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Brig G Atreya takes over as commandant BEG& Center, Roorkee from Brig KP Singh
I wish to place on record the good wk done by Brig KP Singh as the Comdt BEG & Centre. Wishing him the very best ahead.
I also welcome Brig G Atreya as the new tiger and wish him a professionally invigorating tenure at the helm.God bless Bengal Sappers
from
Lt Gen SS Dhaiya Col Commndt Bengal Sappers
The military awaits a fair deal
Either dispense with NFU for all Services, or give it to all, including the defence forces
Admiral Arun Prakash retd
Salaries & allowances : The status of the armed forces has been kept vague and undefined. PTI
ACCORDING to media reports, the Ministry of Defence (MoD) filed an affidavit in the Supreme Court recently. Citing the findings of a “high-level committee” constituted to review the demands for salary upgradation of armed forces personnel, the MoD informed the court that “…the complexities in implementation, possible legal complications and significantly large financial implications do not favour the grant of NFU (non-functional financial upgradation) to armed forces personnel.”
Given that one of the signatories to the affidavit is a serving Major General, the unstated acquiescence of the military must be assumed, and no dissent should emerge from our disciplined armed forces. However, NFU has played a major role in distorting the relativity between the civilian Services and the armed forces, and has become an irritant in civil-military relations. There is good reason, therefore, for retired Army officers to seek redressal from courts.
The professional hierarchy that drives the government’s administrative machinery — all recruited via the Union Public Service Commission — is three-tiered. The first among equals are the three All-India Services which serve at the Centre as well as in states: the Indian Administrative Service (IAS), the Indian Police Service (IPS) and the Indian Forest Service (IFoS). At the next rung are the Central Group ‘A’ Services, that include the Foreign, Revenue, Audit, Postal and other Services. The third tier is occupied by the technical/specialised services, providing expertise in medicine, engineering, science, etc.
Most of these Services have distinct cadre rules and are formally classified as Organised Group ‘A’ Services (OGAS). This categorisation assumes significance since it has come to form the basis of decisions taken by the 10-yearly Central Pay Commissions (CPC) in deciding salaries and allowances of Central government employees. Since the status of the armed forces has been (deliberately?) kept vague and undefined, successive CPCs, maintaining that they do not fall into any “recognised category”, have employed whimsical logic to depress the emoluments and, consequently, the status of the military relative to the Civil Services.
At the heart of the NFU contention lies the “remunerative edge” granted to the IAS and the Indian Foreign Service (IFS) by the 4th CPC (1986), which manifests as additional increments across three senior grades. Other Central Services agitated against this “edge”, terming it discriminatory, and argued that this preferential treatment was iniquitous since all candidates were recruited through a common UPSC examination and contrary to the principle of “equal pay for equal work.”
Consequently, NFU was introduced in 2006 by the 6th CPC in order to address the disparity between the IAS and other Central Group ‘A’ Services. Whenever an IAS officer (the benchmark) is empanelled for a particular grade at the Centre, all officers of the OGAS would automatically be granted the same pay scale after a delay of two years, regardless of whether a vacancy existed for their actual promotion. Initially, the government granted NFU only to the OGAS. However, following representations, it was extended to the IPS and IFoS in 2010. The Central Armed Police Forces (CAPFs) then approached the courts (2012-19), and after a protracted legal battle, the apex court held that the CAPFs met all criteria for “Organised Group ‘A’ Services” and directed the government to grant them NFU retrospectively from 2006.
The armed forces, even though aggrieved by all these decisions, had no avenue for seeking redressal till the convening of the 7th CPC in 2014 offered them a rare opportunity. In the Joint Services Memorandum (JSM) presented before the CPC, they stated that by extending NFU to the OGAS, but denying it to the military, the 6th CPC (2006) had created a severely anomalous situation.
Commenting on the JSM, a member of the CPC stated that he “…agrees with the view that exclusion of Defence Forces from NFU has been unfair. The gap between career progression in the Defence Forces in comparison with 49 Organised Group ‘A’ Services and IPS/IFoS, which was already large, has been stretched beyond reasonable limits… there is no basis for denying them NFU simply on the ground that they are not classified as an Organised Group ‘A’ Service…This has undermined the status and morale of the Defence Forces, and has been a matter of concern for them for the past decade.”
The JSM had further pointed out that such changes, by downgrading them relative to the IAS, IPS and the CAPFs, had undermined the status of military commanders. Moreover, civilian personnel of organisations such as the Border Roads, Military Engineering Services and Naval Armament Services — created to support the armed forces — having overtaken their military superiors in terms of pay grades, were now demanding an altered relationship.
Then, as now, the MoD seems to have acted as a “spoiler” and its negative intervention served to torpedo the JSM. Against this backdrop, a striking aspect of the 7th CPC report is the discussion (and dissonance) that emerges between the Chairman and two members of the commission, Vivek Rae (an IAS officer), and the economist Dr Rathin Roy, regarding NFU.
In the Chairman’s considered opinion, “…since NFU has been in existence for the last ten years and is being availed by all the Organised Group ‘A’ Services, it should be allowed to continue. The same will be available not only to all organised Central Group ‘A’ Services but also members of CAPFs, ICG (Indian Coast Guard) and Defence Forces.” The two members of the commission have, however, recorded their dissent with this opinion.
Elaborating on the case for withdrawal of NFU from Organised Group ‘A’ Services, Rae said, “In the view of the undersigned, it was a mistake to grant NFU to 49 Organised Group ‘A’ Services, IPS and IFoS till HAG (Higher Administrative Grade) level on untenable grounds of parity with IAS. Exclusion of Defence Forces and CAPFs only aggravated the mistake.” Dr Roy, strongly supporting the case for withdrawal of NFU, said: “I join the dissent of my colleague Mr Vivek Rae and recommend that NFU at the Group `A’ level be completely done away with.”
Officers filing writs in settled matters to pay costs from own pocket, warns HC
In March 2023, the Chandigarh Bench of the Armed Forces Tribunal had granted pensionary benefits to several soldiers on the basis of similar cases decided earlier, which was later challenged by the Centre
Observing that the Central Government is filing writ petitions against orders passed in favour of defence personnel by the Armed Forces Tribunal (AFT), even in cases where the law has been settled, the Punjab and Haryana High Court has warned that officers responsible for filing such appeals would be liable to pay costs from their own pockets.
“Though we wanted the present petition to be dismissed with costs to be paid by the concerned officer who decided to file the said writ petition, we refrain from doing so on the repeated requests of the learned counsel for the petitioner. In case the same trend continues in future, costs will also be imposed in such cases,” the Bench of Justice Harsimran Singh Sethi and Justice Deepak Manchanda said in its order dated April 22.
“It may be noticed that the petitioner, Union of India, has started filing writ petitions on a question of law which has already attained finality and the relief has already been granted to similarly situated employees, which is not appreciated,” the Bench ruled.
The said action is also contrary to the Litigation Policy as well as the settled principle of law that once a question of law has been settled, it should be made applicable to all similarly situated employees, the Bench pointed out.
“However, the petitioner has continued filing writ petitions on such settled principles. Hence, the present petition, filed after a period of three years from the order dated 21.03.2023 passed by the Tribunal, not only raises an already settled issue but also reflects that the concerned soldier has not been granted the benefit despite having the order in his favour for the last three years,” the Bench said.
In March 2023, the Chandigarh Bench of the Armed Forces Tribunal had granted pensionary benefits to several soldiers on the basis of similar cases decided earlier, which was later challenged by the Centre.
The government counsel contended before the High Court that while passing orders in 2023, the AFT had missed the instructions issued by the government in 1987, according to which 10 months’ service in a particular rank prior to retirement was mandatory for fixing pension in that rank, whereas the respondent’s service was six months.
The Bench observed that the same issue had come up before the Principal Bench of the AFT and in 2017 it was held that the benefit of pension is to be granted keeping in view the last wages drawn in the same rank by the concerned officers or soldiers before retirement.
The judgment has already been implemented by the Union of India.
“Once a similar benefit has already been extended to other officers/soldiers, the challenge to the grant of such benefit by the Union of India after a period of three years is liable to be rejected, and the same is accordingly rejected,” the Bench ruled.
IAF dismisses Corporal for gay relation with Australian, AFT grants partial relief over ‘peculiar’ facts
A Corporal with the Indian Air Force (IAF) was dismissed from service for allegedly being in a gay relationship with an Australian citizen and visiting foreign countries with him without permission, but the Armed Forces Tribunal (AFT) has converted the punishment of dismissal into simple discharge so as to enable post-retirement resettlement.
He will, however, not be entitled to any post-retiral or monetary benefits.
The airman, who had joined service in 2014, had sought premature discharge in 2024 on account of family urgencies and personal issues, which he stated to be his involvement in homosexual activities outside the Air Force in his private affairs. He claimed that his choosing of the sexual partner with whom he is involved in a relationship is within the permissible social norms and applicable laws.
After the application of discharge was reviewed, his request for rejected and a court of inquiry was ordered to investigate his activities, which was completed in December 2025. Subsequently a show-cause notice was issued to him and on the basis of his reply, administrative orders for his dismissal were issued in January 2026.
The airman submitted before the AFT that he does not want to challenge the dismissal order, but the court may be kind enough to convert the dismissal into a discharge so that the stigma attached to the dismissal may not come in the way of seeking future vocation. He also declared that he did not reveals any information that could have compromised national security.
The Air Force argued that the applicant had breached military discipline while working in the Indian Air Force as he did not seek permission on certain occasions when he visited foreign countries with his partner and gave incorrect addresses while on leave, and therefore action was taken against him. Besides several trips within India, he and his partner had visited Thailand for three weeks in March 2023 and Sri Lanka for two weeks in October 2023.
The Tribunal’s Bench of Justice Rajendra Menon and Administrative Member Rasika Chaube observed in their order of April 27 that the airman had already disclosed facts about his relationship in his application for discharge. From the material on record, there seemed to be nothing involving national security concern and at best the applicant is said to have visited Thailand and Sri Lanka on two occasions to be with his partner without following the due procedure laid down for the same, the Bench said.
Stating that in normal circumstances, dismissal from service would have been upheld by this Tribunal if the individual had challenged the action of dismissal, the Bench held that the respondents may be right in contending that when a member of the disciplined force breaches the rules, he has to be dismissed but there can be exceptions.
“As an exception to normal rule and in the peculiar facts and circumstances of the case, we deem it appropriate to direct conversion of the administrative dismissal of the applicant into a case of discharge,” the Bench said.
“However, on such discharge the applicant shall not be entitled to any monetary benefit, pension, no post-retiral benefit, even the status of an ex-service men shall not be available to the applicant,” the Bench ruled.
Stating that his cannot be treated as a precedent in all cases, the Bench said that in view of the peculiar facts and circumstances, this case would be deemed to be that of a simple discharge only for the purpose of it not being a stigma or impediment in seeking any further employment elsewhere.
NFU DENIED: GOVT SAYS SOLDIERS ARE TOO COSTLY, ADS ARE NOT
Grant of NFU: The Govt betrays the Armed Forces along with its own General.
In the Additional Affidavit filed this morning at 10:21 AM, the Govt of India has denied Non-Functional Upgradation (NFU) to the Armed Forces. The reason given: “significantly large Financial Implications.” Soldiers Are Expensive, Selfies Are Cheap:
₹6,000 crore/year on govt advertisements is “Jan Sampark”.
₹8,000 crore/year on freebies before every election is “Garib Kalyan”. But NFU for fauj is “significantly large Financial Implication”. A Colonel at 26 years service draws less than a Joint Secretary at 16 years. You gave NFU to every babu in 2008. You say it’s too costly for the man who guards Siachen at -40°C. Shame has no pension, but you gave it to bureaucracy. The Mischief of Dates and Benches: The Affidavit is dated 20 January 2026 but filed today , three months later at 10:21 AM. Why?
Because Hon’ble Justice JK Maheshwari retires end June 2026. Because elections must not be “adversely affected.” You time your betrayal better than you time your bullets. You play Bench-shopping with the Supreme Court and hide behind “financial implications” when it comes to men who never hid behind anything when bullets flew. This is not affidavit. This is Aphsaar-shahi vs. Afsar — and you chose the chair over the uniform. First Disability Pension Tax, Now NFU. Betrayal in Installments:
First you withdrew IT exemption on disability pension. A man loses his leg in Uri, you tax his pension. Now you deny NFU saying “fauj mehngi padti hai”. Fauj sasti tab thi jab Kargil hua tha? When did the nation become too poor for its soldiers, but rich enough for central vista, statues, and 5-trillion-dollar ads? NFU Is Not Charity. It Is Parity. IAS, IPS, IFS get NFU if empanelled but not promoted due to lack of vacancy. They retire as Addl. Secretary without ever holding the post with pay, perks, pension. Army officer fights 30 years, commands troops, faces court martial for one mistake , retires as Colonel because boards are “restricted”. No NFU. No parity. No shame. You say “command is different”. Yes. Command means responsibility for 1000 lives. Babu’s file doesn’t bleed. If file-pushers get NFU for stagnation, why not the man stagnating in Dras? Significantly large Financial Implication” is a lie. Real figure for NFU to Armed Forces: ~₹1,800 crore/year. Your advertisement budget: ₹6,200 crore/year. You chose PR over Paltan. Sad day for the Armed Forces? Sad day for the Republic. Because a nation that finds soldiers costly will soon find surrender cheap. The FIGHT will continue in Court, in Public, in Conscience. We may lose benches. We will not lose honour…
THE FIRST UNRESTRICTED WAR: RED IS THE WINNER(Maj Gen Harvijay Singh, SM)
Before taking the Netanyahu’s bait, America failed to analyse that Venezuela was a backyard limited objective, while Iran a regional system – an unlimited objective. The Concept of Limited vs Unlimited Objectives • Keep the objective modest and the means overwhelming. That is the mathematics of victory and not the burden of a political stalemate. • Success demands a pause. Reorganise first, do not rush to the next objective – victory may just convert into vulnerability. • Do not seek grand victories, choose limited objectives and reject those which cannot be realistically achieved.
• Bottom Line: Only limited objectives are achievable; the rest are illusions. Soldiers chase objectives – politicians pursue optics. The most typical illustration of expanding objectives is the mistake which MacArthur made in the Korean War. MacArthur initially fought a limited defensive war to repel North Korea’s invasion. After the Inchon landing succeeded, he shifted toward a maximalist objective: the total unification of Korea and the destruction of the North Korean regime. A shift from “repel aggression” to “unify Korea” to “defeat China” – from limited to unlimited. Afghanistan: a shift from “destroy al-Qaeda and deny safe havens” to “remove Taliban” to “build a democratic state, reform society, create a national army, reshape governance” – a mouthful limited to unlimited. Understanding the Key Domains of Modern Conflict (extracted from the book ‘UNRESTRICTED WARFARE’ in syllabus for DSSC Exam 2026) • Modern conflicts are no longer confined to traditional domains. War can be waged through any means: f inancial, cyber, media, legal, diplomatic, economic, psychological; blurring the line between war and peace, battlefield and non-battlefield, soldier and civilian – in the very first superior technology aerial attack against Iran, around 170 primary school girls were killed.
• All these domains are visible in the West Asia War. o Financial Warfare – Currency attacks, sanctions, market disruption, blockade of sea routes. o Lawfare – Using courts, treaties (NPT), and regulations to constrain or delegitimize an adversary. o Media Warfare – Narrative control, disinformation, perception shaping. o Cyber Warfare – Attacks on networks, grids, data, and communications. o Economic Warfare – Trade pressure, supply‑chain disruption, resource denial. o Psychological Warfare – Fear, confusion, morale erosion. The Future of Conflicts seen Through the Lens of Unrestricted Warfare • Future conflicts will be multidomain, continuous, and systemic – fought across every layer of national power. • AI, quantum computing, biotechnology, and global networks will open – new fronts, new vulnerabilities. • States will compete through economic coercion, information dominance, and technological control. • The battlefield will be everywhere: in markets, minds, and machines – all contested at once. • Victory will hinge on adaptability, creativity, and the seamless integration of every domain. Lessons to be Learnt: Iran, an asymmetric opponent demonstrated the capacity to absorb sustained pressure from a militarily superior adversary for 40 days and continue striking back. The lessons are structural, rooted in resilience, redundancy, and national preparedness.
• Cyber resilience and redundancy: Uninterrupted operation of Iran’s missile and drone control networks demonstrate the strength of a resilient digital infrastructure. Redundancies keep systems alive. • Diversified supply chains: Iran’s ability to function despite sanctions and wartime disruptions highlights the value of multi-source procurement, protected weapons manufacturing, underground stockpiling, and terrain-exploited parallel logistics channels. Nations that rely on single supply lines receive a rude shock when they face calamities, blockades, or war – even one broken artery collapses the entire system. • Stronger financial regulation: Despite years of sanctions, Iran maintained alternate trade and f inancial channels, and even during the conflict imposed a ‘toll’ on ships transiting the Strait of Hormuz. The broader lesson is clear: financial resilience is national-security resilience.
• Counter‑narratives: Iran’s ability to maintain internal cohesion under extensive bombardment and sustain effective leadership despite the loss of multiple commanders reflects a high degree of organisational resilience. Its tight control of social media and rapid counter-narratives further reinforced internal stability. Iran’s internal cohesion under stress highlighted the power of shared national identity – something that many modern democracies find difficult to maintain.
• Whole‑ of ‑ nation security planning: Iran’s response involved multiple layers: Military, Paramilitary, Civil defence, Energy sector, Diplomatic, Information networks. Modern conflict is multi-domain; resilience requires every sector to be mobilized. Strength is not about matching firepower. It is about standing together as one nation.
Army Havildar Nitin Gupta sets new Asian record in 5 km walk for juniors
Hailing from Uttar Pradesh, he had won a silver medal for India at the 2025 U18 Asian Athletics Championships in the 5 km race walk, clocking 20:21.51 minutes
An Army jawan has set a new Asian record in the men’s 5 km race walk at the 24th National Junior (U20) Athletics Federation Competition 2026, being held at Tumkur in Karnataka, making him the first Asian athlete ever to break the 19-minute barrier in this category.
Havildar Nitin Gupta of the Army Sports Institute, Pune, clocked an impressive 18:54 minutes at the event, organised by the Athletics Federation of India, the apex body for running and managing athletics in the country.
“Raising the bar yet again, Hav Nitin Gupta books his place for the U-20 Asian Championship and World Athletics Championships,” the Indian Army said. Bagging the gold medal, he broke his own earlier record in the process.
Hailing from Uttar Pradesh, he had won a silver medal for India at the 2025 U18 Asian Athletics Championships in the 5 km race walk, clocking 20:21.51 minutes. He was recruited into the Army as a sportsperson.
Numerous Army sportspersons have made the mark at the international level and setting new precedents. Earlier this month, the Indian Army’s’ first woman canoeist, Havildar Megha Pradeep, clinched India’s first-ever international gold medal in canoeing at the 2026 Canoe Sprint Asian Games Test Event in Japan.
Also in April, Havildar Sawan Barwal, a 28-year-old Army athlete and long-distance runner from Himachal Pradesh broke a 48-year old national record in marathon at the NN Marathon in Rotterdam.
Recently recruited women boxers from the Army also punched their way to the top at the Asian Elite Boxing Championship–2026, in Mongolia in April, clinching two gold medals and a silver medal.
The Army trains specially selected sportspersons at the Army Sports Institute (ASI) which is run in collaboration with the Sports Authority of India under the Army’s Mission Olympics programme.
Several disciplines such as shooting, archery, wrestling, rowing, fencing, and weightlifting have been identified for them. They are trained at the Army Sports Institute (ASI), Pune, a premier training establishment, which.
ran’s new, wild card — Houthis on the Red Sea
There are indications of US preparations for a final, debilitating strike on Iran.
A de facto ceasefire has been in effect in West Asia in the preceding three weeks. Outwardly, neither the United States nor Iran appears to be interested in the resumption of hostilities which were suspended by President Trump on April 7 and unilaterally extended on April 22. There is, however, no sign as yet of a permanent end to Trump’s war of choice. He has since threatened that if the Iranians do not agree to renewed talks, there would be no further extensions. He has set a deadline of April 26.
The reality is that Trump has another more serious deadline to contend with. The onset of summer triggers the campaign for this year’s upcoming US mid-term Congressional elections. Trump desperately needs a way out from his self-made military disaster, one whose outcome will determine the remainder of his term. This is evident from his outrageous social media rants, simultaneously threatening and pleading for talks. The Iranians can sense this desperation. But then, both sides are highly attuned to managing domestic optics. This is particularly so for Trump, given his abysmal approval ratings and a Republican base apprehensive of a trouncing this November.
Iran’s current hardline rulers see themselves as being in a stronger strategic position. Historically keen masters of carefully assessing an adversary, the Iranians are relishing Trump’s dilemmas and so, have decided to run the clock. This week marks the 60-day period of Trump’s illegal war, waged with neither Congressional nor United Nations approval. Under the US War Powers Act of 1973, a President has to seek Congressional approval for continuation of a war he initiated. Alternately, Trump can seek a 30-day extension by providing adequate justification, a challenging task but doable.
Iran’s ruling security establishment has thus settled into a wait-and-watch mode. It is comforted by reports in the Persian media of a strong “rally around the flag” domestic sentiment. On the other hand, it realises the monumental challenges of Iran’s post-war reconstruction, concealed within which are portents of future social instability. This is, therefore, a critical determinant in its need to levy a revenue collection toll on the Strait of Hormuz.
Meanwhile, there is no reliable information regarding Supreme Leader Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei’s whereabouts and health condition. He has not been seen in public and is said to be seriously injured, perhaps with debilitating life-threatening injuries he suffered on the first day of the war. Mojtaba’s injuries have strengthened the dominance of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps, which today lays down Iran’s tough negotiating conditions.
Against the above background, a flurry of activity is taking place. First is the renewed military build-up in the region. The US has deployed a third carrier strike group (CSG) to the region, but it is not clear if one of the CSGs is in rotation. However, under the cover of the ceasefire, the US is steadily pre-positioning a range of military, naval and air assets, replenishing its ballistic and air defence systems and air-refuelling tankers. While this is seriously weakening the US force posture in other theatres, especially the critical Indo-Pacific, the indications are of US preparations for a final, debilitating strike on Iran. The calculation is that if successful, a big if, this could give Trump a legacy-defining victory and possibly reverse his political difficulties. On the other hand, Iran too is readying itself for just such a probability and replenishing its military stores, including by unblocking tunnels behind which are hidden more ballistic missile batteries.
Then, there is a ‘blockade-on-blockade’ situation, with Iran and the US competing to control shipping in the Strait of Hormuz. Both sides have engaged in tit-for-tat seizures of ships, but there are also reports of calibrated transit passages, with over 30 vessels permitted to breach the twin blockades. US forces disabled and seized the ‘Touska’, an Iran-flagged vessel. The ‘Touska’ had sailed from China, apparently with a cargo of dual-use items, including sodium perchlorate, a solid fuel precursor used in ballistic missiles.
Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi termed the US counter-blockade as “an act of war and thus a violation of the ceasefire.” Iran’s reciprocal seizure of two container vessels has ensured that shipping in the Hormuz remains unpredictable and dangerous. Iran, however, holds a wild card, ie, Yemen’s Houthis, who can impose a third blockade in the Red Sea, disrupting oil supplies from Saudi Arabia’s western Yanbu port. Cognisant of these geo-economic stresses, France, Germany, Italy and the UK convened a 40-nation “Hormuz Summit” to discuss the way forward on the Strait. India was a participant in the Summit, a largely pedantic and meaningless affair, reflective of Europe’s current irrelevance.
Second, the diplomatic track for a negotiated settlement remains deadlocked. After the collapse of the first round of talks, mediated by Pakistan in Islamabad (April 10-11), there has been no further progress. The readout from the first round was that neither side was willing to compromise on the core nuclear issue.
On balance, Iran remained consistent and stuck to its redlines as outlined in its 10-point proposal, which formed the basis for the Islamabad talks. These include a binding US-Israeli commitment to permanently stop further attacks, unfreeze frozen Iranian financial assets and provide sanctions relief. In turn, Iran would provide commitments on the nuclear file along lines mediated by Oman in Geneva towards February-end. Iran’s redline, however, is that there would be no transfer out of the country of its highly enriched uranium because “Enriched uranium is as sacred to us as Iranian soil and will not be transferred anywhere under any circumstances.” Iran also fended off a maximalist US demand that it suspend uranium enrichment in perpetuity, and if not, for a period of 20 years. The absence of any mention of Iran’s missiles or its proxies is a sign of the Americans desperation for an exit out of Trump’s quagmire.
In an effort to restart the diplomatic route, Pakistan’s Asim Munir was in Tehran mid-April, but was unable to get the Iranians to budge. Within Iran, however, questions have arisen over Munir’s neutrality and his motivations in pressing Iran towards renewed talks. Over this past weekend, however, Aragchi went on a three-nation lobbying effort, traveling to Islamabad with Iran’s counter-proposals. Aragchi thereafter went to Muscat, notably on a Pakistan-registered business jet so as to avoid possible US strikes. Discussions in Oman reportedly pertained to the management of the Strait of Hormuz and convey Iran’s messages to its Gulf neighbours. Aragchi is next slated to visit Moscow.
Taken together — the military build-up and diplomatic logjam — worrying signs point to the possibility of a third round of hostilities. In this context, it should be noted that both India and China have issued fresh travel advisories, via their embassies in Tehran, cautioning their citizens against travel to/or leave Iran immediately.
Finally, hidden behind the multiple diplomatic tracks, searching for a resolution to this imbroglio, a complex geo-strategic and geo-economic landscape is slowly taking shape. There are growing divisions within the Gulf Cooperation Council members. On the one side is a nascent “Gulf Quad”, comprising Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, Turkey and Egypt. Theirs is an unpleasant bargain, but all views coopting a non-nuclear Iran as essential for regional stability. Arrayed against them are the Emiratis who are pressing ahead with an anti-Iran and pro-Israel approach. The Omanis and Qataris have made their peace with the Iranians, while Bahrain and Jordan are hitching themselves to the Emiratis and the Kuwaitis are caught somewhere in between.
Against this background, India’s External Affairs Minister Jaishankar was in Abu Dhabi and NSA Ajit Doval in Riyadh. Abu Dhabi’s Crown Prince Khalid bin Mohammed bin Zayed paid a call on President Xi in Beijing (April 14). The Saudis also infused a cash bailout for Pakistan after the Emiratis called back an old outstanding loan extended to Pakistan, and a small Pakistani force has since deployed to eastern Saudi Arabia on the borders with Bahrain.
Meanwhile, the economic dimensions of Trump’s war continue to ripple across the global economy. Shortages of jet fuel, fertilisers, helium and other petroleum byproducts are stressing economies across Europe and Asia. Trump again de-sanctioned Russian oil, but let expire a waiver on Iranian oil exports.
India, Pak military budget up post Op Sindoor
Ajay Banerjee Tribune News Service
Immediately after their skirmish in May last year, India and Pakistan sharply increased military spending mid-financial year, according to a report by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI).
The SIPRI report, Trends in World Military Expenditure, 2025, released today, noted that India rose to fifth place among global defence spenders, up from sixth the previous year. New Delhi increased its military expenditure by 8.9 per cent to $92.1 billion.
“India’s conflict with Pakistan in May 2025—which involved combat aircraft, drones and missiles—pushed up military spending during the year,” the report stated. Revised capital outlays for military aircraft systems were 50 per cent higher than originally budgeted, while operations and personnel costs for the IAF rose by 18 per cent compared with the original allocation.
The Tribune perused the data of the Union Budget. It shows that spending under the revenue head jumped by Rs 38,038 crore, with the revised allocation, post Operation Sindoor, standing at Rs 3,49,770 crore for the fiscal year ending March 2026. On Pakistan, the report said military spending grew by 11 per cent to $11.9 billion in 2025. The increase was largely due to new orders for aircraft and missiles placed with China.
Providing a global overview, the report said military expenditure rose by 2.9 per cent in real terms to $2,887 billion in 2025, marking the 11th consecutive year of growth. Global spending has increased by 41 per cent over the past decade (2016–25). The year-on-year rise in 2025 was significantly smaller than the 9.7 per cent recorded in 2024, representing the lowest annual growth rate since 2021.
The world’s military burden—the share of global GDP devoted to defence—rose from 2.4 per cent in 2024 to 2.5 per cent in 2025. Average military expenditure as a share of government spending stood at 6.9 per cent in 2025, compared with 7.0 per cent in 2024, while global per capita defence spending reached $352.
Despite a decline in US expenditure, global military spending rose in 2025, driven by sharp increases in Europe and continued growth in Asia and Oceania, which more than offset the reduction in US outlays.
