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Mumbai: Guided Missile Frigate INS Ganga entered the Mumbai harbour under own steam for the last time on Saturday and was placed in the non-operational category on Sunday. After 32 years of service, the ship is likely to be decommissioned before the year-end. The ship, commissioned on December 30, 1985, at Mumbai, and presently in her 24th Commission, is commanded by Captain NP Pradeep. Despite long service, she still retains her capabilities in all dimensions of naval warfare. It is a testimony to the resilience of the ship that she sailed into Mumbai flying the flag of Rear Admiral RB Pandit, Flag Officer Commanding Western Fleet straight from a 45-day patrol in the Northern Arabian Sea, it said. ‘INS Ganga’ is also affiliated to the J&K Light Infantry of the Army. pti

Zahoor Ahmed Tokar

Majid Jahangir

Tribune News Service

Srinagar, July 6

A Kashmiri Army man deserted his unit in north Kashmir and fled  with arms and ammunition on the intervening night of Tuesday and Wednesday.While there is no confirmation whether the jawan, hailing from Sirnoo village in volatile Pulwama district of south Kashmir, has joined militancy, an alert has been sounded. There have been instances in J&K where policemen have joined the militant ranks, but this is the first incident when a Kashmiri soldier has deserted the Army ranks.(Follow The Tribune on Facebook; and Twitter @thetribunechd)Sepoy Zahoor Ahmed Tokar was posted in 173 Territorial Army (Engineering) at Gantmulla Baramulla. He went missing, along with an AK rifle and three magazines. He had been posted at the Gantmulla base since he joined the Army two years ago. Major General AK Singh of the Army’s counter-insurgency unit Kilo Force said the desertion by the jawan was a “one-off incident.”Tokar had visited his home for Eid and joined back after two days. A police officer said, “There is no active militant from Tokar’s village though a few militants are active in the neighbouring villages.” Zahoor Ahmed Tokar Majid Jahangir Tribune News Service Srinagar, July 6 A Kashmiri Army man deserted his unit in north Kashmir and fled  with arms and ammunition on the intervening night of Tuesday and Wednesday. While there is no confirmation whether the jawan, hailing from Sirnoo village in volatile Pulwama district of south Kashmir, has joined militancy, an alert has been sounded. There have been instances in J&K where policemen have joined the militant ranks, but this is the first incident when a Kashmiri soldier has deserted the Army ranks. (Follow The Tribune on Facebook; and Twitter @thetribunechd) Sepoy Zahoor Ahmed Tokar was posted in 173 Territorial Army (Engineering) at Gantmulla Baramulla. He went missing, along with an AK rifle and three magazines. He had been posted at the Gantmulla base since he joined the Army two years ago.  Major General AK Singh of the Army’s counter-insurgency unit Kilo Force said the desertion by the jawan was a “one-off incident.” Tokar had visited his home for Eid and joined back after two days. A police officer said, “There is no active militant from Tokar’s village though a few militants are active in the neighbouring villages.”

Major Nitin Leetul Gogoi addressing the media in Srinagar on Tuesday. — ANI photo

Srinagar, May 23

Major Nitin Leetul Gogoi, the Indian Army officer who used a Kashmiri man as human shield on his jeep to thwart a stone-pelting mob, on Tuesday said he did that to “save more lives”.“On April 9, we went to a polling booth to check the security situation, and then some people started hurling stones at us,” he said. Also read: Is dragging a person for 28 km bravery, ask Farooq Ahmed Dar (Follow The Tribune on Facebook; and Twitter @thetribunechd)

“If I had ordered firing then more casualties would have been there,” Gogoi said, recalling the events of April 9 during the by-election in Srinagar.A video of Dar tied to an army jeep as human shield had gone viral on social media, and was widely condemned.Explaining the events of the polling day, Gogoi said, “I received a call from an ITBP (Indo-Tibetan Border Police) personnel that a crowd of 400-500 people had gathered outside the polling booth in Bandipora and were pelting stones and hurting the polling staff.””When we reached there in 30 minutes, me and my boys brought the situation under control, but then around 10.30 am I again received a distress call that around 1,200 people were pelting stones and also hurling petrol bombs in Utligam,” he said.”Without wasting time, we moved to Utligam which was 1.5 km from there,” the Rashtriya Rifles officer said, adding that after reaching there they were unable to move out of their vehicles.Gogoi said he made repeated requests to the crowd, including women and children, to stop stone pelting but they didn’t stop.”Then I noticed this man (Farooq Dar) just 30 metre away from my vehicle. He was instigating stone-pelters and might have been their ringleader. I asked my QRT (Quick Reaction Team) boys to get hold of him. After noticing my boys coming towards him he started running towards the crowd and took the bike to flee the spot,” he said.Gogoi said Dar was a resident of Kashmir’s Budgam district.He said army personnel managed to capture Dar and took him inside the polling station.”But soon there was an announcement made from a mosque after which more people gathered outside the polling station and they even hurled petrol bombs at us,” he said.”When we were unable to move out, I announced from my mega-mic to tie the captured man on the bonnet, after which the stone pelting stopped for sometime and we got time to come out and get into our vehicles,” he said.The Jammu and Kashmir police, which has lodged an FIR against Gogoi, said that investigations will continue. Major Leetul Gogoi, who was accused of tying a Kashmiri man to jeep to ward off stone-pelters, on Tuesday said he had to take the step to save local people.The incident occurred on April 9 during the polling for Srinagar Lok Sabha byelection. — Agencies

Pins & needles: China is, time and again, trying to build pressure points on India.

 THE Sino-Indian standoff in the Doklam area, near the tri-junction of the borders of Sikkim, Bhutan and China is assuming a serious dimension. The facts known so far are that on June 16 a PLA construction party entered Bhutanese territory in the Doklam area to construct a road. Bhutan lodged a protest with China that this intrusion was in violation of their agreements of 1988 and 1998. India, in coordination with the Bhutanese government, let its personnel — who were “present at general area Doka La” — help with the interception. The forces are facing-off, not eyeball to eyeball but in close proximity. These facts were revealed by India in a press note of June 30, 2017. On June 26, the Chinese ministry of foreign affairs, answering a question, asserted that because the Sikkim-China border has been delimited by historical agreements i.e. Convention between Great Britain and China Relating to Sikkim and Tibet (1890), the Indian side has “unilaterally stirred trouble”. The Chinese ministry of defence on June 29, more acerbically, called earlier statements of the Indian Army Chief as “extremely irresponsible” while alleging that “Indian border guards” had transgressed Chinese territory. The Indian side underplayed the fracas calculating that India and Bhutan unity and the terrain and deployment in the area favouring India, it was best to allow China to let off steam. The fact that PM Narendra Modi set forth on a leisurely three-day sojourn through Israel prior to the G- 20 meeting in Germany, South Block seems convinced that Chinese rhetoric will blow over. But Chinese ambassador in New Delhi re-stirred the pot calling the situation “grave”. India had to resolve the issue as, he argued, it neither had the right to interfere with China-Bhutan boundary talks nor make territorial claims on behalf of Bhutan. This may be diplomatic bluster and South Block’s unwillingness to speculate on Chinese motives justified, but the events did occur against the background of the Modi-Trump summit on June 26. It is possible that the PLA was routinely attempting to improve its position in the Doklam area as occupation of the plateau and linking it by road would provide deployment advantage. It is equally likely that the Chinese, by intruding into Bhutanese territory, were testing the weaker party of the India-Bhutan alliance to see if it could be browbeaten. Had India not aided the outnumbered Bhutanese, stopping the Chinese ingress, Bhutan would have been entitled to question Indian reliability. Furthermore, it is also possible that the Chinese simply miscalculated the salience of the Trump-Modi summit. The India-US joint statement leaves little scope for doubt that China is the unnamed threat to a rule-based international order, freedom of the seas and Asian security. Trump’s withdrawal from the Trans-Pacific Partnership and transactional deal with China at Mar-a-Lago may have erroneously lulled Chinese President Xi Jinping into assuming that the US was no longer willing to wager its military resources to contain China, directly like President Barack Obama or indirectly by joining ranks with “democratic stalwarts” of Asia. Having consolidated its hold on the South China Sea, China may have been looking to build pressure points on India to obtain assurances on curbing the Dalai Lama’s role or Indian objections to the OROB. Unnoticed by China something seems to have turned off Trump’s dalliance with it. It could be Chinese unwillingness or inability to curb the Democratic Republic of Korea (DPRK) in its pursuit of deadlier missile and nuclear weapon capability. A successful test now of an intercontinental ballistic missile by DPRK, with the possibility of reaching the US mainland, would further embarrass Trump. His disappointment earlier emanated from the death of US student Otto Warmbier after repatriation by DPRK in a coma, the cause of which remained mysterious. While before assuming presidency Trump blamed China for DPRK behaviour, he changed that after a 10-minute chat with Chinese President Xi Jinping in April. Some Chinese reports let it be known that Xi was irritated by periodic phone calls from Trump about DPRK as Xi was hardly the desk officer for that country. Trump’s tweet on June 21, after Warmbier’s death, noted that while he appreciated “the efforts of President Xi and China to help with North Korea, it has not worked out”.It is possible that the timing of Modi’s visit worked to India’s advantage as Trump may already have been having a rethink on his China policy. The aggressive patrolling of the South China Sea by US ships partially confirms a modified US approach to China. This may again be a tactical shift to be replaced with equal alacrity by Trump-Xi hand-holding at the G-20. The moral of this story is that with a whimsical US President, India and China would be grievously erring to base border policy on his anticipated conduct. Modi and Xi are attending the G-20 summit in Germany. Xi is preceding it with a swing through Russia and a bilateral Germany visit. Modi arrives there after his three-day Israeli sojourn. If they do not meet, there would be speculation that the Chinese are upset over India stymieing them at Doklam. If they do meet, they would be compelled to address the standoff and seek a solution that allows both to keep face. Xi now finds himself between a reassertive US, just having conducted a joint missile exercise with the Republic of Korea, and a resolute India unwilling to relent on its redlines in the crucial Doklam tri-junction area that abuts India’s vital arterial link to its Eastern states. The two nationalistic leaders need an honourable way out of the crisis. Xi needs moral ascendancy approaching the crucial five-yearly party congress which will decide the leaders to rule China over the next five years and beyond. Modi cannot back-off to maintain his image as defender and protector of ‘Bharat Mata’. It is not the 1962 moment of national shame or the 1987 Operation Falcon opportunity to restore honour lost. It is certainly time for both leaders to reassess the way forward for a safer, securer Asia. But both must remember it took one bullet to trigger World War I. The writer is a former Secretary, Ministry of External Affairs

In the letter, written three months after BS Dhanoa took charge as IAF chief, he stressed on the need to mould Indian Air Force’s training programme considering the evolving security scenario.

NEW DELHI:
HIGHLIGHTS
IAF chief asserts force should be ready for ops at ‘very short notice’
He asks officers to be mindful of their professional conduct
Letter was written 3 months after he took charge as IAF chief
Air Force Chief BS Dhanoa has written a personal letter to officers of the force, asking them to be prepared for operations at a “very short notice” to effectively deal with security challenges, including sub- conventional threat, to the country.

In the letter dated March 30, the Air Force chief also touched upon a range of issues relating to service matters and asked the officers to be morally upright and mindful of their professional conduct so that image of the force is not tarnished.

Talking about various security challenges confronting the country, Air Force Chief Dhanoa, in an apparent reference to Pakistan backing terror groups targeting India, spoke about persistent “sub- conventional threat”, asserting the force should be prepared for operations at a “very short notice”.

“It was a personal letter the IAF chief wrote to the officers covering a wide range of issues that he felt were important,” a senior Air Force official said.
In the letter, written three months after he took charge as IAF chief, BS Dhanoa also stressed on the need to mould the Air Force’s training programme considering the evolving security scenario.

Air Force Chief Dhanoa also talked about the need for the IAF to remain ready for operations with its “present holdings”, seen as an reference to the force’s depleted strength of 33 squadrons of fighter aircraft instead of sanctioned strength of 42 squadrons.

In the letter, he also talked about the need for the Air Force to remain conscious about the new technological advancements in war fighting machinery as well as strength of India’s adversaries.

He also touched upon cases of alleged “favouritism” and “sexual harassment” in the Air Force, stressing on the need to maintain high standards of morality and fairness. He said the image of Air Force must not be allowed to get affected at any cost.

Imphal, June 30

Militants triggered an IED blast at an Assam Rifles check-post in Manipur today, killing an Assam Rifles jawan and injuring two paramilitary men.The IED, planted at 27 Assam Rifles check-post at Ramva in Ukhrul district, exploded at 7.20 am.(Follow The Tribune on Facebook; and Twitter @thetribunechd)The slain jawan was identified as Rifleman Biju Sorupuwar from Lakhimpur district in Assam. Rifleman Yashpal and Havildar Nihar Ranjan Das were airlifted to Leimakhong Army Hospital.On June 15, an Assam Rifles jawan was killed in a blast in the same district. — PTI 

Vijay Mohan

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, May 17

In the backdrop of misuse of defence land and financial irregularities in the management leases consistently cropping up in various parliamentary and audit reports, the MoD has constituted a committee to study the optimum use of defence land for regulating its commercial exploitation.The committee, in an order issued earlier this month, has asked military establishments to furnish details of rent, licence fee, allied charges and other revenue generated from commercial establishments running on defence land for trend analysis.The ministry owns around 17.54 lakh acres throughout the country. The land is managed by the three Services as well as other organisations functioning under the ministry like the Defence Research and Development Organisation, Ordnance Factory Board etc. A small portion of land or buildings at military stations and cantonments is leased out to private parties for commercial activities like shopping centres for the benefit of local residents or for cultivation.The Public Accounts Committee of Parliament has observed that the aspect of commercial use of defence land, its misuse and non-crediting of income from land and properties into government account by local military authorities are repeatedly objected to, but no tangible action has been taken to rectify the situation.Commenting on the “dismal” state of management of leases, the committee pointed out that 2,500 acres, valuing Rs 7,11,033 crore, had been given on lease, but the annual rent was only Rs 2.31 crore, which was a pittance given the value of land. Moreover, in several thousand cases, either no visible efforts were made to renew the leases or requests for renewal were not received or the status of leases was unknown. Unabated encroachments on defence land also continued.“Despite instances of unsatisfactory management of defence estates being repeatedly highlighted in audit reports, there was no significant improvement. Cases relating to misuse of defence land by the local military authorities, unauthorised occupation of land by the ex-lessees due to non-renewal of lease in time and consequent loss of revenue continued to persist,” the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) had observed in one of its recent reports.

Committee’s brief

• To study the optimum use of defence land for regulating its commercial exploitation
• It has already sought details of rent, licence fee, allied charges and other revenue generated from commercial establishments running on defence land

The construction of the USD 50 billion China-Pakistan Economic Corridor may be hit in the short run due to India’s objections but if Beijing and Islamabad are firm about their cooperation, they can dispel New Delhi’s doubts, a report in state-run Chinese media said.

India is protesting against the CPEC as it passes through the Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK).

“Some people believe obstruction by India may become a stumbling block to the development of the China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC),” an article in the official daily Global Times said.

In fact, India’s “rejection” is mainly because the corridor passes through Pakistan-occupied Kashmir. The corridor’s construction may be affected in the short term, but from a long-term perspective, China and Pakistan can dispel India’s doubt to the maximum degree if they are firm about their cooperation and actively interact with neighbouring countries, it said.

The article written by a researcher who worked in Pakistan said Chinese investments there could make profits.

“The return rate of the CPEC for China is generally higher than that in other countries. Pakistan is required to pay 17 per cent of the investment deposit for each project,” it said, providing rare details about the conditions laid down for Chinese investments in Pakistan.

“At present, China has invested in 51 projects in the CPEC, with 19 already complete. Pakistan has announced that the total investment has reached USD 50 billion. That number is based on projects that are currently running, and the final number will exceed it,” the article said.

In addition to the CPEC, China has invested in more than 200 projects in Pakistan. Its investment in the Hualong One Nuclear Power project near Karachi amounted to USD 6.5 billion, it said.

The investments mainly focus on energy and infrastructure, which are urgently needed for Pakistan’s economic development.

It also sought to dispel fear about Chinese workers’ safety in Pakistan after two Chinese were killed in Balochistan allegedly by the Islamic State militants.

“Many Chinese have serious concerns about the security environment and prospects of the CPEC after the recent kidnapping and alleged murder of their compatriots there,” the article said.

“But I found the misgivings were not necessary after carrying out on-the-spot research at Chinese and local enterprises in Pakistan, and visiting scholars and research fellows at various universities and think tanks,” it said.

Despite the recent tragedy, the overall security situation in Pakistan has improved, the article said.

“Attacks on Chinese people mainly occurred in Balochistan, where the security situation has been truly deteriorating,” it said.

Union Minister Prakash Javadekar

Tribune News Service

Srinagar, May 13

Militants attacked an Army patrol in the Tral area of south Kashmir’s Pulwama district this morning. No one was, however, injured in the firing.Sources said an Army party had gone to Seer Jageer village, some 40 km from Srinagar, for mapping the area when militants fired at it.“The fire was retaliated and the area was immediately cordoned off to track the militants,” police sources said. There was no contact with the militants during the search that followed. The operation was later called off.The militants, sources said, managed to escape from the area soon after firing at the Army patrol.The firing took place days after a young Kashmiri Army officer was killed by militants in neighbouring Shopian district. The Army officer was home on leave to attend the wedding of a relative.South Kashmir has witnessed a spurt in militant attacks this month.

Pak knows it cannot defeat India: JavadekarBengaluru: Union Minister Prakash Javadekar on Saturday said incidents like the attack on an Army patrol in Kashmir by terrorists were part of the tactics by Pakistan, which knew it could not fight and win a conventional war with India. “There are no two opinions. Pakistan knows that it cannot defeat India. They cannot fight a war against India and therefore what they are doing is, it is their strategy. But it will be defeated, even as they are isolated in the international forum,” he told reporters here. Javadekar was replying to a query on terrorists opening fire on a patrol party of the Army in Tral township of south Kashmir’s Pulwama district earlier in the day. PTI

• 

Sukhvinder Kour, with her daughters, talks of her efforts to secure the release of Sohan Lal.

Dinesh Manhotra

Tribune News Service

Jammu, June 22

The fiesty Sukhvinder Kour was for once at a loss for words when she got wind through the media that among the four Indian prisoners released by Pakistan today on humanitarian grounds was her husband.A constable in the Jammu and Kashmir Police, Sohan Lal Choudhary had inadvertently crossed over to Pakistan on May 11, 2014, while working in his fields on the International Border. His village Gulabgarh is a stone’s throw from the border near the Suchetgarh post.  (Follow The Tribune on Facebook; and Twitter @thetribunechd)“We have been eagerly awaiting this news for more than three years. I have no words to express my feelings,” Sukhvinder Kour said. Sohan Lal was taken into custody by the Pakistan Rangers and was shifted to Lahore Jail, where he was lodged till his release today.“As Sohan Lal was mentally disturbed during those days, he had mistakenly crossed the border three years back,” she recalled. Since then, it has been a persistent struggle for Sukhvinder to meet anyone who could be of help to get him back home, and to keep alive the issue. “We  approached all forums,” she said, adding that it was all due to the media’s constant pressure that the authorities worked assiduously to secure his release. “We met politicians, officials and senior BSF officers,” she said, expressing her gratitude to the Border Security Force for effectively taking up the issue with the Rangers.When Sohan Lal had crossed over to Pakistan, his younger daughter Mahima was in UKG and elder one Anjali in Class IV. Anjali, who’s now in Class VII, had written to PM  Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh for help in getting her father home. The other prisoners repatriated via the Attari-Wagah border were Suraj Ram, Mohammad Maqbool Lone and Abdul Majid.