Aditi Tandon

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, January 11

The Congress today cleared 25 candidates of the pending 40 in Punjab while still withholding for further discussion names of nominees for 15 segments on account of intense infighting among other issues. The list is expected tomorrow.Among prominent candidates, whom the Congress central election committee chaired by party chief Sonia Gandhi is learnt to have cleared, are former minister Lal Singh’s son Rajinder Singh from Samana; Lok Sabha MP Santokh Chaudhary’s wife Karamjit Chaudhary from Phillaur, Sirsa Dera chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim’s relative Harminder Jassi from Maur and sitting Ludhiana North MLA Rakesh Pandey from his seat.(Follow The Tribune on Facebook; and Twitter @thetribunechd)Candidate from Sanaur, where Lal Singh is sitting MLA, has not been finalised yet. From CM Parkash Singh Badal’s Lambi, the party is likely to field Gurmeet Singh Khurian. However, it has kept pending candidate for Jalalabad, from where Deputy CM Sukhbir Badal is in fray.Joginder Mann may be fielded from Phagwara while Adampur will go to ex-MP Mohinder Kaypee. Tejinder Bittu is the likely nominee from Jalandhar North, Pawan Adhia from Sham Chaurasi, Bhupinder Sidhu from Ludhiana South and K Karwal from Atam Nagar.Naresh Puri and Joginder Singh may be fielded from Sujanpur and Bhoa, respectively. Harpartap Singh may get Ajnala and Santokh Singh Baba Bakala. The party is undecided on Ludhiana East, Nakodar, Pathankot, Jagraon, Fazilka, Mansa, Garhshankar among others.

Congress today got a boost with a prominent ex-servicemen organisation lending support to it for the upcoming Assembly elections, alleging that Prime Minister Narendra Modi has done “precious little” for their welfare.

The Indian Ex-Servicemen Movement (IESM), which is spearheading an agitation for OROP implementation for last 571 days here, announced to support Congress in presence of PCC president Amarinder Singh and chief ministers of Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand Virbhadra Singh and Harish Rawat respectively.

Speaking at the AICC headquarters, IESM chairman Maj Gen Satbir Singh (retd), hit out at the Prime Minister for not fulfilling his promise of granting OROP to all soldiers and accused the government of changing the definition of OROP as spelt out by Congress-led UPA before it was voted out of power.

In an apparent dig at the Prime Minister, he quoted Chanakya to say the king is not worthy of respect if a soldier has to go to him to seek something for him or his family.

Insisting that IESM, which is a federation of ex-servicemen’s organisations all over the country, has agreed to back Congress in the poll-going states as also elsewhere in the country as the party leadership has agreed to a charter of demands on OROP and related issues for welfare of soldiers, Satbir Singh said.

“Congress has given its agreement on implementation of OROP… We fully support the Congress in all the state in these elections,” he said.

The League has also taken upon itself for educating people to cast vote to those who fulfill their assurances. “We will be with you if you don’t break our assurances,” he said.

Amarinder Singh said most of the ex-service organisations throughout the country will be working together for the benefit of the Congress.

He said the movement entered its 571st day of protest at Jantar Mantar, on issues which they feel as ex-servicemen are vital for welfare of servicemen, like OROP, 7th Pay Commission and most importantly the downgrading of precedence of various ranks of the Army in relation to civilian counterparts.

“The last issue is the biggest thing. The ‘Izzat’ of a serviceman is more important than anything else. These issues are not limited just to Punjab. But, is affecting everybody,” he said.

Amarinder said there is great strength in servicemen. “We have all come on the same stage to work for benefit of all,” he said.

“We have agreed to an ESM cell at the Chief Ministers Office and we have started a new department called ‘Guardians of Governance’,” the PCC chief said.
“This will be a paid organisation which will employ ex-servicemen down to village-level and monitor how funds are spent. We hope this will help us improve the governance of Punjab,” he said.

Criticising the Defence Minister for his remarks against two top Army commanders, Amarinder said, instead of focusing on important issues, the Defence Minister is criticising for the sake of criticism.

“We took umbrage at the comments made by Defence Minister against the two Army commanders, both of whom are outstanding soldiers. Then he said IB looked into them. That is an insult to the Army Commanders,” he said.

Virbhadra Singh said Himachal Pradesh is a state with a large number of serving and retired service personnel.

“We are here to give support to ex-servicemen, who are agitating for the real implementation of the promises made to them. OROP has in reality not been fulfilled and falls short of expectations. Service personnel are people of Honour. They live with Honour. The Centre should not ignore their demands,” he said.

“It is shameful that our soldiers have to sit-in Jantar Mantar for their demands which are just and we fully endorse them. The government is totally oblivious of their demands and are adding salt to their wounds.

“It is not a question of money but a question of honour for soldiers,” Virbhadra said.
Rawat said the way ex-servicemen were treated by the Prime Minister is not “acceptable”, even as he accused the government of not just diluting the OROP issue but also of diverting from the issue.

“Their right demands and concerns are being bulldozed and we are feeling very hurt and rejected over it,” he said.

Congress chief spokesperson Randeep Surjewala said Prime Minister Modi promised to give OROP to ex-soldiers but changed it to ‘One Rank and 5 pensions’ and by doing so has betrayed the ex-servicemen.

“There has been proud history of Congress and soldiers and former soldiers have decided to support the Congress all over the country and expose and highlight the Modi government’s betrayal,” he said.

Senior Congress leaders Ambika Soni, Asha Kumari and former CLP leader in Punjab Sunil Jakhar were also present.

The move is aimed at encouraging the minority community members to join the police force. courtesy: twitter

New York, December 29

The New York Police Department will allow its Sikh officers to wear turbans and maintain beards, relaxing its uniform policy to promote inclusiveness and encourage the minority community members to join the force.New York Police Commissioner James O’Neill announced the measures being taken towards ensuring religious accommodation to its officers following a graduation ceremony for new police recruits yesterday.Under the revised policy, officers from the Sikh faith will be allowed to have beards that extend up to one-half inch from the face. The officers may also wear blue turbans — with a hat shield it affixed to it — in place of the traditional police cap.“We’re making this change to make sure that we allow everybody in New York City that wants to apply and have the opportunity to work in the greatest police department in the nation, to make sure we give them that opportunity,” the Commissioner said.Standing alongside Sikh officers after the grand graduation ceremony, O’Neill said the measures were aimed at making the NYPD “as diverse as possible”.“We changed our beard policy and our head covering policy. It is a major change in our uniform policy, so we had to go about it carefully,” he said. The Commissioner said there are about 160 Sikh officers currently in the ranks and he was looking to expand those numbers. He said the religious accommodation will give people from the faith the opportunity to join the police department.Sikh Officers Association, a group of Sikh officers, welcomed the move.Of the 557 recruits who graduated from the Police Academy, 33 are Muslims and two are Sikhs, according to the Police Department. — PTI

New Delhi: The Defence and Research Development Organisation has successfully tested an indigenous Smart Anti-Airfield Weapon  from an IAF aircraft, an official release said on Saturday. Designed and developed in the country, the 120-kg class smart weapon is used to destroy runways, bunkers, aircraft hangers and other reinforced structures. Its long standoff range of 100 km will allow the IAF to hit adversary airfields with high precision from a safe distance. The trials were tracked by radar and telemetry ground stations at the Chandipur range. ians

There is a danger of the spread of potential ambushes expanding to adjoining areas.

Lt Gen Syed Ata Hasnain

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New Delhi: Central government employees have been demanding a better monthly pay package under the 7th Pay Commission, and demanding reinstatement of all the allowances abolished or subsumed by the pay panel

The government, even set up a committee in July under Finance Secretary Ashok Lavasa to look into the Allowances related grievances of central government employees. Though the committee was to submit its report within 4 months, it is yet to come out with its report.

Now, the committee has received extension up to February 22 to submit its report.

Even, considering the statements made by the RBI governor Urjit Patel in the last bimonthly monetary policy announced on December 7, it seems that higher allowances, if at all, will not come before March 2017 i.e. the next financial year.

As the RBI Governor said that disbursement of salaries and arrears under 7th Pay Commission award has not been disruptive to inflation outcomes, he added that the extension of two months given to the Ministry of Finance to receive the notification on higher allowances under the Pay Commission’s award, could push it’s fuller effect into the next financial year, rather than this financial year.

The war-ravaged Syrian cities Aleppo, Raqqa and Mosul are caught in the vortex of the West Asian drama.

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THERE is a tragedy of unimaginable proportions unfolding in the Syria- Iraq conflict zone and big powers which once contributed to the stabilisation of potential conflict situations during the Cold War are now perpetrators of the worst human rights violations. Each time it appears that the human race would learn from its mistakes and that world institutions existent to prevent such carnages would become stronger. Exactly the opposite happens. The current round in the five-year-old Syrian conflict and the 30-month-old Iraqi conflict situation essentially goes back to the 2003 US intervention in Iraq for regime change.It is a first-ever situation of media blackouts from a conflict zone. Ever since the ISIS (Daesh), other surrogates and lesser elements unleashed their concept of extreme cruelty and depraved behaviour with prisoners it has been impossible to get genuine media men to report from inside the conflict zone. Information, therefore, is one sided and second or third hand, based upon who is providing it. The groups involved place much of the news on social media wherever internet connectivity is intact. The humanitarian situation is one of the worst witnessed in any conflict zone for long, with an estimated 2.2 million people evicted and homeless. This adds to nearly half the pre-civil war population of Syria now in a state of displacement and there is more around Mosul, the northern Iraqi stronghold of Daesh. Water and food supplies are stretched to the limit and UN and other humanitarian agencies are at risk with premature entry without ceasefire due to the sheer nature of the fighters. Ceasefire is a word which has little meaning in this environment. There have been numerous attempts to hammer out the agreement but the February to September 2016 ceasefire held in patches.It failed once the Russian and Iran-backed Assad regime pushed for strategic advantage to wrest Aleppo. Aleppo’s location will give any military mind an instant deduction; it is strategic, located closer to the Turkish border and is sufficiently nestled to the East to cover Latakia, the only port that the Russians have the facility of in the Mediterranean with the nearby air base. The recent surge of Russian military activity and backing to the Assad forces appears to be partially due to the urgency to complete operations before the transition in Washington. US support to the rebels forces during the Obama administration has been hesitant and for good reason. There are just too many rebel groups in loose coalitions with little command and control. The US does not have an effective policy in place nor the right controls to allow its support developing into stronger resistance. It has to chart a careful path as those aligned with the Syrian rebel groups include the Jabhat al Nusra and even the Al-Qaida. Empowerment of the rebel groups indirectly strengthens these anti-US elements also. The control over Syria is in patches, without intact frontlines making support to an anti-government coalition challenging. Conversely, the forces of Assad and his allies, Hezbollah, Russian and Iranian special forces and Russian airpower have greater intact territory to operate from. The role of Turkey in this conflict has been significant with Recep Erdogan joining the Saudi-Qatar effort to arm the Syrian Sunni rebels. A contentious issue was always the small 30-man sub-unit Turkey maintained inside Syrian territory for the upkeep of the tomb of Suleiman Shah, grandfather of Osman the founder of the Ottoman Empire; it has since been vacated along with the mortal remains. Although Russia-Turkey relations have improved marginally after the low after the Turkish shooting of a Russian fighter jet in 2015. NATO’s military presence at the Turkey-Syria border is viewed suspiciously as was its awkward stance in the facilitation of leakage of ISIS fighters into Syria till late in 2015. On the eastern flank is Raqqa, the virtual capital of Daesh. However, it is not a weakened Daesh which holds the city but the Syrian Democratic Force (SDF) funded, armed and sponsored by the US to which 200 more US Special Forces personnel are being added. Raqqa in SDF hands means advantage US. With Mosul under siege and the dominant role being that of the Iraqi Army and US Air Force plus the Kurdish Peshmerga and the Turks also joining in, there is a mish- mash of forces minus the Russians. Iran does not appear to have a frontline role although it is a Shia-dominated Iraqi Army which is the dominant element. Sooner than later, Mosul will fall and the rump Daesh elements would make a beeline for Raqqa and for Aleppo. Hence the necessity to have at least Aleppo in Syrian and Russian hands; the urgency is high and hence ceasefires are being broken before they are even agreed upon. All the urgencies involved in the battles for Mosul and Aleppo are creating humanitarian crises in which the ICRC and the UN aid agencies are struggling.Many are pointing to the inability of the UN doing anything to put an end to violence. There is not much the UN can do.  “Syria has become an experiment lab for geopolitics between US and Russia and failure of UN and the international community”. It is this situation which Donald Trump is going to inherit on Inauguration Day and for all his contacts with Vladmir Putin it is unlikely Russian interests are going to be compromised by the Russian leader. Once Aleppo is in the hands of the Assad forces a degree of consolidation can commence.The future looks as complex and confused as the present. Iraq’s Prime Minister Abadi is now closer to Assad. For Shia power to proliferate Iran’s outreach to the Hizbollah is equally important and for that Iraq’s cooperation is necessary. In a post-Daesh configuration (whenever it emerges), it is the Iran-Saudi proxy conflict which will continue. To set the stage for that the populations of all the important cities of Northern Iraq and Syria continue to pay a huge price. The writer, a former General Officer Commanding of the Srinagar-based 15 Corps, is now a Fellow with the Delhi Policy Group.

Chief Minister Harish Rawat pays tribute to war heroes on the occasion of Vijay Diwas at Gandhi Park on Friday. Photo: Abhyudaya Kotnala

Tribune News Service

Dehradun, December 16

Chief Minister Harish Rawat said soldiers had proved their worth in the 1971 war with Pakistan.He said people could not forget the sacrifice made by the soldiers of the Indian Defence forces. He paid tribute to martyrs at a function to commemorate Vijay Diwas held here today.He said the role played by soldiers during the 1971 war was commendable.The Chief Minister said it was a matter of pride for everyone that a large number of youths from Uttarakhand were serving in the defence forces. The state government would take all steps to address the grievances of next of kin of the martyrs.Rawat urged youths to come forward in a large number to join the Indian defence forces. He said brave soldiers from the state had laid down their lives in wars fought since India got Independence.Forest Minister Dinesh Agarwal, MLAs Rajkumar and Ganesh Joshi were present.In another function, Brig Paritosh Pant, Deputy General Officer Commanding, Golden Key division, laid a wreath on behalf of all ranks of the division in a wreath-laying function held at Prernasthal, Clement Town.The gathering was told that Vijay Diwas is celebrated on December 16 every year to celebrate the glorious victory of the Indian Army over Pakistan in 1971. India emerged victorious after 14 days of the war with Pakistan that also led to the creation of Bangladesh.Golden Key Division celebrated Vijay Diwas by honouring the brave and courageous men who had sacrificed their lives fighting for the country.

Islamabad, December 13

India was developing nuclear submarines and was building up its nuclear stockpiles by the day, a top Pakistani official claimed on Tuesday.

“India is developing atomic submarines and also resorting to unprovoked firing on the line of control and the working boundary. In these circumstances, Pakistan has no option but to keep itself ready for defense,” Additional Secretary (UN and Economic Cooperation) at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Tasnim Aslam said at a seminar here.

“In these circumstances Pakistan has no option but to keep itself ready for defense.”

She claimed Pakistan was maintaining minimum deterrence, but was willing to work for regional peace and stability.

“We are prepared to hold negotiations with India for resolution of outstanding disputes,” she said, also accusing India of “unprovoked firing” on the Line of Control and simultaneously making “irresponsible” statements.

She claimed that India being granted a place in the Nuclear Suppliers Group would disturb regional stability.

She claimed Pakistan had proof to India’s involvement in supporting militancy in the country.

“India has accused Pakistan of supporting non-state elements for terrorism but the Indian state has been involved in terrorist activities,” she said.

Aslam said Pakistan’s participation in the Heart of Asia Conference showed its seriousness towards peace and stability in Afghanistan.

“Our decision to attend the conference also foiled the Indian attempt to hijack the Heart of Asia process,” she claimed. — PTI

Pakistan wary of NSG ‘exemption’ for India

Islamabad, December 14

Pakistan is encouraged by growing support in the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) for establishing criteria for membership of non-NPT countries, but are wary of “big powers” pressurising smaller countries into granting exemptions for India in the admission process, media reported on Wednesday.

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“There are a lot of countries that now recognise the need for a criteria-based approach rather than granting exemptions, but pressures are still being exerted on smaller countries,” Dawn quoted Kamran Akhtar, Director General of Disarmament at the Foreign Office, as saying.

“We are pretty confident that NSG countries would not go down the exemption way, but if they ultimately do so and give exemption to India, there would be serious repercussions not just for Pakistan, but also for other non-nuclear weapon states that may feel being unjustly denied their right to peaceful uses of nuclear energy,” Akhtar said.

He said it was now up to NSG countries to decide if they wanted the group to be seen as being driven by political and commercial interests or else they would want non-proliferation goals to be strengthened.

The official warned that strategic stability in South Asia would be undermined if Pakistani application was not treated equally with the Indian case.

“Pakistan wants to deny India space for war and create a space for peace. Its (Pakistan’s) weapons are for maintaining peace in the region and for deterrence,” said Khalid Banuri, Director General of Arms Control and Disarmament Affairs.

Additional Secretary to Foreign Office Tasneem Aslam said the issue of membership of non-NPT countries was deeply linked to strategic stability in South Asia.

“… the NSG stands at crossroads, once again, as it considers membership for non-NPT states. An even-handed and non-discriminatory approach by the NSG at this juncture would be of far-reaching significance for strategic stability in South Asia and global non-proliferation efforts,” she said and recalled, the NSG had missed in 2008 the opportunity to promote adherence to non-proliferation regime by granting waiver to India.

—IANS

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee raised political temperature considerably when she accused the army of “clear violation of the Constitution” by attempting to “create a civil war-like situation in the country”. Mamata Didi has a penchant for dramatics and victimhood, sometimes justifiably so, during the three-decade rule of the Left Front in West Bengal. The Chief Minister decided to spend the night at the state secretariat. Perhaps she was readying herself to do a Boris Yeltsin in front of army tanks in the morning.What made it worse was other organs of the state like the West Bengal Police reduced themselves to parroting Ms. Banerjee’s hysterical social media postings. The air cleared after the army uploaded acknowledged copies of letters sent to senior police officers informing them about their exercise. Skeptics will want to know why the army didn’t approach the National Highways Authority for the information. In a digital world, this information, updated to the last second, could have been instantly emailed. For one, it is always beneficial to conduct a field exercise rather than framing strategies based on number crunching. Second, toll gates are a recent innovation. The army perhaps did not think it fit to adjust its procedures to the digitalisation of toll booths.But Mamata Banerjee has rarely lent herself to cogitative contemplation in public life. A day earlier she had alleged an attempt to kill her when her flight was kept on hold for landing due to congestion. The next day her colleagues were raising Cain in Parliament. Rational explanations from the airlines cut no ice with Mamata and her party colleagues. To be fair, Mamata is matching the ruling coalition at the Centre and even her new-found crusader, Arvind Kejriwal, in appealing to emotion while ignoring the facts. The Centre’s Love Jehad, surgical strikes and demonetisation are of the same piece. In this era of post-truth, perhaps we should reconcile ourselves to a kind of public posturing where truth is of secondary importance. But the downside of such affectations is their collateral damage on apolitical institutions like the army.

Don’t defame Army, says Bengal Guv; Didi hits back

Kolkata, December 3

West Bengal Governor KN Tripathi today cautioned against “defaming” and “letting down” the Army in the wake of Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee alleging that soldiers extorted money from truck drivers during their deployment at toll plazas.Tripathi said: “Every person should take care in making allegation against a responsible organisation like the Army. Don’t let down the Army. Don’t defame the Army.” Responding to Tripathi’s caution, Mamata accused him of speaking in the “tone of central government” on the issue.“The Governor is speaking in the voice of the Central Government! He was not in the city for about eight days,” she tweeted.Terming the Governor’s comments as “unfortunate”, Mamata, also the Trinamool Congress supremo, said Tripathi should have checked details of recent developments in the state before commenting.“Before making statements, all details should have been checked. It is very unfortunate,” said Banerjee, who spent Thursday night at the state secretariat and stayed put there for 36 hours protesting deployment of the Army at toll plazas in the state allegedly without informing her government—an issue that snowballed into a major row causing disruptions in Parliament. The Centre and the Army rubbished the allegations, saying too much was being read into a routine exercise.Meanwhile, a Trinamool Congress delegation, on Saturday afternoon met the state governor and submitted a memorandum protesting against the deployment of Army at toll plazas.“We have informed him in detail about how the Army was deployed at 18 places in West Bengal without the permission of the state government,” said State Education and Parliamentary Affairs Minister Partha Chatterjee after meeting the Governor.Echoing party supremo Mamata Banerjee, the Trinamool leader criticised the Governor for his comments on the issue. — IANS