Monthly Archives: August 2018

Ajay Banerjee

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, October 17

The Army’s much-awaited restructuring of headquarters has been ‘put on hold’ following ‘incomplete’ sanction to carry out the process that would entail creation of separate wings to deal with internal vigilance and human rights policies, merger of important directorates and slashing officer strength in Delhi.

Called the Government Sanction Letter (GSL), the first two parts were issued on August 21.  The remaining parts, that were to actually carry out the process and lay down terms for merger and creation of posts, have been held back, say sources.

It has been decided that restructuring in totality will commence only after government sanction for full proposals, which entail restructuring at the top and re-distribution of work. This could require sanction from the Cabinet Committee on Security, indicate the sources. The officers, who are to be weaned off the headquarters, were to be sent to field formations. At present, there are an estimated 950 to 1,000 officers posted at the headquarters in Delhi. Among the pending parts of the GSL are instructions on merger of directorates.

This was to include merger of two weapons and systems procurement agencies and creation of post of Deputy Chief for coordination with the military Intelligence, operations and logistics wings.

At present, the DG (Military Operations) and the DG (Military Intelligence) report to the Army Chief or Vice-Chief. Also, the restructuring was to merge the Master General Ordnance (MGO), currently under the Vice-Chief, and the DG (Weapons and Equipment) under a single vertical with the Deputy Chief,

Planning and Strategy, that was to be renamed Capability Development.

Also expected is the creation of a consolidated information warfare wing that will subsume two existing wings under the DGMI and the DGMO. The

DG (Military Training) are to be merged with the Shimla-based Army Training Command.

The restructuring was ordered in June 2018 year following a “convening order” for cadre restructuring by the Army Vice-Chief.

Kolkata/New Delhi, Oct 17

A Border Security Force (BSF) jawan was killed and another injured on Thursday after a Bangladeshi border guard fired from his AK-47 rifle during a ‘flag meeting’ along the international border of the two countries in West Bengal, officials said.

The “apparent high-handedness” of the Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) troops has led to tension between the two sides with BSF chief VK Johri calling up his counterpart Major General Shafeenul Islam over hotline. The BGB Director General has assured a thorough probe into the incident, they said.

The relations between the two forces that guard the 4,096-km long international border have been very cordial and no bullet has been fired between them for decades. Efforts are being made to ensure the situation does not deteriorate, sources said.

The incident has rung an alarm in the top security establishment in New Delhi with the Home Ministry and Ministry of External Affairs being briefed by the BSF.

Officials said the incident took place under Kakmarichar border post of the BSF in Murshidabad district around 9 am when a force party approached BGB personnel, standing at a “char” or a riverine in the middle of the Padma river to resolve an issue linked to Indian fishermen.

BGB jawan Sayed fired from his AK-47 rifle and shot BSF Head Constable Vijay Bhan Singh on his head while constable Rajvir Yadav sustained bullet injury on his hand. The BSF jawan died on the boat itself and injured constable Yadav deftly saved the boat from drowning and managed to bring it to the Indian side. The fisherman is stated to be in the custody of the BGB till now. — PTI

In the 2019 Paris Air Show, Pakistan its lightweight JF-17 Thunder jet fighter it began building a decade ago in conjunction with China. You can see the seven-ton fighter performing maneuvers in this video.

Just a few months earlier, Pakistan dispatched what it claimed to be twenty-five JF-17s to launch a lightning strike across the Line of Control on targets in Kashmir, in retaliation for an Indian air raid on a JeM terrorist training camp.

The PAF claimed its JF-17s had shot down two Indian fighters pursuing strike planes into Pakistani airspace. However, while the loss of one upgraded Indian MiG-21 Bison was confirmed and its pilot captured, India subsequently displayed fragments of American-made AIM-120 missiles only compatible with Pakistan’s F-16s, casting some doubt on whether the PAF’s Thunders were responsible for the kill.

Pakistan currently operate around 100 Thunders in five operational squadrons, plus a testing and training unit. The first Thunders entered squadron service in 2010 and saw action bombing insurgents in Waziristan. Islamabad also confirmed in 2018 a $184 million deal to sell three JF-17s to the Nigerian Air Force in 2018 (which currently operates J-7s and Alpha Jets), and has delivered at least six out of an order of eighteen JF-17Ms to Myanmar.
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The PAF now plans to procure fifty more JF-17s of an improved Block III standard by 2024—with airframes produced jointly by Pakistan and China in a 58/42 percent split—as well as procure 26 two-seat JF-17Bs with additional fuel stored in a dorsal fin and enhanced application to training and possibly strike missions. Extant JF-17s may also be upgraded to the Block III variant, which should make its first flight later in 2019.

F-16 Meets MiG-21—in China
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Islamabad and Beijing have been close allies since the 1950s, finding in India a common adversary during the Cold War. Pakistan also nurtured warm ties with the United States, but these waned in the twenty-first century due to its intelligence services enduring ties to Islamist terrorist organizations.

One facet of these tensions is that the Pakistani Air Force has only sporadically been able to purchase additional F-16s to reinforce the dozens it acquired during the 1980s that saw a surprising amount of action battling Soviet jets over the Pakistan/Afghan border.
Thus, as early as the 1990s, Pakistan turned to China for an F-16 alternative to replace its aging Chinese-built J-7 and A-6 fighters, themselves Chinese clones of the Soviet MiG-21 and MiG-19.

During a period of increasing defense cooperation with the United States in the 1980s, China had actually pursued a joint venture with Grumman to build an upgraded J-7 fighter called the Super-7 or Sabre II, using avionics from the F-16. This and other project fell through after the Tiananmen Square massacre in June 1989 permanently chilled U.S.-China defense cooperation.

But the Chengdu Aircraft Corporation kept on working on the Super-7 project, and in the 1990s offered to jointly develop an affordable F-16 substitute based upon the Super-7 called the JF-17 Thunder with the Pakistan Aeronautical Complex. PAC had formerly principally been involved in re-building old J-7s and Mirages.

The Thunder, which first flew in 2003, is a no-nonsense evolution of the MiG-21. Instead of the MiG-21’s R-25 turbojet with a nose intake, the Thunder uses an RD-93 turbofan (a variant of the RD-33 on the MiG-29 Fulcrum) with lower fuselage intakes. The JF-17’s maximum speed of Mach 1.6 to 1.8 leaves it marginally slower than its Soviet forebearer, but the Thunder remains highly maneuverable, has a superior range of around 750 miles, and its KLJ-7 doppler radar is far more powerful.

Of course, in contrast to the F-16, the JF-17 is designed to employ Chinese weapons on its seven hardpoints, including the PL-5 short-range air-to-air missile, LS-6 ‘Thunderstone’ GPS-guided glide bombs, and YJ-12 supersonic and YJ-83 subsonic anti-shipping missiles. (The PAF’s No.2 squadron maintains one squadron in the maritime strike role.) The PAF JF-17s are still awaiting Chinese PL-12 radar-guided missiles with a range of around fifty miles to obtain true beyond-visual range capability.

Though not directly integrated, the JF-17 can also carry electro-optical/infrared sensors and self-defense jammers on external pods.
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While early JF-17 models priced out to a cheap $15-28 million—cutting edge jets fourth and fifth-generation jets tend to cost $70-110 million)—the Thunders lacked certain basic capabilities. For example, aerial-refueling capability was not introduced until the Block II model.

The new Block III, which will supposedly cost around $32 million each, now introduces a helmet-mounted display system which should allow more flexible targeting of short-range missiles in close dogfights. The jet intakes are widened to improve airflow, and the Russian RD-93 engine may eventually be replaced by a Chinese manufactured WS-13 turbofan. Additional thrust, combined with lightweight composite materials could potentially boost the type’s speed and range.
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Perhaps the most important upgrade is an upgrade of the radar to an Active Electronically Scanned Array (AESA) radar. These have higher resolution, are more discrete and are more jam-resistant than preceding classes of radar. PAC is evaluating a KLJ-7A radar with a wider-angle search field and a detection range of 124 miles for fighter-sized target, and an air-cooled LKF-601E AESA radar.

The Block III Thunder may also feature an internal infrared sensor and modernized flight control systems and a single-panel multi-functional display for the pilot.
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While the Thunder is not particularly sexy compared to cutting-edge stealth fighters and even 4.5-generation jets like the Rafale and Su-35, its seems capable for its price, particularly once it integrates AESA radar and the PL-10 missile. It seems likely to show up in the new again if there any future showdowns between Pakistani and Indian aviation.

Sébastien Roblin holds a master’s degree in conflict resolution from Georgetown University and served as a university instructor for the Peace Corps in China. He has also worked in education, editing, and refugee resettlement in France and the United States. He currently writes on security and military history for War Is Boring. This article originally appeared earlier this year and is being republished due to reader interest.

United Nations, October 11

India slammed Pakistan for “weaving fake narratives” about children living in Jammu and Kashmir, saying the country had a “dubious distinction” of “schooling” young children in violent extremist ideologies and recruiting them in terrorist groups.

Addressing the General Assembly Third Committee session on ‘Promotion and Protection of the Rights of Children’ on Thursday, First Secretary in India’s Permanent Mission to the UN Paulomi Tripathi, without naming Pakistan, said one delegation had yet again chosen to distract the attention of the Committee with its “deceitful political propaganda by weaving fake narratives, while making unwarranted references to internal matters of my country”.

Tripathi was responding to remarks made in the Committee by Pakistan’s outgoing UN envoy Maleeha Lodhi on Wednesday in which she had raked up the issue of Jammu and Kashmir and referred to the condition of children in the state in the aftermath of India revoking Article 370.

Lodhi had also alluded to reports by the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights on the situation in Jammu and Kashmir.

Lashing out at Pakistan, Tripathi said, “This is a country with the dubious distinction of running a system of ‘schooling’ young children in violent extremist ideologies and recruiting them in terrorist groups, robbing not only these children of their future, but also jeopardising the future of children across the borders.

“If this is not deprivation of liberty and egregious violation of innocent children’s rights, then what is?” she asked, in a strong response to Lodhi’s reference to the 2018 report of the Independent Expert leading the UN global study on children deprived of liberty.

Asserting that the Committee, which dealt with human rights, humanitarian affairs and social issues, offered an inclusive forum to discuss emerging and existing challenges to children’s rights, Tripathi said in a desperate attempt to seek justification, Islamabad resorted to quoting a UN expert out of context.

“The international community has not been beguiled by the baseless allegations of this delegation in the past and we are confident that this will again be brushed aside. We do not wish to engage further on this issue,” she said.

Tripathi said while there had been change in attitude towards children’s rights, they remained the most vulnerable in a world riven by poverty, inequalities of opportunity, armed conflict, terrorism and humanitarian crises.

She stressed the need for measures such as strengthening digital literacy, including enhancing understanding by children of the digital environment and stronger framework to ensure that children enjoyed the benefits of the digital technologies without compromising their well-being.

Climate change is another challenge that called for urgent collective action to reduce children’s vulnerability, she said. PTI

Punjab Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh

Tribune News Service
Chandigarh, October 6

Punjab Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh recently helped a Kashmiri student, who is suffering from colon cancer, secure treatment from PGIMER, Chandigarh.

Mujeeb Ahmad Malla, a student at a Jalandhar-based college was facing problem in getting treatment at the hospital here.

Nasir Khuehami@NasirKhuehami

A saviour is not less than the Messiah. I expressed sincere thanks to Punjab CM @capt_amarinder Ji for his timely intervention and support in the Matter of kashmiri student who is Suffering from Colon Cancer and for taking the matter seriously. @RT_MediaAdvPbCM

The Chief Minister’s office, through the office of the Chief Secretary, coordinated with the PGI authorities to secure treatment for the student.Nasir Khuehami, Spokesperson, J&K Students Union, while praising the role played by the Chief Minister and his media advisor Raveen Thukral, said after he called up Thukral, state government officials swung into action to ensure that the student was given treatment.

Nasir said the Chief Minister has also ensured financial aid, whenever required, for the treatment of the student.

In a tweet regarding the incident, Singh said he wanted Kashmiri students to consider Punjab as their “second home.”

Capt.Amarinder Singh✔@capt_amarinder

I am really happy to have been able to help @NasirKhuehami. I see all Kashmiri students as part of our family and want all of you to look at Punjab as your second home. I and my government are always there for you. https://twitter.com/NasirKhuehami/status/1180715841593069569 …

Nasir Khuehami@NasirKhuehami

A saviour is not less than the Messiah. I expressed sincere thanks to Punjab CM @capt_amarinder Ji for his timely intervention and support in the Matter of kashmiri student who is Suffering from Colon Cancer and for taking the matter seriously. @RT_MediaAdvPbCM

Muzaffarpur, October 4

An FIR was lodged here on Thursday against nearly 50 celebrities, including Ramchandra Guha, Mani Ratnam and Aparna Sen, who had written an open letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi raising concern over the growing incidents of mob lynching, the police said.

The case was lodged after an order was passed by Chief Judicial Magistrate Surya Kant Tiwari two months ago on a petition filed by a local advocate Sudhir Kumar Ojha.

“The CJM had passed the order on August 20, accepting my petition upon the receipt of which an FIR was lodged today at Sadar police station,” said Ojha.

He said nearly 50 signatories of the letter were named as accused in his plea in which they allegedly “tarnished the image of the country and undermined the impressive performance of the PM”, besides “supporting secessionist tendencies”.

The police said the FIR was lodged under IPC sections, including those relating to sedition, public nuisance, hurting religious feelings and insulting with an intent to provoke breach of peace.

The letter was written by 49 personalities, including filmmakers Mani Ratnam, Anurag Kashyap, Shyam Benegal, actor Soumitra Chatterjee and vocalist Shubha Mudgal in July this year. It had said that the lynching of Muslims, Dalits and other minorities must be stopped, while stressing that there was “no democracy without dissent”. It noted that Jai Shri Ram had been reduced to a “provocative war cry”. — PTI

‘Everybody knows what’s going on’ 

Wayanad: Congress leader Rahul Gandhi lashed out at BJP government, saying anybody who says anything against PM Modi or the government is put behind bars. “Everybody knows what is going on in the country. It’s not a secret. In fact the whole world knows it. We are moving into an authoritarian state. It’s pretty clear,” he said.

‘Probe social media trend celebrating Godse’

Who seeks to defile the memory of Mahatma Gandhi by celebrating his assassins? Who were the people behind social media trend “Godse Amar rahe” on October 2. We want a probe into this. We also want to know why the government didn’t take a suo motu cognisance of this issue?  —Manish Tewari, Cong spokesman

Washington, October 3

A nuclear war between India and Pakistan could, in less than a week, kill 50-125 million people, more than the death toll during all six years of World War II, and lead to global climate catastrophe, according to researchers in the US.

A study by researchers from the University of Colorado Boulder and Rutgers University examined how such a hypothetical future conflict would have consequences that could ripple across the globe.

Today, India and Pakistan each have about 150 nuclear warheads at their disposal, and that number is expected to climb to more than 200 by 2025, the researchers said amid recent tensions between the nuclear-armed neighbours over Kashmir after India revoked J&K’s special status.

“An India-Pakistan war could double the normal death rate in the world,” said Brian Toon, a professor at the University of Colorado Boulder. “This is a war that would have no precedent in human experience,” Toon said. — PT

Ambala, October 1

An Army man was waylaid, assaulted and robbed of cash and valuables at Parav near here.

In his complaint to the police, the victim, Sanjay Kumar Prasad of Baldev Nagar near here, said he came back from the PGI, Chandigarh, after visiting the ailing father of his friend around 12.30 am today. He was on his way from the Ambala Cantonment bus stand to his friend Hassanpreet Singh’s house in the Railways Colony here.

“On the way, I saw four youths consuming liquor near the Railways overbridge in Parav. As I was moving ahead, they waylaid me on their motorcycles and started thrashing me without any provocation,” he revealed.

According to the complainant, the assailants snatched his gold chain, ring, wrist watch, mobile phone, wallet containing Rs 3,000 and a bag containing documents before fleeing away. The police have registered a case. — TN

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh at the 273rd annual day function of Defence Accounts Department in New Delhi on Tuesday, October 01, 2019. PTI

New Delhi, October 1

International money laundering watchdog Financial Action Task Force (FATF) can anytime blacklist Pakistan for terror financing, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh said on Tuesday.

In August, the Asia Pacific Group of the FATF had put Pakistan in a terror ‘blacklist’ for its failure to curb funnelling of funds to groups responsible for attacks in India.

“International agency FATF can blacklist Pakistan for terror financing,” he said at the Defence Accounts Department Day event.

Paris-based FATF is an inter-governmental body that promotes effective implementation of legal, regulatory and operational measures for combating money laundering, terrorist financing and other related threats to the international financial system.

Singh observed that national security has become a multi-dimensional concept, economic, strength, food and energy security and environmental protection are its key aspects.

It is prudent for an emerging economy like India to have good financial management, Singh said.

“Our neighbour is a living example of financial mismanagement,” he said.

The Defence minister said excessive militarisation and focus on wrong policies without financial prudence have resulted in a situation that Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan was not able to make arrangements for a flight to attend a global event.

Singh was apparently referring to Khan taking a commercial aircraft when a special jet given to him by the Saudi Arabian government developed a technical glitch minutes after taking off from New York airport last week.

Khan, who was to return to Pakistan following his seven-day trip to the US to attend the 74^th session of United Nations General Assembly, had to return to New York after the plane developed a technical snag minutes after taking off from the Kennedy International Airport.

Singh said the Defence Budget for 2019-20 is nearly 4.5 lakh crore, which is nearly 2.3 per cent of India’s Gross domestic products (GDP) .

He said the Defence Accounts Department (DAD) takes care of the pensions of 31 lakh pensioners. SIngh lauded the DAD for implementation of One Rank, One Pension (OROP) professionally.

To help pensioners, a call centre has also been established and the 19 ‘defence pension courts’ organised in 2018-19 have yielded success, the Defence Minister said. — PTI