As our government demands we celebrate “Surgical Strikes Day”, we should instead reflect. And feel disturbed – because not for decades has a government so blatantly politicised Indian defence and India’s military. The Bharatiya Janata Party has shown that it is willing to compromise on India’s security just to try to win a few elections.

Let’s recall for a moment exactly what we’re commemorating. Two years ago, the Indian military crossed over the Line of Control in the Kupwara and Poonch districts of Jammu and Kashmir to attack forward camps where it believed militants planning to sneak into India were briefed. The commandos, believably, say perhaps 40 militants and a couple of regular Pakistani soldiers were killed. In other words, the strikes were a tactical success.

But the action was a strategic failure: because it has signally failed to deter Pakistan. Far from changing our neighbour’s behaviour, in the two years since the strikes across the border – ceasefire violations have gone up four-fold. Security personnel are being killed on a regular basis; infiltrations do not just continue but in fact have intensified beginning in 2016. The Indian army carries out the orders of its political masters; tactics are the domain of the commanders on the ground. But it is clear that strategic thinking is absent in New Delhi. So should we not also on this day commemorate the strategic errors of the government? Should we call it “Strategic Failures Divas” instead?

This is just one more way in which the government has chosen to stoke the fires of Kashmir, irresponsibly and short-sightedly, in order to pump up its “nationalist” credentials in the Hindi belt. Back in 2014, discontent in the Valley was under control. There were barely 200 militants, probably less, left. Local recruitment was negligible. In the years since then, fuelled by the BJP’s irresponsible politics locally and by its divisive rhetoric nationally, the number of young Kashmiris turning to militancy has sky-rocketed. This should give any nationalist Indian pause. But apparently it means nothing to India’s “nationalist” party. It would seem that only election victories matter and since the surgical strikes helped them win the Uttar Pradesh assembly elections, their memory must be kept alive.

In the meantime, the Indian government’s approach to Pakistan where it matters has been embarrassingly schizophrenic. Most ridiculously, it cancelled a meeting between External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj and her Pakistani counterpart in New York barely 24 hours after it had been announced. This followed a negative reaction from some of its more jingoistic supporters online. Nobody can fault the government’s reaction time. But security policy and diplomacy cannot respond to Twitter trending topics. The silliness didn’t stop there: an absurdly worded statement from the foreign ministry – “the true face of Imran Khan has been revealed to the world” – needlessly personalised the issue and deliberately alienated the man who is now, for better or for worse, Pakistan’s prime minister for the next five years. All this did was put Khan’s back up, and cause him to tweet something equally silly about his Indian counterpart – “small men who occupy big offices”. India’s job should be to detach Khan from the military, and to widen civilian-military gaps in the new administration. That is where our security lies – and, of course, it would be good for Pakistan as well. But the Indian government is so scared of its own social media trolls that it would rather behave like them than in India’s interest.

If the government truly wished us to celebrate our military – the supposed reason for Surgical Strikes Day, and the subject of a circular sent out to schools and universities by the busybodies in New Delhi – then it could have picked any number of important dates in our history.

We already have Kargil Victory Day on July 26 – that could have been one occasion. Or November 1, the day in 1948 that General Thimayya and the tanks of the Seventh Light Cavalry took Zojila Pass and the crucial road to Ladakh. The truth is that there’s no shortage of such days. Picking the day of one particular set of cross-border strikes slights the Indian army’s history. It isn’t surprising that, according to most reports, veterans are noticeably unenthusiastic about the government’s plans for celebration.

Worst of all are the open claims that more such strikes are in the offing. One must assume that India’s Army chief acts on his own, and does not follow political orders. Yet General Rawat’s recent bellicose statements on television – “I believe there is a need for another surgical strike” – suggest at least that the civilians in government have not chosen to do their job and restrain him from making unfortunate statements to the media.

The whole point of undercover operations is that they are, well, undercover. It was bad enough when the government decided to publicise the 2016 strikes after they had happened; now we are publicising them before they take place?

What next – will we send BJP social media managers along so they can live-tweet where the army is going to strike?

Cross-border strikes are risky, and so should not be telegraphed in advance. What does risk mean in this context? What does danger mean? It means that soldiers might die. It means that such strikes carry a significant risk of failure. Not only should no Indian soldier’s life be sacrificed on the altar of political propaganda, but as Lieutenant General Vinod Bhatia has pointed out, the very fact that the government chooses to make cross-border strikes the subject of propaganda makes them a less effective weapon. It means it cannot afford to risk them going wrong. The propaganda, far from making India stronger, has deprived it of an instrument it has used often, but quietly.

(Mihir Swarup Sharma is a fellow at the Observer Research Foundation.)

Disclaimer: The opinions expressed within this article are the personal opinions of the author. The facts and opinions appearing in the article do not reflect the views of NDTV and NDTV does not assume any responsibility or liability for the same.

Tribune News Service
Shimla, September 28

Six bikers along with 20 tourists who were stranded in Himachal Pradesh were rescued by a Mi-17 V5 helicopter of the IAF.

The stranded bikers and tourists were picked up from locations near Chhattru and Chhota Dara on the way from Rohtang Pass to Chandrataal near Bara Shigri glacier, who had got stuck there due to heavy snow in the region.

The rescued bikers included three women hailing from Delhi, Thiruvananthpuram and Rajkot. More people are reported to be holed up at a snowbound location near Chhattru. They will be rescued in subsequent sorties by IAF helicopters later in the day.

The BRO has opened the Manali-Sarchu road till Km 182. It means Patsio and Zing Zing Bar are connected. The BRO is providing transport to evacuate around 95 people from Patsio to Keylong.

The work to clear Rohtang Pass and Baralachala Pass from either side are in full swing. Work is also in progress to connect Gramphoo to Chattru.

On Thursday, 424 people were evacuated from Lahaul-Spiti and taken to Kullu, while 350 were evacuated via the Rohtang tunnel and 74 people airlifted.

As many as 74 people, including three German nationals, were airlifted from the Baralacha Pass, Sarchu, Satingri, Chhota Dara and Kunzum Pass.

Seven were rescued from the Rohtang Pass by BRO personnel. They were admitted to the Manali hospital.

Ten women and three children, spotted in a remote shelter near Chhota Dara, were airlifted. A few men were provided food packets, relief material and medicines. The rescued women and children were brought to Kullu.

36 students airlifted from Chamba

• As many as 36 students of various primary schools and five staff members were airlifted from Chamba by IAF choppers and sent to Pangi on Thursday.   
• The remaining staff will be sent to Killar (Pangi) on Friday. In an official communiqué, Chamba Deputy Commissioner Harikesh Meena said 365 students of other primary schools of the district had also been sent by 15 buses to Salooni, Sundla, Tissa, Kalhel, Banikhet, Chowari and Sihunta.
• The students had gone to Holi, the tribal sub-tehsil, to participate in the district-level primary school tournament (U-12).
• But they could not reach their destination due to inclement weather. OC

Lt Gen Syed Ata Hasnain (retd)
Chancellor, Central University Kashmir 

Both of us (writers of this article) were targets of messages laced with scorn on Twitter recently when we steadfastly opposed the circulation of an image of a civilian clicking a picture with the corpse of a terrorist in the backdrop, and also of what seemed like the dragging of bodies of the same terrorist just after an operation.

To put the record straight, the first picture was utterly detestable and the second was perhaps articulated out of context after the culmination of a military operation, subsequent to which the body of the terrorist had been tied by a rope and flipped to ensure the disposal of explosive which could put troops to risk. On opposition to the circulation of the pictures, we were, inter alia, informed by self-declared experts that the dragging of the body was a Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) in counterinsurgency operations and also that terrorists deserved no mercy. Of course, the commentators forgot in the bargain, that firstly, the picture was not that of the actual SOP being carried out, since the same is carried out by a rope at least 30 ft long, and secondly, a body ceases to be that of an enemy or a terrorist and is never mistreated, unless we are competing in barbarism with our neighbour. Needless to state, in this case too, the body may not have been mistreated, but the presence of civilians with cameras in such a zone is worrisome.

Why should such pictures not be circulated? If we dig deep into the issue, such actions can have deleterious repercussions. To begin with, they are bound to be used by inimical elements to spread misinformation about our forces, thereby depicting them in less than favourable light. Let us not forget that these are times of psychological operations, where messing with the minds of people and injecting hatred is a more potent tool than the gun. We just cannot afford to be an enabling device for the enemy in this dastardly environment. Such pictures, especially the one with a civilian with a corpse, can also lead to a vicious tit-for-tat cycle of violence with brutal photographs and videos being circulated, which has been seen elsewhere in the world, and is best avoided. 

On the dignity of bodies of terrorists, many have responded with the oft-repeated refrain that ‘terrorists have no human rights’. This is a dangerous proposition. ‘Human rights’ is not a dirty word. It regulates our existence and acts as a shield towards the misuse of power by any person in authority. What we have always clamoured for, however, is a balance and equal respect for the rights of the men and women in uniform. Had there been an absence of rule of law, the logic professed for terrorists could well be extended to any criminal or perceived criminal, thereby justifying mob mentality. In fact, the Indian Army was one of the first armies to have incorporated rights training and monitoring and it would also be in the fitness of things if the military, institutionally rising above any popular sentiment, corrects the perception on social media when it threatens our basic ethos.

The Army has always guarded against desecration of bodies. An apt example is of Kargil, wherein, in the middle of the battle, the bodies of the enemy were not only handed over to Pakistan, but also saluted by our troops. True, those were bodies of enemy combatants and a direct parallel with terrorists may not be apposite, however, let us not forget that this happened despite the most unsoldierly conduct on the body of the late Captain Saurabh Kalia. Some provided examples to us how other nations dealt with such situations. But it may come as a surprise to many that most democracies are very sensitive to this subject. Osama bin Laden’s body was buried at sea by the Americans and mistreatment of bodies is akin to a war crime for them. Contrary to popular perception, Israel absolutely forbids disrespect to bodies and professes very strict rules of engagement, including prohibition of the use of human shields and maltreatment of bodies, which were banned by its apex court and dutifully followed by the Israel defence forces. In Nigeria, Sierra Leone and South Africa, maltreatment of bodies is a war crime. Many other African states, which have faced gruesome ethnic violence, now provide for the protection of bodies. 

The battle zone is not mathematical. There would be a variety of situations that would require split-second decisions. Therefore, imposing a zero-error environment might result in inhibiting the initiative of troops. However, there are aspects where there is no compromise. The true mettle of a soldier only comes to the fore under stressful situations, where he or she must not stray from military values. While the Indian Army would be ruthless in its operations thwarting terrorism, it would also be the most correct in following the rule of law, the laid-down procedures, including respect to the dead.

The scrupulous adherence to these ingrained principles is why the Indian Army has retained its reputation. Unnecessary chest-thumping on social media by seemingly bloodthirsty warriors, who have not gone beyond video games in real life, militates against the ethos of our military, and would continue to be treated with the contempt it deserves.

Despite extreme provocations, we cannot be like the other side and that is the reason why our Army retains its moral edge, and continues to prevail.

Co-authored by Major Navdeep Singh (Retd.)
Founding President, Armed Forces Tribunal Bar Association

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Abhinav Vashisht

Kullu, September 23

Nineteen persons, including two women, were stranded at Dobhi Bihal in Kullu district on Sunday after the water level in the Beas river rose abnormally, touching the Chandigarh-Manali National Highway 21, owing to incessant rains. The persons trapped in the river were airlifted to Bhuntar by an Indian Air Force chopper.

Kullu Deputy Commissioner Yunus Khan said most of the stranded persons were from Uttar Pradesh and Nepal. The rising water level in the Fozal Nullah having washed away the sidewalls of Dwara bridge,   traffic on the Kullu-Manali road had been halted. However, small vehicles were being allowed via the left bank.

Traffic near the Bhuntar bailey bridge too had come to a stop, the DC said.

Also, 30 persons stranded at Rohtang Pass because of heavy snowfall and some at a camping site in Raison were rescued. They were brought to Manali in a General Reserve Engineer Force (GREF) vehicle with the help of Col AK Awasthi and the Kullu DC.

Gushing Beas waters reportedly entered a truck union office at Bashing, 4 km from here, washing away two vehicles. The newly built helipad at Bahang near Manali was damaged too.

With various rivers and rivulets in the district in spate, the administration has issued an alert. All educational institutions in Kullu will remain closed on September 24. Flights from the Bhuntar airport have been cancelled.

Alert in several parts of Himachal

• All schools in Kinnaur, Kangra and Solan districts have been closed in view of the rains
• Several roads in Kinnaur and Chamba districts have been blocked by landslides
• With water being released from Chamera dam, the SDM has warned people not to go near the Ravi and nullahs
• In Kangra, Larji dam gates are being opened and if situation persists, shutters of Pandoh dam may be opened
• Naina Devi in Bilaspur was the wettest with 178.2 mm of rain. Sarkaghat in Mandi recorded 137 mm, Mehre 132.6 mm, Manali 127.4, Dharamsala 125.2 and Kasauli 105 mm

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, September 18

The Defence Acquisition Council (DAC), chaired by Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, on Tuesday gave approval for the procurement of two additional regiments of the Akash missile, an air defence weapon.

These Akash Missile Systems will be supplied by Bharat Dynamics Limited (BDL). The missile to be procured is an upgraded version of the previously inducted Akash missiles and will include seeker technology. It possesses a 360- degree coverage and will be of compact configuration with reduced signature.

The upgraded Akash Weapon System is an operationally critical equipment which will provide protection to vital assets.

In all, the DAC okayed the procurement of equipment for nearly Rs 9,100 crore.

The DAC also gave approval for progressing Design and Development of Individual Under-Water Breathing Apparatus for T-90 tanks developed by the DRDO.

The DAC also approved the design and development of test equipment for guided weapons system of T-90 tank. The equipment is being developed by the DRDO.

KARTARPUR, at a tantalisingly approachable distance of 3 km from the border, has a multi-hued significance for the Sikhs. It is here that Guru Nanak Dev spent 17 years, establishing the first Sikh centre, naming his successor before giving up his mortal body. Kartarpur is within sighting distance, but the route is barred by the two armies. The birthplaces of Guru Ram Das and the samadhi of Guru Arjan Dev, both in Pakistan, are also out of bounds, except for a fortunate few who make the pilgrimage to Pakistan, as much a land of gurus as is India. Navtoj Sidhu’s announcement about Pakistan’s readiness to open a corridor to the Kartarpur shrine naturally sent a thrill of anticipation among the devout.

The sentiment for reviving lost connections while forsaking the baggage of the past has strong bipartisan support in both Punjabs. Sukhbir Badal disregarded rabid anti-Pakistan discourse by his alliance partner to visit Lahore in 2012. The present CM Amarinder Singh preceded him by a decade and was gifted a horse. Neither the horse lived for long nor did the Captain’s initiative to break the ice. Each time the two Punjabs have tried to make amends, the initiative has run into the wall of obdurate and unyielding state interests where the bigger picture does not allow for minor concessions.

A visa-free corridor was first proposed by Benazir Bhutto nearly 25 years back and has since then struck an emotional chord in Indian Punjab. New Delhi has much to be upset with Islamabad but gurdwara diplomacy and a reciprocal ‘shrine diplomacy’ in India will build up a badly-needed peace constituency to neutralise the existing negativity in Indo-Pak ties. A liberal visa policy will bring increasingly larger number of Sikh devotees which will help in the upkeep of the nearly 200 gurdwaras and historical sites in Pakistan. A constructive approach towards the Kartarpur shrine will not just heal emotional scars, but also help move towards peace in the region, more so as the 550th birth anniversary of Guru Nanak approaches.

Kartarpur corridor: ‘When opportunity knocks, open the door,’ Sidhu writes to Swaraj

Tribune Web Desk
Chandigarh, September 9

Punjab Minister Navjot Singh Sidhu has written to External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj asking her to “make every possible effort and bring boundless joy and happiness to the Sikh community world over” over the demand to open up a Kartarpur Sahib corridor.

Sidhu says in his letter dated September 8, 2018: “Pakistan has shown a positive intent towards the long-pending demand of ‘Kartarpur Sahib Corridor’.”

Full contents of the letter have been reproduced below.

I hope you are doing well and in the best of spirits. Sushma Ji, when the partition happened in 1947, not only geographical, economic, emotional and social setbacks came but many historical Gurudwaras were left in Pakistan. Since then, the Sikhs living in India, who always offer prayers to pay obeisance in the separated Gurudwaras have to rely on visas to make a visit to the holy shrines left there.

Among various historical Gurudwaras left in Pakistan, Gurudwara Kartarpur Sahib Ji is of great significance. This is the place where Guru Nanak Dev Ji spent almost 18 years of his life. The Gurudwara Sahib is very close to the International border.

Such is the sentiment of the pilgrims in India that they visit the border everyday just to have a glimpse of this holy shrine through binoculars arranged by the Border Security Force at the Border in the Dera Baba Nanak region of India.

Some touch the holy earth and some depart with tearful eyes. But are deprived of paying obeisance at this holy shrine.

The visa wrangles have deprived numerous pilgrims from reaching this historic Gurudwara over the years. The rift between two neighbours grew so much over the years that even visiting historical Gurudwaras at will became a problem.

Now an opportunity has knocked on our doors. Pakistan has shown a positive intent towards the long pending demand of ‘Kartarpur Sahib Corridor’. Pilgrims and we all have been demanding for this corridor since years. Some positivity came on this issue when I visited Pakistan for the oath-taking ceremony of Prime Minister of Pakistan Imran Khan but now with their Information Minister Fawad Chaudhary categorically saying that Corridor will be opened and even visa won’t be required to visit this as part of the 550th birth anniversary celebrations of Guru Nanak dev Ji, it is time for India to take a positive step on this highly emotional issue.

When opportunity knocks, kindly step up and open the door.

The opening of this Corridor will be a huge thing for the Sikh community all over the world. Even though both neighbours have had sour relations for decades but the corridor if opened can bring peace and prosperity between the two countries.

This can break barriers, build bridges and improve relations between the two nations.

My humble submission to you is to make every possible effort and bring boundless joy and happiness to the Sikh community world-over as the Kartarpur Sahib corridor is one dream they have lived forever. With Pakistan showing positive intent, common belief is that this can turn into reality.

Appropriate measures on the Kartarpur Sahib corridor must be taken as Sikh sentiments are strongly attached with it. Hoping for a positive response from you!

Thanking you.  

Personal regards
Navjot Singh Sidhu
Cabinet Minister, Punjab

Voice of Karachi asserted that Pakistan is answerable for several things including the freedom given to the leaders of terrorist group like Lashkar-e-Taiba.

Voice of Karachi chairman Nadeem Nusrat called Imran Khan a weak leader.

Amir Karim Tantray

Tribune News Service

Poonch, September 27

Two years after Army commandos carried out surgical strikes on terror launch pads across the Line of Control (LoC) in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK), the morale of the forces guarding this volatile zone continues to be high.

Committed to keeping the enemy at bay and not letting it push in armed militants, soldiers of the Army unit (name withheld) manning the Poonch sector are putting their lives at risk to guard the LoC amid all odds.

From a forward post on an undisclosed location on the LoC in the Poonch sector, the surgical strikes were carried out inside the PoK on September 28-29, 2016. “Initially, when we came here as a frontline battalion, we adopted a tit-for-tat policy. Now, the emphasis is more on punitive action. The commanding officers have more freedom to take action and that is translating into success,” Col Bhupinder Singh, Commanding Officer of the unit, told The Tribune.

“The commanders on the ground are free to initiate any action if any misadventure is undertaken by the enemy,” he said.

Besides ceasefire violations by the Pakistan army, the biggest challenge on the LoC remains infiltration, as terror launch pads are still active there. To meet this challenge, the Army is using surveillance devices with advance technology and carries out drills and ambush operations to ensure the area remains safe. Also, patrolling is done to clear the area of all threats, including mines.

“Infiltration has to be stopped at any cost. Our boys keep a high morale even in the face of harsh weather conditions and tough terrain,” the Colonel added.

Major General Rajeeva Kumar, commissioned in the Sikh Light Infantry, is now the most senior officer among the Army personnel to approach the Supreme Court in the AFSPA matter following a petition by Colonel Amit Kumar and others.

Days after Army chief General Bipin Rawat questioned the need for serving Army officers and soldiers to approach the Supreme Court in personal capacity against alleged dilution of the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act, a serving Major General, currently posted as Chief of Staff of a Corps in the Eastern Command, has filed an application that he be made party to the petition filed by 739 Army personnel.

Major General Rajeeva Kumar, commissioned in the Sikh Light Infantry, is now the most senior officer among the Army personnel to approach the Supreme Court in the AFSPA matter following a petition by Colonel Amit Kumar and others. Hearing in the case is scheduled for September 28.

Incidentally, Colonel Amit Kumar too was commissioned in the Sikh Light Infantry before he joined the legal branch of the Army, the Judge Advocate General Branch.

READ | Army chief Bipin Rawat asks why officers, soldiers filed plea in SC

“The points raised in the present petition go to the significant problems and confusions being encountered by soldiers of Indian Army as to whether they are supposed to continue to engage in the proxy war and insurgency with their military training, principles, standard operating procedures, operational realities, valour and courage or act and operate as per the yardsticks of peacetime law and order issues and CrPC,” the application states.

The application refers to an extraordinary situation of confusion that has arisen with respect to protection of soldiers from prosecution as defined under Section 6 of AFSPA (Assam and Manipur) and Section 7 of AFSPA (J&K). “This protection does not give any blanket prohibition or any special right to the soldiers for themselves but only facilitates their functioning and operations in extraordinary circumstances or proxy war, insurgency, armed hostility, ambushes, cover and covert operations. Such operations are materially and substantially different from law and order situations,” the application states.

Sources in Army Headquarters said Major General Kumar has commanded troops in counter-insurgency operations in Jammu and Kashmir and has filed the application out of “his own conviction”.

Read | Officer behind AFSPA plea of 356 Army men drafted it for Major Aditya too

“The officer feels that officers, JCOs and jawans have gone to the court and that the cause is very important and, therefore, he has decided to implead as a petitioner,” a senior officer said.

Initially, 356 Army personnel moved the Supreme Court on August 13, stating that the “garb of protection of human rights should not be taken as a shield to protect the persons involved in the terrorist act”. Later in the month, another 383 Army personnel asked to be impleaded in the petition, taking the number of personnel who have moved the court to 739.

Earlier this month, during an interaction with Colonel-rank officers and their wives, General Rawat had questioned the need for serving personnel to move court, pointing out that the Army was fighting these cases, that the government too was aware of these cases. “AFSPA is a very strong law which provides protection to the soldiers. Now if these guys (the petitioners) lose the case, what will happen,” General Rawat was quoted as having said.