Monthly Archives: August 2018

Pakistan, which is struggling with the coronavirus disease like the rest of the world, has doubled the number of terrorists waiting to infiltrate into Kashmir from its 14 operational launch pads, a senior government official told Hindustan Times.

“Our information is that there are about 450 terrorists affiliated to different Pakistan -backed terrorist groups at these launch pads,” the official said. Pakistan has reported nearly 12,700 Covid-19 cases and 268 deaths.

The new estimate, powered by new intelligence inputs received by national security planners in Delhi, indicates that Pakistan has doubled the presence of terrorists at the launch pads in just about a week or so.

As reported by Hindustan Times on April 9, intelligence agencies had put the number of terrorists at the launch pads at about 230. “The situation has changed vastly over the last 2-3 weeks,” the official cited above said.

According to information available with national security planners, the 450 terrorists include 244 from the Lashkar-e-Taiba, 129 from the Jaish-e-Mohammed and 60 from the Hizbul Mujahideen. Smaller groups such as the Al Badr make up for the rest.

Most of these terrorists were minted recently from the many camps that are being run in Pakistan, mostly in its occupied territories.

Available intelligence inputs with security agencies indicate that out of 16 terror camps, 11 are functioning in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK), two in Punjab, Pakistan and three in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (KPK) region.

Opinion | Pak’s troubled economy is hurting more than Imran Khan wants to believe

Three other camps are dedicated to train Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) and one for training Hizbul Mujahideen (HM) group. In the KPK region, the Hizbul Mujahideen runs two camps and the Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) runs one. The LeT and JeM share one camp each in Punjab province of Pakistan.

Officials said Pakistan’s Inter Services Intelligence had gone to great lengths through the year to raise the presence of terrorists in Kashmir. This is the first summer after India scrapped Article 370 in August last year and there have been attempts to incite street protests, and violence, ever since.

The terror reinforcements at the launch pads, an intelligence official said, were designed to beef up the strength of terrorists in Kashmir depleted due to some recent setbacks. It is estimated that there are about 240 terrorists in Kashmir including about 100 foreigners. Every 6 of 10 foreign terrorists are affiliated to the Lashkar-e-Taiba; the other four are linked to the Jaish.

As things stand, officials said, Pakistan’s ISI has only operationalised 14 of the 86 launching pads or detachments along the Line of Control in Srinagar sector, Rajouri-Poonch sector and in Jammu sector across the international border.

In the Srinagar sector, 10 out of 51 pads are used by terrorists belonging to LeT, JeM, HM, Al-Badr and other sundry groups. In Rajouri-Poonch sector, three out of 13 pads across the LoC are occupied while one out of four pads are occupied by terrorists in Jammu sector largely belonging to LeT, JeM and HM terror groups.

“Pakistan Army has no option but to continue with jihad in Kashmir else the public will start focusing on the poor domestic situation on the economic and Covid-19 response front and start questioning the leadership,” said a senior Indian general.

Even though Rawalpindi GHQ plans to underplay its role by projecting local participation through the newly-formed Resistance Front and Tehreek-e-Millat-e-Islamia (TMI), Pakistani terrorists are being infiltrated to ensure that things don’t go south in the Valley and international attention .

Besides, a sustained effort is on by the Imran Khan government to raise the Kashmir issue at multilateral fora including filing a petition through an NGO in the International Criminal Court at Hague apart from moving the United Nations Security Council.

Also read | ISKP commander who was its bridge with Pak’s ISI, Lashkar arrested

New Delhi: After nearly a month in lockdown, the Ministry of Defence sprang into action Monday with Defence Minister Rajnath Singh undertaking a high-level review of the recommendations of the Shekatkar Committee on reforming the armed forces.

The meeting was attended by Chief of Defence Staff Gen. Bipin Rawat, Navy chief Admiral Karambir Singh, Air Force head Air Chief Marshal Rakesh Bhadauria, Army chief Gen. M.M. Naravane and Defence Secretary Ajay Kumar.

The Shekatkar Committee was set up by former defence minister Manohar Parrikar, and submitted its report in December 2016. The report, which is now the guiding principle for ongoing defence reforms, has never been made public, because it covers operational aspects of the armed forces, and its disclosure is not in the interests of national security.

ThePrint takes a look at the key recommendations made by the report.

Also read: Narendra Modi govt wants a strong military, but its defence budget can’t guarantee that

Slew of reforms

The defence ministry is in the process of implementing a slew of reforms suggested by the committee, headed by Lt Gen. D.B. Shekatkar (retd), which studied how to make the armed forces much leaner, cohesive and modern.

Initially, the ministry had considered the report and sent 99 recommendations to the armed forces for making an implementation plan.

In August 2017, then-defence minister Arun Jaitley had approved 65 recommendations pertaining to the Indian Army for implementation.

According to a 2017 report, the Shekatkar Committee had recommended that India’s defence budget should be in the range of 2.5 to 3 per cent of the GDP, keeping in mind possible future threats.

It had also suggested the establishment of a Joint Services War College for training for middle-level officers, even through the three separate war colleges — Mhow, Secunderabad and Goa — could continue to train younger officers for their respective services.

It had also recommended that the Military Intelligence School at Pune be converted to a tri-service intelligence training establishment.

The first phase of the reforms approved by Jaitley involves redeployment and restructuring of approximately 57,000 posts of officers/JCOs/ORs and civilians.

The report also focuses on optimisation of Signals establishments to include radio monitoring companies, corps air support signal regiments, air formation signal regiments, composite signal regiments, and merger of corps operating and engineering signal regiments.

It included restructuring of repair echelons in the Army to include base workshops, advance base workshops and static/station workshops in the field Army.

It also called for the closure of military farms and army postal establishments in peace locations, which is among the recommendations already implemented.

Also read: Not media, CDS Rawat should be talking to military chiefs about India’s defence reform

New Delhi: The Army has put its summer strategy in place along the Line of Control (LoC) with Pakistan even as security agencies expect terror activities to increase during the approaching summer in Kashmir.

The measures include grid-wise force multipliers at the LoC.

The move also comes on the back of the terror attacks claimed by The Resistance Front (TRF), which security agencies believe is yet another proxy group launched by Pakistan.

Sources in the security agencies said the TRF is nothing but a front for Islamabad to give terror attacks an indigenous spin and attract local recruits.

“Pakistan has already cranked up the supply tap (infiltration of terrorists) at the LoC. The ceasefire violations are for that only,” a source in the security establishment told ThePrint, adding terrorists in the Valley will also increase their activities that currently focus on soft targets like policemen on patrol or those at checkpoints.

“We expect this to go up in the coming weeks,” the source said, and added that the security forces are already on the offensive even as precautions are being taken in view of the coronavirus pandemic.

Also read: Effect of surgical and Balakot strikes gone. Piecemeal policies against Pakistan won’t work

Army shifts to summer strategy

A senior Army officer said the force has shifted to its summer strategy under which there is greater deployment of troops along the LoC to ensure the infiltration attempts are thwarted.

The strategy involves multiple grid-based security and deployment of more lethal and detection-based systems.

On 5 April, five terrorists were killed in an operation along the LoC in North Kashmir’s Kupwara district after they infiltrated from Pakistan. Five commandos of the Army were also killed in action.

Lt Gen B.S. Raju, the general officer commanding of Srinagar-based 15 Corps, had said then the incident clearly showed the complicity of Pakistan in aiding and abetting infiltration and, as a consequence, terrorism in the Valley.

“This act of Pakistan is especially reprehensible because when the whole world is fighting Covid-19 and its aftermath, here is Pakistan aiding and abetting infiltration,” he had said.

Also read: What is Shekatkar report, defence ministry’s first order of business after lockdown

Ceasefire violations by Pakistan increase

While ceasefire violations are a regular feature, sources said what is surprising is that it has increased despite the Covid-19 pandemic being a major issue in Pakistan and the country’s army having been deployed to contain it.

There have been at least 1,197 ceasefire violations by the Pakistani Army this year — as many as 411 of them in March. The number of violations was 267 in March last year, the sources said.

According to official figures, Pakistani troops resorted to 3,200 instances of ceasefire violations in Jammu and Kashmir in 2019, which was the highest in the last 16 years.

The Army is responding to the ceasefire violations in a calibrated manner. Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, in an interview to news agency PTI, said the Indian Army is carrying out “targeted strikes” on terror launch pads along the LoC.

While there are no official estimates of casualties on the Pakistani side, sources in the Army said there have been several fatal and non-fatal casualties on the other side.

“If you go by average figures, I would say that there is at least one fatal casualty every week on the Pakistani side and several 3-5 non fatal casualties because of our response,” a senior Army officer said.

These numbers are based on the intercepts and human intelligence on the ground.

Also read: 50 military hospitals prepared for Covid-19, 6 viral testing labs up and running

Agencies keep close watch on TRF

Both the Army and the security agencies are keeping a close watch on the TRF. The group first surfaced in October last year when it claimed responsibility for a grenade attack on CRPF personnel.

In March this year, the Jammu and Kashmir Police busted a module of TRF, also known as the JK Fighters.

While initially it was suspected to be an offshoot of the Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Taiba, central security agency sources said they believe it to be yet another proxy of Pakistan to claim attacks done by other organisations.

The module had even claimed that the five terrorists killed in an operation in Kupwara earlier this month belong to them.

“The TRF is yet another attempt by Pakistan to give a indigenous spin to what happens in Kashmir. They are claiming attacks done by others. They are also being used to attract local recruits,” a source told ThePrint.

On Sunday, the TRF claimed responsibility for an attack in Anantnag in which a policeman from Jammu and Kashmir Police was killed.

However, on Monday issued a fresh statement denying the attack saying they don’t kill Kashmiris. It went a step ahead and blamed the attack on theHizbul Mujahideen and warned the terror group against any such attacks.

Security forces say that the attempt is to attract local recruits and there would be cases in future when there could be direct attacks by the TRF as the numbers increase.

Also read:Coronavirus hits Rafale deliveries to India, first four fighters expected in July, not May

False flag operation concerns

There are also fears in some corners that Pakistan, which has been running a “false flag operation by India”, could actually carry out some kind of attack and blame it on Indian agencies.

The recent Kandla port incident involving a Chinese ship was also categorised as a false flag operation of India.

According to an intelligence input, it was by a think-tank in Pakistan that had organised a seminar on “Radical” India and “Responsible” Pakistan recently.

Sources said that Pakistan has been talking about false flag operations by India, which could come handy when next terror strikes here.

However, there are no specific intelligence inputs regarding any major terror attack.

Also read: Navy remains ‘combat-ready’ after 26 sailors test positive for Covid-19

New Delhi: The Indian Navy has sought volunteers for its police branch, Provost, from among its women officers. The branch has so far been an exclusive preserve of male officers.

The Navy has sought applications from officers, men and women, by May, according to sources in the force.

The move has come within weeks of the Supreme Court’s ruling to grant permanent commission to women officers in the Navy. On 17 March, the court upheld a 2015 verdict of the Delhi High Court and outlawed gender discrimination towards women officers during the grant of permanent commission in the Indian Navy.

At present, women officers commissioned in the Navy are not given sea-going appointments. The Navy also does not have women in the ranks akin to the Army.

Last year, the Corps of Military Police in the Army had recruited 100 women.

More opportunities opening up

According to sources, the Navy’s latest move may be the first step to open up more branches to women officers.

“Moreover, Provost is a non-sea-going cadre and therefore compulsory sea service will not be a criterion for promotions as in the case of other executive branches,” a senior naval officer told ThePrint on the condition of anonymity.

Regulations restricting sea service, which is compulsory in certain branches for promotions to the rank of Captain (Colonel equivalent in the Army) and above, put women in the Navy at a disadvantage against male colleagues when it comes to career progression.

The officer said the move is seen as another step towards grant of permanent commission to women officers across branches, including consequent promotions, as Provost officers have the opportunity to perform well and attain promotion up to the rank of a Commodore.

Also read: Navy remains ‘combat-ready’ after 26 sailors test positive for Covid-19

Provost appointments

Unlike primary branches, the recruitment of Naval Provost officers is not advertised. Existing commissioned officers are selected on a volunteer basis for a specialised course at INS Mandovi, the Provost training school. After the completion of the course, the officers are appointed to the Provost at various bases of the Navy.

The women volunteers for the Provost, if any, will be Short Service Commission (SSC) officers.

SSC women officers can also serve in the musician cadre and sports cadre, a second Navy officer said.

At present, women officers in the Navy serve in many cadres, including three where they have the option for choosing permanent commission. Last year, a woman officer graduated the pilot’s course to be the first woman pilot of Dornier.

Women officers also serve in operational appointments as ‘Observers’ in the Navy’s maritime reconnaissance aircraft like P8i, IL-38 and Dornier.

There are over 639 women personnel in the Navy, including 148 medical officers and two dental officers.

Also read: Indian Navy veterans slam ‘childish’ US response to Roosevelt ship incident

New Delhi: As India braces to bear the economic burden of the Covid-19 pandemic, the armed forces have put all non-operational and non-training expenditure on hold.

In a video conference Friday, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh reviewed the forces’ operational preparedness as well as measures to fight Covid-19 with the top commanders of the three services.

The finance ministry had earlier put curbs on the expenses of many ministries for the first quarter of 2020-21, as the government looks ahead to the fallout of Covid-19 and the nationwide lockdown on revenues.

Singh asked the forces to ensure operational preparedness, because the adversary should not be allowed to exploit the current situation.

“He also directed the forces to initiate measures to spend the financial resources, avoiding wastage in view of the economic burden imposed by Covid-19,” a statement released by the ministry said.

Stressing on the requirement of “jointness” of the armed forces, Singh asked the commanders to identify and prioritise tasks that could be accomplished quickly and assist in the revival of the economy after the lockdown is lifted, according to the statement.

Also read: Navy remains ‘combat-ready’ after 26 sailors test positive for Covid-19

Domestic defence payments on priority

Sources told ThePrint that the focus of the defence minister’s directive was to cap non-operational and non-training expenditure, adding that acquisition processes will not be affected, but payments could be delayed or staggered.

The sources added that paying the domestic defence industry will be the first priority.

“In the wake of the coronavirus, there have been 15-20 per cent expenses curbs on many ministries, and defence is not excluded. Hence, expenses have to be prioritised,” a senior armed forces officer who did not wish to be identified told ThePrint.

The officer explained that the curbs will not affect the operational or training capabilities. “But yes, there are many other expenses, like ceremonial (that will be curtailed). Keeping in mind the expenditure cut in the first quarter, one will have to manipulate the funds accordingly, so that priority expenditure is taken care of,” he said.

Another officer told ThePrint that all committed liabilities will be taken care of, but payments could be staggered.

“If a payment has to be done in May, it could be done in September. However, the priority is payment to domestic defence players, because they need to be protected,” this officer said.

Sources also denied that the acquisition process would be hit long term, saying that such processes are not about one or two quarters.

Rajnath’s appreciation

During the video conference, the commanders also apprised Defence Minister Rajnath Singh of various measures put in place to prevent the infection from spreading among the forces, and the assistance extended to the local civilian administration.

The minister appreciated the role of the armed forces in extending assistance to the civilian administration and boosting India’s preparedness to fight Covid-19.

Also read: Army’s summer strategy in place at LoC with temperatures expected to rise in Kashmir

New Delhi: Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) General Bipin Rawat on Sunday said the armed forces’ personnel understand that they will have to remain uninfected by the virus to be able to support people and government as the country battles coronavirus outbreak.

“As far as defence services are concerned, we do understand our responsibility that at this time when the nation is fighting against COVID-19 menace, the defence services must operate beyond the mandate and come to the support of our people and government in whatever way we can,” General Rawat told ANI in an exclusive interview.

“In order to do so, we have to first ensure that we remain safe from COVID-19 because if our own sailors, soldiers and airmen get affected by this virus, how are we going to support our people. That is why we have issued very strict directions on social distancing, wearing of masks and ensuring that people who require to be in quarantine remain in quarantine,” said the CDS.

He pointed out that all the meetings and conferences are taking place through video conferencing. “The medical directions are being regularly issued by our Director General Armed Forces Medical Services (DGAFMS) to ensure good health of our soldiers and airmen under these difficult times.”

Stressing that directions issued from the “highest body”, the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) is being followed in letter and spirit to fight the menace of COVID19 and to ensure that Armed Forces remain safe, he said,”We are attending meetings organised by the Cabinet Secretary and we are attending meetings of the Ministry of Health. Whatever directions are coming, are percolating down to the rank and file and we are ensuring that these reach in the right time and right manner. This is very important for us to maintain strict discipline and patience.”

“There would be problems in these challenging times but we have to learn to live with them. It cannot be business as usual. These are the times when certain directions have been issued and they have to be adhered to if we want to fight the COVID-19 menace. I think our nation has done well. We will continue to do well if the directions issued from time to time are adhered to,” he added.

General Rawat, while referring to the lockdown, said this is not the time to be impatient.
“We do know when the country is under lockdown and people are told to stay indoors, they tend to become impatient. This is not the time to be impatient. Patience is very important to ensure that we remain disciplined. Maintaining discipline in armed forces is not very difficult as we are accustomed to be in discipline but to maintain patience is the need of the hour,” he said.

He further informed, “I am very happy to inform you that all our people have downloaded the Aarogya Setu application and should anyone get affected, we would be able to pick that up very soon. We would be able to ensure that the spread does not happen.”

Also read: Covid blurs distinction between war and peace as soldiers worldwide fight the third army

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ribune News Service

Bathinda, April 25

In all, 80 buses were sent to bring back stranded pilgrims at Hazur Sahib (Nanded) in Maharashtra on Saturday.

Finance Minister Manpreet Singh Badal said AC buses of Punjab Roadways and PRTC were being sent to bring back the pilgrims and the cost would be borne by the state. He said three drivers, a conductor and a policeman had been deployed in each bus.

Patiala, April 25

The Pepsu Road Transport Corporation (PRTC) today dispatched a fleet of 32 buses, including Volvo Scania and HVAC buses, to Takht Sri Hazur Sahib, Nanded, Maharashtra, to bring back pilgrims stranded in the state. These 32 buses were part of the 80 buses fleet, which will leave from Bathinda to Sri Hazur Sahib.

KK Sharma, Chairman, PRTC, who flagged off seven Volvo buses from the Patiala bus stand said Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh had made commendable efforts to bring back the pilgrims from Takht Sri Hazur Sahib. The plan came through only after the CM held a series of talks with the Union Government and Maharashtra CMUddhav Thackeray, he said.

“Buses have already been sanitised. Two sub-inspectors Amandeep Singh and Surinder Singh Tuli will accompany the passengers. The buses will be carrying masks, sanitisers, gloves, medicines, food items etc for all pilgrims,” he added. Responding to a query, Sharma said that government had provided all the necessary funds to the PRTC. — TNS

There is merit in Captain Amarinder Singh’s request to his counterparts in other states to strongly pursue with the PM a bailout package, with the governments being given the flexibility to make use of the revenue grant as per local conditions. The Punjab CM is correct in his assertion that special assistance is essential for handling the additional health and relief-related expenditure that a sustained fight against the Covid-19 pandemic demands. There would also be many takers for his other suggestion of deferment of the full report of the Finance Commission by a year, so that the requirements of the states for economic revival and relief as well as rehabilitation could be fully assessed, and adequately provided for.

Lockdown 2.0 ends on May 3, but strained for resources and struggling to garner any income, several states are desperate for economic activity to be back on track. Mamata Banerjee wants the lockdown to be quickly scaled back in stages: ‘lift 25 per cent in the week beginning May 4, reopen 50 per cent in the second week, and total rollback should happen in two weeks after May 4’. Captain Amarinder’s request to the Centre to allow sale of liquor, a critical source of earning for the state, may have been turned down, but it does point to the severity of the financial crisis.

A mega stimulus package is said to be in the works for the manufacturing and services sectors, but the delay in fine-tuning the contours on how to raise resources is making the industry more restive. India’s GDP growth, according to Fitch Ratings, is estimated to slip to 0.8 per cent for the current fiscal as compared to 4.9 per cent growth in the previous fiscal, before rebounding to 6.7 per cent in 2021-22. On the ground, prospects of a quick economic recovery appear weak. In this scenario, a collaborative Centre-state roadmap would make more sense.

Gurugram, April 24

For the first time in its history, the world’s largest paramilitary force, Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF), commissioned 42 officers into the force through a webinar due to the Covid scare.

Trained at the CRPF officers’ training academy in Kadarpur village, Gurugram, the 42 trainee officers, including four women, dressed in their uniforms and additionally adorning masks and gloves took the traditional ‘antim pag’ (last step at the training institute) by stepping on a special doormat kept at the exit of the auditorium and embossed with these words in Hindi.

The trainee officers had completed their training on March 5. However, their passing-out parade (POP) scheduled for March 22 had been put on hold due to the pandemic.

Union Minister of State for Home G Kishan Reddy and CRPF chief AP Maheshwari addressed the young officers, seated in an auditorium, from their respective offices in North Block and Lodhi Road in Delhi.

They inducted this 51st batch of DAGOs (directly appointed gazetted officers) through the first-ever e-passing out parade that replaced the traditional way of holding a parade and ceremonial event under the sky.

The officers were administered the oath to serve the country. Later, the academy officials pipped ranks of Assistant Commandant on their shoulders. — TNS