Monthly Archives: August 2018

The Golan decree recognises Israeli sovereignty on territories seized in the 1967 war. The world over, military capture or recapture of strategic terrain, when actively contested, carries formidable costs. This realism echoes all along our contested and unresolved borders.

Lt Gen Sanjiv Langer (retd)
Former Deputy Chief, Defence Staff

ISRAELI Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is poised for a historic fifth term. His election battle has undoubtedly benefited from the two gifts of US President Donald Trump — recognition of Jerusalem as the Israeli capital and the presidential decree of March 25, affirming Israeli sovereignty over the Golan Heights. Electorally, Trump’s gifts appealed to the extreme right parties, which have thrown their lot in with Netanyahu’s Likud party, nullifying the serious challenge by General Benny Gantz, a former Military Chief. The Golan decree, however, has far wider implications for disputed territories, the rules-based international order, and the Indian strategic environment.

The strategic Golan region (approximately 1,800 sq km) is a wedge of territory bordered by Israel, Jordan, Syria and Lebanon. An extended plateau superimposed with heights from 2,814 metre (Mt Hermon) to hills of 1,300 metre in the south. Bordered on the west by the Jordan river and the Sea of Galilee and in the south by the Yarmouk river, its ragged and challenging crestlines and heights give clear dominance to Israel over the Syrian expanse to the north and east, as well over South Western Lebanon. The control of the Golan ensures Israeli electronic and visual overwatch and facilitates unhindered launch of forces. More significantly, the region serves as a bulwark for Israeli territory to the west.

Golan’s strategic significance dates back to the early biblical times, and its importance is recorded from the times of Alexander of Macedon. In 1947-48, it was used by Syria for attacks into the nascent Israeli territories, and was fiercely contested in the Middle East wars of 1967 and 1973. During the terminal stages of the 1967 war, the UN Security Council called for a ceasefire on June 7. While accepted by Jordan, Syria continued to attack till June 9, when the Israelis launched an offensive. Thereafter, Syria accepted the ceasefire on June 10. The UN Security Council Resolution 242, while calling for cessation of hostilities and Israeli withdrawals, also affirmed Israeli’s right to live in peace within secure and recognised boundaries, free from threats and acts of force.

Israel’s right to exist and live in peace has never been recognised by Syria or Lebanon, and Israel never withdrew. The subsequent wars in the region with Syria and Lebanon, continued cross-border conflict, and the on-off negotiations have left the occupation unchanged. Significantly, all negotiations between Israel and Syria have been suspended since 2011 due to the war/civil war in the Syrian region. The decree of March 25 recognises Israeli sovereignty on territories seized in the 1967 war and is linked to a territorial reality. The subsequent outcry by some nations — as well as Syria, of course — and the UN is understandable.

Fundamental to the issue of international law and the rules-based international order being challenged is the UN Security Council Resolution (UNSCR) 497 of December 17, 1981, which was as a consequence of the ‘Israeli Golan Heights Law’. The law unilaterally extended Israeli administrative control and laws to the Golan region. The UN stated that the imposition of laws, jurisdiction and administration by Israel was null and void, without international legality. The resolution relied upon Article 2 Para 6 of the UN Charter, which focuses on the sovereign equality of all nations and regards the acquisition of territory by force as unacceptable. This UN Resolution has to be viewed in the context of the UN Charter. Article 1 of the Charter states that the UN’s purpose is ‘maintenance of international peace and security’. Can Article 2 of the Charter be applied in exception to Article 1? Article 4 says that the members (signatories) are all peace-loving States that accept obligations contained in the UN Charter. Consequently, can Syria, which has continued to attack Israel as well as allowed its territory to be used by several entities (violation of Articles 1 and 4), seek compliance of UNSCR 497? Can the UN remain committed to a 1981 vintage resolution that in no way reflects the reality of 2019 in the Syrian territory? While the US and Israeli affirmations may be debatable, the Syrian claims are legally infirm since no statute or charter can be applied selectively. Further, how does Syria claim international legal rights when it has violated international humanitarian law, causing untold suffering to its own population, based on exercise of its version of sovereignty?

An appreciation of the consequences in the Indian context revolves around our strategic neighbourhood. How do you apply and seek compliance of international law and UN resolutions with our western neighbour, who has a conspicuous history of nurturing and giving unfettered access to proxies and non-state actors from its territory? Is this not a violation of the concept of sovereignty (non-interference in the internal affairs of a neighbouring state)? Ever since the treaty of Westphalia, sovereignty carries the weight of governance and the rule of law in defined territories. Lack of control or connivance cannot be condoned under international law. How does India apply an international rights-based approach in its dealings with China? A nation which propounds its own version of history, legal interpretations, perceived injustices, and pre-eminent destiny. This is clearly evidenced by China’s posturing in the South and East China Seas and more significantly along our northern borders. As a mature nation, we must never lose sight of the legal and moral high ground in international affairs. Equally, when we live in a troubled neighbourhood, we must be intimately aware of the acute limitations of the international order and institutions in the 21st century. Israel is driven by its existential reality and the Trump administration has put its stamp on a strategic necessity. Implications of the US decree on Nagorno Karabakh and Cyprus are talked about in the media. We must, however, remember that each international politico-military situation is uniquely singular and no instructive generalisations are possible in the 21st century.

The Golan decree is a definitive step in keeping with strategic politico-military thought, which assigns exceptional guidelines to strategic terrain. It is most important to define this strategic terrain, and not dilute the classification. Thereafter, if this terrain is critical, it cannot be negotiated away. In the case of the Golan region, a territory captured by the blood of war, its loss, militarily or diplomatically, would strategically compromise Israel. Well-known examples in our context are Siachen and Kargil heights. The world over today, and in the foreseeable future, military capture or recapture of strategic terrain, when actively contested, carries formidable costs. This realism echoes all along our contested and unresolved borders.

As the Israeli PM looks forward to his next term, he probably will make good on his pre-election promise to extent sovereignty to portions of the West Bank. Whether this will be blessed by the US is presently not evident. This will directly impact the Palestinian State. In the Golan, the enduring challenge for Israel remains the predicament and future of the 20,000-odd Syrian Druze population.

Pakistani military personnel have been deputed to operate with the armed forces of several Middle Eastern countries for decades

NEW DELHI: 

The Ambassador of France to New Delhi has denied that Pakistani pilots were trained to fly the Rafale aircraft for the Qatari Air Force.

https://www.ndtv.com/video/news/news/french-government-denies-pak-pilots-were-trained-on-rafale-jets-511858

This clarification comes after ainonline.com, an independent media firm which focusses on the aviation sector reported that “the first batch of pilots trained for Qatar in November 2017 were Pakistani exchange officers.” According to Jon Lake, the author of the piece, “Escadron de Chasse 04.030 was established at Mont-de-Marsan as the Qatar Rafale Squadron on Oct. 1, 2017.”

Referring to the ainonline.com story, Ambassador Alexandre Ziegler has said, “I can confirm that it is fake news.” French government sources have told NDTV that they have cross-checked details of this article.

Qatar took delivery of its first Rafale at Dassault’s Merignac facility on February 6 this year. In a press statement, Dassault had said Qatar had signed up for 24 Rafale fighters in May 2015. In December 2017, it ordered an additional 12 fighters. The deal for the first 24 fighters is valued at euro 6.3 billion.

Both Qatari and Indian Air Force Rafales are equipped with the Meteor ultra long-range air-to-air missiles

Pakistani military personnel have been deputed to operate with the armed forces of several Middle Eastern countries for decades. Pakistan has also received military hardware from partner nations, including Jordan which has supplied Islamabad with 13 additional F-16 A/B fighters, some of which may have been used by the PAF during its attacks on Indian military targets along the Line of Control on February 27.

In January 2018, the Pakistani news portal www.thenews.com.pk reported the visit of the Commander of the Qatar Emiri Air Force to Pakistan Air Force Headquarters in Islamabad. Pakistan’s Air Chief reportedly “offered support and cooperation in the field of aviation and military training” to his counterpart.

This article will be updated if Dassault Aviation, France, chooses to issue a statement or clarification on the report carried by ainonline.com.

India’s deal with France to buy the Rafale from Dassault Aviation has been mired in controversy over alleged wrongdoings and crony capitalism. The opposition alleges the government led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi favoured industrialist Anil Ambani’s rookie firm Reliance Defence bag an offset contract with Dassault Aviation.

On Friday, the Supreme Court also outright rejected the centre’s argument that classified documents accessed by the media on the Rafale fighter jet deal can’t be evidence. The court said it will examine the secret documents while considering petitions asking for a review of its order giving the government a clean chit on the deal that the opposition alleges was corrupt.

Disclaimer: NDTV has been sued for 10,000 crores by Anil Ambani’s Reliance Group for its coverage of the Rafale deal.

Shiv Sethi

While teaching Yeats’ poem Easter I916, I thought of using the comparative method of teaching. The poem depicted the glorious sacrifices of the people of Ireland in their freedom struggle. Since India, too, had grappled with the British to get Independence, comparative analysis came up as the best way to explain the poem. As I was eulogising our martyrs, a student wished to express her perspective. With conspicuous frustration in her voice, she articulated  that Indians were still slaves and leading a miserable life fraught with restrictions. Before I could deploy my counter-perspective, another student stood up and referred to the atrocities of the British, which we had only read in the books of history. Gradually, the discussion began to hover around our freedom struggle. This time, a usually reticent girl drew our attention towards the most brutal Jallianwala Bagh massacre. Coincidentally, this year, we are going to commemorate 100 years of the carnage that took place on April 13, 1919.

Of course, the young students had many reasons to castigate our government, but I was reminded of John Milton’s Paradise Lost, that it was better to rule in hell than serve in heaven. The pain of a caged bird could not be realised by those who had a vast sky to flap their wings and fly freely. Now, the discussion was warming up and with sorrowful hearts, we began to revisit the gory episode at Jallianwala Bagh. Though years have rolled by, the memories of that bloody episode still linger. Like me, many of my students had also visited the historical place several times. Bullet marks on the walls are a testimony to the cruelty of the British.

What pained us more was the observation of a sensitive English writer, Rudyard Kipling, about this heinous crime. On the death of the architect of this massacre, General Dyer, Kipling remarked in Dyer’s defence that he only did his duty. The carnage shocked Rabindranath Tagore to such an extent that he returned the honour of knighthood. The barbarism of the English had startled the whole country, which resulted in a wrenching loss of faith of the common citizens in the intentions of the rulers. The pseudo-investigation into the bloodshed was nothing short of a mockery of justice and presented a reprehensible example of human rights violation.

Unfortunately, instead of punishing the mass murderer, the House of Lords honoured him with accolades. It was a reason potent enough to fuel widespread anger among Indians. When on that fateful day thousands of innocent people had thronged there, Udham Singh was serving water to the crowd. Perchance, he escaped the attack, but remained deeply disgruntled, till he brought the devil Michael O’Dwyer to his death and nemesis.

Having dwelled on the dark day of history, the whole class stood up and paid tributes to the martyrs by singing the National Anthem.

Every year 60,000 soldiers from the Indian Army retire. Since, most of these jawans retire in their late thirties, it is easier to mould and teach them entrepreneurial skills,” says I Create India.

Courage, determination and a passion to serve the country in every way they can.

These three traits are ingrained in each soldier who takes an oath to serve and protect their homeland despite the risk of facing a bullet or a bomb.

Serving the country by guarding its borders so that others may sleep easy is not for everyone, it needs a certain kind of dedication and selflessness that very few possess. Being a part of the Indian Army has its rewards both at a personal and social level, but life post-retirement is not as easy. Transitioning from the life of a military person to a civilian can be challenging especially when it comes to securing the future of their loved ones financially.

Though the existing monetary retirement plan may help the retired veterans lead a reasonably comfortable life, lack of skills or education, especially for soldiers of lower ranks, can be a hindrance to those who wish to establish an alternative career.

40-year-old R Y Naidu, who served as a havaldar(equivalent to a sergeant) at the ER-5 unit of the Indian Army for nearly 20 years, faced the same worries.

Speaking to The Better India (TBI), about his retirement plans, Naidu says,

For nearly 20 years I served my country and given my family a comfortable life. I wanted to do the same after retirement. I did not have a fancy degree or any other skills to get a decent job.

After retiring from the army, Naidu wanted to start a small-time business in his native Vizianagaram, Andhra Pradesh, because a business venture does not require formal training or education. “As I was nearing my retirement in October 2018, I came across an organisation who helped me to become an entrepreneur,” says Naidu.

Today, he has his own Reverse Osmosis (RO) plant that he built using his savings and a loan from the Prime Minister Employment Generation Programme Scheme (PMEGP). His monthly business turnover from selling water bottles, cans and pouches is Rs 3-4 lakhs, and his take-home is up to Rs 50,000. He has also started paying his loan instalments.

Talking about his future plans, he says, “I am planning to set up a bottle manufacturing unit next to the RO plant as, currently, I have to export the bottles from Vishakhapatnam.”

A thousand kilometres away from Vishakhapatnam, Namdev Ghotane in Belgaum, Karnataka has not only revived his failed dairy business but has also established another business of earth-movers. In the ER-14 unit of the Indian Army, Namdev used to drive heavy-duty vehicles in challenging terrains.

Banking on his skill, he invested 22 lakhs from his savings and purchased 2 JCBs and one tractor. The income generated from his dairy and earth-mover business is proving to be a boon for the 36-year-old and his family of five.

Likes Naidu and Ghotane, 50 other ex-servicemen across India have benefited from the 5-day Entrepreneur workshop by a non-profit organisation called ‘I Create India’

Started by a US-based Indian couple Harsh and Aruna Bhargava, the 20-year-old organisation aims at imparting entrepreneurship and employability skills development to the underprivileged across India apart from retired army veterans.

While the founders would visit India regularly for updates, they wanted someone in India to take charge and so Ulhas Kamat, the CEO of ‘I Create India’, got on board. Kamath had worked in the US with a minority business development agency after which he moved back to Bengaluru 10 years ago.

Talking to TBI, Kamath says,

Every year 60,000 Indian Army soldiers retire. Our objective is to help create micro-business so that they can live with dignity. Since most of these jawans retire in their late thirties, it is easier to mould and teach their entrepreneurial skills.

From Retirement To Business

“I Create India” signed an MoU with the Directorate of Indian Army Veterans (DIAV) in 2016. As per this MoU, Junior Commissioned Officers (JCOs) and Non-Commissioned Officers (NCOs) would be sent for the programme.

“Just when the army personnel from Madras Engineer Group (MEG) regiment are about to retire, they are expected to visit the MEG headquarters from across India. They get about a week free while completing the formalities. We utilise these days to train them,” says Kamath.

The organisation uses the preferences, skills, hereditary traits and resources that the ex-servicemen already possess to their benefit and prepare them accordingly without charging any money.

Take, for example, the case of Naidu. For most of his time in the Indian army, he worked in technical operations department and dealt with water treatment plants. Meanwhile, back in his village, there was no RO water plant because of which water had to be brought from other areas. Thus the staff at I Create India gave him the training that helped him utilise his experience in the army to solve the water problem of his village.

The model is a five-stage process that involves awareness, imparting skills, mentoring, helping them access financial options and finally hand-holding the ex-servicemen after they have established the process. The first two stages are implemented in the five-day workshop that takes place at the Madras Sappers Headquarters MEG and Centre in Bengaluru’s Ulsoor area.

Each batch contains up to 30 participants in the first stage. Of them, 30 per cent of them back out in the next stage. The remaining ones present their idea in front of the tutors and other batch mates.

Once the idea is approved, mentoring begins that lasts for 1-3 months. At this stage, they are taught about basic business fundamentals like investment, profits, marketing, and customer relations and so on.

After they are confident about managing their business ventures, financial investment options are explored. In most cases, the retired servicemen prefer using their personal or family savings. For those, who don’t have enough capital, the organisation helps them explore other options.

“Various government-approved schemes help the retired army personnel to acquire a plant, land or raw materials at subsidised rates and the interest charged by banks is very low,” says Kamath. The staff of I Create India then helps them prepare the necessary documents.

Once the capital is acquired, the final stage of execution begins, and the organisation staff remains in constant touch with the retired serviceman until he is ready to fly solo.

So far, 730 ex-army servicemen personnel have been a part of this workshop and 50 are successfully running their business.

Future Plans

Currently, the training workshops are taking place in Bengaluru and Ahmednagar. Six other centres will come up in cities including Delhi, Lucknow, Belgaum, Ahmednagar, Bengaluru and one in Odisha.

The annual cost of running each centre is around 25 lakhs. To fund these centres, I Create India is currently looking for corporates or companies for funding through their Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) activities.

To know more about the programme, you can mail I Create India at: sharmila@icreateindia.org

Indian Army may have punished Major Gogoi for indiscipline, but it’s the ‘human shield’ case that it needs to probe before it faces a PIL.

In less than a year, Major Leetul Gogoi of the ‘human shield’ fame has gone from being a ‘national hero’ to an officer facing a loss of six months of seniority in the Indian Army for violating ‘military discipline’.

The punishment to Gogoi for “fraternising” with a local girl and “being away from place of duty while in an operational area” may have closed last year’s episode. But, the Indian Army still needs to bring a much-needed closure to his celebrated act from 2017 of tying a man to the jeep in Kashmir.

On 9 April that year, by using Farooq Ahmed Dar as a “human shield” in the alleged rescue of election commission officials held hostage by a “blood thirsty” mob of 700-900 people, Major Gogoi had violated Indian Army’s ethos, standard operating procedures, rules of engagement, Chief of Army Staff (COAS)’s Commandments, Supreme Court guidelines for application of Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act (AFSPA), Article 21 of the Constitution and Sections 63 and 69 of the Army Act read in conjunction with the Indian Penal Code.

It is not too late for the Indian Army to reopen the “human shield” case by holding a fresh court of inquiry and take necessary follow-up action depending upon the investigation.

Also read: How should the Indian army ethos handle Major Gogoi’s case?

The reopening of the case is important because under both civilian and military laws, there is no scope for making exceptions to “save casualties in a unique situation” in order to justify a grave offence. Only if proven by evidence, “actions in good faith” and “circumstances” are given due consideration to decide the severity of punishment. Nearly two years later, not an iota of evidence has surfaced to uphold the version of the officer.

At the time, however, and even before the military court of inquiry was finalised, Army chief General Bipin Rawat, cheered by the emotional nationalists, had rewarded Major Gogoi with a Commendation Card. Contrary to rules and regulation, Gogoi was allowed to interact freely with the media and made into a ‘national hero’. What happened a year later at Hotel Grand Mamta in Srinagar was merely the undoing of a ‘default’ hero who thought he was a law unto himself.

On 23 May 2018, Major Gogoi had posed as a businessman from Assam while checking into the hotel with an 18-year-old Kashmiri girl. Citing their rules, the hotel staff had refused entry to the girl, which led to an altercation with Major Gogoi who was joined in by his driver, Sepoy Sameer Mala. Gogoi, his driver and the girl were detained by officers at the Khanyar police station for questioning. The girl had later deposed before the magistrate that she had willingly gone out with Major Gogoi — her “Facebook friend”.

Also read: Why an Indian Army Major can’t just meet a woman at a hotel anywhere

Now nearly a year later, the ‘national hero’ has been found guilty by the Army for an act that is in ‘violation of good order and military discipline’.

The punishment that is likely to come Major Gogoi’s way is nowhere near what was promised by the Chief of Army Staff two days after the officer was caught : “…Agar Major Gogoi ne koi galat karwahi kari hai, toh main aapko yaqeen ke sath keh sakta hoon, ki jaldi se jaldi usko saza di jayegi, aur saza aisi doonga main, ki woh ek udharan ban kar reh jayega. (If Major Gogoi has done anything wrong, then I assure you that he will be punished and I will give such a punishment that it will become an example.)”

On the face of it, for what it amounts to, this seems to be the logical conclusion to a case where an Army officer was in violation of rules, regulations and law of the Indian Army.

However, the other episode — the ‘human shield’ case — still needs closure. The Indian Army must act fast before someone files a public interest litigation and the Supreme Court forces it to do so, as has happened in cases of human rights violations in Manipur.

Also read: What happened to the Kashmiri woman who went with Major Gogoi to a Srinagar hotel

In all fairness, I must compliment the Army for making an in-house course correction by issuing unambiguous orders to prevent unlawful “out of the box tactics” becoming the norm. I must also compliment all ranks for not emulating the rogue hero. But let there be no doubt that unless the “human shield” incident is properly investigated and legally closed, it will remain an indelible blot on the Indian Army’s reputation.

Lt Gen H S Panag PVSM, AVSM (R) served in the Indian Army for 40 years. He was GOC in C Northern Command and Central Command. Post retirement, he was Member of Armed Forces Tribunal.

New Delhi: Lt Gen (retd) DS Hooda, the main architect of the 2016 surgical strikes on terror launch pads in PoK, on Sunday submitted a report on national security to Congress chief Rahul Gandhi, over a month after he was tasked by the party with scripting a vision document. The former northern Army commander prepared the paper in consultation with a select group of experts. “Lt General (Retd) DS Hooda & his team have put together a comprehensive report on India’s National Security, that he presented to me today. This exhaustive report will at first be discussed & debated within the Congress party,” Rahul tweeted. PTI

13 coaches derail in Bihar, six injured

Patna: Six passengers were injured after 13 coaches of Chapra-Surat Tapti Ganga Express derailed in Bihar’s Saran district on Sunday. The accident occurred near Gautam Asthan railway station in Varanasi division at 9.45 am, minutes after the Surat-bound train left Chapra Junction, Sanjay Yadav, chief public relations officer of North Eastern Railway, said. No casualty has been reported so far, he said, adding the injured were discharged after being administered first aid at a local hospital. PTI

Teen strangled by father for befriending boy

Ahmednagar: A 17-year-old girl in Ahmednagar district of Maharashtra was allegedly killed by her father who was against her friendship with a boy studying with her in a college here, police said on Sunday. Jamkhed police station inspector Pandurang Pawar said they suspected it to be a case of ‘honour killing’. The incident took place in Chondi village, the native place of state minister Ram Shinde, who demanded stringent punishment for the accused. The deceased’s father, Pandurang Shreerang Saygunde, 51, and two maternal uncles — Rajendra Jagannath Shinde (30) and Dnyandev Jagannath Shinde (35) — were arrested on Saturday evening, Pawar said. The police also questioned around 35 persons. PTI

https://twitter.com/i/status/1112287379451248645

Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman.

New Delhi, April 20

Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman, who became the face of the tense military confrontation between India and Pakistan, has been shifted out of Srinagar and posted to a frontline air base in the western sector, official sources said on Saturday.

It is also learnt that the IAF was going to recommend Varthaman’s name for Vir Chakra, the coveted wartime gallantry medal, which is the third highest after the Paramvir Chakra and the Mahavir Chakra.

Varthaman, who was captured by Pakistan on February 27 during an aerial combat with Indian Air Force, had returned to his squadron in Srinagar last month though he was on a four-week sick leave.

Orders have been issued for his transfer from Srinagar to another base in the western sector, sources said, terming the transfer as “routine one”.

The IAF pilot went on leave in mid-March after security agencies completed a nearly two-week debriefing following his return from Pakistan.

Sources said a medical board will review his fitness to help the IAF top brass decide whether he can return to fighter cockpit as desired by him.

Varthaman was captured by the Pakistani Army on February 27 after his MiG-21 Bison jet was shot down in a dogfight with Pakistani jets during aerial combat.

Before his jet was hit, he downed an F-16 fighter of Pakistan. Varthaman was released on the night of March 1 by Pakistan.

After he was captured, Varthaman showed courage and grace in handling the most difficult circumstances for which he was praised by politicians, strategic affairs experts, ex-servicemen, celebrities and people in general.

Tensions between India and Pakistan escalated after Indian fighters bombed terror group Jaish-e-Mohammed’s biggest training camp near Balakot, deep inside Pakistan on February 26.

Pakistan retaliated by attempting to target Indian military installations the next day. However, the IAF thwarted their plans.

The Indian strike on the JeM camp came 12 days after the terror outfit claimed responsibility for a suicide attack on a CRPF convoy in Kashmir, killing 40 soldiers. — PTI

IN Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan, the BJP has found an unlikely — and unwanted — ‘star campaigner’. Not long ago, when Imran said that talks with India were possible only after the new government took charge, he was obviously not foreseeing a second term for the saffron party. Now, he is singing a different tune. He apparently believes that there may be a better chance of peace and settlement of the Kashmir issue if the ruling party wins the General Election — as if the Pulwama and Balakot incidents never happened. His left-handed compliment has given fresh fodder to the Congress and other Opposition parties to target Prime Minister Narendra Modi. After all, the PM has been saying that Pakistan (and militants) does not want the BJP to win.

The timing of Imran’s remarks is of vital importance. Coming ahead of the first phase of the Lok Sabha elections, his words reek of mischief. In the guise of extending the olive branch, he is out to blunt the BJP’s anti-Pakistan rant and cause confusion in the minds of Indian voters. Clearly, it is none of Pakistan PM’s business to do crystal-gazing when it comes to the neighbouring country’s elections.

In any case, Imran’s recent statements and moves do not inspire confidence. He has repeatedly failed to convince the Indian government and the public at large that the Kartarpur corridor will not be misused for the radicalisation of devotees or for other nefarious designs. He has been talking about peace and communal harmony on the one hand and showing a soft spot for Khalistan sympathisers on the other. The purported crackdown on militant outfits after the Pulwama terror attack has also come a cropper, even as the perfunctory probe has not managed to nail the usual suspects. Rising above affiliations, our political parties and voters should see through Imran’s disruptive tactics and not let him provoke us, especially at this critical juncture when the country is deciding who will be its ruler for the next five years.

Photo for representation only.

Jammu, April 8

The Jammu and Kashmir government on Monday restored the security cover of 400 politicians and political activists, which had been withdrawn last month.

Top state government sources said Governor Satya Pal Malik’s administration took the decision aimed at providing protection to them.

The restoration of the security cover, however, does not include separatist leaders.

The development comes two days after the state’s political parties wrote to the Election Commission expressing serious concerns about the safety of their cadres.

Last month, a Union Home Ministry statement said authorities in Jammu and Kashmir had withdrawn the security cover of 919 people both in the mainstream and separatist camps after taking a review of the ground level threat perception against those given security covers including armed guards and bullet proof vehicles.

Twenty-two separatists were among the 919 people.

IANS