Monthly Archives: August 2018

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, June 28

Ex-servicemen are complaining against the fresh restrictions imposed on their visit to canteen stores department (CSD outlets) and limit on the items that can be purchased by them.

In a letter written to the Army Headquarters, the Ex-Servicemen ASSOCIATIONS of Mohlai and Chandigarh, stated that its inquiries have revealed that CSD depots have restricted collecting stock from the unit-run canteens to once a month instead of the earlier two to three times a month. Lifting the entire stock in one go instead of in phases increases the working capital, besides requiring additional transport capability and storage space.

Further, some canteens were only issued a third of their regular demand this month, which resulted in some items remaining out of stock, the Cell stated.

Shimla, June 29

An MoU worth Rs 5,000 crore was signed between the state government and SMPP Private India Ltd here today for setting up an ammunition manufacturing facility for tanks and artillery guns.

The MoU was signed by Rakesh Prajapati, Director, Industries, on behalf of the state government and SMPPP Private Ltd Managing Director SC Kansal. The industrial project would provide direct and indirect employment to about 8,500 persons. — TNS

Fire brought under control after six hours

Flames rise after a fire breaks out at a house at Hijwa village in Ramban district on Tuesday, June 29, 2021. PTI

Banihal/Jammu, June 29

An Indian Air Force (IAF) chopper made several sorties to help douse a major fire that raged for nearly six hours and gutted over a dozen residential houses in a remote village in Jammu and Kashmir’s Ramban district on Tuesday, officials said.

No one was injured in the fire which started around 11 am in the densely populated Hijwa village of Khari, 28 km from Banihal sub-division, rendering over 36 families homeless, the officials said.

They said the fire spread fast as the houses are closely located and mostly built of wood with a tin roof.  

The Army and police reached the spot immediately to assist local volunteers to douse the flames, officials said, adding that fire tenders from Banihal town were also pressed into service.

The fire was finally brought under control after a nearly six-hour-long joint operation with an IAF helicopter joining the mission.

The IAF made several sorties and poured buckets full of water on the raging fire which was a threat to the whole village, the officials said.

Station House Officer Nayeem-ul-Haq said the cause of fire was not known immediately.

District Development Commissioner Mussarat-ul-Islam along with District Development council chairperson Shamshada Bano visited the fire ravaged village and assured the victims of all possible help to rebuild their lives.

Islam announced immediate relief to the affected families including tents, ration and blankets and said the cases for compensation to the families would be processed speedily. PTI

Day-long visit to Sumdoh sector along the LAC came amid the continued military standoff between Indian and Chinese militaries in several friction points in eastern Ladakh

Gen Bipin Rawat. PTI file

New Delhi, June 29

Chief of Defence Staff Gen Bipin Rawat on Tuesday visited a number of forward locations along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) with China around the Himachal Pradesh sector to take stock of India’s military preparedness in the sensitive region.

In his interactions with troops, Gen Rawat exhorted them to remain steadfast in their task of defending the territorial integrity of the country.

His day-long visit to the Sumdoh sector along the LAC came amid the continued military standoff between Indian and Chinese militaries in several friction points in eastern Ladakh.

“General Bipin Rawat, #CDS interacted with the troops, complimented them for their high morale & exhorted them to remain steadfast in their task of defending the territorial integrity of the nation with the same zeal and fervour,” the Army said.

It said the Chief of Defence Staff was briefed about the ground situation by local commanders.

“General Bipin Rawat, #CDS visited forward areas of Central Sector along LAC and was briefed by the local commanders on the operational situation,” the Army said.

India and China were locked in a military standoff at multiple friction points in eastern Ladakh since early May last year. However, the two sides completed the withdrawal of troops and weapons from the North and South banks of Pangong lake in February following a series of military and diplomatic talks.

The two sides are now engaged in talks to extend the disengagement process to the remaining friction points. India has been particularly pressing for disengagement of troops in Hot Springs, Gogra and Depsang.

According to military officials, each side currently has around 50,000 to 60,000 troops along the Line of Actual Control in the sensitive sector.

There was no visible forward movement in disengagement of troops in the remaining friction points as the Chinese side did not show flexibility in their approach at the 11th round of military talks. PTI

Two days after a suspected drone attack on the Jammu air base, India flagged the issue at a UN conference that discussed terrorism and the current and emerging threats. – File photo

New Delhi, June 29

Two days after a suspected drone attack on the Jammu air base, India flagged the issue at a UN conference that discussed terrorism and the current and emerging threats.

“Another add-on to existing worries is the use of drones. Being a low-cost option and easily available, utilisation of these platforms for sinister purposes by terrorist groups has become an imminent danger and challenge for security agencies worldwide,” said VSK Kaumudi, Special Secretary (Internal Security), Ministry of Home Affairs.

Kaumudi said the possibility of the use of weaponised drones for terrorist purposes against strategic and commercial assets called for serious attention by the member states. “We have witnessed terrorists using them to smuggle weapons across the border,” he said.

The Special Secretary emphasised that the trans-border nature of this threat called for collective and unified action by the international community to hold accountable the countries sheltering terrorists.

Other new avenues for spread of terrorism were misuse of new payment methods and crowd-funding platforms, the official observed. The increased use of closed group communications on Internet and social media platforms added to the concern, he said.

“Continuing advancements in evolving technologies—artificial intelligence, robotics, Deepfakes, Blockchain, Dark-web—can also be abused by terrorists. Already, crypto currencies and virtual assets are helping terror financing, helped by the anonymity and un-traceability nature of these technologies,” he said.

Kaumudi pointed out that Covid and the subsequent isolation had made people vulnerable to radicalisation and recruitment by terrorist groups who spread terrorist propaganda by enticing them into “video games”. —TNS

NIA to probe attack, 2 more ieds recovered

• The MHA on Tuesday handed over the probe into the Jammu drone attack to the NIA.
• Sources said two unexploded IEDs were also retrieved from the blast site, which could hold clues for further investigation.

India: Pak must Take verifiable action

India has told the UN General Assembly that it was high time the international community called on Pakistan to take “effective and irreversible” actions against terror outfits operating from its soil

Another strike thwarted, troops fire at 2 drones in Jammu’s Ratnuchak-Kaluchak area

Security men rescue civilians during an encounter in Srinagar on Monday. Two CRPF men were hurt in the gunfight. PTI

Mukesh Ranjan

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, June 28

Intelligence and investigative agencies today said the preliminary probe into the drone attack at the Indian Air Force (IAF) station in Jammu yesterday indicated the role of Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT) and the use of highly sophisticated explosive RDX, which also pointed towards likely involvement of Pakistan’s state actors in the blast.

Edit: Drone scare

Sources said two bombs, weighing over 2 kg each, were dropped from a height of about 100-150 m and activated by “impact charge”. The attack appeared to be closely linked with the recovery of a 6-kg IED by the Jammu police from an LeT operative that led to detention of at least three terror suspects, they added.

The agencies did not rule out the possibility of the drones having originated from the Indian side of border, but claimed these might have been activated by terrorists who infiltrated from Pakistan, sources added.

Involvement of Pak state actors likely

• Use of highly sophisticated explosive RDX points towards likely involvement of Pakistan’s state actors
• Two bombs (over 2 kg each) were dropped from a height of about 100-150 m and activated by ‘impact charge’
• The attack appeared to be closely linked with the recovery of a 6-kg IED from an LeT operative recently
• Over 300 drones have been sighted along the country’s western frontier with Pakistan since August 5, 2019

Meanwhile, a fresh attempt to attack a military installation with the help of drones was foiled by alert Army sentries at the Ratnuchak-Kaluchak station who fired at the unmanned aerial vehicles that then flew away. “Two separate drone activities were spotted over Ratnuchak-Kaluchak military area by alert troops,” Jammu-based Army PRO Lt Col Devender Anand said in a statement.

Officials in the security agencies said over 300 drones and unidentified flying objects had been sighted along the country’s western frontiers with Pakistan since August 5, 2019, particularly in Punjab and Jammu sectors. Personnel posted in forward areas were trying to find a suitable technology to check these objects, they added.

The security agencies were also testing some indigenous counter-drone technologies in varied terrain along the border.

Top LeT militant held

Jammu: Nadeem Abrar, LeT commander involved in several killings, was arrested on Monday. “Big success for us,” tweeted Kashmir zone IGP Vijay Kumar. A pistol and a grenade were seized from him. TNS

Agni Prime test-fired

Balasore (Odisha): India on Monday successfully test-fired its new generation nuclear-capable Agni Prime missile from a defence base off Odisha coast, an official statement by the DRDO said.

Home Ministry too objected to any further opening up of skies

Days before the drone attack on the Jammu air base, top officials in the armed forces and the Home Ministry had objected to any further opening up of the skies for civilian drone operations. File photo

Ajay Banerjee

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, June 28

Days before the drone attack on the Jammu air base, top officials in the armed forces and the Home Ministry had objected to any further opening up of the skies for civilian drone operations.

The use of drones by civilian operators came up for discussion last week during a meeting on Unmanned Aircraft System Rules, which came into effect on March 12. The rules allow flying of drones under certain conditions. There are 34 green zones in which drone operations are permitted after intimation about the time and location of flight.

“Yellow zones” require permission to operate drones, but “red zones” are no go areas. The use of drones for civilian operations across the country is being discussed as part of a policy to regulate small drones, their ownership and permission to operate.

Sources said the Home Ministry officials wanted that drone operations should have 80-km buffer from any military, strategic or high-value targets. The armed forces maintained that the country, or even the world, didn’t have any technology to detect, destroy and prevent a drone from being a threat in an area as vast as India. Solutions could be applied only to close tactical areas, provided manned surveillance and quick response teams were in place.

The new Indian drone regulations, titled UAS Rules-2021, ask drone operators to adhere to a set of rules. This includes having a student pilot licence, remote pilot licence and a permit for becoming an unmanned aircraft operator.

The drones have to be “no permission, no take-off” (NPNT) compliant. The NPNT is a software that enables every remotely piloted aircraft to obtain a valid permission through “DigitalSky” platform before operating in India

BKU (Ekta Ugrahan) members protest in Bathinda on Saturday. Tribune photo

Tribune News Service

Bathinda, June 26

On a call given by the Samyukt Kisan Morcha, scores of farmers under the banner of BKU (Ekta Ugrahan) carried out a protest march in Bathinda to mark the completion of seven months of farmers’ agitation against the three agricultural laws at Delhi borders.

Protesters, including a number of women, on tractors, motorcycles, cars and other vehicles took out a march and raised slogans against the Centre.

Shingara Singh Mann, state secretary, BKU (Ekta Ugarahan) said: “On June 26, the farmers’ agitation completed seven months. To mark the occasion, we have carried out a protest march in the city. This day also holds historical significance as on June 26, 1975, the Emergency was imposed by the government of the day. However, today there is an unannounced emergency.

“Anti-people laws are being made and then forcibly imposed on us. When people protest, they are booked and sent to jails to stifle the voice of dissent. Even intellectuals and activists, who speak for the protection of basic rights, are being labelled as anti-nationals and booked under serious laws such as UAPA. Now the government is hell-bent on giving the reins of the agriculture sector to big corporate houses. We will not let that happen.”

“We are firm in our resolve and will continue our fight until the laws are repealed,” said Mann. Members of the Theka Mulazam Sanghrash Morcha also extended support to today’s protest. Gurvinder Singh, a Morcha leader said: “We are against the privitisation of government sector enterprises and will stand united with farmers in their just cause.”

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Imran Khan. Reuters file

Islamabad, June 26

Pakistan is seeking a “civilised” and “even-handed” relationship with Washington like the one that exists between the US and the UK or with India “right now”, Prime Minister Imran Khan has said, underlining the role Islamabad could play in the region, including in Afghanistan after America leaves the war-torn country.

Khan made the comments during an interview with The New York Times in which he also expressed his disappointment that his bid to normalise ties with India did not make any progress though he approached Prime Minister Narendra Modi soon after assuming office in August 2018.

In the interview that comes as US President Joe Biden had his first face-to-face meeting with his Afghan counterpart Ashraf Ghani at the White House on Friday, Khan recalled that Pakistan had had a closer relationship with the US than other nations in the region, such as India, and was a US partner in the war against terrorism, Dawn newspaper reported.

“Now, after the US leaves Afghanistan, basically Pakistan would want a civilised relationship, which you have between nations, and we would like to improve our trading relationship with the US,” he said.

Asked to elaborate his concept of a civilised relationship, Khan said he was seeking relations like the one that existed “between the US and Britain, or between US and India right now. A relationship which is even-handed”.

“Unfortunately, the relationship during the war on terror was a bit lopsided,” he said.

“It was a lopsided relationship because the US felt that they were giving aid to Pakistan, they felt that Pakistan then had to do US’ bidding.

“And what Pakistan did in terms of trying to do the US bidding cost Pakistan a lot … 70,000 Pakistanis died, and over $150 billion were lost to the economy because there were suicide bombings and bombs going on all over the country,” he said.

The main problem with this lopsided relationship was that “Pakistani governments tried to deliver what they were not capable of,” and it led to a “mistrust between the two countries”, Khan said.

“And people in Pakistan felt they paid a heavy, heavy price for this relationship. And the US thought Pakistan had not done enough.”

The prime minister said that his government wanted the future relationship to be based on trust and common objectives, including a peaceful and stable Afghanistan.

In the interview, Khan also claimed that Pakistan would have had a better relationship with India if it had a different government and they would have resolved all their differences through dialogue.

“When I assumed office, the first thing I did was I made this approach to Prime Minister Modi (to seek) a normal, civilised trading relationship…We tried but didn’t get anywhere,” he said.

“Had there been another Indian leadership, I think we would have had a good relationship with them. And yes, we would have resolved all our differences through dialogue,” Khan claimed.

The strained ties between India and Pakistan deteriorated further after India announced withdrawing special powers of Jammu and Kashmir and bifurcation of the state into union territories in August 2019.

On the Status quo in Kashmir, Khan said, “I think it’s a disaster for India because it will just mean that this conflict festers on and on… and (prevents) any relationship—normal relationship—between Pakistan and India.”      

India has told Pakistan that it desires normal neighbourly relations with it in an environment free of terror, hostility and violence.

Khan said the US assumption that India would be the bulwark against China is wrong. “I think it would be detrimental for India because India’s trade with China is going to be beneficial for both India and China.”

Pakistan, he said, is “watching the scenario unfold with a bit of anxiety”. PTI

The technical specifications for the system have been framed by ISRO

Vijay Mohan

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, June 26

The Indian Air Force, in collaboration with the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), is developing a real time aircraft tracking system (RTATS) that will be retrofitted in its transport fleet.

The technical specifications for the system have been framed by ISRO and the development and fabrication of the prototypes would be done by the industry, according to IAF sources. The trials and evaluation would be done by the IAF on AN-32 aircraft at one of its bases.

The RTATS is required to be compatible with the Global Navigation Satellite System of India’s GAGAN regional satellite navigation system and Navigation with Indian Constellation (NavIC), as well as America’s Global Positioning System, using both standard positioning services as well as restricted services.

GAGAN was conceived by the Ministry of Civil Aviation for management and surveillance of the Indian airspace, while NavIC has a wider footprint, covering south Asia, south-east Asia, China, the Middle East, south-western Europe and the Indian Ocean region, including the eastern coast of Africa and Western Australia. Both these systems have been developed by ISRO.  

Many military as well as civilian organisations across the globe use various kinds of RTATS for tracking aircraft movements as well as managing airspace. Contemporary tracking systems use a network of satellites and ground receiving stations. Flight data transmitted from an aircraft is captured by an overhead satellite and beamed to the earth, where it is recorded and disseminated to the stakeholders. It can also be used to transmit distress signals in an emergency.

The IAF is also equipping some of its larger transport aircraft with the Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast (ADS-B), a new generation, highly accurate satellite-based aircraft positioning and tracking system, the use of which has already become mandatory in some countries.

Real-time tracking using ADS-B and other open source information is also available to aviation enthusiasts and the general public though many websites and mobile applications. These give out an aircraft’s flight path, location, speed and altitude. Though primarily focused on civilian aircraft, some military aircraft also show up on these applications.

The IAF had earlier installed emergency beacons in some of its transport planes, but these are activated only in case of an accident to transmit the location of the site and do not beam flight data.