Sandeep Saxena

‘Sitar and ghatam do not fit into a military band’

An Indian Army vehicle moves outside their camp after militants attacked the camp on Saturday, in Jammu. Reuters

Jammu, February 11

A National Investigation Agency (NIA) team on Sunday visited the Sunjuwan Army camp attacked by a group of Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) terrorists and examined the evidence collected by the Army from the site of the gun battle, an official said.Six people, including five Army personnel, were killed while ten others were injured in the attack by JeM terrorists.Three terrorists were also killed in retaliatory action as the operation which began yesterday continued for a second day inside the sprawling military station along the Jammu- Pathankot bypass here.Though a case has not been registered yet, the NIA team inspected the encounter site inside the camp and examined the evidence collected by the Army, the official said, on condition of anonymity.The NIA is mandated to probe all terror-related cases in the country as per an act of Parliament.NIA is already investigating the November 2016 Nagrota attack case in which seven Army personnel, including two officers, and three terrorists were killed.It has already submitted a charge-sheet in the Pathankot air base attack case in which it had named JeM founder Masood Azhar as an accused.The attack on the Pathankot air base took place on the intervening night of January 1-2, 2016. It claimed the lives of seven security personnel. Four terrorists were also gunned down by the security forces while repulsing the attack.Since this (Sunjuwan) attack was also the handiwork of JeM terrorists, the NIA is looking for its link with previous cases which will help them in building a stronger case against Azhar and India can make a firm case at the United Nations, the official said. — PTI

Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, February 10

With the Ministry of Home Affairs claiming that it has been closely monitoring the situation emerging out of the terror attack at Sunjuwan Army camp in Jammu, Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh today said the forces were effectively doing their job and would never let any Indian hang his head in shame.Talking to mediapersons on the sidelines of an event in Ahmedabad, Rajnath  said, “We have received information that the operation is going on. I understand that until the operation ends, it will not be appropriate on my part to comment.” Two Junior Commissioned Officers (JCOs) were killed while a Colonel-rank officer and daughter of an Army man were among the four people injured in a militant attack on the Sunjuwan Army camp in Jammu early today.When asked specifically about the casualties, the minister said it was “sad”.Earlier in the day, the Home Minister spoke to DG SP Vaid of the J&K Police and took stock of the situation.