Qingdao, June 10

Amid frosty bilateral relationship, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Pakistani President Mamnoon Hussain on Sunday exchanged pleasantries after a press conference by the leaders of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) here.The two leaders shook hands and exchanged pleasantries at the end of the media briefing, which was addressed by Chinese President Xi Jinping. China is the host and chair of the SCO.Also read: Connectivity projects should respect country’s sovereignty: ModiModi and Hussain were among the leaders who attended the media briefing after culmination of the 18th SCO summit where India and Pakistan participated as full-fledged members.The relations between India and Pakistan had strained after an attack on an army camp in Uri in Jammu and Kashmir by Pakistan-based terror organisations in 2016. The ties took a severe hit post-sentencing of Indian national Kulbhushan Jadhav by a military court in April last year.India had also boycotted the 19th SAARC Summit after the Uri attack. The summit was called off after Bangladesh, Bhutan and Afghanistan also declined to participate in the Islamabad meet.The Line of Control in Jammu and Kashmir has also witnessed escalation of hostilities.India has been raising the issue of Pakistan-sponsored terrorism in various multilateral forums with an aim to build pressure on Islamabad to dismantle the terror infrastructure operating from that country.Modi held nearly half a dozen bilateral meetings with leaders of other SCO countries. However, there was no bilateral meeting between Modi and Hussain.In his address at the summit, Modi, while referring to situation in Afghanistan, talked about challenge of terrorism and its effects.In his address, President Hussain exuded confidence that the upcoming general elections in his country will further bolster economic stability in Pakistan.He said the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), which is part of China’s Belt and Road Initiative, has boosted Pakistan’s economy.India has been strongly opposing the CPEC as it goes through Pakistan-occupied Kashmir. PTI 

Jammu, June 5

Within hours of a flag meeting to maintain ceasefire on the international border (IB) in Jammu and Kashmir, Pakistan Rangers fired mortars at Indian positions on Tuesday.Police said around 1 a.m. the Pakistan Rangers fired two-to-three mortars in the Akhnoor sector of the IB.”Border Security Force (BSF) troopers did not retaliate. No casualty or damage was caused in the Pakistani shelling,” a police officer said.On Monday, a sector commanders level flag meeting was held in Suchetgarh between the BSF and Pakistan Rangers for two hours.The meeting was held on Pakistan’s request and the two sides agreed to respect the ceasefire agreement in letter and spirit

Srinagar, June 29

Militants on Friday hurled a grenade towards an Army patrol party in Shopian district of Jammu and Kashmir, police said.There are no reports of any loss of life.A grenade was lobbed towards the Army patrol party in Ahgam area of Shopian in south Kashmir, a police official said.The area had been cordoned off, the official said.Further details are awaited. PTI

Aditi Tandon

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, June 28

Hours after a video showing an Indian Army surgical strike against Pakistan terrorists was released, the Congress on Thursday accused the BJP government of “politicising” the sacrifices of soldiers and using them for “garnering votes”.Recalling the September 28-29, 2016 surgical strike which the BJP leaders called as the first ever, Congress media head Randeep Surjewala said the BJP had “brazenly” used that strike-form politics ahead of the 2017 Uttar Pradesh elections.The Congress also asked the PM why he was cutting corners when it came to ensuring the benefits to the Armed Forces. Surjewala referred to ration and various other cuts effected by the government on the forces to make his point.The Congress said the valour of the forces was a “matter of pride and not politics” and cited the post 2000 surgical strikes conducted silently.Surjewala mentioned the following strikes—on January 21, 2000 (Nadala Enclave, across the Neelam River); September 18, 2003 (Baroh Sector, Poonch); June 19, 2008 (Bhattal Sector, Poonch); August 30 to September 1, 2011 (Sharda Sector, across Neelam River Valley in Kel); January 6, 2013 (Sawan Patra Checkpost); July 27, 28, 2013 (Nazapir Sector); August 6, 2013 (Neelam Valley); January 14, 2014 (Army Chief, General Bikram Singh’s statement qua surgical strike on Dec 23, 2013).The Congress said the ruling dispensation had used the September 2016 surgical strikes “shamelessly” to advance their electoral agenda and posters of the PM appeared taking credit for the Army’s job.“The BJP has trashed every tradition of restraint by belligerent chest-thumping to claim credit of surgical strike with an eye on political and electoral gain. BJP president Amit Shah dishonoured the 70-year-long history of bravery and sacrifice of our Armed Forces by making a disgraceful statement on October 7, 2016 in a press conference in New Delhi that the Indian Army had crossed the LoC for the first time in 68 years. This was also a lie,” Surjewala said.

Mukesh Ranjan

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, June 17

In line with the security agencies’ assessment of the ground situation in Jammu and Kashmir and also in view of the Amarnath Yatra commencing on June 28, the Centre on Sunday announced its decision “not to extend” the suspension of anti-terror operations in the state any further, as it was in vogue for the holy month of Ramzan.In the evening, the Army, CRPF and state police jointly carried out the first cordon and search operation post the unilateral ceasefire in Baramulla district.   Earlier in the day, Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh said, “Security forces are being directed to take all necessary action at the earliest to prevent terrorists from launching attacks and indulging in violence.” At the same time, he made it clear that the government will continue with its endeavour to create an environment free of terror and violence.“It is important that all sections of peace-loving people come together to isolate the terrorists and motivate those who have been misguided to return to the path of peace,” the minister added.The Centre had announced suspension of operations at the beginning of the holy month on May 17 “in the interest of the peace-loving people of the state”.Commending the role played by the security forces in implementing the decision in “letter and spirit” despite grave provocation, the minister said it enabled the Muslim brothers and sisters to observe Ramzan in a peaceful manner.“But while the security forces displayed exemplary restraint, the terrorists have continued with their attacks,” he said. According to officials, there were 18 incidents of terror between April 17 and May 17  and the figure rose to above 50 during the suspension of operations. The period saw brutal killings, including that of journalist Shujaat Bukhari.

Ajay Banerjee

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, June 15

Security agencies have alerted the Centre about 35 terrorists wanting to infiltrate into Jammu and Kashmir from across the Line of Control on a specific mission to attack Army installations. Based in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir, the terrorists have been seeking to strike at two locations in the state. Sources said while one group wanted to target Army forward units in Poonch, situated to the south of Pir Panjal mountain range, another was on a mission to attack an installation towards the north of the mountain range.The southern part of Pir Panjal falls in Jammu region where terrorists hardly enjoy any local support. Definitive information with the security agencies is that 26 terrorists have been particularly waiting to infiltrate into the north of Pir Panjal. The possible target could be Army installations in Kupwara, said sources.  The group that is looking to enter Poonch area could carry out blasts or plant IEDs in Bimbher Galli and Saujiyaan, both close to the LoC.

The new Defence Planning Committee is expected to facilitate India’s quest for military power. But its financial atmospherics need to be delineated since the DPC has a challenging objective of ensuring a cost-effective approach.

Bhartendu Kumar Singh

Indian Defence Accounts Service

When the Defence Planning Committee (DPC) was announced recently, it was hailed as another milestone in India’s ongoing military reforms. Expectations are naturally up that the DPC would carve out grand narratives for facilitating India’s quest for military power. While many components of India’s rising military power profile have been discussed and debated in the follow-up period, the financial aspects remain overlooked. Unless the financial atmospherics are properly delineated, the true roadmap for various components of defence planning may not emerge. Mainstream literature on defence as well as recent write-ups on DPC treat defence planning as essentially a military issue. This is, perhaps, not true. Apart from matters of war and peace, defence planning is equally about economics since the entire fulcrum of military issues are shaped by economic factors. Kevin Narizny in his book ‘The Political Economy of Grand Strategy’ hypothesises that economic interests determine great power military strategies. The very first dimension of modern-day grand strategy is a state’s assertiveness or its willingness to pay the costs (military spending, diplomatic capital etc). His emphasis on politico-economical approach remains the best tool to understand the rise of economic powers (like the UK and US). Therefore, the utilitarian aspect of the DPC lies in enabling India’s military modernisation and reforms in a systematic way along with and benefiting from the country’s growing economic profile. The institutional arrangement for a revamped DPC is necessitated partly because past efforts for autonomous and independent defence planning did not yield the desired results. To ensure flexibility, the defence sector was kept out of the purview of the erstwhile Planning Commission and treated as a ‘non-Plan’ expenditure. However, that arrangement did not work, best evident in delayed approvals of defence five-year plans and associated funding problems. Indian defence planning was often a victim of segregated approach in the last 70 years, having no correlation with the other important aspects of the nation-building process. The low levels of economic growth often translated into scarcity of resources for the defence sector. Further, the macro-reforms of the early 90s did not touch the defence sector. From a futuristic perspective, India as a rising military power is still exploring a cost-effective  trajectory on many issues. The revamping of the Planning Commission into Niti Aayog offers an opportunity for a synchronised thinking on defence and development where both supplement each other, ie development as the best form of defence and defence contributing to the developmental aspects like growth of a robust military industrial complex.  The DPC has a challenging objective of ensuring a cost-effective approach to India’s rise in global politics. At the minimum, India needs a peaceful  environment that is conducive to its goals without being overtly distracted by conflictual relations with China and Pakistan. This is possible by a deft crafting of a national security strategy (NSS), one of the key mandates for the DPC. We need to take a cue from the US NSS, wherein equal emphasis has been given on economic aspects of security and a series of white papers on defence by China over the years that sought to create a ‘peaceful periphery policy’ for enabling focussed attention on development. There are many financial issues that need consideration of the DPC. 1 First, despite the healthy growth in revenue expenditure and budgetary allotment for the same for defence, statements have poured in media lamenting the slow growth of revenue expenditure and its adverse impact on the modernisation plans of the armed forces. In fact, even after adjusting for inflation, there has been a net increase in the defence expenditure by 0.75 per cent in 2018-19 over the previous year. However, the DPC would be challenged in taming the galloping revenue expenditure by innovative ways to facilitate equal consideration for other priority sectors like health, education and infrastructure. 2 Second, there is need to build up a defence posture on the basis of internal strength and save money wherever possible. For example, India has established a lead in missile defence largely through indigenous research and development. And yet, as Stephen Cohen, noted South Asia expert, laments, there has been no systematic analysis of trade-offs between aircraft and missiles. No country chooses one exclusively over the other, but according to him, understanding the trade-off is important to balance investment. It would be prudent to add that such trade-offs be exercised  on a larger scale in mapping out various components of defence planning.  3 Third, contemporary wars are waged by ‘other means’. Focus has shifted to preferred tools like ‘geo-economics’. The Trump administration is practising it vigorously with even allies falling prey to sanctions and duty regime. China is another good player in geo-economics, as is evident in its mega initiative of Belt and Road Initiative and trapping most South Asian countries into its fold. Economic power is as important as military power and increasing India’s visibility in the international economic order, therefore, deserves more salience in DPC’s thought process. These are just representative examples. The idea is to reiterate that while financial aspects are only a part of the larger defence planning problem, the bottomline apprehension is that if they remain neglected or overlooked, we may find it difficult to secure a cost-effective defence planning for India.

(Views are personal)