ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s outgoing army chief Gen Raheel Sharif on Tuesday warned India not to mistake his country’s restraint over tensions in Kashmir for weakness as he handed over power to his successor, Gen Qamar Javed Bajwa.

Lasting peace in South Asia could not be achieved without resolving the Kashmir issue, Sharif said while addressing a change of command ceremony at a stadium near the army headquarters in Rawalpindi.

In a blunt message, Sharif, who once referred to Kashmir as an “unfinished agenda of Partition”, said: “Unfortunately, in recent months, increasing state terrorism in (Kashmir) and India’s aggressive stance have endangered regional peace.

“I want to make it clear to India that mistaking our policy of patience for weakness would be dangerous for it.”

Sharif added, “This is the reality, that in South Asia, lasting peace and progress is impossible without the solution of the Kashmir issue. For that, international community’s special attention is necessary.”.

Tensions between the two countries erupted following a terror attack on Pathankot airbase in January that was blamed on the Pakistan-based Jaish-e-Mohammed.

Pune, November 29

Union Minister Subhash Bhamre on Tuesday said the government is making all efforts for the safe return of 22-year-old soldier Chandu Chavan, who is in Pakistan’s custody after inadvertently crossing the LoC.“We are in contact with the neighbouring country (Pakistan) through DGMO and diplomatic channels and one good thing is that Pakistan has acknowledged that Chavan is in their custody. Today or tomorrow, they will have to return Chavan to us,” the MoS for Defence told reporters on the sidelines of the passing-out parade (POP) of the 131st course of the National Defence Academy (NDA) held here.He assured that as soon as the situation (at border) gets back to normal, Chavan will be brought back.”I am in touch with the family of Chavan as he is from my constituency,” said the MP from Dhule in Maharashtra.On September 30 after the surgical strikes, Chavan from 37 Rashtriya Rifles had inadvertently crossed over to the other side of the LoC following which Pakistan had been informed by the DGMO (Director General of Military Operations) on the hotline. He has been in Pakistan’s custody since then.Soon after the news broke, Chavan’s aged grandmother Lila Chindha Patil had died of shock.To another query, the minister said OROP was pending for 40 years. However, since Modiji (PM Narendra Modi) assumed office, he gave priority to OROP.”There are a section of people who are spreading lies about it (OROP). However, 90 to 95 per cent ex-servicemen are happy. Yes, there are some anomalies. But efforts are on to get rid of them as the government is studying the report submitted by one-member committee,” he said.The Centre had appointed a committee under the Chairmanship of retired Chief Justice of Patna High Court L Narasimha Reddy to look into the anomalies.He said the government thrust is on indigenisation of products in the defence sector. “(under Modi government) Indigenisation has increased and India is one step towards self reliance,” Bhamre added.Talking about the terrorist attack on an army camp at Nagrota near Jammu, he said, “We expect peace from our neighbouring country. But our forces are alert and we are proud of them. We are ready for any kind of challenge, be it military or any other kind of aggression.” — PTI

Lt Gen Qamar Javed Bajwa

Islamabad, November 26

Lt Gen Qamar Javed Bajwa, who has extensive experience in handling Pakistan-occupied Kashmir, was today appointed Pakistan’s new army chief to succeed Gen Raheel Sharif. Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif appointed Bajwa as the chief of army staff (COAS) by elevating him to the rank of a four-star general, officials said.Bajwa will take charge of the world’s sixth-largest army by troop numbers in a formal handover on Tuesday, when General Sharif retires. General Sharif in January had declared he would not seek extension. There was speculation that the PML-N government would give him extension at the eleventh hour, citing reasons that he was needed by the country to lead war on terror. The post of army chief is the most powerful in Pakistan.Defence minister Khawaja Asif confirmed that Bajwa had been appointed as COAS and Zubair Hayat as chairman, joint chief of staff committee (CJCSC). Bajwa, currently serving as Inspector General of the Training and Evaluation, had commanded 10 Corps, responsible for the area along the Line of Control (LoC).As a major general, he led the Force Command Northern Areas. He also served in the 10 Corps as lieutenant colonel. He also served with a UN mission in Congo as a brigade commander alongside former Indian Army chief General Bikram Singh, who was also there as a division commander. Previously, he remained the commandant of the Infantry School in Quetta. The new army chief has wide experience of LoC affairs due to his extensive involvement with PoK and northern areas, reports said here. His military colleagues say he is not attention-seeking and remains well-connected with his troops. Lt Gen Bajwa is from infantry’s Baloch Regiment, which besides him has produced three army chiefs — Gen Yahya Khan, Gen Aslam Beg and Gen Ashfaq Pervez Kayani. — PTI

Handled LoC affairs

• Because of his involvement with PoK and northern areas, Lt Gen Bajwa has wide experience in handling LoC affairs
• He had commanded 10 Corps, responsible for the area along the LoC, and led the Force Command Northern Areas

About Bajwa clan, here and in Pak

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, November 26

The appointment of Lt Gen Qamar Javed Bajwa as the next Pakistan army chief to replace Gen Raheel Sharif has kicked up social media traffic, with speculation in some quarters that his family may have old ties with the Sikh Bajwa families in India.While many Indians bearing the Bajwa surname and those who are members of “Bajwa” groups on the social media have been receiving congratulatory messages, some of them have clarified that people bearing the Bajwa surname on both sides of the border originally come from the same clan, from the Sialkot-Narowal belt. All were originally Hindus before they conversion to Sikhism or Islam began a few hundred years ago. Some Pakistani Bajwa families also claim that they converted from Sikhism. In fact, majority of the Sikh Bajwa families migrated to India after Partition and some of them who chose to stay back in Pakistan are said to have converted to Islam later. There are several surnames common to Sikhs and Muslims.Though little is publicly known about the ancestry of Gen Bajwa, he is said to be a Jat belonging to the Punjabi Muslim stock. This also has a coincidence with the Indian Army Chief, Gen DS Suhag, who also happens to be a Jat.Though there may no longer be any direct blood relationship between the present generations of Sikh Bajwas and Muslim Bajwas, social interaction between the two continues.

Sharif said this at a high-level meeting chaired to review the LoC situation. PTI

Islamabad, November 24

Pakistan on Thursday stepped up its anti-India rant with the military chiefs, including outgoing Army chief General Raheel Sharif, threatening that the armed forces were capable of teaching India “a lesson” if the border tension escalates.

Just days ahead of his retirement, General Sharif said that India had staged a “drama” of surgical strikes. “If India conducts a surgical strike we will give such a lesson that will be taught in India Army courses,” according to an ISPR statement.

The comments from the army chief, who is on his farewell tour, came a day after Pakistan claimed that 13 people, including three soldiers, were killed in Indian firing along the Line of Control.

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Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif also convened a high-level meeting to review the situation at the Line of Control, as Pakistan’s Air Chief of Staff, Air Chief Marshal Sohail Aman and Naval Chief Admiral Zakaullah joined in hitting out at India.

Pakistan has shown utmost restraint in the face of Indian belligerence and will not tolerate India’s “deliberate targeting” of civilians and ambulances, Nawaz Sharif was quoted as saying in a statement from the Prime Minister’s House.

“We cannot tolerate deliberate targeting of innocent civilians, particularly children and women, the ambulances and the civilian transport,” Nawaz Sharif said.

“Pakistan has exercised maximum restraint despite the continuing ceasefire violations from the Indian side,” the Prime Minister said.

The Prime Minister called upon the international community to play its active role in defusing tension between the two nations, “which has been deliberately escalated by the Indian side”, said the statement.

The meeting concluded that India was trying to divert the attention of the international community “from the grave human rights violations, massacres and atrocities being committed by the Indian security forces” in Kashmir, it said.

In a related development, Pakistan’s Air Chief of Staff, Air Chief Marshal Sohail Aman said the country’s armed forces were “not worried about India at all”.

Speaking at the International Defence Exhibition and Seminar (IDEAS) in Karachi, the chief of air staff also called on India to resolve the Kashmir issue, saying: “They should speak on matters of principle and our ties will improve.” Meanwhile, Naval Chief Admiral Zakaullah also joined the other two military chiefs and said that the response that Pakistan Navy gave to India (when it chased an Indian Submarine last week) has satisfied the public. “I am also satisfied.” Firing exchanges and a bitter diplomatic war between the two neighbours have escalated after the September 18 killing of 19 Indian soldiers in a terror attack on an army base in Uri, Jammu and Kashmir. — IANS

Ajay Banerjee

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, November 22

Director General of Military Operations Lt Gen Ranbir Singh today told his Pakistan counterpart Maj Gen Sahir Shamshad Mirza to stop his troops from firing across the border or else face retaliation.The DGMOs spoke over the hotline a day after three Indian soldiers were killed and the body of one of them mutilated by terrorists infiltrating from Pakistan. “On Pakistan’s request for an unscheduled hotline interaction, Indian DGMO Lt Gen Ranbir Singh spoke to his counterpart this evening,” an Army statement said.“If any ceasefire violations were initiated by Pakistan troops or any infiltration attempts were made by terrorists from the Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) or territory under its control, it would invite an appropriate response by the Indian Army,” Army spokesperson Colonel Rohan Anand said citing the DGMO.Lt Gen Singh told his counterpart “to exercise strict control on their troops to refrain from any nefarious activities. This would lead to return of normalcy along Line of Control”.He further raised the issue of infiltration attempts by terrorists from the Pakistan side into Jammu and Kashmir and the unethical act of terrorists mutilating bodies of Indian soldiers along the LoC under cover fire by Pakistan.The Pakistan DGMO informed Lt Gen Singh of civilian casualties allegedly caused by Indian firing along the LoC. Lt Gen Singh expressed grief but said only those locations from where Pakistan had violated ceasefire had been targeted by the Indian troops.The Indian DGMO also expressed concerns on civilian and military casualties caused by unprovoked Pakistan firing.The weekly telephonic talk over the hotline is usually conducted by Colonel-level officers.

Pak wooing Indians opposed to Modi’s extremist policies: Aziz
Sartaj Aziz will attend Heart of Asia ministerial conference in Amritsar. — File photo
Islamabad, November 23
Pakistan has set up a high-level committee to formulate “a doable and sustainable” policy to highlight the Kashmir issue globally and is reaching out to Indians who are opposed to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s “extremist policies”, according to a media report on Wednesday.
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The move was announced by Adviser on Foreign Affairs Sartaj Aziz in Senate yesterday, according to Dawn newspaper.
The committee will consist of senior officials from the ministries of defence, interior and information, Military Operations Directorate, Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) and Intelligence Bureau (IB).
Speaking about the status of the implementation of policy guidelines, Aziz said the committee was headed by Foreign Secretary Aizaz Chaudhry and could co-opt other members if required.
Aziz said another committee, chaired by the information secretary, had been formed to prepare fact sheets “to counter India’s propaganda campaign and design a media strategy to continuously highlight the Kashmiri freedom struggle”.
This committee also includes representatives from the ministries of defence, foreign affairs and information technology, as well as members of the Military Operations Directorate, ISI and IB.
Aziz said the Ministry of Information Technology had been asked to prepare a comprehensive strategy to highlight the Kashmir issue via social media.
He said “steps were being taken to highlight Indian interference in Pakistan’s internal affairs, as well as its support for subversive activities and human rights violations in held Kashmir”, the report said.
Aziz said steps were already being taken to reach out to segments of the Indian public that were opposed to Modi’s extremist policies.
“Our missions abroad, including in New Delhi, are making outreach efforts to emphasise the extremist Indian policies,” he remarked.
Talking about measures to counter India’s efforts to isolate Pakistan in the region, Aziz said Pakistan was doing its utmost to engage the international community, including regional partners.
He said Pakistan was supportive of all initiatives for peace and stability in the region, adding that this commitment to regional peace and stability was evident from the decision to participate in the Heart of Asia ministerial conference in Amritsar, despite the postponement of SAARC summit in Islamabad because of India.
Pakistan’s nuclear doctrine, he said, was clearly spelt out and due restraint was being exercised.
“Pakistan continues to exhibit maturity and statesmanship despite provocative statements by Indian leadership and the continued ceasefire violations across the LoC and working boundary having resulted in civilian casualties,” he said.
He said there was a need for a positive response from India to move forward. He said that while Pakistan always conveyed a desire to resolve all outstanding issues through dialogue, India had chosen to attach conditions to the talks. — PTI

Sartaj Aziz

New Delhi: Pakistan Prime Minister’s adviser on foreign affairs Sartaj Aziz will travel to Amritsar to attend the two-day Heart of Asia Conference scheduled  for December 3 and 4. (Follow The Tribune on Facebook; and Twitter @thetribunechd)  Sources  confirmed that Pakistan conveyed this decision to India on Tuesday at an official level. This puts the ball now firmly in India’s court on whether to schedule a bilateral or other such meetings with Aziz. On the other hand, India can treat Aziz’s visit as part of a multilateral conference at which more than 40 foreign dignitaries and organisations are expected. Till now, India has refused to comment, stating that an official confirmation of Pakistan’s participation was awaited. The thrust of the meet is to discuss the future of Afghanistan in which both India and Pakistan are heavily invested. — Simran Sodhi

AMMU: Known for his versatility in movies as well as his social work, Bollywood actor Nana Patekar on Wednesday morning had a word of advice for the youth of Kashmir Valley.

HT PHOTOBollywood actor Nana Patekar consoles family members of martyr Gurnam Singh during a visit to BSF’s Paloura camp in Jammu on Wednesday.

“Pursue your dreams via academics, learn something and be part of the national mainstream because throwing stones won’t lead you anywhere. It (stone-pelting) is not going to do anything constructive in your life,” he said.

Following deaths and injuries to the BSF men in recent ceasefire violations by Pakistan on the border, Patekar came on a brief visit to meet Border Security Force troopers and their families.

“How can I boost their (BSF men) morale? In fact, it is they who boost my morale. Go and see them on the border — young boys in their early twenties are guarding the border 24×7. They don’t need me but we need them. Despite being asked to avail their leave, these young boys are not ready to leave the borders,” said Patekar to another poser.

“No Eid, no Diwali, no Holi but still they are very happy and the credit goes to their leader, inspector general DK Upadhyaya, who loves them like his sons. I am returning with a high morale,” he added.

BAN ON PAK ARTISTS He also talked about a lobby in Bollywood, which had recently vouched for Pakistani artists working in Bollywood. “I feel the government should have taken a decision. When our soldiers are dying on the borders, the ‘artist is an artist’ logic doesn’t work. I think when relations turn hostile between two countries, artists from outside should go back to their country and when situation turns normal, they can come again,” he said.

KV Prasad

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, November 13A fresh controversy surfaced over the India-Japan civil nuclear agreement amid a report that New Delhi made additional commitments to Tokyo, denied by authorities privy to details of the agreement.Sources in the Ministry of External Affairs said the Nuclear Cooperation Agreement signed last week in the presence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Prime Minister Shinzo Abe contained the same ‘’template’’ as with other civil nuclear pacts with others, including the USA, barring an exception.“Given Japan’s special sensitivities as the only nation to have suffered a nuclear attack, it was felt that their views should be recorded in a separate note, a record by the negotiators of respective views on certain issues. It states, on one hand what could be Japan’s views in advance on what is a hypothetical situation; that is their national prerogative,” the sources said.On reports of termination clause, the sources said it was present in other pacts that India had signed, including the US, and made specific reference to Article 14. “However, the circumstances triggering a possible termination are never sharply defined. Consideration also has to be given to mitigating factors”.Report in a section of media suggested that if India violates it voluntary commitment on moratorium on nuclear testing made to the Nuclear Suppliers Group in 2008, the section on emergency suspension of nuclear parts or fuel supply could be invoked. India, the sources said, also recorded its position, which was a reiteration of the September 5, 2008 commitments and no change was envisaged from it to make additional commitments.The civil nuclear agreement is to be ratified by Japanese Parliament, Diet. Barring Russia, Japanese companies Hitachi, Toshiba and Mitsubishi have parts in nuclear reactors that US companies like Westinghouse and GE or French Areva are to install in India under the separate arrangement.