Monthly Archives: August 2018

Indian Navy Ship (INS) Tabar. File photo

Ajay Banerjee

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, August 7

India is adding to its ability to hunt down submarines, especially in shallow waters, or in areas closer to the coast. All along the western coast, there are vast areas of shallow waters. Several of the refineries, crude-oil moorings, strategic oil storage reserves and key ports are on the west coast.

Yesterday, the project to make eight Anti-Submarine Warfare Shallow Water Craft (ASW-SWC) kicked off at the Garden Reach Shipbuilders and Engineers (GRSE), Kolkata. The keel of the first such warship was ‘laid virtually’ by Vice Chief of the Indian Navy Vice Admiral SN Ghormade.

Project to make 8 Shallow Water Craft

• The project to make eight Anti-Submarine Warfare Shallow Water Craft (ASW-SWC) vessels kicked off at the Garden Reach Shipbuilders
• and Engineers, Kolkata.
• These ASW- SWC are designed for a speed of 25 knots and are capable of full-scale underwater surveillance of coastal waters and coordinated operations with aircraft.
• The vessels will be able to destroy underwater targets. The ASW Shallow Water Craft have underwater sensors.

Guarding waters: 16 warships, 13k crore cost
Four vessels in use: INS Abhay, Ajay, Akshay, Agray

The ‘keel laying’ is a major milestone activity in the shipbuilding process and indicates the amalgamation of various blocks towards construction of a ship. The project at the GRSE, a company owned by the Ministry of Defence, is in collaboration with private Larsen and Toubro (L&T). This is the second part of the project, the other one of making eight similar warships is being done at Cochin Shipyard Limited, Kochi. The first steel cutting at the shipyard in Kerala was done in December last year. The project to make these 16 warships is close to Rs 13,000 crore. At present, the Indian Navy uses four vessels — INS Abhay, Ajay, Akshay and Agray — for scouting submarines in shallow waters. These are more than 30 years old and are customised variants of the Russian Pauk-class corvettes.

Besides these specialised shallow water sub-hunters, the Navy has a brand new fleet of submarine hunting warships called the ‘Kamorta class’ that ventures to high seas. In the air, specialised aircraft called the Boeing P8I keep an eye on submarines and carry anti-submarine missiles, the Harpoon. The Navy has 10 such surveillance planes. India has also contracted for 24 specialised submarine hunting helicopters from US company Lockheed Martin, to replace three-decade old Russian Kamov-28 copters.

The combatant command President selects needs to have served in at least one joint responsibility role in a senior command position

 Since India’s military reform process will be equally intricate, protracted, and even complicated with competing and conflicting demands, claims, issues, and even turf battles that would have to be reconciled, the legislature needs to play a far more pro-active role. Representational Image. (AFP)

There has been quite a bit of commentary in the public space about the proposed reorganisation of the Armed Forces into theatre commands. A large number of retired defence officers, including former chiefs of both the Air Force and the Navy, have written profound opinion pieces expressing apprehensions and reservations about the process and the fact that it is being rushed through rather impulsively.

Let us first understand what is being attempted. On December 24, 2019, the government announced the creation of a chief of defence staff and a new department of military affairs (DMA) in the ministry of defence. This was followed by the appointment of the outgoing Army Chief General Bipin Rawat as the first CDS on December 31, 2019. This new paradigm brought into sharp relief the question of the proposed institution of Theatre Commands for the Indian Armed Forces.

The fundamental concept underpinning the Theatre Commands paradigm is achieving jointness. Jointness means the synergy and synchronisation of different branches of the fighting arms into one cohesive and integrated organisation.

The idea is neither new nor novel. Over three dozen countries in the world have evolved and adopted a combined services template for their militaries. Major powers like the United States, Russia, China and even the United Kingdom from where we have inherited our military ethos are all tasked on this jointness archetype now.

In the US, prior to 1986, each service had its own chief. The service chiefs together stood constituted as Joint Chiefs of Staff. Its elected chairperson reported to the defence secretary. The defence secretary, in turn, was accountable to the President.

This arrangement was analogous to India before the appointment of the chairman of Joint Chiefs of Staff in the US as the principal military advisor the President, National Security Council, Homeland Security Council, and the defence secretary post the implementation of the Gold Water-Nichols Act of 1986. He assists the President and the defence secretary, both civilians, in giving strategic direction to the Armed Forces. He proffers advice with regard to force structures and budgetary practices. When rendering counsel he is obligated by law to confabulate with the service chiefs who act as secondary military advisors.

This Act promulgated in 1986 transformed both the character and configuration of the US defence forces. The important thing to mark is that the reorganisation came through legislation and not via an executive fiat.

The Act provided the latitude for both joint and single service commands. It ordained that a unified combatant command means a military command that comprises personnel from two or more military realms. The command hierarchy of a unified or specified combatant command travels from the President downwards to the secretary of defence, and from there, directly to the theatre or the combatant commander. The President only selects an officer to lead a combatant command, if the officer concerned has diverse experience and has served in at least one joint responsibility role in a senior command position.

Democratic nations must be extremely vigilant about excess centralisation of authority in any one defence official. The US arrangement guarantees this by mandating the chain of operational command runs from the President to the defence secretary — a cabinet-level position in the US and then directly to the theatre commander. The chairperson of the joint chiefs of staff, therefore, has no operational command authority.

Even in the United Kingdom, a new epoch for the British Armed Forces is emerging. On March 22, 2021, the government officially released its Integrated Review of Security, Defence, Development and Foreign Policy. It delineates the government’s visualisation of the UK’s role in the world over the next decade and thus provides a clear roadmap to the Armed Forces in terms of what the policy priorities of the state are over the medium term.

Thus whatever operational concepts the defence establishment wants to evolve need to be clearly fine pointed to cater to the tactical, diplomatic and foreign policy priorities of the United Kingdom’s civilian government. What is noteworthy is that defence reform is a part of a larger strategic horizon and not merely an act of internal reorganisation.

That is why in India, across the board, strategic experts, specialists and researchers have been arguing for transparency and openness on the specificities of the proposed theatre commands in India. Even among the services, the opinion seems to be split. It is not a mere coincidence that retired Air Force and Navy officers are forcefully arguing against theatre commands. Even the proxy views of these two services are being aired in the public space and social media suggesting that there is trouble in paradise.

The fundamental decision that must be taken even now is that, if we are to head in the direction of theatre commands, this transition must be carried out through legislation like in the United States and not by mere executive instructions of the department of military affairs in the ministry of defence.

Moreover, politicians who understand India’s strategic imperatives, especially the two-front challenges, that India confronts must pro-actively guide this transition.
They need to be assisted by a foreign policy and strategic affairs professionals who never lose sight of the big picture. A generic bureaucracy where an officer serves in the department of animal husbandry one day, department of cooperation the next day, and the ministry of defence the third day will never measure up to the task of guiding the defence forces through the single biggest transformative change attempted by them ever since their inception. Neither should this task be left to the CDS and a bunch of military officers to superintend this makeover as just another internal reorganisation process unique to the Armed Forces being implemented in a strategic vacuum.

When this osmosis of the defence establishment played itself out in the US politicians, defence professionals, strategic thinkers, foreign policy practitioners, and, most vitally, the media absorbed themselves in five years of knowledgeable and cogent public discussions before the US Congress finally passed the Goldwater-Nichols Defence Reorganisation Act of 1986.

Since India’s military reform process will be equally intricate, protracted, and even complicated with competing and conflicting demands, claims, issues, and even turf battles that would have to be reconciled, the legislature needs to play a far more pro-active role. It must seriously apply itself to the establishment of a Dedicated Standing Committee of Parliament staffed with military advisers and other professionals to independently monitor this transition very minutely.

New Delhi: The three Services — Army, Navy and Air Force — are jointly working to reach a consensus on the exact structure of the theatre commands, a concept that the Modi government is firm on and will be the biggest defence reform that the forces will see.

Government sources as well as those in the defence and security establishment told ThePrint that more discussions will take place among various stakeholders in the coming weeks, and all issues will be thoroughly brainstormed.

It is expected that Prime Minister Narendra Modi, during his Independence Day address, could announce the government’s decision to adopt theaterisation as a concept.

Sources explained that if an announcement is made, the raising will start and will continue for a year. In this period, existing commanders will assume the role of theatre commanders. Formal appointment of theatre commanders will be done only after a period of one year and operationalisation will be done by 2023.

Theterisation, which seeks to unite the 17 individual Commands of the three Services into four or five joint structures, will not only lead to a joint warfare approach but will also result in cutting down of manpower and joint acquisition that will be cost-effective in the long run, sources said.

Also on the cards are joint training and new Command and Structure that will see the operation role of Service Chiefs being reduced in the coming years.

The Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) will eventually become the operational ocmmander once the process is stabilised.

Also read: Joint military command is the future but India can’t rush into it

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New Delhi: Terrorism is the most serious threat to international peace and security and support to any acts of terror is a crime against humanity, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh said on Wednesday at a conclave of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) in Dushanbe.

He reaffirmed India’s resolve to fight terrorism in all its forms and manifestations and said peace and prosperity cannot coexist with terrorism, in remarks seen as directed at Pakistan.

“Peace and prosperity cannot coexist with terrorism. Terrorism is the most serious threat to international peace and security,” Singh said in presence of defence ministers of China, Russia and other member countries of the SCO.

“Any act of terror and support to such acts, including cross border terrorism, committed by whomsoever, wherever and for whatever motives, is a crime against humanity. India reaffirms its resolve to fight terrorism in all its forms and manifestations,” he said.

Singh said India accords high priority to the “consolidation of trust” in the security domain within the SCO as well as strengthening ties with partners of the grouping bilaterally on the basis of equality, mutual respect and understanding.

“The challenge today is not just one of concepts and norms, but equally of their sincere practice. The leading voices of the world must be examples in every way,” he said without elaborating.

He said India is committed in its resolve to work within the SCO framework for helping create and maintain a peaceful, secure and stable region.

“India also reiterates readiness to partner with fellow SCO Member States to develop joint institutional capacities that respect individual national sensitivities and yet generate a spirit of cooperation to create contact and connectivity between people, societies and nations,” he said.

Singh said the geo-strategic location of India makes it both a “Eurasian land power” as well as a stakeholder in the Indo-Pacific.

“Our intent and aspirations are therefore focused towards prosperity and development of the entire region. We affirm this intent through our national policy of Security and Growth for All in the Region, commonly known by the acronym ‘SAGAR’,” he said.

“Security and stability are most essential components to create conducive environment for growth and economic development of the region and our respective nations,” he added.

Singh said the SCO nations together encompass nearly half the human population and it covers approximately three-fifths of the Eurasian continent in terms of geographical expanse.

“We, therefore, have collective stakes to create a safe, secure and stable region that can contribute towards progress and improvement of human development indices of our people and the generations which will follow,” he said.

“It is in the same spirit India helps people of Afghanistan, which is facing violence and devastation over decades. So far India completed 500 projects in Afghanistan and continuing with some more with total development aid of US dollar 3 billion,” he added.

The SCO, seen as a counterweight to NATO, is an eight-member economic and security bloc and has emerged as one of the largest transregional international organisations.

India and Pakistan became its permanent members in 2017.

The SCO was founded at a summit in Shanghai in 2001 by the presidents of Russia, China, the Kyrgyz Republic, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan.

India has shown keen interest in deepening its security-related cooperation with the SCO and its Regional Anti-Terrorism Structure (RATS), which specifically deals with issues relating to security and defence.

India was made an observer at the SCO in 2005 and has generally participated in the ministerial-level meetings of the grouping, which focus mainly on security and economic cooperation in the Eurasian region.

Also read: Rajnath to focus on regional peace at SCO, meet with Chinese defence minister not ruled out

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New Delhi: Army Chief General MM Naravane held talks with Commander of US Special Operations Command General Richard D Clarke on Thursday, focussing on various key aspects of bilateral defence and security cooperation.

General Clarke is on a three-day visit to India.

“General Richard D. Clarke, Commander United States Special Operations Command #USSOCOM called on General MM Naravane #COAS and discussed issues of mutual interest,” the Army said in a tweet.

Officials said various dimensions of bilateral defence cooperation, including ways to further deepen it, figured in the talks.

Before meeting General Naravane, the US official laid a wreath at the National War Memorial.

“The visit will enhance defence cooperation and military ties between the two nations,” the Army said.

Separately, General Naravane also held a telephonic conversation with Lieutenant General Charalampos Lalousis, Chief of Hellenic Army General Staff, focussing on defence cooperation between India and Greece.

The Indo-US defence ties have been on an upswing in the last few years.

In October last year, India and the United States sealed the Basic Exchange and Cooperation Agreement (BECA) to further boost the bilateral defence ties. The pact provides for sharing of high-end military technology, logistics and geospatial maps between the two countries.

The firming up of the BECA came two years after the two countries signed another pact called COMCASA (Communications Compatibility and Security Agreement) that provides for interoperability between the two militaries and the sale of high-end technology by the US to India.

In June 2016, the US designated India as a “Major Defence Partner”, intending to elevate defence trade and technology sharing with the country to a level commensurate with that of its closest allies and partners.

The two countries had also inked the Logistics Exchange Memorandum of Agreement (LEMOA) in 2016 that allows their militaries to use each other’s bases for repair and replenishment of supplies as well as provides for deeper cooperation.

Also read: Indian Army chief Naravane meets Italian counterpart, holds talks to boost defence cooperation

Royal background, contemporaries in service and friends outside the military, both Sawai Bhawani Singh & Sukhjit Singh were awarded MVC

Brig (then Lt Col) Sawai Bhawani Singh being presented the Maha Vir Chakra by President VV Giri.

Sujan Dutta

So much champagne flowed to celebrate his birth, as myth and legend have it, that they nicknamed him “Bubbles”. Myth and legend competed through his stellar military career and continued the contest beyond it.

It was not a Champagne Run, though, that got ‘Brigadier His Highness Saramad-i-Rajahai Hindustan Raj Rajendra Shri Maharajadhiraj Sawai Bhawani Singh Bahadur’ a Maha Vir Chakra when he was a Lieutenant Colonel in 1971.

For, the last of the ‘Maharajas’ — before Prime Minister Indira Gandhi abolished the privy purse for the rulers of the erstwhile princely states earlier that year — was lionised for having led raid after raid at the head of 10 Paras (commandos).

Later to be known as the 10 Para Special Forces (‘Desert Scorpions’), the battalion was the tip of the spear that pierced deep into enemy territory in Pakistan’s Sindh through the Thar desert, in territory that was once partly under the House of Kacchawaha (the Jaipur royals).

Myth and legend are somewhat conditioned by the quality of record-keeping about the deeds of the feted ‘Desert Scorpions’. The citation by the Ministry of Defence reads:

“On the night of December 5 (1971), Lt Colonel Sawai Bhawani Singh, who was commanding a battalion of the Parachute Regiment (commandos), led his men deep into the enemy territory and for four days and nights, with complete disregard for his personal safety, made skillful and relentless raids on the strongly held posts at Chachro and Virawah.”

There were two companies he was leading — Alpha and Charlie. After zooming through the night over sandy desert dunes and vales in Jongas, the companies scared the enemy first with the cacophony they caused. Then, Alpha company partly surrounded a wing of the Pakistani Rangers’ fortified post at Chachro, some 70 km from the border, while Charlie company raided it. They took prisoners.

Then the commandos headed for Virawah. Action repeated itself with the element of hand-to-hand fighting added. In “gingering up the enemy”, Bhawani Singh’s boys killed 17 Pakistani soldiers in the surgical strikes with light machine guns mounted on their jeeps.

Then they raided Nagarparkar, another defended Pakistani position, before returning to base. At the base, they were given yet another task — to blow up an ammo dump in Islamkot that they duly proceeded to do. All of them returned from all the raids. There was no Indian casualty.

In the blitzkrieg that was said to have been modelled after a British SAS raid behind German lines in Libya during World War II, there was a dissonance between a certain ‘A’ and a certain ‘B’, ‘A’ being for the anecdotal and ‘B’ for the battle action report.

In ‘A’, Lt Col Bhawani Singh has also narrated that after crossing into Pakistani territory, somehow the local Khemkhanis (Rajput Muslims) had learnt that their Maharaja was in the vicinity. They wanted to reverentially bow to him, in an account by his friend Brigadier Sukhjit Singh, with cries of ‘Khama Ghani Maharaj’. The villagers, according to Sukhjit Singh, were “demonstrating that borders have never severed generational ties of fealty”.

B: the battle action reports as well as the citations of 10 Para SF during 1971 are non-existent, according to the MoD. The response to a Right to Information query said, “The relevant record of citations has been destroyed as per policy in vogue.” (Reported by The Print in 2019).

At last count, 36 Pakistani soldiers were killed by the Paras and 22 others were taken prisoner.https://8450f44027c5f3ef4c52a066ba732bb8.safeframe.googlesyndication.com/safeframe/1-0-38/html/container.html

“The name ‘Bubbles’ is in a way a misnomer for the frivolity it implies,” Sukhjit Singh wrote evocatively after his friend’s death in April 2011. “He was not an indolent prince of leisure but an exemplar tour de force, who brought gravitas to each and every one of his roles and responsibilities. At the same time, it should be conceded that his effervescent personality gave ample grounds for this to be a well-suited ‘pet name’. Military punctilio, ceremonial exactitude and elegance, all came naturally to him.”

Sukhjit Singh was/is a prince himself, from the House of Kapurthala. His fondest memory is of rides with his grandfather, the Maharaja of Kapurthala, “in a zebra-driven chariot in the zoological gardens of the palace”, according to an interview to The Tribune.

Sukhjit Singh, also of the armoured corps’ Scinde Horse (14 Horse), was its Commanding Officer as a Lieutenant Colonel in the Shakargarh sector, the bulge that threatened the Pathankot-Jammu national highway linking to Srinagar.

His exploits with his men on the then modern T-55 tanks are part of military lore to this day. The Scinde Horse was the first to have got the tanks imported from Soviet Russia in 1966.

He was leading the charge from the south of bulge, in skirmishes leading to the epic Battle of Basantar.

“On December 10, 1971, his regiment was deployed west of Naina Kot when the enemy launched an armoured attack in strength under cover of intense artillery and heavy mortar fire,” his citation noted.

Despite the flak from the Pakistani forces, Sukhjit Singh manoevred his machines, leading his columns from the open cupola of his own tank, sometimes with his dust goggles raised to the forehead to see better through binoculars so that he could direct volleys from his men most effectively.

The next day, on December 11 again, he personally outflanked the enemy to close in on them despite its medium artillery and mortar fire. The Pakistanis lost eight tanks, Shermans and Pattons. The intention was to capture the enemy tanks. One Pakistani officer, two junior commissioned officers and two other ranks were taken prisoner at Malakpur.

He was already a veteran of armoured warfare, having distinguished himself in the Dera Baba Nanak sector in the 1965 operations.

An excerpt from The Tribune (March 19, 2021) quoting him reads: “The 1971 war was raging. I was Lieut Col at that time. My troops managed to round up Pakistani soldiers. Among them was a tall, smart guy with whom I began talking just to cull more information. As our conversation was on, he told me, ‘I have one last wish.’ I replied, ‘What makes you think that we are going to kill you?’ During further inquiry, we got to know that he is the son of Sikandar Hayat Khan, a former premier of Punjab. He was among those who were set free. Much later, I met the family as well.”

After 26 years in the Army and the decoration, the man who led that charge and is said to have influenced the Punjab Chief Minister, Capt Amarinder Singh (of the Patiala royals), to join the Army, has also had long legal tussles, including one when he was posted in the military operations directorate.

Sawai Bhawani Singh and Sukhjit Singh were not only contemporaries in service, they were friends outside the military. Bhawani Singh was schooled at Seshbagh in Srinagar, Doon and Harrows. He was commissioned into the 3rd Cavalry in 1951 before moving to the President’s Bodyguard and then to the 10 Paras. He was recalled to service to be conferred the rank of Brigadier post-retirement and before being sent on diplomatic assignments.

Sukhjit Singh was also educated at The Doon School before training at the Indian Military Academy.

Col HP Singh (retd)

Having cleared the interview for the National Defence Academy, all that remained was the medical test before I could adorn the military uniform. There is many a slip between the cup and the lip; a problem was detected in my eyes and I was referred for a review. The next day, as we sat in the waiting hall, I heard my name being called out. Before I could gather my medical documents and move in, another candidate walked up briskly to the doctor for his check-up. We had the same name though his ‘chest number’ (numerical identity given to all candidates), was senior to mine. Perhaps it was his turn, so I thought.

The doctor spent considerable time examining his eyes, but couldn’t find the problem mentioned in the medical papers. He then enquired if there was someone else by the same name, to which I answered in the affirmative. He lambasted me for not being attentive that led to wasting of his precious time on a wrong person instead. There was laughter in the hall and I too managed to grin. The doctor was visibly agitated; it was no coincidence that I was rejected ‘temporarily’ on medical grounds. I had to undergo the agony of a medical re-examination four weeks later before being declared ‘fit for combat’.

As luck would have it, both of us namesakes were allotted the same battalion in the academy. While dealing with a multitude of cadets, matching names to faces was a big enough challenge for instructors; two identical names, both ‘turbaned gentry’, further added to the confusion.

As if this was not enough, both of us joined the regiment of artillery and went for ‘Young Officers’ course soon after commissioning. One day in the middle of the course, my senior subaltern came over looking for me. He had been sent by our commanding officer to enquire about my wellbeing. Presumably, a report had been sent to the regiment of my having gone missing from the course. Those were the days of no cell phones and telegrams which at times caused confusion.

While he was relieved seeing me enjoying my weekend drink in the mess, I was perplexed as to why the commanding officer was so concerned about my health. He had a hearty laugh when he learnt that it was the ‘other one’ who had been declared ‘absent without leave’, as per the Army parlance. Perhaps the dispatcher, in his exuberance, sent the signal to the regiment about the first namesake he saw on the list, little realising that the ‘same spellings’ figured again further down in the nominal roll of officers.

‘What’s in a name? That which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet,’ said Shakespeare in Romeo and Juliet. Well, there is a lot of scope for ‘comedy of errors’, I would have answered. Now, when I colloquially write my name as ‘EchPee’, there is a compelling reason behind it.

Saluting the Kirti Chakra awardee, and the braveheart’s wife — Veer Nari Manjit Kaur, who picked herself up after the huge loss and ensured the best for their children

Representational photo

Brig SPS Dhaliwal (Retd)

Baghelawala is a small village in Moga district of Punjab located off the Moga-Ferozepur road. As you enter the village, you are greeted by the imposing memorial of the late Lance Havaldar Zora Singh, Kirti Chakra, of 1 Sikh Light Infantry, opposite of which is the senior secondary school, again named after this gallant soldier.

On October 15, 1970, in this village was born Zora Singh, appropriately named by his parents as he would prove to be a “Brave Lion” later in life. Having completed his schooling, this boy, who was passionate about joining the Army, was recruited in the Sikh Light Infantry Regiment on December 3, 1987.

A veteran of Op Pawan in Sri Lanka, he moved with his battalion to J&K’s Krishna Ghatti sector in January 2001. A month later, information was received at our headquarters of the presence of an infiltrated group of militants in the thickly wooded forest area of Khanetar in Poonch district. The task to search for and eliminate this group was given to the Ghatak Platoon and a patrol party of B Company of 1 Sikh LI and a Ghatak Platoon of 4 Grenadiers under their Adjutant, who volunteered for the operation. He briefed them and they set about the search from two opposite directions. Three days of toil in the area gave no results. The troops were running low on rations and were fatigued, but continued the search on the fourth day.

Lance Havaldar Zora Singh, with the patrol party of B Company of 1 Sikh LI, was in the lead when he saw some suspicious movement next to a dhok (an abandoned hut). As he approached the hut, Zora Singh spotted a lookout militant sitting outside and he immediately opened fire. He dropped the lookout and charged at the dhok, wanting to catch the rest of the party by surprise. However, the militants rushed out with all guns blazing. In the exchange of fire, L Hav Zora Singh received a burst of AK-47 in his stomach. Despite being wounded, he pressed on, dragging himself forward. He eliminated two fleeing militants before he himself collapsed having received a direct shot to his head. It was this unprecedented act of courage and devotion to duty that paved the way for the remaining party managing to eliminate three more militants. The two, who had escaped, fell into the ambush of 4 Grenadiers and were subsequently eliminated.

L Hav Zora Singh displayed a high standard of leadership and indomitable courage and made the supreme sacrifice for the success of the task assigned to his paltan. For this unparalleled courage and devotion to duty, he was awarded the Kirti Chakra (the second highest award for bravery in peacetime, after the Ashoka Chakra). The award was received by his wife Manjit Kaur from President Dr APJ Abdul Kalam.

Manjit Kaur was totally shattered. Zora Singh had left behind a daughter, seven years old, and two sons, aged four and a year-and-a-half. With the support of his battalion, the village and the civil administration, this young widow set about dauntlessly bringing up and educating her children. An epitome of fortitude herself, the Veer Nari picked up a job as a Class IV employee in the village school, named after her late husband.

Today, after 20 years of hard work and toil, she is proud of her achievements. Her daughter, having completed her Masters, has migrated to Europe, her elder son has moved to Australia on a work permit and her youngest son has recently completed his Bachelors in Commerce from Moga. A feat even the late braveheart would be very proud of.

There are many more like Manjit Kaur in our country who are re-writing their destiny in a similar manner as their brave husbands gave their today for our tomorrow.

India has clearly conveyed to Pakistan that the entire Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh, including the areas of Gilgit and Baltistan, are integral part of the country

India maintains the Government of Pakistan or its judiciary has no locus standi on territories illegally and forcibly occupied by it. File

Islamabad, August 1

Pakistani authorities have finalised a law to award provisional provincial status to strategically located Gilgit-Baltistan, a media report said on Sunday.

India has clearly conveyed to Pakistan that the entire union territories of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh, including the areas of Gilgit and Baltistan, are an integral part of the country by virtue of its fully legal and irrevocable accession.

India maintains the Government of Pakistan or its judiciary has no locus standi on territories illegally and forcibly occupied by it.

Dawn newspaper reported that under the proposed law by the Ministry of Law and Justice, the Supreme Appellate Court (SAC) of Gilgit-Baltistan may be abolished and the region’s election commission is likely to be merged with the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP).

Sources in the law ministry told the newspaper that the draft of the bill titled ‘26th Constitutional Amendment Bill’ had been prepared and submitted to Prime Minister Imran Khan.

In the first week of July, the prime minister had assigned the task of preparing the law to federal Law Minister Barrister Farogh Naseem.

According to the sources, the draft bill has been prepared after careful reading of the Constitution of Pakistan, international laws, the United Nations’ resolutions especially those related to a plebiscite on Kashmir, comparative constitutional laws and local legislation.

The stakeholders, including the governments of Gilgit-Baltistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir, had been consulted on the proposed constitutional amendment, the report quoted sources as saying.

The proposed law suggests that due to sensitivity attached to the region, it could be given provisional provincial status by amending Article 1 of the Constitution that related to the provinces and territories, the sources said.

They added that a set of amendments would be introduced to give the region representation in Parliament, besides the establishment of the provincial assembly in the territory.

The sources are confident that the constitutional amendment is in accordance with the international practice of merger of territories and it will not adversely affect the Kashmir cause in any manner, the report said.

The Pakistan government and the Opposition had reportedly discussed the move prior to last year’s meeting of the political leadership with the Pakistan Army chief.

According to an Opposition leader, Gilgit-Baltistan has acquired great significance in the region due to the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) that is now a “jugular vein” for the country.

The CPEC, which connects Gwadar Port in Pakistan’s Balochistan with China’s Xinjiang province, is the flagship project of Beijing’s ambitious multi-billion-dollar Belt and Road Initiative (BRI).

India has protested to China over the CPEC as it is being laid through Pakistan-occupied Kashmir. PTI