After the military stand-off with China in April 2020 along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) and the subsequent clash at Galwan in eastern Ladakh in June 2020, a major air effort was launched.
Ladakh to get fourth IAF base
A crucial project to upgrade the IAF landing ground into an airbase at Nyoma in eastern Ladakh has kicked off. Nyoma will be the IAF’s fourth full-fledged airbase in Ladakh.
Over 68,000 Army soldiers, around 90 tanks, nearly 330 BMP infantry combat vehicles, radar systems, artillery guns and other equipment were airlifted by the IAF after the Galwan clashes, sources said. This was part of the rapid deployment along the LAC. The other part is upgrading infrastructure. A crucial project for upgrading the IAF landing ground at Nyoma in eastern Ladakh has now kicked off. Nyoma is being converted into a full-fledged base with allied infrastructure.
In December last year, the Border Roads Organisation (BRO), invited bids for an upgrade at Nyoma costing Rs 214 crore. Nyoma, located close to the Indus, is some 180 south-east of Leh at 13,700 feet. It is a natural flat on the plateau of Ladakh and was being used by helicopters and special operations planes like C-130 J that can land on mud.
The BRO plans to complete the upgrade in two years. The site is spread over 1,235 acres, where a 2.7-km runway with allied military infrastructure will come up. The IAF has an operational base at Leh and full-fledged airstrips at Kargil and Thoise (base of Siachen), the one at Nyoma will be the fourth in Ladakh.
At the start of the stand-off, IAF deployed its Su-30 MKI and Jaguar jets for round-the-clock surveillance and intelligence gathering on the enemy build-up. Since then squadrons of Rafale and MiG-29 have also been deployed at Ladakh.
Several squadrons located in Punjab and Ambala are on alert as the Indian Army and the IAF have maintained a high degree of combat.
The IAF also quickly enhanced its air defence capabilities and combat readiness by installing various radars and bringing a range of surface-to-air guided weapons to frontline bases along the LAC in the region, they said.
Restructuring Military: Govt to weigh hierarchy, rank, status of theatre commanders
A few options have emerged on the structure and operational control of the forthcoming theatre commands of the Indian armed forces — all linked to defining the hierarchy, rank and status of the theatre commanders.
4 new Heron Mark-2 drones inducted
IAF has inducted four Heron Mark-2 drones, which have strike capability & can carry out surveillance along China & Pak borders. The drones can operate at long distances for close to 36 hours. ANI
The options entail a “shakeup” of the existing military structures. The Department of Military Affairs under Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) General Anil Chauhan and the three service chiefs have deliberated the matter and are expected to send a report to Defence Minister Rajnath Singh by the end of this month.
The minister is expected to initiate wider consultations, including on maintaining civilian control over the military, a norm in a democracy.
A challenge is to define the roles of the CDS and the three service chiefs in the functioning of the theatre commands. The CDS does not have an operational role, as per the December 2019 notification. The question remains whether the CDS will get an operational role or will he continue in his present role as ‘Principal Military Adviser’ to the government. The existing proposal includes having the three theatre commanders in four-star rank, the same as the CDS and three service chiefs. In such a scenario, whom will the theatre commander report to? Will the CDS be the reporting authority? This will require an amendment to existing rules.
Or will the government allow an expansion at the very top of the military hierarchy and appoint a Vice Chief of Defence Staff (VCDS) who will be in-charge of operations, implying creation of one more four-star post.
This will require realignment of the existing service headquarter verticals, where Lieutenant General-rank ‘principal staff officers’ are under the three service chiefs.
Some part of these verticals will have to go to the proposed VCDS, who in turn, may have at least two deputies — one each for operations and administration.
The next question being debated is if the theatre commanders are asked to report to the VCDS for operations, who will the VCDS report too? Can a higher defence committee for strategic and political guidance to the military leadership be formed with the National Security Adviser, CDS, three service chiefs, the Defence Secretary advising the Defence Minister and Cabinet.
Fears are a higher defence committee may end up adding another layer to decision making, besides diluting the role of the CDS or the proposed VCDS.
The Government of India (Allocation of Business Rules), 1961, assigns the subject of “Defence of India and every part thereof, including defence policy and preparation for defence and acts as may be conducive in times of war to its prosecution”, to the Department of Defence headed by the Defence Secretary. This was not changed in the December 2019 notification, when the post of CDS was created.
Crucially, what will the three service chiefs do? The options include their role being shifted to raising, training and sustaining the respective forces. Such a role, so far, is handled by three-star officers having the rank of Director General. Will it be killing the institution of chiefs or diluting the role?
Among the many unanswered questions in these options is the creation of four additional four-star rank
Punjab: Drone recovered from Tarn Taran; over 3 kg heroin seized from Ferozepur, Amritsar
In three separate incidents along the international border in Punjab on Sunday, security forces have seized a broken drone and four packets of narcotics.
Based on specific information, a joint search operation was launched by the Border Security Force (BSF) and Punjab Police on the outskirts of Machiwara village in Ferozepur district on Sunday morning.
Troops found three packets of narcotics, suspected to be heroin weighing about 3 kg, inside a black coloured bag fromthe paddy fields adjacent to the village, a BSF officer said.
In the second incident, BSF troops carried out a search operation on the outskirts of Dhanoe Kalan village in Amritsar district after receiving specific information. A packet wrapped with yellow tape containing about 530 grams of narcotics, suspected to be heroin, was found in the fields adjacent to the village.
Based on specific information, a joint search operation by the BSF and the Punjab Police was launched on the outskirts of Lakhna village in Tarn Taran district in the morning hours of August 13.
A broken quadcopter drone, kept in a plastic sack tied down with bricks, was found in a well near the village, the BSF officer said.
Restructuring Military: Consensus on 3 theatre commands, CDS may submit report by August 31
As the country’s top military leadership grapples with the structure of the proposed theatre commands, multiple options have emerged on who will have the operational control of these soon-to-be-created commands, besides the structure, hierarchy, rank and status of the theatre commanders.
The Department of Military Affairs (DMA), which works under Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) General Anil Chauhan, after deliberations with the services, has arrived at a consensus on having three theatre commands each under a commander controlling all war assets of that geographical area.
The Northern Command will tackle the threat posed by China from across the un-demarcated Line of Actual Control (LAC) along the Himalayas, the Western Command will counter challenge from Pakistan and the Maritime Command will be responsible for both sea flanks, the sea-going outreach into the Indo-Pacific, deployments in the Malacca Straits in the east and the Gulf of Aden in the west.
The options on structure of commands, ranks of commanders and crucially who will be in-charge operationally are points being debated and are at a ‘finality’.
The CDS is expected to give his suggestions to Defence Minister Rajnath Singh by the end of this month. The minister will then initiate the decision-making process at the political level to decide on what is seen as the single biggest change to the form and shape of the country’s war-fighting structure.
The National Security Adviser (NSA) and a few senior secretaries of the government are expected to be part of decision making, with inputs from retired officials. The matter will then go to the Cabinet Committee on Security headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
India’s military leadership will have to come up with a definite conclusion on each of the options being studied. Discussions are in the final stage on adopting a structure, sources say, adding a sticking point is to define the position of the Chiefs of the services. Will they cede operational control of the forces to the theatre commander?
The notification in December 2019 that created the post of CDS explicitly bars him from having any operational command over the military. So who will be in-charge operationally or will the government use the option to have an officer, other than the CDS or the three Chiefs, to have operational control.
Also what will be the role of the 17 regional commands of the three services? Will they be subsumed within the theatre commands?
The CDS and the three Chiefs of the Army, Indian Air Force and Navy meet on a monthly basis under the umbrella of the Chiefs of Staff Committee (CoSC), headed by the CDS. Models of theatre commands of the US, UK and Australia have been examined.
Key steps before nod
Options on command structure, ranks of commanders and who will be in-charge operationally are being debated
Once suggestions are made to Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, he will initiate decision-making process at political level
NSA, senior secretaries in govt are likely to be part of decision making; matter will then go to PM-led Cabinet Committee on Security for nod
Areas of responsibility
Northern Command To tackle threat posed by China along Line of Actual Control
Western Command To counter challenge from Pakistan on western front
Maritime Command Responsible for both sea flanks, outreach into Indo-Pacific
(Theatre commands, each under a commander, will control all war assets of respective geographical area)
Sticking points remain
Defining position of the Chiefs of the three services; will they cede operational control of forces to the three theatre commanders?
Who will be in-charge operationally or will govt use option to have an officer, other than CDS or three Chiefs, to have operational control?
Role of the 17 regional commands of 3 services; will these be subsumed within theatre commands?
MEDICAL FITNESS CERTIFICATE FOR ECHS BENEFICIARIES
Due to lack of information and knowledge many ECHS beneficiaries are not allowed to get medical certificates, sickness certificate, and endorsement of Medical / Dental officer remarks for Driving license and govt jobs at ECHS Polyclinics.
The rule position is very clear and is clarified in “SOP for treatment management 2018” issued by MD ECHS that *MO /DO at ECHS Polyclinics are AMA (Authorised Medical Attendant) of beneficiaries and a specific time slot of 3 pm to 4 on has been allocated for this purpose.*
*Auth: CO ECHS letter No. B/49701-PR/AG/ECHS/2018 dt 10 Sep 2018.*
Share this valuable information with veterans.
Sandhurst POP: Reviewed by Our Army Chief. What a change
The five-year term of Pakistan’s government led by Imran Khan was supposed to end today. According to its constitution, elections must be held within 60 days of the dissolution and a caretaker government is supposed to be installed to carry out day-to-day work till the next election. But of course, nothing in Pakistan happens as it ought to and on Wednesday, the National Assembly was dissolved after Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s recommendation to President Arif Alvi. Shehbaz Sharif, became prime minister last year after Khan was ousted after a vote of no confidence. (No Pakistani prime minister has completed a full term till date)
Since the lower house was dissolved in advance, fresh elections must now be held within 90 days instead. The next step in the process is for the prime minister and the opposition to get together and announce the interim caretaker for the government. Sharif held talks with Leader of the Opposition Raja Riaz Ahmad Khan from Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) on Thursday and Friday, but the two sides had not come to any conclusion as this newsletter was being written.
Simultaneously, Khan is fighting his conviction in a graft case. An Islamabad trial court on Saturday found him guilty and sentenced him to three years in jail. The former cricketer is now lodged in a colonial-era jail in Attock on the outskirts of Islamabad.
In Pakistan, a conviction disqualifies a lawmaker from public office for a period determined by the election commission (EC), and on Tuesday, Pakistan’s EC suspended Khan for five years, meaning that, at the moment, he has no chance of running in the upcoming election. But Khan is not about to go down without a fight. He has approached both the Islamabad high court and Supreme Court in the hopes of overturning the verdict.
That Khan remains unable to run would bode well for Shehbaz Sharif, brother of former prime minister Nawaz Sharif (who himself has been banned from running for life), and his party. Khan is extremely popular in the country, and has led a popular campaign against the ruling Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) since his ouster in April last year, calling thousands of supporters to the streets. As a result, more than 140 of cases have been slapped against him across the country on charges like terrorism, violence, blasphemy, corruption and murder.
Former prime minister Imran Khan sits in a wheelchair after he was shot and wounded during in Wazirabad, as he led a long march in November calling for snap elections. (Reuters)
At his end, Khan has accused the ruling coalition – led by Shehbaz Sharif – of colluding with the US and Pakistani military to remove him from power. Ironically for a politician once criticised for being under the thumb of the powerful military establishment, his ouster came amid signs of worsening relations between him and former army chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa.
On Wednesday, The Intercept released what it said was a diplomatic cable of a conversation between the US state department officials and Pakistan’s ambassador to the US alleging that it proves Khan’s claim. As per the report, the US, concerned by Pakistan’s relationship with Russia, encouraged regime change. (Khan landed in Moscow to meet President Vladimir Putin the day Russia launched its “special military operation” in Ukraine.)
The Biden administration has made no secret of its dislike of Khan and US-Pakistan relations suffered under the former premier’s leadership. But there is no way to independently verify the veracity of The Intercept’s report and the timing as well as the reason for the leak – the report said the cable was obtained from a disillusioned military member – among other reasons, appear circumspect. At the same time, parts of Khan’s claims are not entirely outside the realm of possibility. The US has a well-documented history of covert and overt interference in regime change. The Pakistani military’s intrusion into politics is also well-known.
The disorder in the highest echelons of the Pakistani government is roiling the country amid a worsening economic situation. The country is battling dwindling foreign exchange reserves, rising external debt and liabilities, and soaring inflation (28% for July). Rising energy and food prices combined with shortages compounded by political instability have created a bleak reality for the average Pakistani citizen.
Zooming out
Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif addresses lawmakers during the last session of current parliament, in Islamabad, on Wednesday. (AP)
The situation in Pakistan is viewed through the prism of several key issues. Firstly, instability in nuclear-armed nations is generally considered unfavourable for reasons that we can all understand. A declining law and order situation is a common outcome of such disorder, and, in Pakistan, can mean an uptick of terror activity.
For example, the terror group Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) has been particularly active this year after it ended an indefinite ceasefire agreed with the government in June 2022.
It was no doubt emboldened by the rise of the Afghan Taliban and has carried out several deadly attacks over the past couple of months, including one in the Police Lines area of Peshawar in February when more than 100 people were killed.
A report by the Pakistan Institute for Conflict and Security Studies (PICSS) last week said there had been a 79% increase in the number of terror attacks in the country in the first six months of 2023 compared with the same time last year. According to the report, 271 militant attacks occurred during the first half of 2023, killing 389 and injuring 656 people.
Shoes of victims are gathered after a suicide bomber attack, in the Bajur district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan, in July. (AP)
The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa region has been impacted the most due to these attacks, it said. In July, a suicide bombing at a political rally in the province that killed over 50 people was claimed by the Islamic State terror group (ISIS). “Factions of TTP, as well as IS-K (Islamic State – Khorasan), will take advantage of the unstable political situation for carrying out more attacks against security forces,” Syed Akhtar Ali Shah, a former police chief in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province told Al Jazeera last week.
Rising terror activity is also attributed to the state’s dual policy towards terror groups, wherein it uses some terror groups and terrorists for regional influence, while cracking down on others. In the New Delhi Declaration of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) in May, members noted the “inadmissibility of interference in the internal affairs of states under the pretext of countering terrorism and extremism,” and the “unacceptability of using terrorist, extremist and radical groups for mercenary goals”. As former US secretary of state Hillary Clinton once said that Pakistan cannot “keep snakes in its backyard” and “expect them to only bite” its neighbour.
Several countries, including India and the US (which recently reoriented its security strategy to focus on the Indo-Pacific) are also wary of the growing proximity between Pakistan and its “iron brother” China. At the SCO summit, India did not join Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Pakistan, Russia, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan in reaffirming support for Belt and Road Initiative, China’s flagship connectivity initiative, which New Delhi has long-opposed because a key part of it, the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), passes through Pakistan-occupied Kashmir. Much has also been said, by India as well, on the rising burden of debt on countries participating in the initiative. Pakistan’s growing economic crisis and deteriorating relationship with the US also risk pushing it further towards Beijing. At the same time, the political instability threatens Chinese investment in the country.
Adding to all this, there are indications that the next election in the country could be delayed beyond the 90 days with the election commission set to start redrawing hundreds of constituencies based on a fresh census. For Pakistan, this means the end to this state of flux is hard to predict, and the world has to remain wary yet.
That’s all for this week, folx. If you have any suggestions, feedback, or questions, please write to me at sanya.mathur@hindustantimes.com
MANISH TEWARI SPEAKS ON CHINESE INTRUSION & Myanmar has implications on the security of the nation
