Monthly Archives: August 2018

Our Correspondent

Dalhousie, June 29

Lt Gen Surinder Singh, GOC-in-Chief of the Western Command, visited Dalhousie Public School and inaugurated the Amar Jawan Memorial at the Beeji’s Park on the school campus today.

Students performed a welcome dance with impressive patriotic songs, followed by a musical bonanza for the martyrs of defence services. Group songs, a big PT show and a melodious rendition by the school band were also performed.

The General gave away prizes to the meritorious students. He appreciated discipline of the students and encouraged them to join the defence forces. He asked the students to make the best use of their time in the school. Besides studies, they should learn to be good human beings.

Dr (Capt) GS Dhillon, chairman and dDirector of the school, said the General’s presence among the students was a great source of inspiration. He said children had a natural inclination to emulate the brave and the courageous.

Sandeep Rana

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, July 29

Soon, you will be able to post pictures of violations on the Municipal Corporation’s WhatsApp number and in return get rewarded too.

The civic body has decided to start a WhatsApp complaint number where residents will not only be able to post pictures of their grievances, but also of violations. MC Commissioner KK Yadav today asked officials to make arrangements and come up with a contact number and plan for the purpose.

Images of violations, including littering, dumping plastic waste, water wastage, sewerage issue, kundi connection from street lights and temporary encroachments, can be posted on the number.

Residents will be asked to post real-time picture, in which the date, time and place is mentioned, so that genuine pictures are posted on the WhatsApp number. If any violation is found at that place, officials will issue a challan and reward the person who has posted it. However, the reward amount is yet to be finalised.

With regard to grievances, a time frame will be fixed to resolve the problem. If the issue is not fixed by the official concerned in the given period, an explanation will be sought from him. “Everything will be online. If some issue is not being resolved or there is some inherent reason behind it, then the official himself has to state the reason,” shared an official.

MC officials said the number will later be merged with the service app to be started under the Smart City Mission. The app will have all 14 services, including water, birth/death certificate and property tax, being offered by the MC. All other departments falling under the UT Administration will also be there. Residents will be able to complain from this common app to all departments in the city.

The traffic police already run such a WhatApp number and Facebook page in the city, from where challans are issued on the basis of violation pictures posted on these by the general public.

How it will work

• The MC has decided to start a WhatsApp number where residents will not only be able to post pictures of their grievances, but also of violations in civic matters.
• If any violation is found at that place, officials will issue a challan and reward the person who has posted it. However, the reward amount is yet to be finalised.

he charge was made during an ongoing trial against Lt. Col. Dharamvir Singh, who says he is being framed by ‘rogue officers’ for complaining against their involvement in extrajudicial killings in the state.

New Delhi: In a startling turn of events, a lieutenant colonel of the army’s 3 Corps Intelligence and Surveillance Unit (CISU) – posted in Manipur – has told an internal court of inquiry that a major of the same unit destroyed the original official documents related to the recovery of a huge cache of unaccounted arms and ammunition from inside the unit premises in July 2018.

Lt. Col. R.P. Nanda said this as a witness in the ongoing trial against another Lt. colonel, Dharamvir Singh, from whom he took over as the commanding officer of the 3 CISU unit in Manipur’s M-Sector in Imphal. The trial is ongoing at Pasighat in Arunachal Pradesh where Lt. Col. Singh is currently posted.

The trial is being conducted on the basis of a letter written by Lt. Col. Nanda on July 2, 2018, to the commanding officer (CO) of the unit, who operates from the 3 Corps headquarters in Dimapur (Nagaland). He alleged in his letter that the cache of arms was found in the possession of his predecessor, Lt. Col. Singh, on July 1, 2018, inside M-Sector in Imphal.

However, on the morning of July 1, 2018, Lt. Col. Singh was reportedly “illegally” arrested in the presence of Lt. Col. Nanda and Major B.S. Rathore – the officer who is said to have torn the original official document regarding the recovery of arms.

Lt. Col. Singh was thereafter taken to Dimapur. It meant that the said arms and ammunition were recovered in the absence of Lt. Col. Singh.

Though Lt. Col. Nanda’s letter – mentioning the serious allegation of keeping arms illegally inside a high-security army installation since 2016 – was received by the CO in Dimapur on July 2, 2018, Lt. Col. Singh told the court of inquiry that he was neither given any information about the charge nor asked for an explanation – as is the norm in the army. Instead, he was asked to resume normal duty at Dimapur.

Significantly, Lt. Col. Singh, otherwise a decorated army officer, has alleged that he was being “framed and victimised by a set of rogue officers” of the unit for writing a letter to the CO on September 9, 2016, informing him about the “involvement” of fellow officers in the extrajudicial killing of a student, Th. Satish, along with four other Manipuri youth and “commission of extortion by few rogue officers, including the Jorhat robbery.”

Also read | In Manipur Fake Encounter Cases, CBI Chases ‘Unknown Persons’ of Known Identity

The Jorhat robbery case had created a sensation in Assam in December 2011. The district police, following an investigation, said that 15 personnel from the 3 Corps of Dimapur were involved in an armed robbery inside the house of one Surajit Gogoi in Rowriah area of Jorhat. Shockingly, they were reportedly in their uniform.

Lt. Col. Singh’s allegation of extrajudicial killings is noteworthy considering the Supreme Court is hearing a PIL seeking a probe into 1,528 cases of such suspected killings by security forces in Manipur. So far, the court has sought an investigation into 41 cases by a special team of the Central Bureau of Investigation.

On July 3, 2018, on not being able to establish any contact with her husband or get any information about his whereabouts, Lt. Col. Singh’s wife, Ranju Singh, filed an FIR in an Imphal police station. She also held a press meet in Imphal after slipping out of her husband’s official quarters inside M-Sector to state the same, besides filing a writ petition in the Manipur high court seeking his whereabouts.

On the HC’s direction, Lt. Col. Singh was produced in court and the army said he was not arrested but taken to Dimapur to resume his duty.

However, Lt. Col. Singh was soon transferred to Pasighat and asked to face an internal inquiry on the basis of Lt. Col. Nanda’s letter to the CO in 2018. Though Lt. Col. Singh got an interim stay on that order from the Manipur high court, the Supreme Court vacated it in February 2019 directing the officer to face trial.

In April, Lt. Col. Singh filed another petition in the Manipur HC seeking a directive to the state government to register an FIR regarding the recovery of the huge cache of arms and ammunition from M-Sector. He also sought a court-monitored probe to ascertain how the arms remained secretly stored for about two years inside the unit before being discovered by Lt. Col. Nanda, and asked the court to prosecute those responsible for it.

Significantly, Nanda’s letter had also alleged that a cadre of the armed group United National Liberation Front (UNLF) named Japan and a civilian named Naoba were also residing in the barracks for about six months.

Also read: How Unregistered Weapons Were Procured for Fake Encounters, Surrender Dramas

The HC, thereafter, asked the state government to respond to it. Though it is mandatory under the Arms Act, 1959, to file an FIR at the nearest police station after the recovery of unaccounted arms and ammunition, and thereafter hand over the cache to the police without delay, the state government contended that it was an internal matter of the army and it would rather stay away from it.

Notably, Lt. Col. Nanda’s confession to the internal inquiry proceedings, made on March 4, 2019, about the original documents being destroyed by Major Rathore on the same day of its recovery – July 1, 2018 – brings to fore Lt. Col. Singh’s allegations that some ‘rogue officers’ had tried to frame him.

What is also to be underlined is that Lt. Col. Nanda admitted at the trial that he wrote the letter to the CO in July 2018 against Lt. Col. Singh on the directions of Brigadier Administrative and Brigadier Intelligence of 3 Corps.

On July 8, Lt. Col. Singh’s lawyer, Shreeji Bhavsar, appearing before the Manipur HC, presented the confession of Lt. Col. Nanda in the summary of evidence proceedings of the trial. He argued that Lt. Col. Singh was framed and victimised just because he wrote the letter in 2016 to the CO informing him about some rogue officers’ “illegal acts”.

Among other questions, Bhavsar also raised the point that if such a letter about the recovery of arms and ammunition was received by the CO, why then was it not mentioned in the court when Lt. Col. Singh was produced before it.

Speaking to The Wire, Bhavsar said, “Destruction of official documents regarding recovery of illegal arms and ammunition by an officer of the army is a serious criminal offence. Few officers in 3 Corps shall not try to cover up the crime and order inquiry at the highest level to unearth the larger conspiracy in which Lt. Col. Dharamvir Singh has been framed. We have full faith in the institution of the army and the honourable high court of Manipur that they will deal with the offenders with an iron hand and will bring justice to the honest and upright officer.”

The high court has adjourned the case till August 28 for further arguments and for the maintainability of Lt. Col. Singh’s petition.

The full OROP granted by the National Democratic Alliance government in 2015 has not been implemented so far’.

New Delhi: Ex-servicemen are raising the pitch of their request that the Centre implement the One Rank One Pension (OROP) in letter and spirit.

The ex-servicemen claim that the full OROP granted by the NDA government in November 2015 has not been implemented so far. According to them, this OROP has several anomalies which need to be removed. Moreover, they say that the OROP, which is due for revision from 1 July 2019, is being challenged by Comptroller General of Defence Accounts (CGDA) by their letter to the Ministry of Defence (MoD), which says that this revision is not necessary. The Indian Ex-Servicemen Movement (IESM) has filed a case in the Supreme Court in this regard. The apex court has advised the government to talk to the ex-Army men and resolve the issue. However, this has not been done so far. Speaking to The Sunday Guardian, Maj. Gen. Satbir Singh, Chairman of the IESM, said that the approved definition as announced by the MoS Defence on 2 December 2014 and as given in the MoD letter subsequently has been amended in such a way that may affect “the very soul of OROP”.

The four main anomalies of OROP implementation were pointed out to the government, but these have not yet been rectified so far, causing financial disadvantage to the Defence personnel, 85% of whom are of the rank of Sepoy and their dependants and widows, he said.

When all doors were closed for the ex-servicemen to get full OROP implemented, the IESM knocked the doors of the Supreme Court which asked the government to call the petitioner (IESM) to discuss and resolve the OROP anomalies. “So far, the Raksha Mantri has not yet granted a meeting with our delegation to discuss resolution of OROP anomalies,” said Maj. Gen. Singh.

“It’s not that we have not got anything. The pension has increased due to implementation of the Seventh Pay Commission. But the full OROP has still not been implemented,” he added.

CGDA, in the meantime, has written a letter to Minister of Defence questioning the logic of equalisation of pension with effect from 1 July 2019. “The Raksha Mantri has constituted a committee to go into the equalisation of OROP pensions. It is a surprising that a committee has been constituted on an issue which stood settled by the government. Also, it is intriguing that representative from the IESM has not been included in the committee,” he said, adding: “we urge Rajnath Singhji to fix a meeting with the IESM delegation to resolve the anomalies”.

Maj. Gen. Singh also asked that the constitution of the committee ordered to go into equalisation of pension be cancelled and the report of the one-man judicial committee report, which was submitted in October 2016 on the issue be made public. He also urged that the definition of OROP as per the Koshayari Committee report be accepted and implemented. The expectation is that Prime Minister Narendra Modi will take action on the matter, in the manner that he intervened earlier.

Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan’s recently concluded three-day visit to the United States of America and his one on one meeting with the POTUS Donald Trump has evoked mixed reactions in India not only due to the controversial statement of Trump but also due to a lukewarm concern displayed by the US authorities with regards to terrorism. The relations between Pakistan and US have been strained ever since the Trump Administration assumed power in US on the issue of Pakistan’s support to the global jihadi terrorist organisations and its involvement in cross-border terrorism in India and Afghanistan. Though, Pakistan’s involvement in cross border terror in Iran is also well established, US does not show much concern due to its strategic concerns in the Gulf region. However, Pakistan’s continued support to the Taliban and Haqqani network operating in Afghanistan including providing the safe havens within its territory irked the new US administration which put Pakistan on notice threatening to suspend all aid including the package for the Pakistan Army. Pakistan failed to read the US intent as in the past it has been getting away playing the nuclear card. The Western world with US in particular is scared of its nuclear arsenal falling in the hands of the jihadi terrorists operating from its soil and succumb to the Pakistani black mail by continuing to dish out doles to successive governments in Pakistan. Trump, however, is made of a different stuff.

“The United States has foolishly given Pakistan more than 33 billion dollars in aid over the last 15 years, and they have given us nothing but lies & deceit, thinking of our leaders as fools. They give safe haven to the terrorists we hunt in Afghanistan, with little help. No more!” is what Trump tweeted on the first day of 2018. Pakistan went to the extent of blaming Trump for “flinging accusations at Pakistan,” as he was disappointed at “US defeat in Afghanistan.” Trump responded by blocking the US aid of approximately three billion US dollars that also included the 300 million USD for Pakistan Army. The Army to Army contact between the two armies, a long-term allies, was also suspended. It was a big set-back for Pakistan with a severe economic crisis already staring at its face. Pakistan did try to put up a brave front initially but its dwindling economy, India’s diplomatic offensive in exposing Pakistan, the firm stand of US administration and the strictness of Financial Action Task Force (FATF) compelled Pakistan under Imran’s leadership to take certain stern measures against the terror industry that was flourishing in Pakistan. Whether, these measures are only a “show window” to win trust of Trump and US authorities as a prelude to Imran Khan’s visit to US or have a sense of seriousness or permanency only time will tell?

Meanwhile, the US has begun preparations for the next Presidential election and Trump has also thrown his hat in the race. He is desperate to have one major diplomatic victory about which he can boast to the American people. His initiative in the Korean Peninsula is not making much headway. The strained relations with Iran are harming him more than helping him boost his image. His high headed tactics of dealing with other countries has won him more enemies than allies. Both China and Russia are also having tense relations with America. Despite India likely to be granted the status of most favoured non-NATO ally and already designated with special STA-1 status, the relationship between the two countries at best can be dubbed as hot and cold. Many in India perceive US as a fickle ally. In nutshell, Trump has more negatives to his credit than positives as far as foreign and strategic relations are concerned. Thus, Trump is desperate to win the Afghan tangle which is not possible without placating the Taliban. US also knows that only Pakistan can exert the desired influence on the Taliban. This forms the background of Imran Khan’s visit to Pakistan as far as American perspective is concerned and unblocking the US aid as far as Pakistan is concerned.

Let’s first discuss Afghanistan. India has emerged as a major soft power in Afghanistan and has a major stake in whatever final settlement takes place. Taliban has been recognised as the key impediment to end of conflict in Afghanistan. Earlier, India was elbowed out of the direct negotiations with Taliban, as claimed by a section of the media. To my mind, it is a deliberate decision by the government to stay away from direct negotiations with the terror group due to adverse ramifications at home. India, however, cannot be ignored and sooner than later would have to be involved in any final settlement in Afghanistan. India remains steadfast on its traditional position of supporting only an “Afghan led, Afghan owned, and Afghan controlled” process which includes the duly elected government in Kabul.

With Pakistan forming as a key partner in Trump’s South Asia Strategy for achieving a political settlement in Afghanistan; defeating al-Qaeda and ISIS- Khorasan; providing logistical access for US forces and enhancing regional stability, it certainly has gained. That is why Pakistan was included for the first time in the trilateral consultations with Russia, China and USA on the Afghanistan peace process held at Beijing on July 10-11.
The entire focus of the US was concentrated on Afghanistan during Imran’s visit which included the Pakistan Army Chief and the ISI chief in the entourage. While Imran Khan has agreed to work with Trump to prod Taliban to strike a peace deal with the aim of extricating the US Army from its longest war, Trump has dangled the offer of unblocking three billion USD aid to Pakistan if Imran succeeds. Imran said, “I want to assure President Trump Pakistan will do everything within its power to facilitate the Afghan peace process. The world owes it to the long-suffering Afghan people to bring about peace after 4 decades of conflict.”

There is no doubt that US is desperate to exit from Afghanistan but is the negotiation with Taliban the best solution? Taliban has not been reformed and its five year brutal rule is still fresh in the mind of the Afghans. It certainly suits Pakistan because it helps it achieve its aim of achieving strategic depth and use Afghan territory for promoting terrorism. It will also put an end to the hope of a democratic Afghanistan, disappointing millions of Afghans who are hoping for a brighter future. India must therefore press for its involvement in the peace talks and ensure that Taliban do not elbow out the elected Afghan government. Trump’s desperation can be gauged from this statement, “I could win that war within a week, and I don’t want to kill 10 million people. Afghanistan could be wiped off the face of the earth. I don’t want to go that route.” India has lot at stake because Afghanistan holds significant economic, security and strategic implications for India. India cannot be a mute spectator but has to ensure that democracy survives in Afghanistan.
As far as counter-terrorism is concerned not much time was devoted to the same possibly to avoid public embarrassment to the visiting premier whose services US badly needs in view of its leverage over the Taliban, thanks to the safe havens it provides to the group’s leadership. But as admitted by Imran Khan himself that more than 40 terror groups exist in Pakistan, the situation is very fragile. Any terror attack in Afghanistan or India with mass causalities with proven links to Pakistan will reverse the new fond relationship between the US and Pakistan. Pakistan will have to tread the path very carefully. Pakistan which considers India a quintessential threat is not going to so easily give up the low cost option of bleeding India through thousand cuts and will attempt to promote the idea of home-grown terror in India due to her inherent fault lines. His statement claiming that Jaish e Mohammad (JeM) operates from Kashmir as well must be seen in this light.

Imran Khan was successful in raising the Kashmir issue during the one on one meeting with President Trump. It was a spin doctored question asked by a correspondent to prevent difficult questions on Pakistan’s involvement in terrorism which would have caused a lot of embarrassment to Pakistan. The question successfully diverted the topic to Kashmir in which Imran lost no time in seeking Trump’s mediation and assistance in resumption of Indo-Pak dialogue on which India has made her stand very clear by stating that talks and terror cannot be held together. “We’ve made all overtures to India to start dialogue, resolve our differences through dialogue. But, unfortunately, we haven’t made headways as yet. But I’m hoping that President Trump would push this process,” Khan said.

Trump surprised everyone with his signature trademark off-the-cuff remark. Trump has developed a habit of speaking or tweeting without preparation or proper briefing. His remark raged a controversy to which New Delhi reacted promptly in order to set the record straight. Fearing a strain in Indo-US relations a number of American bureaucrats and leaders also jumped in to save the situation from worsening. But Trump is Trump and his remark should be seen in the light of his desperation for an early Afghan exit. But Imran has succeeded to once again internationalise Kashmir, after numerous failed attempts by Pakistan in last many years. India has to be careful and thwart ISI’s design to portray home grown terror groups in India by promoting the proxies of ISIS like ISJK, al-Qaeda like Ansar Ghazwa-ul-Hind, Hizbul Mujahideen (HM) and other ISIS affiliate or ISIS inspired terror outfits across the country. ISI will certainly attempt to influence the Left Wing Extremism as has been exposed by the Pune Police disclosing links between urban Naxals and HM.

Imran Khan’s attempt at reviving bilateral trade, as was evident from the large number of businessmen and traders that formed his entourage, and unblock the US aid has failed for the time being and is in no way going to help Imran to come out of the current economic mess. It may force Imran to continue and persist with the various counter terrorism mechanisms put in place including arrest of Hafiz Saeed and more arrests likely provided the Army and ISI permit. The imminent danger of being placed in Black List by the FATF may tie the hands of ISI and Army. Axe is likely to fall more on Afghan specific terror groups like the Taliban and Haqqani network.

The visit has been significant as far as bilateral security cooperation and military-to-military relations are concerned. There is a bright chance of resuming suspended military training programmes for Pakistan. At one point during President Trump’s meeting with Imran, the former also hinted at resumption of the security assistance for Pakistan depending on what both countries achieve concerning Afghanistan.

The major plus point of the visit has been the personal rapport the two have established. There is a great likelihood of a direct tele line between the two leaders further cementing their bonhomie and smoothen any bureaucratic hiccups that may erupt while the two nations are working for the common goal. Islamabad would like to use such an opportunity to sort out other issues in the bilateral realm.

Will there be a change in the Indo-Pacific strategy of the US and will Pakistan succeed in elbowing out India from the US equation in the region, Indian diplomats will have to work hard to ward off any such possibility. Though, the present bonhomie between the two is Afghan specific, what shape it takes in future in case Imran succeeds to placate the Taliban will have to be watched carefully.

(Author is a Jammu based political commentator, columnist, security and strategic analyst. He can be contacted at anil5457@gmail.com)

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Union Defence Minister Rajnath Singh’s statement comes after a recent controversy among military veterans which led to their discontentment over government policies.

Aadhaar-PAN name mismatch: If your name is different in PAN and Aadhaar Card, you will face difficulties in linking your PAN and Aadhaar Card.

Aadhaar-PAN name mismatch: If you are trying to link your Aadhaar Card with the PAN Card but it is not happening, you need to check details registered with PAN and Aadhaar cards. If you want to link Aadhaar Card with PAN, you need to make sure that your demographic details such as date of birth, name and gender should match in both the documents. Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) issues Aadhaar Card, which is a verifiable 12-digit identification number. It is issued free of cost. The Income Tax Department issues the ten-digit alphanumeric identifier which is Permanent Account Number (PAN). One must remember that each assessee – individual, firm, company etc – gets a unique PAN.

How can I match my PAN name and Aadhaar Card name?

Often people search for what would happen if names in PAN and Aadhaar Card mismatch. If your name is different in PAN and Aadhaar Card, you will face difficulties in linking your PAN and Aadhaar Card. If there is a minor mismatch in the name registered with Aadhaar Card with that of PAN, you will get an Aadhaar One Time Password (OTP) on your mobile number that is registered with Aadhaar card. However, to get that OTP, PAN cardholders must ensure that details pertaining to gender and date of birth in Aadhaar and PAN remain the same. If names in the Aadhaar and PAN mismatch completely then the linking will fail. In that scenario, the concerned individual will need to make the necessary changes in either PAN database or Aadhaar.

How can I change my name on Aadhaar Card?

If you want to update your name in Aadhaar Card database you can do it online or at an enrolment center.

If you want to change your name on the Aadhaar Card, you need to visit SSVP Portal

You need to select the fields which you want to update or change.

Subsequently, you need to fill the data in the selected fields.

You need to submit the form and a Unique Request Number (URN) will be generated.

Then you need to select the BPO for review of update. After that, you need to attach the original scan of the supporting document.

Finally, you can check the Aadhaar update status by using the URN.

If you want to change the name in Aadhaar card in the traditional way you can visit an enrolment center. You can also download the Aadhaar update form at https://uidai.gov.in/images/aadhaar_enrolment_correction_form_version_2.1.pdf .

How can I change my name on PAN Card?

If you want to update your name in PAN, you need to visit https://www.onlineservices.nsdl.com/paam/endUserRegisterContact.html .

You need to selection Application Type – Changes or Correction in existing PAN Data/Reprint of PAN Card (No changes in existing PAN Data).

You need to fill in other application information such as Title, Last Name, First Name, Date of Birth, Email Id, PAN Number.

After that confirm that whether you are a citizen of India or not and submit captcha code.

After that, a Token Number will be generated and you need to continue with PAN Application Form. You can get the PAN correction form online https://tin.tin.nsdl.com/pan/correctiondsc.html .