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46 years after having gone missing, soldier presumed dead by AFT; widow to get pension, arrears
Om Prakash Pradeshi from Himachal Pradesh was enrolled in the Corps of Military Police in September 1969
About 46 years after a soldier went missing with no clues about his whereabouts and was later declared a deserter, the Armed Forces Tribunal (AFT) has ruled that he should be presumed dead and his widow would be entitled to pension and arrears from 1993, when she first approached the authorities for benefits.
The soldier, Om Prakash Pradeshi from Himachal Pradesh, was enrolled in the Corps of Military Police (CMP) in September 1969. When he went missing in November 1980, and in December 1983, after the stipulated three-year period, the Army declared him a deserter and dismissed him from service. Consequently, he or his next of kin were not granted pension.
The Tribunal’s Chandigarh Bench comprising Justice Umesh Chandra Sharma and Lt Gen Ranbir Singh held that there is no evidence that the Army or, on their directions, the civil authorities ever tried to search the individual as to whether he is alive or not and whether he was seen by anyone just before his disappearance. There is also no evidence that the individual is alive and is living or working somewhere else or he voluntarily abandoned his service.
Observing that after seven years from the date of missing, the presumption of death would arise under Section 108 of the Indian Evidence Act and there is not an iota of evidence that the individual was ever seen alive within 30 years, the prescribed period under the Act, the Bench said that it can be inferred that he was no more.
The Bench also rejected the claim of the respondents that Pradeshi is alive and he had voluntarily deserted the service. “In such a condition, the burden of proving that he is alive is shifted to the respondents who affirm his aliveness,” the Bench said.
Ruling that the court is of the considered view that it is not proved that the individual had the intent to desert or he was alive and even then he did not join the service, the Bench inferred that due to unavoidable circumstances and circumstances which were beyond his control, he could not join the service. Hence, he cannot be said to be deserter.
Holding that accordingly, the order of the Court of Inquiry declaring him deserter and on its basis, the order of dismissal from the service is liable to be held illegal and void, the Bench said that it is a direct example of the negligence of the authorities who never tried to search out the individual or take any pain for knowing his whereabouts.
“The order dated 03.12.1980 and 22.12.1983 regarding declaration of desertion and dismissal of the applicant’s husband Om Prakash Pradeshi along with the letter dated 23.09.2020 are hereby quashed. The applicant’s husband Om Prakash Pradeshi is presumed to be dead since 03.11.1987, after completion of seven years from the date of his missing,” the Bench ruled.
“As a result, the applicant is held entitled to all the service benefits obtained in colours and reserve and also the family pension in accordance with law. Since the applicant first sent the letter to CMP Records on 03.03.1993 and started claiming family pension and other monetary benefits hence, the applicant is entitled for the pension and other benefits as an NOK of a missing Army Personnel since then,” the Bench said.
HC imposes Rs 2L cost on Army Chief, Defence Secy for pension delay
The Punjab and Haryana High Court has imposed a cost of Rs 2 lakh on Defence Secretary Rajesh Kumar Singh and Army Chief Gen Upendra Dwivedi for the delay in granting disability pension to a retired Major who underwent 24 surgeries and suffered a kidney ailment during his service.
A resident of Pune, Major Rajdeep Dinkar Pandere (retd) was commissioned in the Army on September 15, 2012, in a physically fit condition. He was posted with 4 Ladakh Scouts in Leh and got field, peace, special action group and high-altitude postings.
In June 2017, he suffered a medical problem while on military duty. He was brought before the Sick Leave Medical Board at the Delhi Cantonment Base Hospital and diagnosed with cystitis cystica glandularis.
Major Pandere underwent surgery and was placed in a “low medical category” on September 19, 2017. Thereafter, he was brought before the Categorisation Medical Board six times. He was brought before the Release Medical Board on September 2, 2022, at the Western Command Hospital in Chandimandir (Panchkula) and recommended for release in the low medical category. However, his disability–assessed at 15 per cent for life–was opined as neither attributable to nor aggravated by military service, and no reasons were cited. He was released from the Army on September 14, 2022, after 10 years of service. His request for disability pension was rejected vide letter dated November 23, 2022.
The Chandigarh Bench of the Armed Forces Tribunal (AFT) at Chandimandir observed, in its order dated October 10, 2024, that Major Pandere was examined by the Categorisation Medical Board and the Recategorisation Medical Board several times, and that he was operated upon time and again and the disability was attributable to military service every time.
“We failed to understand what parameter was adopted by the Release Medical Board for assessing the disability at 15 per cent for life and to declare the disability of the applicant as neither attributable to nor aggravated by military service at the time of release from service,” the Bench said.
The Tribunal ordered that as per the Guide to Medical Officers (Military Pensions), 2008, the disability percentage be considered 40 per cent as the serum creatinine was 1.13 mg, thereby holding Major Pandere entitled to a disability pension. The disability percentage was “rounded off” from 40 per cent to 50 per cent (as per the Supreme Court guidelines) for life, effective July 1, 2022.
On July 28, 2025, a Division Bench of the Punjab and Haryana High Court dismissed the Union of India’s writ against the Tribunal’s order, stating that Major Pandere’s entitlement to disability pension “cannot be doubted”.
Major Pandere also filed a civil writ petition before the High Court, seeking implementation of the Tribunal’s order, which was disposed of on October 31, 2025, in his favour. As the military authorities still didn’t grant him a disability pension despite orders from the Tribunal and the High Court, he filed a contempt petition against Defence Secretary Rajesh Kumar Singh and Army Chief Gen Upendra Dwivedi.
His counsel, Rajesh Sehgal, argued that the respondents had failed to implement the High Court judgment despite more than two months having passed, and that the petitioner had not been paid even a single paisa, nor had any sanction letter or pension payment order been issued for disability pension.
Justice Sudeepti Sharma, in her order dated April 30, observed, “On the last date of hearing, last opportunity was granted to the respondents to file a compliance affidavit with a condition that in case of non-filing, a cost of Rs 2 lakh shall be imposed.” As no compliance affidavit was filed, one more opportunity was granted, subject to payment of Rs 2 lakh cost, to be equally deducted from the salary of both respondents (the Defence Secretary and the Army Chief) and to be paid to the petitioner by way of a demand draft, the order said.
Army officer suspended over custodial death in Punjab
Was on deputation with NCB; 2nd to be suspended
The Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) has suspended an Army officer in connection with the alleged custodial death of Border Security Force (BSF) constable Jaswinder Singh in Amritsar over a month ago. Jaswinder had been arrested by the agency in a drug-related case.
Major Amit Kumar, who is posted as Assistant Director with the NCB, was transferred immediately after suspension, said a senior NCB official while confirming the development.
Major Kumar is the second NCB official to be suspended in the case. Earlier, the bureau had suspended investigating officer Akash Rai, posted in Jammu. A departmental probe was also initiated against him.
The autopsy of Jaswinder had revealed as many as 34 injuries, including on his private parts. His family members have been alleging custodial torture since his mysterious death in NCB custody on March 20.
Jaswinder was picked up by the NCB in a drug-related case on March 3 from near Miran Sahib Chowk while returning to his house at Diwangarh village in J&K, near the International Border, after procuring medicines for his mother who was accompanying him at that time.
Posted in Tripura, the constable had come home on leave. Since the incident, the family, including his mother Gurmeet Kaur, brother Pupinder Singh and wife Lovejeet Kaur, has been seeking justice. Earlier, they had also met the District and Sessions Judge here, urging expeditious inquest proceedings apart from demanding an FIR against the NCB officials. The family has also approached Punjab and Haryana High Court for an impartial probe by an independent agency.
The post-mortem report had pointed out that all injuries were ante-mortem. However, the exact cause of death has been kept pending till receipt of the chemical examiner’s report from Kharar and histopathology findings from Government Medical College, Amritsar.
NCB officials had earlier claimed that Jaswinder died of a cardiac issue while being taken from Jammu to Tarn Taran via Amritsar on March 20 for recovery in the case. They had maintained that due procedure was followed, including judicial inquest proceedings. They claimed Jaswinder’s arrest was based on technical inputs during the investigation into cases involving his brother.
Restore old pension, demands ex-paramilitary forces’ assn
The Alliance of All Ex-Paramilitary Forces Welfare Association has sought restoration of old pensions, organised group A service status and withdrawal of a ‘draconian’ law passed by Parliament.
During a press conference, association general secretary Ranbir Singh stated that paramilitary personnel who maintain strict vigilance from streets to the borders, were repeatedly forced to appeal to the courts for their pensions, promotions and other welfare-related issues.
Alliance president ADG (retd) HR Singh expressed surprise at the Central Government’s passing of the CAPF General Administration Bill 2026 in Parliament, challenging the Supreme Court’s landmark decision on May 23, 2025, and demanded the withdrawal of this law.
Anand Nimbadia, ITBP IG (veteran), sought the creation of a separate ministry for central security forces to focus on their concerns and ensure consistent policy attention. Former BSF IG Vikas Chandra questioned how the government could label the country’s first line of defence force as a civilian force.
General secretary Ranbir Singh demanded the restoration of the old pension system for paramilitary forces. He said that ex-paramilitary families would hold a peaceful protest at Jantar Mantar on May 6, demanding the repeal of the black law and the restoration of the old pension.
Chandimandir Command Hospital’s first heart retrieval saves Sudanese boy’s life
The Command Hospital, Chandimandir, carried out its first heart retrieval for transplant, and in the process saved the life of a 14-year-old Sudanese boy admitted in a Delhi hospital.
The organ was harvested from a 42-year-old brain dead woman and airlifted to Delhi via a chartered flight within half an hour. The boy was terminally ill and in the last stage of the battle for life.
The hospital’s organ transplant team also retrieved her liver, pancreas and kidneys, thereby enabling multiple recipients a new lease of life through organ donation.
The process was undertaken through seamless coordination between the Chandimandir hospital, Army Hospital (Research and Referral), New Delhi, Indraprastha Apollo Hospital and the Postgraduate Institute of Medical Education and Research under the aegis of the Western Command.
Organ allocation by the National Organ and Tissue Transplant Organisation and swift creation of ‘green corridors’ ensured timely retrieval and transport.
Who is Lt Gen Balbir Singh, the new commander of Srinagar-based XV Corps
Takes over XV Corps from Lt Gen Srivastava; vows to strengthen peace and stability
Lieutenant General Balbir Singh on Friday assumed the command of the Army’s Srinagar-based strategic XV Corps from Lt Gen Prashant Srivastava, who has been appointed as Quarter Master General at the Army headquarters.
Lt Gen Singh had earlier commanded the Victor Force, which looks after counter-insurgency operations in south and central Kashmir.
A statement from the XV Corps, often referred to as Chinar Corps, said Lt Gen Singh is a highly decorated and battle-hardened officer with over 34 years of service.
After assuming charge of the new role, the General Officer Commanding (GoC) paid respects at the Chinar War Memorial, honouring the supreme sacrifice of the nation’s bravehearts.
In his inaugural address, Lt Gen Singh reaffirmed his resolve to work in close synergy with the civil administration and the people of Kashmir to further strengthen the foundation of peace, stability and prosperity in the region.
He exhorted all sections of society to join hands with the security forces in overcoming the persistent challenges, the statement said.
Lt Gen Srivastava relinquished the command and handed over the reins of the Chinar Corps after 19 months.
“His eventful and challenging tenure was characterised by meticulous execution of OP SINDOOR & OP MAHADEV, which brought the perpetrators of the dastardly ‘Pahalgam Attack’ to justice, incident-free conduct of the Amarnath Yatra 2025 and multiple initiatives in nation building,” the statement said.
In a post on X, the Chinar Corps said that on relinquishing the command, Lt Gen Srivastava paid homage at the Chinar War Memorial, honouring the bravehearts who made the supreme sacrifice in service of the nation.
“In his farewell message, he thanked all ranks of Chinar Corps, @JmuKmrPolice, Central Armed Police Forces, Civil Administration and the Awaam of #Kashmir for their steadfast support in fostering peace and harmony,” the post said.
Chinar Corps is responsible for guarding the Line of Control with Pakistan, besides countering terrorism in the Kashmir valley.
https://x.com/ChinarcorpsIA/status/2050112196617892071?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E2050112196617892071%7Ctwgr%5Ed3883857aa8070ebbc5b33d48e2eddb4adfff38e%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.tribuneindia.
HOT AND COLD WAR
The U.S.-Israeli war on Iran has reshaped President Donald Trump’s case for taking control of Greenland—and exposed widening cracks in the NATO alliance
At first glance, greenland and iran have little in common—one icy, the other with scorching deserts. Yet the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran may, unexpectedly, have strengthened Pres ident Donald Trump’s arguments that the United States needs to own Green land—arguments he made most forcefully in January, horrifying European allies in NATO and the public, most of all in Denmark, which owns the territory. So when some of those allies declined to support the U.S. in its war that began more than two months ago, Trump’s stated goal of better protecting the nation in a fast-changing geopolitical and technolog ical era may just have made owning Greenland even more pressing, especially with the island on a poten tially unpredictable path to independence, experts have told Newsweek. Others, however, say that with the congressional midterm elections in November approaching fast, Trump’s hands are tied on any further moves on the Arctic territory. As much as he wants to own it, aggressive action could cost him votes, even among his core MAGA supporters who increasingly are unhappy about his growing foreign interventions. The White House has highlighted the connection
The White House has highlighted the connection president’s remarks in April on its X account as the U.S. and Iran prepared for talks in Islamabad on end ing the conflict: “NATO WASN’T THERE WHEN WE NEEDED THEM, AND THEY WON’T BE THERE IF WE NEED THEM AGAIN. REMEMBER GREEN LAND, THAT BIG, POORLY RUN, PIECE OF ICE!!!” Other messages by the president on his Truth Social account also linked Iran, Greenland and NATO. The path between Greenland and Iran may be wind ing, but for the current U.S. administration they are part of something directly relevant: the future of trans atlantic cooperation and of NATO, the post-World War II defensive alliance that kept the peace during the Cold War and which turned 77 years old in April. Speaking on background, a White House official told Newsweek: “As President Trump has said, NATO was tested, and they failed. President Trump has made his disappointment with NATO clear, and as the president has emphasized, ‘the United States will remember.’” Perception of Security Threats At the heart of Trump’s arguments for owning Greenland is a gulf between American and European perceptions of security threats, said Michael Lucci, the founder of State Armor, a political organization that works for national security resilience at the state level
including Britain, France and Spain, were unwilling to fully or partially support the U.S. in its war on Iran, refusing basing or overflight to the Air Force or to send war ships to patrol or open the Iran-controlled Gulf of Hormuz. “The gap between American and Euro pean perceptions of security threats is quickly becoming unsustainable,” Lucci told Newsweek. “In January, European capitals took great offense when President Trump argued for U.S. ownership of Greenland. By March, America’s military was being denied the use of bases and airspace… because some NATO allies do not view Iran as a threat, and therefore took the position that undermining American lethality against the Iranian regime was the right thing to do,” Lucci said. “This underlines why President Trump argued for American ownership of Green land,” he continued. “Greenland has dra matic security implications for North America…and the gap between American and European perceptions of external threats continues to grow.” Others took note, too. “NATO insists US doesn’t need to own Greenland; havIng bases there is good enough for natl security,” KT McFarland, a former senior national security adviser who has served four U.S. presidents, wrote on X. “But NATO countries just refused us access to OUR bases to refuel, they won’t even let our planes overfly their airspace. They just proved the point why we DO need to own Greenland,” McFarland wrote. But it was an exaggeration. Germany continued to provide the U.S. with its Ramstein military base, and Romania in Europe’s southeast approved an American request to deploy capa bilities including for aircraft refueling and satellite communications, “effec tively expanding the geographic reach of allied air power,” wrote Alex Serban and Kirsten Fontenrose of the Atlantic Coun cil, a Washington, D.C.-based think tank. For sure, it’s complicated. Others don’t see a connection—just chaos, albeit underlined by an “America First” policy. “The thread is naked self-interest and absolutism around America First. And anything else is transactional,” said Andy Pryce, a former British diplomat who specializes in countering information threats and cognitive defense. He is also a senior nonresident fellow at the Center for European Policy Analysis, headquar tered in Washington, D.C., with branches in London and Brussels. China’s Underlying Role Yet Pryce said that something even bigger underlined the logic of this complex geo political moment: China. Because China largely controls the global production and refining of rare earths, and has used this to pressure the U.S. for concessions as it seeks to displace America’s global standing. “So, [owning] Greenland is [about] rare earth metals, and potentially the sort of more peripheral arguments on defense, but they’re sort of taken care of anyway, in terms of the current treaty and the current capability they have in Greenland,” said Pryce, referring to a 1951 defense agreement between the U.S. and Den mark which allows Washington to main tain military installations in Greenland. “And I suppose underneath the immediate nt is that 77 million people voted for Trump and a decent proportion of those people knew what he is and what his agenda is globally, or lack of agenda glob ally. At the moment [he] has few guard rails, few checks and balances,” Pryce said. “We might want to kid ourselves…that somebody else becoming president and saying nice things about NATO changes the real-life deterrence, [but] I don’t think it does. I don’t see the political will to wor
hearing many Democrats jumping up and down shouting about this,” Pryce said. “So, I think any government in Europe would be crazy to think within the next 20 years that you’re going to have any degree of stability of the Atlantic…European governments really need to think long and hard about every aspect of their national security.” Three-way talks between the U.S., Denmark and Greenland on the island’s future began in January and are ongoing, though Denmark’s Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen, who recently submitted her government’s resignation, and her Green land counterpart Jens-Frederik Nielsen have opposed Trump’s bid to own it. “The administration is participating in diplomatic high-level technical talks with the governments of Greenland and Den mark to address United States’ national security interests in Greenland,” the White House official told Newsweek. “We are not going to participate in a back and forth through the media, but we are very optimistic that we’re on a good trajectory,” the official said. Right About Russia For years, the U.S. called on Europe to spend more on its own defense. Budgets fell instead. For years, too, Europe failed to see that Russia threatened its security, deeply frustrating the U.S. and weakening the transatlantic bond, said Lucci. “American leaders have become exas perated with Europe’s leaders because our European allies have consistently taken a much narrower view of security threats at the expense of European security,” he said. “
The American view of Russia as a per sistent threat to Europe was proven cor rect, but America’s leaders were unable to convince Europe’s leaders to stop buying Russian gas, strengthen their economies and build up their militaries until three years into Russia’s second invasion of Ukraine,” in 2022, he said. Russia is also waging hybrid war across Europe, with governments scrambling to respond. “Today, the U.S. argues that China, Rus sia and Iran are threats to both American and European security. European leaders do not seem to recognize [the] need for serious action to counter Iran and China, despite both of those regimes quite openly supporting Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and despite the broader threats of Iranian-sponsored terrorism and CCP [Chinese Communist Party] economic and hybrid warfare upon Europe and the U.S.,” Lucci said. Midterms as a brake? Still, the midterm elections are likely to dampen any further effort to push for out right control of Greenland, at least kineti cally. “The Greenland debate won’t flame up again because before the midterms it would provide food for those who oppose it, and that’s both the breakaway MAGAs and the Democrats,” said Nathalie Vogel, a research fellow with the Center for Inter marium Studies at the Institute of World Politics in Washington, D.C. “They’re saying, ‘He wants to involve us in another foreign adventure, but we have enough problems at home’. It would cost him the election and I don’t think it will happen,” Vogel said. She pointed out that polls showed that most Americans oppose the U.S. seizing Greenland, and bipartisan legislation has been introduced in Congress to prohibit the use of federal funds to annex or seize the territory without consent. With the Iran war, “the mood has got ten even worse within MAGA about for eign intervention,” Vogel said. Didi Kirsten Tatlow is a Newsweek senior correspondent, international affairs. Email her at d.kirstentatlow@newsweek.co
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India must look beyond UAE’s OPEC exit
Remember that Abu Dhabi doesn’t make its energy policies to suit India
KP Nayar
THE exit of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) from the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) has a long and chequered history. It renders the rejoicing in India over Abu Dhabi’s decision premature and simplistic. Abu Dhabi joined OPEC as an individual emirate in 1967 and continued as a member after the UAE was formed in 1971. The UAE seldom stuck to its OPEC production ceiling from the early years of its membership of the cartel.
Unlike today, Dubai was not a tourism destination in the 1970s and oil produced by the Dubai Petroleum Company was an important source of income for the emirate. Dubai sold most of its oil in the spot market and refused to adhere to OPEC quotas imposed on the UAE. The nascent federation was not strong enough then to enforce its collective will on constituent emirates.
Therefore, it is important for those who make India’s oil policy to note that within OPEC — or now outside it — the UAE’s membership has seldom made much difference to the cartel. Rankings, production percentages and similar parameters are irrelevant in this context. That is why India’s notion that OPEC will be crippled because of last week’s UAE decision to quit the organisation is not founded in fact.
In 1982, when Mana Saeed Al Otaiba, the UAE’s first Minister for Petroleum and Mineral Resources, returned home from Vienna after presiding over the 63rd OPEC Ministerial Conference, he called this writer and two other Dubai-based journalists for a conversation. When we asked about the meeting, he made a shrug-like gesture with both palms open upward, indicating that if the conference had any outcome, he did not comprehend it.
He then took out two sheets of the OPEC note paper, which had doodles on both pages. Otaiba, who was a prolific poet even before he became a minister at the age of 25, was known to doodle or write poetry during the OPEC meetings to idle away his time in attendance. Otaiba has to his credit a vast repertoire of poetry, fiction and scholarly books on Arabia’s petroleum industry.
A year later, returning from the London OPEC Ministerial Conference, Otaiba showed us, the same three journalists, a poem he had written during that long meeting. The poem, in part, read as follows:
These anecdotes are important now because Otaiba’s doodling and poetry reflected disdain for OPEC. Oil industry historians will aver that the UAE nearly quit the cartel on several occasions.
The path for OPEC was never smooth. It faced bitter break-ups many times. In the first five months of 1986, OPEC held four contentious ministerial meetings to discuss production ceilings for its members. In the preceding 12 months, OPEC ministers met eight times. Otaiba walked out of at least one of these meetings in Geneva. According to records maintained by the US government’s Energy Information Administration, OPEC’s disagreements pushed down oil prices to $9.25 a barrel that year from a high of $24.51 in 1985.
But OPEC did not fold up. There is no reason to believe that the UAE’s departure will be a fatal blow for the cartel. And it is unreasonable to expect that unless a day dawns when viable alternatives to oil are in currency, crude prices will ever again go down to $9.25 because OPEC is at war with itself.
Last week, in the evolving global energy scenario, India appeared to be setting much store by its close friendship with the UAE. Public discourse must dispel any impression that Abu Dhabi makes its energy policies to suit India. It crafts policies that are meant to protect its vital interests. Everything else is secondary.
There is also insufficient understanding in India that Abu Dhabi’s energy organisation sector is not a monolith. It has not been since the mid-1970s, when the Ministry for Petroleum and the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC) were separated. The ADNOC became responsible for oil and gas operations while the ministry decided oil policies.
In a rare interview in the 1980s, Mahmoud Hamra Krouha, a self-effacing Algerian who set up the ADNOC and was its first General Manager, told me that his mission was to double Abu Dhabi’s oil production through new drilling. This did not exactly square with the thinking within the ministry, which worried about overcapacity.
The bifurcation exists to this day. Krouha’s successor now is technocrat Sultan Al Jaber, who has the dual titles of Group CEO and Managing Director of the ADNOC. India engages with Al Jaber regularly, but it is imperative that India should be clear about what it now wants from the UAE in the context of its post-OPEC energy policies.
What are the emerging contours of these policies? Until the ongoing military standoff between the US and Iran ends and solutions to sticking points between them are found, the UAE’s goodbye to OPEC will not make an iota of difference to energy-consuming countries like India. How long that will take is anyone’s guess.
Hardly any crude passes through the Strait of Hormuz now because of the standoff. The only outlet for the UAE’s oil exports now is through its constituent emirate of Fujairah that bypasses the Strait of Hormuz. But the pipeline to Fujairah port can handle only 1.8 million barrels per day. How much of this volume will the UAE export to India, which is only one of its global customers? Has India factored this critical limitation into its calculations about the UAE?
Ultimately, the Emiratis and Saudis are “brothers” while the Indians, Chinese or Japanese are their “friends.” Despite brotherly bickering, the UAE and Saudi Arabia are conjoined twins. Their latest annual non-oil trade totalled $41.3 billion, according to UAE government figures.
The UAE is the second biggest foreign direct investor in the kingdom while Saudi investments in the UAE are worth $4.3 billion. Like a sudden boycott of Qatar by three Gulf countries ended unexpectedly, the UAE-Saudi rift will also heal at some point. India must bear that in mind while making its policies.
Iran has damaged 16 US military bases in ongoing West Asia conflict: Report
Iran has reportedly destroyed several US military bases in West Asia amid the ongoing conflict that started February 28.
US media house CNN, citing its own investigations, has said Iran has damaged at least 16 US military installations across eight countries in West Asia, leaving some facilities severely degraded and partially unusable. Some studies in the US have estimated a likely spend of $40-50 billion to rebuild the damaged infrastructure.
CNN cited satellite images and interviews with officials in the US and Gulf states to report the unprecedented damage to military assets. A congressional aide familiar with damage assessments said these affected sites made up a significant share of US military positions in the region.
“There has been a spectrum of assessments,” the congressional aide said, adding: “From a pretty dramatic side, the whole facility is destroyed and needs to be shut down, to leaders who say these things are worth repairing due to the strategic benefit they give the US.”
Satellite imagery reviewed in the investigation indicates that Iranian forces primarily targeted advanced radar installations, communications infrastructure and aircraft. These systems are described as both costly and difficult to replace.
“It’s notable that they (Iranians) really identified those facilities as the most cost-effective targets to hit,” the congressional aide said as per CNN. “Our radar systems are our most expensive and most limited resources in the region,” the aide added.
The Pentagon’s comptroller, Jules “Jay” Hurst III, told lawmakers on Wednesday that the conflict with Iran had so far cost $25 billion. However, CNN said internal estimates placed the figure closer to $40-50 billion.
US allies in the Persian Gulf, who host many of these military facilities, have reportedly been heavily affected by the strikes and have privately expressed concern over Washington’s handling of the conflict.
