Monthly Archives: August 2018

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, January 1

India has called on Pakistan to release and repatriate 631 Indian fishermen and two civilian prisoners who have completed their jail term and whose nationality has been confirmed. Pakistan has also been asked to provide immediate consular access to the remaining 30 fishermen and 22 civilian prisoners who have been in Pakistan’s custody and are believed to be Indian.

434 Pakistanis in Indian jails

• MEA submits lists of 339 Pakistani civilian prisoners and 95 fishermen currently in Indian custody
• Pak shares lists of 51 civilian and 654 fishermen in its custody who are Indians or believed to be Indians
• Lists of civilian prisoners and fishermen are shared by both countries on January 1 and July 1

The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) made the request in the context of the exchange of the lists of civilian prisoners and fishermen by both the countries as per customary practice to do so on January 1 and July 1 since 2008. “Pakistan has been requested to ensure the safety, security and welfare of all Indian and believed-to-be Indian civilian prisoners and fishermen, pending their release and repatriation to India,” said an MEA release.

The ministry said it submitted lists of 339 Pakistani civilian prisoners and 95 Pakistani fishermen currently in Indian custody. Pakistan also shared lists of 51 civilian prisoners and 654 fishermen in its custody, who are Indians or are believed to be Indians.

The MEA said India remains committed to addressing, on priority, all humanitarian matters, including those pertaining to prisoners and fishermen in each other’s country. “In this context, India has also urged Pakistan to expedite necessary action at its end to confirm the nationality status of 71 Pakistani prisoners, including fishermen, whose repatriation is pending for want of nationality confirmation from Pakistan,” the MEA said.

The two sides also exchanged a list of their nuclear installations that could not be attacked in case of an escalation in hostilities. This is part of an annual practice that has been going on since 1992.

The lists of nuclear installation and facilities were exchanged as per the provisions of the Article-II of the Agreement on Prohibition of Attacks against Nuclear Installations and Facilities, signed on December 31, 1988, and ratified on January 27, 1991.

“Pursuant to the agreement, the list of nuclear installations and facilities in Pakistan was officially handed over to a representative of the Indian High Commission in Islamabad at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Sunday,” said the MEA statement.

Bomb disposal squad was rushed to the spot

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, January 2

A live bomb shell was found on Kansal and Nayagaon road on Monday evening here in Chandigarh. The spot where the shell was found is hardly two-kilometre from Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann’s official residence.

Police control room had received information about the bomb shell lying near the T-point on Kansal/Nayagaon road this evening.

Area police, bomb disposal squad and a team of disaster management, was rushed to the spot which was immediately cordoned off.

DSP (Central) Gurmukh Singh said that the bomb disposal squad secured the area. “We have requested Army to send a team to assist us”, DSP added.

Punjab police officials confirmed the bomb found is a live one. However, the spot from where it was recovered is near Naya Gaon, 1.2 km from the helipad of Punjab CM.

They said residences of Punjab and Haryana CMs are far away and were not the target if the bomb was planted.

“No detonator has been found, ” an official said.

“It was artillery fire,” confirmed a police official.

Investigation in the matter has been initiated.

Tribune News Service

Satya Prakash 

New Delhi, January 2

More than six years after the Centre demonetised the currency notes of Rs 1,000 and Rs 500 denomination, the Supreme Court on Monday upheld the decision to be valid and legal.

By a majority of 4:1, a five-judge Constitution Bench led by Justice S Abdul Nazeer declared that the November 8, 2016 decision didn’t suffer from any illegality and such an economic policy decision of the government could not be reversed.

Justice Nazeer is scheduled to retire on January 4.

The majority judgment came from Justice Nazeer, Justice BR Gavai, Justice AS Bopanna and Justice V Ramasubramanian.

Pronouncing the judgment for the majority, Justice Gavai said the decision could not be faulted as there was consultation between the RBI and the government even as he said the petitions should be placed before an appropriate Bench by the CJI to look into the validity of the demonetisation process.

Dismissing 58 petitions challenging the demonetisation, the majority declared that the notification dated November 8, 2016 was valid and satisfied the test of proportionality; and it’s not relevant if the objective was achieved or not.

However, Justice BV Nagarathna differed from the majority on the Centre’s powers under Section 26(2) of the RBI Act. While noting that it was a well-intended exercise aimed at curbing black money and terror-funding, she found fault with the process of demonetisation.

However, Justice Nagarathna didn’t quash the demonetisation of the currency notes of Rs 1,000 and Rs 500 in November 2016.

The full text of the verdict is awaited.

While reserving its verdict, the Bench had on December 7 directed the Centre and the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to furnish records relating to demonetisation in a sealed cover.

The Centre had defended demonetisation, saying it was a major step to fight “the menace of fake currency notes, storage of unaccounted wealth, and financing of subversive activities”. In an affidavit filed in response to petitions challenging demonetisation, the Ministry of Finance had said it was not a “standalone or isolated economic policy action”..

However, asserting its power of judicial review, the Supreme Court had said during the hearing that it would not be a silent spectator and sit quietly with folded hands only because demonetisation was an economic policy decision.

Air Marshal Pankaj Mohan Sinha succeeds Air Marshal S Prabhakaran who superannuated on 31 December 2022. Photo: PIB/ANI

ANI

New Delhi, January 1

Air Marshal Pankaj Mohan Sinha assumed command of the Indian Air Force’s Western Air Command on Sunday.

The Air Marshal is a graduate of the National Defence Academy, Pune, and was commissioned into the IAF as a fighter pilot in Jun 1985.  He is an alumnus of the prestigious Defence Services Staff College, Wellington, said a press release by the Ministry of Defence.

An experienced fighter pilot, Category ‘A’ Qualified Flying Instructor, fighter Striker Leader, Instrument Rating Instructor & Examiner, Air Marshal Sinha has more than 4,500 hours of flying experience, added the statement.

In his service career spanning over 37 years, the Air Marshal has tenanted important command and staff appointments. 

These included Commanding Officer of a Fighter Squadron, Chief Instructor (Flying) at a flying station, Training Coordination Officer at Royal Air Force Valley, United Kingdom where he flew the Hawk aircraft, Principal Director Personnel Officers at Air Headquarters, Air Officer Commanding of a prestigious Air Force Station, Air Assistant to Chief of the Air Staff and Assistant Chief of Air Staff Operations (Offensive) at Air Headquarters.

He is the Commodore Commandant of a premier fighter Sqn and was Director of General of Air Operations at Air Headquarters prior to taking over the present appointment.

The Air Officer is a recipient of ‘Vishist Seva Medal’ and ‘Ati Vishist Seva Medal’.

Air Marshal Pankaj Mohan Sinha succeeds Air Marshal S Prabhakaran who superannuated on 31 December 2022 after putting in more than 39 years of distinguished service in the IAF.

This practice of exchanging lists has continued since January 1, 1992.

PTI

Islamabad, January 1

Pakistan and India on Sunday exchanged a list of their nuclear installations that cannot be attacked in case of an escalation in hostilities, a Foreign Office statement said here, as part of an annual ritual that has been in practice between the two neighbours for more than three decades.

The lists of nuclear installation and facilities were exchanged as per the provisions of the Article-II of the Agreement on Prohibition of Attacks against Nuclear Installations and Facilities, signed on December 31, 1988 and ratified on 27 January 1991.

According to this agreement, both countries have to inform each other of the nuclear facilities.

This practice of exchanging lists has continued since January 1, 1992.

“Pursuant to the agreement, the list of nuclear installations and facilities in Pakistan was officially handed over to a representative of the Indian High Commission in Islamabad at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Sunday,” the Foreign Office said in the statement.

Simultaneously, the Indian Ministry of External Affairs also handed over their list of nuclear installations and facilities to a representative of the Pakistan High Commission in New Delhi, according to the Foreign Office.

The exchange comes amid strain in ties between the two countries over the Kashmir issue as well as cross-border terrorism.

These lists are exchanged under the provisions of the Agreement on Consular Access signed in May 2008.

PTI

Uttarkashi, December 31

Police and intelligence agencies are on alert after a Pakistani flag and two banners wrapped around light green coloured balloons were found in a forest in the district, officials said on Saturday.

One of the banners is in Urdu, while the other has “LBA” written on it in bold letters, followed by “Cabinet Lahore Bar Association”, Uttarkashi Superintendent of Police (SP) Arpan Yaduvanshi said.

The flag and the banners tied to the balloons were found in the forests near Tulyada village on Friday, he said.

“We have informed the Central investigation agencies. From where they originated is a matter of investigation,” the SP said.

The matter was reported to the police on Friday by residents of Tulyada village, Dharasu police station SHO Kamal Kumar Lunthi said

China nearly triggers another confrontation with US
AGLOBAL flashpoint was narrowly averted over the South China
Sea, one of the world’s most strategically sensitive areas, when a
People’s Liberation Army (PLA) fighter jet flew dangerously close
to an American military reconnaissance plane. This sabre-rattling is part
of a pattern where the Chinese military precipitates or comes close to triggering hostilities, as the Tawang and Galwan Valley incidents testify. In a
similar incident in 2001, the PLA pilot had miscalculated and the plane
had collided with a US reconnaissance plane in what is known as the
Hainan incident. The Chinese pilot had lost his life, while the PLA captured the crew after the US plane made an emergency landing. This time,
the Chinese pilot got away after coming perilously close to the US plane.
The West had then compromised over the Hainan incident. Having
transferred its supply chain to China and profiting handsomely from
it, western nations were blindsided by Beijing about its long-term
intentions. Since then, Chinese aggressiveness in the South China
Sea, through which nearly one-third of the world’s shipping trade
passes, has repeatedly threatened to disrupt merchant shipping. Further East, China conducted a strike drill around Taiwan involving
dozens of fighter jets. PLA planes entered Taiwanese airspace over
1,700 times in 2022. The unsafe and unprofessional military manoeuvres by China, whether in the high ranges of the Himalayas or in
South China Sea, make it the only nation in the Indo-Pacific region
that refuses to abide by international laws.
The South China Sea is critical to fulfilling the needs, from energy
to semiconductor chips, of almost the entire globe. This entails freedom to fly, sail and operate at sea and in international airspace with
due regard for the safety of all vessels and aircraft under international law. The failure of the recent Biden-Xi summit to defuse tensions
is another indicator of Chinese incorrigibility. The dispute is unlikely
to be resolved in the near-term and that is why the Quad should quickly enlarge and evolve into a functioning multilateral organisation that
ensures a free and open Indo-Pacific region.
Accident claim

Our Correspondent

Srinagar, January 1

Suspected militants on Sunday snatched a rifle from a paramilitary CRPF soldier in south Kashmir.

The rifle snatching incident took place at 11:45 am at Rajpora town in south Kashmir’s Pulwama district, officials said.

“Suspected militants today snatched an AK assault rifle from a CRPF trooper of 183 battalion near CRPF camp at Rajpora,” official said.

Security forces have cordoned off the area and searches have been launched.