Monthly Archives: August 2018

Reuters

Beijing, March 5

China will boost defence spending by 7.2% this year, slightly outpacing last year’s increase and faster than the government’s modest economic growth forecast, as Premier Li Keqiang called for the armed forces to boost combat preparedness.

The national budget released on Sunday showed 1.55 trillion yuan ($224 billion) allocated to military spending.

The defence budget will be closely watched by China’s neighbours and the United States, who are concerned by Beijing’s strategic intentions and development of its military, especially as tensions have spiked in recent years over Taiwan.

In his work report to the annual session of parliament, Li said military operations, capacity building and combat preparedness should be “well-coordinated in fulfilling major tasks”.

“Our armed forces, with a focus on the goals for the centenary of the People’s Liberation Army in 2027, should work to carry out military operations, boost combat preparedness and enhance military capabilities,” he said in the state-of-the-nation address to the largely rubber-stamp legislature.

This year’s hike in defence spending marks the eighth consecutive single-digit increase. As in previous years, no breakdown of the spending was given, only the overall amount and the rate of increase.

The spending increase outpaces targeted economic growth of around 5%, which is slightly below last year’s target as the world’s second-largest economy faces domestic headwinds.

Beijing is nervous about challenges on fronts ranging from Chinese-claimed Taiwan to U.S. naval and air missions in the disputed South China Sea near Chinese-occupied islands.

China staged war games near Taiwan last August to express anger at the visit to Taipei of then-U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.

Li Mingjiang, associate professor at S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies in Singapore, said defence spending outpacing the economic growth forecast showed China anticipates facing greater pressures in its external security environment, especially from the United States and on the Taiwan issue.

“Chinese leaders are clearly intensifying efforts to prepare the country militarily to meet all potential security challenges, including unexpected situations,” he said.

China, with the world’s largest military in terms of personnel, is busy adding a slew of new hardware, including aircraft carriers and stealth fighters.

‘STRENGTHEN MILITARY WORK’

Beijing says its military spending for defensive purposes is a comparatively low percentage of its GDP and that critics want to demonise it as a threat to world peace.

“The armed forces should intensify military training and preparedness across the board, develop new military strategic guidance, devote greater energy to training under combat conditions and make well-coordinated efforts to strengthen military work in all directions and domains,” Premier Li said.

Takashi Kawakami, a professor of Takushoku University in Tokyo, said China would probably give priority to its nuclear capability.

“As China strengthens the new area of cognitive warfare over Taiwan, I think it will also use the budget to build up its cyber and space capabilities, as well as its submarine forces to target undersea cables,” he said.

China’s reported defence budget in 2023 is around one quarter of proposed U.S. spending, though many diplomats and foreign experts believe Beijing under-reports the real number.

The fiscal 2023 U.S. defence budget authorises $858 billion in military spending and includes funding for purchases of weapons, ships and aircraft, and support for Taiwan and for Ukraine as it fights an invasion by Russia.

China has long argued that it needs to close the gap with the United States. China, for example, has three aircraft carriers, compared with 11 in active service for the United States.

The Ukraine war has prompted some elements in China’s military-industrial complex to call for an increase in the defence budget.

An article published last October in the official journal of the State Administration of Science, Technology and Industry for National Defence, a central government ministry responsible for wartime logistics, recommended an increase in the military budget given surges in defence spending from NATO member-states besides the United States.

“This matter is not about participating in the international arms race, but defending our national security,” it said. 

Injured soldier airlifted to military hospital in Jammu

PTI

Poonch/Jammu, March 5

An Army personnel was injured on Sunday in a landmine explosion near the Line of Control (LoC) in Jammu and Kashmir’s Poonch district, officials said.

Naik Rajeev Kumar was injured when a landmine went off during patrolling of a forward area in the Mankote sector this afternoon, they said.

The injured soldier was immediately given medical aid and was later airlifted to a military hospital in Jammu for specialised treatment, the officials said.

As part of an anti-infiltration obstacle system, the forward areas are dotted with land mines which sometimes get washed away by rain resulting in such accidents, they said.

PTI

Rajouri/Jammu, March 5

Mohammad Yousuf Kohli is constructing a new house for his family of six in a forward village near the Line of Control (LoC) in Jammu and Kashmir’s Rajouri district, a dream which he says is fulfilled only because of the ceasefire between India and Pakistan that entered its third year last month.

The border villagers are enjoying peace along the borders by going for normal activities like tending their land and grazing their cattle without the fear of cross-border shelling.

The villagers said they are praying for continuation of the agreement so that the schooling of their children is not affected and benefits of developmental activities reach the last village on the border.

On February 25, 2021, India and Pakistan announced implementation of renewed ceasefire along the borders in Jammu and Kashmir, which came as a major relief to the people living along the LoC and the International Border. India and Pakistan had initially signed a ceasefire agreement in 2003, but Pakistan frequently violated the agreement with over 5,000 violations reported in 2020 – the highest in a single year.

“For the last four years, my family was thinking of constructing a new house but we were not able to do this as ceasefire violation was a regular scene in our village,” Kohli’s elder son Ibrar Ahmd, a college student, told PTI at the construction site in his Niaka village which is close to the LoC.

He said even repairing houses damaged due to shelling was a distant dream as venturing out of the house was like going into the death trap.

“No mason or labourer used to come for work in our village. But things have changed now and we are living our lives in a calm atmosphere with everyone busy in their normal routine,” he said.

Niaka is the last village on the Indian side in Tarkundi sector of Manjakote tehsil and was witness of intense shelling before February 2021. Two women of the village died when a mortar shell from Pakistan hit their houses in the village in 2017.

Mohammad Nazir (41), another villager, said it was their dream to live a dignified life, where there is no threat of shelling and firing, children attend their school and farmers work in their fields without any threat to their lives.

“In those times, we were not even able to sleep inside our homes,” he said.

Nazir said the government needs to focus more on the border villages to undertake developmental activities to ensure basic facilities, including potable water, good roads and electricity.

“The residents of Ratti Mitti, Chiti Bakri, Niaka, Chamba, Panjgrian, Peryali and others are economically weaker and are facing a lack of basic amenities, including good schools and health centres, which are just for the namesake,” he said.

Farooq Ahmad, a farmer, said silence of guns on the LoC came as a big relief for them and they are moving around, tending their fields and grazing cattle without any tension.

“The ceasefire should last forever. There is nothing like a peaceful atmosphere,” he said.

Mohammad Yousif, a social activist, said things have improved to a major extent due to the ceasefire in the last two years and everyone in the area wants this peace pact to continue.

“Only we know the hardships of cross-border shelling. No outsider can even imagine the life in those nightmare days,” he said, recounting the horror when people were forced to spend several days inside their houses due to heavy shelling.

“We have struggled to live and are fortunate enough that no bullet or mortar shell brought our death despite dozens of shells falling very close to our houses,” he said, pointing that there are no houses in the village without a splinter mark.

Tribune Web Desk

Chandigarh, March 5

Pakistan former premier Nawaz Sharif’s PMLN shared a bill of Pakistan Air Force officers’ mess which bears name of Indian wing commander Abhinandan Varthaman. The invoice has been mockingly shared as it mentions chai as item purchased by Varthaman at the price of MIG 21 fighter jet.

Indian Air Force fighter pilot Abhinandan Varthaman was part of India’s “non-military pre-emptive” airstrike in Balakot, Pakistan on February 26, 2019. The exercise specifically targeted a Jaish-e-Mohammad camp – the terror outfit that claimed responsibility for the February 14 Pulwama suicide bombing in which 40 CRPF soldiers lost their lives.

Following the incident Pakistani fighter jets on February 27 violated Indian airspacein Jammu and Kashmir’s Poonch and Nowshera Sectors and dropped bombs. The neighbouring country claimed to have downed two of India’s fighter jets, however it was later confirmed that one of India’s fighter jet was indeed shot while it tried to chase back Pak’s jet. India acknowledged that IAF pilot, subsequently identified as Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman, had gone “missing in action” after an aerial skirmish between Indian and Pakistani fighter jets.

Pak PM however announced release of Varthaman as part of ‘peace gesture’.

In the course of Varthaman’s stay in Pakistan, several videos of his were made public, in one of which he was served tea. Now taking jibe over the sequence of events, the so-called ‘bill’ of the tea has been shared.

The post is facing massive backlash as people are schooling Pakistan to contemplate over inflation and poverty in their country. Some shared video of Pak’s lawmaker who was apprising their Parliament how top brass of the neighbouring country was scared of India after capturing Varthaman and sought his immediate release.

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh/Amritsar, March 5

Amid reports of Centre planning to shift the venue of the Punjab leg of G-20 meeting out of Amritsar, Punjab Chief Secretary VK Janjua has said that it is to be held as per schedule. “I have confirmed at the highest level and the summit is as scheduled at Amritsar,” he said, adding that certain people were unnecessarily spreading rumours.

AAP MP Vikramjit Singh Sahney also clarified that the event will be held as per schedule later this month.

In a tweet, he stated, “Happy to inform that as of now @g20org meeting is confirmed at #Amritsar during 15-17 Mar as scheduled.Punjab is fully capable of hosting an international event & one stray Incident cant be reflectionof State it will be a memorable event.”

“As soon as heard rumours I swung into action since mrng called mea, ministry of education ,g20 secretariat. There was a discussion on law & order but good sense prevailed and G20 meet is happening in amritsar as scheduled,” said Vikram Sahney.

The G-20 Summit is scheduled in two phases in Amritsar: The Y-20 meeting from March 15 to March 17 on Education and L-20 meeting on March 19-20 on Labour.

Earlier, Member of Parliament Jasbir Singh Dimpa had said that the Centre was contemplating shifting the G-20 Summit outside Punjab on the pretext of the Ajnala incident in particular, besides other radical activities.  

“This is an unfortunate development that would show Punjab in a very bad light on the global level. The G-20 Summit that was to be held in Amritsar this month has been cancelled by the Government of India, keeping in view the Ajnala incident and the activities particularly being done by the radical Sikhs,” he said.

Dimpa had also urged Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann to call an all-party meeting and take a joint move to urge the Prime Minister, the Home Minister and other concerned departments to rollback the decision.

“We didn’t have any other opportunity other than this for gaining the limelight that would have helped for the overall development of the state. I believe that Amritsar was being defamed by the Centre taking an excuse of Ajnala incident. I appeal to the CM to rise above the party lines and call up all the leaders jointly to take up the matter with the PM and HM against shifting the G-20 Summit,” he said.

Meanwhile, Congress MP Gurjeet Singhn Aujla had also tweeted, “Dear @PMOIndia Sh @narendramodi & @AmitShah, conspiracy to exclude Sri Amritsar Sahib from #G20 hosts list became known when national channels started highlighting Amritpal. This is suggestive of utter failure of intel & law enforcement agencies.”

While targeting the Bhagwant Mann led AAP govt, Aujla tweeted: “@HMOIndia & @CMOPb @BhagwantMann your poor grip over law & order is noticed well by anti-India elements pulling strings of hoax creaters and it is getting exploited. @MEAIndia Punjab is a safe state & can host #G20Summit Do not push Punjab into the another era of darkness.”

Kaur is a 2013-batch IPS officer from Punjab cadre

Our Correspondent

Jammu, March 5

DGP Dilbag Singh today said a part of the money generated through narco-terrorism is sent back to the terrorist organisations in Pakistan to fuel terror in J&K. The rest is distributed among the drug peddlers. Speaking on the sidelines of ‘Run for Fun’ Jammu Marathon, he said drones were being used not only to drop weapons and narcotics but also money to keep terrorism alive in Jammu and Kashmir. “Now, IEDs and cash are being sent together through drones to reward the terrorist in advance for planting explosives. We have exposed many such cases,” he said.

Six grenades seized in Rajouri

• Six hand grenades and 127 rounds of general purpose machine gun were found during construction of a road in Rajouri district, the police said.
• The explosives and ammunition were found buried by workers engaged in construction of a link road in Neali village of Manjakote tehsil.
• Sub-Divisional Police Officer Zaffer Rather said the seized items were rusted. pti

“We are faced with a new challenge wherein drugs and weapons are smuggled from Pakistan together. While the weapons are delivered to the terrorists, the major part of the drug proceeds are returned to handlers (across the border) and the rest shared by the peddlers. The proceeds (from the drug trade) are being utilised to keep the terrorism alive (in Jammu and Kashmir),” the police chief said.

“There are connections of narco-terror modules even in Punjab. We are collaborating with the Narcotics Control Bureau to bust such modules,” he said.

Commenting on the recent seizure of Rs 2 crore and 7-kg heroin in Poonch, the DGP said that even earlier Rs 1.5 crore was recovered from a border village in Poonch. “All the accused involved in the terror module will be arrested,” he said.

Asked about the criticism of security agencies by certain political leaders, he said they must refrain from making such comments, otherwise action would be taken if the need arises.

The marathon was organised by the police, drawing hundreds of participants, at Gulshan Ground.

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, March 5

A general court martial (GCM) has recommended life imprisonment to a Captain in connection with the killing of three civilians in a “staged encounter” at Amshipura in Shopian district of Kashmir in July 2020.

The GCM’s verdict is subject to confirmation by the Army headquarters in Delhi, following which the officer will have the right to move a civilian court. Sources said the punishment recommended by the GCM was finalised by the Army HQ after a rigorous process involving due legal consultation. The officer has pleaded not guilty to the charges levelled against him.

About The July 2020 case

• Imtiyaz Ahmed, Abrar Ahmed and Mohammed Ibrar from Rajouri dist were killed in a village of Shopian on July 18, 2020, and labelled ‘terrorists’
• Following protests in Kashmir, a Court of Inquiry (CoI) was convened by the Army
• CoI held that AFSPA provisions were misused & SOPs violated
• J&K Police also set up an SIT, which filed a chargesheet against three persons, including the Capt, for ‘fake encounter’
• Tabish Nazir & Bilal Ahmed Lone, also named in the chargesheet, in police custody
• Identity of the youths was confirmed through DNA test I Bodies were handed over to kin in Baramulla in Oct 2020 and buried in native village

Capt Bhoopendra Singh was subjected to the GCM proceedings after a Court of Inquiry and Summary of Evidence found that the powers vested under the Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA) had been used in “excess”.

Imtiyaz Ahmed, Abrar Ahmed and Mohammed Ibrar – all from Rajouri — were killed in a remote village in Shopian district of Kashmir in July 2020.

After protests had erupted in Kashmir over the issue, the Army had constituted a Court of Inquiry which found prima facie evidence against the Captain.

The Court of Inquiry was completed in the last week of December 2020.

The Captain was accused of not following the dos and don’ts laid down by the Army for counter-terrorism operations.

Separately, the Jammu and Kashmir Police also constituted a special investigation team (SIT) to probe the incident and filed a chargesheet, alleging that wrong information was provided to the police about the recovery made during the encounter in July 2020.

Two civilians were also named in the SIT chargesheet.

Dear Sir,

A detailed reply from PCDA (Pensions) Prayagraj to a CPENGRAMS complaint by Maj Ramesh Agnani is attached.
The OROP – II is based on the Average pension of pensioner of same rank, same length of service and same group X or Y (for JCOs / OR). In this case if there is only one Major with service of 21.50 is found to have retired in calendar year, his own pension is treated as Average pension for all Majors with QS of 22 to 33 years. This has helped all Majors with QS of 21.50 to get increase in pension of about Rs 7,000 plus and arrears of about. Rs 3.50 lakhs.
There are Majors retried in calendar year 2018 with less than 20 years. They are those who were invalided and they too are eligible for service element and invalid element.
In the case of others for example Brigadiers the pension fixed in OROP – II for qualifying service (QS) of 31.50, 32 and 32.50 is same at Rs 1,07,350. It shows only one Brig with QS of 31.50 retired in 2018 with pension of Rs 1,07,350 and the same pension is fixed for Brigadiers with QS of 32 and 32.50 years.
Therefore your pension will only go up on OROP – III w.e.f. Jul 2024, if pensioner of your length of service, rank and Gp X or Y (for JCOs / OR) retire with higher pension than what you are drawing in OROP – II. If not retired, then your pension will be that of another pensioner of your rank with lesser QS.
warm regards.

Brig CS Vidyasagar (Retd)