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The order will be applicable to personnel of BSF, CRPF, ITBP, CISF and SSB.

New Delhi, September 27

Jawans and officers of Central paramilitary forces like BSF, CRPF and ITBP will soon be accorded the status of “battle casualty” on the lines of armed forces that will allow their families to avail special concessionary benefits for education and livelihood.Officials said the Union Home Ministry has “in principle agreed” to grant sanction after the country’s largest border guarding force BSF made a proposal in this regard sometime back, which was taken up during a review meeting with Home Minister Rajnath Singh today.They said the battle casualty status will allow the family members of the personnel killed in the line of duty to avail special benefits like obtaining educational benefits/loans for children of the slain soldier, getting jobs in state government and private sector and while applying for licence for running public service utilities like a fuel pump or a gas agency.”The final modalities are being worked out and an order will be soon issued by the Home Ministry. This will be applicable for the jawans and officers of forces like BSF, CRPF, ITBP, CISF, SSB and NDRF,” a senior official said.The facilities that can be provided under the battle casualty status by the Centre and various state governments are being worked out, they said.Also, they said, the Ministry will consider enhancing the risk and hardship allowance given to the about eight lakh men and women of these forces tasked to render a variety of internal security tasks within the country and at the international borders.During the meeting, the BSF also put forth its request to the Ministry to make its air wing a “self regulatory establishment” on the lines of the Coast Guard, the maritime security force under the Ministry of Defence.”The proposal essentially flags that the BSF air wing used for transport of Central Armed Police Forces and VVIPs should be given more assets and authority to operate in a more organised fashion. It is desired that the BSF air wing gets more independence in undertaking operational sorties. Comments have been sought in this regard from the Ministry of Civil Aviation, Defence and also Coast Guard,” they said.The BSF, during the meeting, also informed the Home Minister that the special tech-based border security and fencing gadgets project will soon be implemented on a pilot basis along both the western (Pakistan) and eastern (Bangladesh) frontiers.BSF Director General K K Sharma also mentioned the issue of upgradation of their border outposts and troop locations along the Indo-Pak and Indo-Bangladesh frontiers during the meeting, they said. — PTI

The PM will hold the meeting on Thursday.

KV Prasad

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, September 27

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will review India’s unilateral granting of the ‘Most Favoured Nation’ (MFN) status to Pakistan under the WTO rules.                    A meeting to this effect will be held on Thursday and will be attended by top officials of the government, including Commerce and External Affairs, top sources in the government said.                        The review comes amid a clamour to take action against the country in the backdrop of the September 18 Uri attack.

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India granted the MFN status to Pakistan in 1996. Pakistan has not given a similar status to India.The MFN status to Pakustan was accorded in 1996 under WTO’s General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT).According to Assocham, out of India’s total merchandise trade of $641 billion in 2015-16, Pakistan accounted for a meagre $2.67 billion.India’s exports to the neighbouring country worked out to $2.17 billion, or 0.83 per cent, of the total Indian outward shipments while imports were less than $500 million, or 0.13 per cent, of the total inward shipments.”In all, trade with Pakistan was equivalent to 0.41 per cent of India’s global merchandise commerce,” Assocham secretary general DS Rawat said in the statement.“The MFN status, or no MFN, has not made much of a difference on the bilateral trade,” he said.“While India has granted Pakistan the MFN status, Islamabad had not responded. But even with the MFN status, Pakistan’s exports to India remained less than half a billion dollars,” he added.The major items of Indian export to Pakistan include organic chemicals, vegetables, cotton, plastics and processed food waste, like fodder.Items of Indian imports from Pakistan include cottons, fruits and nuts, mineral fuels, wax, sulphur, lime, cement and hides.”Going forward, as things stand today, it is almost no movement seen in the immediate future. Even the symbolic presence of Pakistan exhibitors at the annual India International Trade Fair (IITF) in November in New Delhi is not expected whether or not formal ties are snapped or not, given the present state of affairs,” Rawat said.Assocham said “India Inc. is fully behind Prime Minister Narendra Modi for steering India’s interest in the best possible directions”.”India’s strategic decisions are fully the domain of the government, which enjoys the full backing of the nation,” Rawat added.At another review meeting here on Monday, Prime Minister Modi directed that the Indus Water Treaty with Pakistan be revisited.”Blood and water cannot flow together,” Modi said at the meeting to review the Indus Water Treaty signed by India and Pakistan in 1960.It was decided that the meetings of Indus water commissioners, that are held to resolve disputes, will now be held “only in an atmosphere free of terror”. — With agencies

MY first visit to Uri town, the latest target of a terror attack, was some 13 years ago. I was visiting the Valley as a journalist and not a tourist. The situation was such that from Jammu to Srinagar, there was fear of a terror strike. Only two dhabas were open. At one of the dhabas, a group of soldiers nearly took away our taxi, saying they were in hot chase of militants. The taxi driver pleaded against it. Fortunately, I had an Army letter authorising my visit to the forward areas. It saved the driver for that day.The Brigadier at Uri was warm and welcoming. He had deputed a young Captain to look after me. “Be safe, no adventurism,”  the Brigadier cautioned me in a chilling voice and a smile that gave me goose bumps. We drove in a Jonga on the zigzag road that climbed one hill and came down the other. The Jhelum, the de facto border between India and Pakistan, criss-crossed the Valley, flowing beautifully in the deep gorge. We passed tiny hamlets and apple and apricot orchards.The destination was an advanced military camp near a village called Sultan Dhakki, a few hundred metres short of the LoC. I was thrilled to inhale the aroma of roasted meat that wafted from somewhere in the vicinity. The Captain pointed down the hill towards two large vessels, where food was being cooked by soldiers in the open in the village common ground. That would be our dinner. I was delighted. But still worried about the night stay in bunkers. I needn’t have. After a few turns, we stood in front of an opening in a rocky hill. It was a khul ja sim sim experience. I could have fathomed that the Army had burrowed into the hills and created an accommodation, no less than a five-star stay.After bathing, we sat outside for a cup of tea and snacks. The spot was at a safe angle from the enemy behind the hills. “You will see Diwali at night as  rockets will fly,” chuckled the officer. His soldiers grinned.As we talked, the conversation veered around on how soldiers kept their mind off death and bullets. “I play chess,” the Captain said. “Voila! I too,”  I exclaimed. Soon, two armies were set in black and white on the chessboard. It took me no more than 10 moves to grab the rook and the queen. The officer was visibly hurt. He was losing in front of his jawans, who sat around us in a semicircle. He lost the second too, after much struggle. One last game, he said, ordering meat for both of us in a tone that expressed his anger. He won the third.Back in the lodge, he sipped beer and remarked: “I was flustered. It was not about losing or winning. It was about you killing my army while it had not moved from its squares. No jawan would like an officer, or for that matter a government, that lets this happen to them.”

Nawaz Sharif addresses UN General Assembly. REUTERS

TNS & Agencies

New Delhi/United Nations, September 21Raking up Kashmir at the UN, Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif today glorified slain Hizbul commander Burhan Wani as a “young leader” even as he expressed readiness for a “serious and sustained dialogue” with India for peaceful resolution of all outstanding disputes, especially Jammu and Kashmir.Sharif devoted much of his 20-minute speech at the UN General Assembly session to Kashmir and the situation in the Valley and said Pakistan “fully supports the demand of the Kashmiri people for self-determination”.(Follow The Tribune on Facebook; and Twitter @thetribunechd)He demanded an “independent inquiry into the extra-judicial killings” and a UN fact-finding mission to Kashmir “so that the guiltyare punished”. Insisting that peace between Pakistan and India could not be achieved without solving the Kashmir dispute, he alleged human rights violations in the Valley. India blames Pakistan for engineering and fuelling the unrest in Kashmir.Talking about Kashmir, Sharif referred to Wani, who was killed in an encounter with the security forces on July 8, as a “young leader” and said he had “emerged as a symbol of the latest Kashmiri Intifada, a popular and peaceful freedom movement.” 

Nawazspeak at UNGA: Ready to discuss all issues

• Ready for a serious and sustained dialogue with India for peaceful resolution of all outstanding disputes, especially J&K
• There should be an independent inquiry into the extra-judicial killings (in Jammu and Kashmir) and the guilty should be punished
• Pakistan cannot ignore India’s unprecedented arms build-up and will take whatever measures are necessary to maintain deterrence

There are several sentry posts apart from a gate but the terrorists sneaked in undetected after cutting the fence… They came in army uniforms, their hair was cut short like army officers and none of them was sporting a beard. They did not look like a suicide squad… AN OFFICIAL

NEW DELHI: The four militants who carried out the audacious Uri strike that left 18 soldiers dead wore fatigues, entered the army base by cutting the fence and knew their way around the military complex, sources said.

Initial investigations reveal that the four fidayeen, or suicide attackers, reached the administrative base of the army camp, which is barely six kilometers from the line of control in northern Kashmir, by breaking through the fence.

“There are several sentry posts apart from a gate but the terrorists sneaked in undetected after cutting the fence,’’ an official who visited Uri with the army chief on Sunday told HT.

The four were dressed for the raid. “They came in army uniforms, their hair was cut short like army officers and none of them was sporting a beard. They did not look like a suicide squad…,’’ the official said.

The men, suspected to be members of the Pakistan-based Jaish-e-Mohammad, seemed to know the camp layout.

Once inside, they moved towards the cook house and an adjoining shelter.

Armed with under-barrel grenade launchers, they fired grenades and rained bullets simultaneously, setting on fire the diesel barrels lying in the complex.

The flames soon engulfed the tents in which soldiers were still asleep. As soldiers trapped in burning tents screamed for help, three militant stayed close to each other, wreaking death. “Three terrorists were killed within 12 minutes of the first bullet being fired,” an army officer said. But, 17 soldiers, too, had died in those 12 minutes.

Quick reaction teams were called in to save the soldiers lodged in the administrative area, where troops don’t carry battle gear.

The fourth militant who broke from the group was killed barely 40 metres away from the officers’ enclave. During the mopping operation, it was found that the four men had shaved their chests – a hallmark of suicide attackers who purify themselves before certain death.

At a meeting in Srinagar, defence minister Manohar Parrikar wanted some answers — how the militants entered India and then sneaked into a highsecurity army camp.

The army investigating the “double breach”, he was told. It is not clear when the group crossed over into India. The undetected fence cut is a serious lapse. “It is a matter of inquiry. We are looking at the lapses and are tightening up security,” Lt Gen Satish Dua, Corps Commander, 15 Corps, said when asked about the breach.

AMRITSAR/CHANDIGARH: An alert has been sounded in Punjab’s border districts of Amritsar, Pathankot and Gurdaspur following the terror strike on an army camp at Uri in Jammu and Kashmir that claimed the lives of 17 jawans on Sunday.

HT PHOTOThe Border Security Force is keeping a close eye on any movement from across the fence after the terrorist attack on an army base at Uri in Jammu and Kashmir.

Tight vigil is being maintained near key installations, including the Pathankot Air Force base that had come under attack by militants earlier this year and near Indo-Pak border areas, police said.

The Border Security Force (BSF) has heightened security along the Indo-Pak border and at Attari checkpost, where thousands of tourists come every day to witness the retreat ceremony.

A BSF official told HT: “Troops have been alerted and vigil along the border has been heightened. More troops are being sent to the sensitive areas along the border in the Amritsar sector.” The vigil along the riverine border belt in the Ajnala sector has also been beefed up.

“An alert has been sounded in border districts of Pathankot and Gurdaspur in light of the terror attack in Uri,” Pathankot senior superintendent of police Rakesh Kaushal said. Police patrolling has been strengthened near sensitive areas in and around the city and vehicles coming from and going towards Jammu are being thoroughly checked, police said.

“We have also increased the number of police checkpoints in and outer parts of the city,” he said.

Earlier this year, terrorists who had sneaked in from across the border had attacked the Pathankot airbase on the intervening night of January 1-2 while Dinanagar in Gurdaspur was targeted on July 27 last year.

The Pathankot attack had claimed the lives of seven security personnel while four terrorists were killed.

Three heavily-armed terrorists wearing army fatigues had stormed a police station in Dinanagar town in Gurdaspur district last year killing seven persons, including a superintendent of police, before they were gunned down during a day-long operation.

Arun Joshi

Tribune News Service

Srinagar, September 18

Uri attack in which 17 soldiers were killed by four fidayeen on Sunday has served a lot of uninspiring messages to the country, and Kashmir in particular.The fidayeen who come with a high degree of commitment to die, deeply motivated, are not easy to neutralise. Invariably, they have inflicted more casualties than suffered. It happened on Sunday too.It is no secret that the attack had the familiar soundtrack of Pakistan’s deep involvement in this attack, for it is keen to mount as much pressure on India on Kashmir, internally and externally as it can. The state and the so-called non-state actors work in tandem. Uri was the reconfirmation of Pakistan using such audacious attacks as its foreign policy tool to achieve its targets.Since 1999, it is at predawn hour when attacks are mounted with grenades and gunfire from assault rifles on the bleary-eyed guards and soldiers. The necessary lessons, how to foil such attacks, are forgotten immediately after the alarm bells fade into the background.With the infiltration having gone up, and Pakistan committing more support to Kashmiris in their resistance against India and its non-state actors announcing mayhem, this attack was not unexpected. Militants had rehearsed it in Poonch just a few days ago. Poonch and Uri are border areas close to the Line of Control that divides Jammu and Kashmir between India and Pakistan.The loud noises that there was a full preparation to face any eventuality, despite the recurring images of the wreath-laying ceremonies of soldiers and paramilitaries presented a false sense of everything being hunky-dory.There are severe lapses, both in the intelligence network, counter-infiltration grid and the lack of response to the sudden assaults. That the infiltration was peaking and Uri has been a traditional route of infiltrators since the late 80s, the alert level appeared to be wanting.There are suggestions of the timings and the sabotage, which cannot be ruled out because in all the previous fidayeen attacks, there were more concertina wires on the front and the rear, more height was added to the boundary walls, but till date the human failures were not detected nor an attempt was made to find out what went wrong and how. The attack on the Pathankot airbase in January is just one example. The stress was on rituals rather than in zeroing in on the lapses.Militants were determined to strike in a big way after the big noises were made about the deployment of more troops in south Kashmir, reckoned as the nerve centre of the over two-month-long unrest which has consumed 80 lives and left thousands more injured. The virtue of secrecy was subjugated to the sound bites.The fallout of this attack would be that the agitators who have kept the unrest alive in Kashmir would get emboldened. Militants used guns, the protesters will use stones with furious intensity.The Uri attack, one of the deadliest, targeting the Army in recent decades, will also be a test to how New Delhi deals with this situation. Will its reaction be restricted to issuing usual statements, or will it go for an offensive — diplomatic or otherwise.

New Delhi, September 18

Enraged over the terror attack on an Army battalion in Uri, former Army officers today sought urgent action against Pakistan, including keeping the “military option open” to deal with terror from its soil. “We must have our military option open, if required to strike at certain places,” Lt Gen BS Jaswal (retd) said here.“Bring pickets, which have launch pad, to the ground, raze them to the ground. The reason is that till the time it does not hurt Pakistan physically, they would not understand our decency,” said Lt Gen Jaswal, who was GOC-in-C of the Northern Command.“Pakistan keeps doing it (terror strikes) time and again knowing that we would not take any action,” Major Gaurav Arya (retd), who has expertise in the security situation in Jammu and Kashmir, said.The problems in Kashmir are “systematically manufactured” at the General Headquarters in Rawalpindi, he alleged, adding “We must take immediate action. Stop trade with Pakistan, downgrade (its) Most Favoured Nation (MFN) status. The world must know we are serious.”Questioning the absence of two service chiefs at the meeting chaired by Home Minister Rajnath Singh, former Army Chief General Shankar Roy Chowdhury said these actions were coming from Pakistan. “We have this meeting chaired by No 2 in the government, that is the Home Minister, where the RAW chief and CRPF chief are present. Who is doing these actions (terror attacks)? It is coming from across the border, from Pakistan,” he said.“Is the CRPF chief going to look at Pakistan? Where are the Chief of Army and Chief of Naval Staff? Why they were not available to give (advice on) strategic action to the Government,” he asked. — PTI

EXPERTVIEW

We must have our military option open, if required to strike at certain places. — Lt Gen BS Jaswal (retd) Preventing a suicide attack is difficult, but damage control is always possible. — Lt Gen SA Hasnain (retd)No defences are foolproof, though we aim to make it so but the essence is reaction. — Gen KJ Singh (retd)Pakistan keeps doing it (terror strikes) time and again knowing that we will not take any action. — Major Gaurav Arya (retd)