All posts by webadmin

We are nuclear state, prepared for war: Pakistan fumes over General Rawat’s statement

Leave a comment

Ready for war, Pakistan responds to Bipin Rawat

ndian Army chief General Bipin Rawat and his Pakistani counterpart General Qamar Javed Bajwa (Picture collage by India Today Group)

Days after India decided to call off talks between the foreign ministers of India and Pakistan in New York later this month, the two countries have started blaming each other. Upping the ante, the armies of the two countries have also jumped in the war of words.

While Indian Army chief General Bipin Rawat on Saturday welcomed India’s decision to call off talks and said that it’s time to “give it back” to Pakistan Army and terrorists, Pakistan Army has said that the nuclear-powered nation is “ready for war”.

Pakistan Director General of Inter Services Public Relations Major General Asif Ghafoor said, “We are always ready and prepared for war. War happens when either side is unprepared for it.”

Govt of Pakistan

✔@pid_gov

 DG Inter Services Public Relations Major General Asif Ghafoor says Pakistan is ready to respond to any external aggression.
Responding to a statement of Indian Army Chief, he said is a nuclear power and our desire for peace should not be misconstrued as our weakness.

He said Pakistan’s desire for peace “should not be misconstrued as its weakness”.

Pakistan’s Geo News, a news channel, quoted Major General Asif Ghafoor, who is also the spokesperson of Pakistan Army, saying that “the Indian government has failed to clamp down the political struggle of Kashmiris”. He said Pakistan’s offer for dialogue is still on the table. “We know the cost of peace and we want to take it ahead,” he said.

On Saturday, Indian Army chief General Bipin Rawat had said that “talks and terrorism can’t go hand in hand.” This was after Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan called India’s decision to cancel the talks between foreign ministers of the two countries as “arrogant and negative”. General Rawat said India needs to take “stern action to avenge the barbarism carried out by terrorists and Pakistan Army”.

ANI

I don’t want to comment on political issues. But I’ll like to say that we’re getting full cooperation. We’re given freedom on how to carry out our operations. And you can see its effect in Kashmir & North-east:Army Chief on being asked about Army being used in political campaigns

 

“Yes, it’s time to give it back to them [Pakistan] in the same coin…not resorting to similar kind of barbarism. But I think the other side must also feel the same pain,” Rawat had said.

India, on Friday, decided to call off the meeting of foreign ministers of India and Pakistan that it had agreed to a day before. India cited the recent killing of three SPOs in the Kashmir Valley allegedly by Pakistan-backed terrorists and the mutilation of the body of BSF Head Constable Narendra Kumar near the International Border as one of the reasons for cancelling the talks. The body of the soldier was found on September 19 with multiple bullet injuries and his throat was slit.

Another reason cited by India was that Pakistan has released a series of 20 postage stamps glorifying Burhan Wani, a terrorist who was killed by Indian forces in Kashmir in 2016.

ALSO READ | Murder of 3 policemen in Kashmir sparks massive outrage, Dogra Front stages protest

Addressing medipersons after the cancellation of talks, Spokesperson of the Ministry of External Affairs Raveesh Kumar had said, “Now, it is obvious that behind Pakistan’s proposal for talks to make a fresh beginning, their evil agenda stands exposed and the true face of the new PM has been revealed to the world in his first few months in office. Any conversation with Pakistan in such an environment would be meaningless.”

Highly placed sources have told India Today TV that Prime Minister Narendra Modi himself reviewed the decision on the talks.

Pakistan’s Army, as per Geo News, however, rebuffed the Indian government’s claim that it mutilated the body of its soldier.

“We categorically dismiss the Indian allegation. We are a professional army. We can’t disrespect the body of a soldier even if he belongs to an enemy state,” Major General Asif Ghafoor reportedly said.

WATCH: Pakistan’s PM Imran Khan hits out at India for calling off talks

Read More

On Nepal and Bhutan, Army chief General Rawat is right, and wrong too

Leave a comment
Army chief General Bipin Rawat is both right and wrong about why Nepal and Bhutan cannot delink from India. First, he is right that Nepal and Bhutan are geographically inclined towards India. Both the countries are geographically sheltered from the north because of the Himalayas. Nepal’s northern frontiers are the Great Himalayan Range with the highest elevations in the world such as Mount Everest, Kanchenjunga and others. Bhutan’s northern front is again a natural wall of glaciated and very high mountain peaks.  On the southern side, both the landlocked countries share borders with India. Nepal’s southern lowland plains bordering India are part of the Indo-Gangetic Plain. Bhutan is nestled between the Tibet Autonomous Region to the north and the Indian states of Arunachal Pradesh in the east, Assam and West Bengal in the south and Sikkim in the west.

However, General Rawat is wrong to pin so much importance on geographical proximity. British imperialism, which led to the occupation of over 24% of the earth’s total land area in the 20th century, established amply that geographical bulwarks succumb to other forces. The strength of shared cultures and harmonious history, developed due to geographical access, also fail under economic imperialism. Especially in an age where the technology of warfare has improved tremendously; moreover where big powers rely on sub-conventional or asymmetric warfare and economic imperialism rather than conventional invasions, the sharp edges of geography are reduced dramatically.
With China’s rapidly growing economic and military influence, it will be a powerful force in Nepal and Bhutan. However, New Delhi has some aces up its sleeve as well which it must be exploited to their full potential — its legacy of friendly ties with Nepal and Bhutan as well as the latter’s fear of a suffocating Chinese embrace, as seen in Pakistan or Sri Lanka. But it is imprudent for India to be complacent by assigning too much weight to geography alone.
Read story here: Nothing comes for free, says Army chief Bipin Rawat on aid from China 

Army Reforms: Why Moving Rashtriya Rifles HQ to J&K is Dangerous by Lt Gen Ata Hasnain

Leave a comment

A few media reports have indicated that as a part of its reorganisation effort, there is a proposal by the Army Headquarters (HQ) to shift the Directorate General of Rashtriya Rifles (DGRR) from New Delhi to Kashmir or Udhampur, ostensibly to take charge of the counter-terror (CT) operations in Jammu & Kashmir (J&K).

8

Additionally, the suggestion could also have come to relieve HQ 15 Corps from the counter-terrorism responsibility.What exactly is the Rashtriya Rifles (RR)? Is it similar to the Assam Rifles (AR) which fights the insurgency in the North East and has its HQ (DGAR) in Shillong, in closer proximity to the areas of the deployment of the AR? Is a similar model as the HQ DGAR being contemplated to set up HQ DGRR in the counter-insurgency zone in J&K?

The Rashtriya Rifles and Assam Rifles are the only two paramilitary forces (PMF) in India which support the Army. The Coast Guard (CG) supports the Navy and is the third PMF.

The AR is the oldest PMF. Its manpower is recruited on a permanent basis, on terms and conditions akin to the police. But it is officered by Indian Army officers on deputation with a small percentage of cadre officers of the AR – the cadre officers do not command the units.

The force is controlled and financed by the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA). Its units are placed under Army formation HQ, or AR sectors and divisions, which too are commanded by Army officers on deputation.

It has remained an effective working model, albeit operations and non-operational logistics being under Army and AR respectively.

Rashtriya Rifles: India’s Finest Military Experiment

Rashtriya Rifles, a later creation, was set up in 1991 to fight the Punjab militancy and relieve the Army from the counter-terrorism grid. However, with the advent of militancy, terrorism and proxy wars in J&K, its role immediately switched to the Kashmir theatre.

Its units, all approximately 1200-strong, work under Rashtriya Rifles Sector HQ and Force HQ (light division size). The manpower comes from the Army as also the officers, from all Arms and Services. Many of the RR units remain deployed under direct command and control of Army brigades and divisions, especially at the LoC.

Only the manpower rotates, that too from specific regiments, based on their composition and affiliation. There are 63 Rashtriya Rifles units and this is considered India’s finest military experiment in many years.

The DGRR located in Delhi is the controlling authority or line directorate, who, much like DGAR, performs the same tasks but does not have the organisation of an operational HQ, unlike the HQ DGAR.

RR Relocation to Kashmir Historically Dangerous

It would be unfair to compare the operational employment, deployment and command and control of the two forces, as they function in completely different environments.

The DGRR in Delhi is much leaner and under the current structure, it cannot function as an operational HQ, unlike the HQ DGAR, which is organised almost on the pattern of a Corps HQ of the Army with separate domain-related branches.

Very few would be aware that the DGRR had once moved to Srinagar to assume charge of the operational CT grid and relieve HQ 15 Corps of the responsibility of the hinterland operations, leaving it free to conduct counter-infiltration and LoC-based operations.

DGRR was given the grandiose title of HQ Overall Force Commander (OFC) in June 1999 and assumed charge when HQ 15 Corps was under intense pressure due to the Kargil intrusion.

Additional officers and other staff were posted to make up the strength. HQ 15 Corps was then responsible for the area from Demchok in East Ladakh to Gulmarg. The acrimony between HQ 15 Corps and HQ OFC was something unbelievable and I experienced it first-hand.

The rancor led to enhanced infiltration, triggering of a flurry of so-called Fidayeen actions by the terrorists and loss of much ground that had been gained through 1991-98. Division of responsibility for counter-infiltration and counter-terror operations is an unthinkable measure as there is intrinsic intelligence and operational linkage from the adversary launch pad right across the LoC to the reception area and safe houses in the hinterland.

Better sense prevailed after the completion of Operation Vijay, with HQ OFC being converted to HQ 14 Corps to take responsibility of Ladakh sector and the DGRR element returning safely to Delhi to resume its line directorate duties.

Why HQ 15 Corps Know Kashmir Best

It must be remembered that the unity of command is the acme of success in operations. If the Kashmir Valley is to have two large operational HQ it will adversely affect civil military relations, intelligence and cooperation between the deployed elements of the Army and the RR.

Deploying the HQ DGRR at Udhampur would be a halfway measure – neither here nor there. HQ 15 Corps has 28 years of institutional experience of dealing with the Government of J&K, intelligence agencies, JK Police and CRPF. This experience does not come easy.

Besides anything else, HQ 15 Corps as a virtual lead organisation has successfully thwarted Pakistan’s deep state and the Separatists; if anything, it is political initiatives which remain and completion of the mainstreaming of the population. In the latter issue, there is no better organisation which understands the pulse of Kashmir. Its responsibility of the LoC and the LAC in Ladakh, unwieldy as it was, was reduced post the raising of HQ 14 Corps in 1999.

With hindsight and a peek into lessons of the past, the Army would do well to let the status quo remain. Those who learn from history are never condemned to repeat it.

(Lt Gen (Retd) Syed Ata Hasnain is a former GOC of the army’s 15 Corps and now associated with Vivekanand International Foundation and Institute of Peace & Conflict Studies. He can be reached at @atahasnain53. This is an opinion piece and the views expressed above are the author’s own. The Quint neither endorses nor is responsible for them.)

(The Quint is now on WhatsApp. To receive handpicked stories on topics you care about, subscribe to our WhatsApp services. Just go to TheQuint.com/WhatsApp and hit the Subscribe button.)

(The Quint is now on WhatsApp. To receive handpicked stories on topics you care about, subscribe to our WhatsApp services. Just go to TheQuint.com/WhatsApp and hit the Subscribe button.)

Chain snatched from Army Major in Ambala

Leave a comment

Tribune News Service

Ambala, September 9

An Army Major lodged a complaint at the Topkhana police post here this evening, alleging that two unidentified bike-borne youths snatched her chain.

According to information, Major Nozia Hansraj, in her complaint, said that she was on her way to her house on foot after completing some work at the Engine chowk when the two youths on the bike reached there and snatched her chain and fled from the spot.

8 Army jawans hurt in accident

8 Army jawans hurt in accident

Our CorrespondentKangra, September 9

Eight Army jawans of the Gorkha Rifle regiment were injured seriously  when an Army truck skided into a gorge at Gatnaloo village on the Pathankot-Mandi highway this evening, the police said here on Sunday.

Dinesh Kumar, Additional Superintendent of  Police, said an Army truck was on the way to Dalhousie from Palampur. When it reached Gatnaloo this evening, skided into a gorge.

He said a civilian, Kuldeep Kumar,  who was riding a  motorcycle, was also injured in the accident. He said all nine persons were rushed to the Tanda medical college. The plice registered a case under Sections 279, 337, IPC, and 184, MV Act.

Kewal Singh Pathania, a Congress leader, reached the spot and helped locals in the rescue operation.

Parkash Utsav: Golden Temple decorated with flowers

Leave a comment

https://youtu.be/RdIDipAMDmE

http://

Tribune News Service

Amritsar, September 9

On the eve of Parkash Utsav of the Guru Granth Sahib, the sanctum sanctorum, Darshani Deorhi and Akal Takht at the Golden temple have been decked up with flowers.

Illuminated with colourful lights and flowers, the holiest Sikh shrine has tastefully been decorated.

SGPC chief secretary Roop Singh said 100 quintals of flowers were brought from different countries, including Malaysia, Thailand, Singapore and Australia. A majority of these flowers has longer shelf life.A ‘nagar kirtan’ will be taken out from historic Gurdwara Ramsar, where the Guru Granth Sahib was edited, to the Golden Temple.

A fireworks display will be carried out and ‘Jalau’ (show of splendour) will be displayed at the Golden Temple.

Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh has already declared a gazetted public holiday on September 10.

DG inspects NCC units in city

Leave a comment

DG inspects NCC units in city

Director General NCC, Lt-Gen PP Malhotra (right), felicitates a cadet during his visit to Chandigarh on Saturday. Tribune photo

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, September 8

In a two-day inspection visit to the Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh and Chandigarh NCC Directorate here, Director General (DG), National Cadet Corps, Lt-Gen PP Malhotra, addressed officers, the staff and discussed various functional issues with them.

He also visited the Chandigarh NCC Group on Saturday and reviewed the training and allied activities being undertaken by its Army, Air Force, Navy and girls’ units.He was accompanied by the Additional Director General, NCC, Maj-Gen RS Mann, and was briefed by the Group Commander, Brig RS Thakur on the occasion.

Lt-Gen Malhotra also interacted with cadets and felicitated them for their performance in various activities. Those who were awarded include Senior Under Officer Ankit and Cadet Warrant Officer Amit Ramola of the air wing, the only two cadets from Chandigarh, selected to go abroad under the NCC Youth Exchange Programme.

Speaking on the occasion, Lt-Gen Malhotra appreciated achievements of city cadets due to their enthusiasm and dedication. He emphasised on the need to maintain continuity to achieve better standards of training so that cadets could achieve laurels at the national as well as the international level.

Don’t appoint IAF medical head: Apex court to Centre

Leave a comment

Don’t appoint IAF medical head: Apex court to Centre

Vijay Mohan

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, August 29

The Supreme Court has refrained the Centre from making any appointment to the post of the Director General Medical Services (Air Force) after it fell vacant earlier this month on the incumbent being posted as the DGMS(Army).

In its orders passed on August 1, 2018, the SC had quashed the appointment of the DGMS(Army). In doing so, it upheld the AFT judgment that allowed a petition filed by Maj Gen (now Lt Gen) Manomoy Ganguly, who challenged the appointment on grounds of seniority and merit.

The AFT, while quashing the government’s choice for the post of DGMS (Army), had also ruled that Ganguly be given the post. On August 10, the government posted Air Marshal Rajvir Singh, then DGMS (IAF), as DGMS (Army) in the rank of Lt Gen. Medical officers are rotated amongst three services and don the uniform and ranks of the service they are posted to.

Ganguly, whose promotion to Lt Gen had been notified by the Appointments Committee of Cabinet in January, is still heading the medical branch at Southern Command, a post tenable by a Maj Gen. Following Rajvir’s posting, he again moved the SC, staking his claim for the Army’s top medical post.

In its August 1 order, the SC disagreed with AFT’s conclusion that the appointment to the post of DGMS (Army) is not based on seniority alone and ruled the AFT’s direction that Ganguly be straightaway appointed as DGMS (Army) may not be proper.

India ready for constructive engagement with Pakistan, Modi writes to Imran

Leave a comment

New Delhi, August 20

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has sent a letter to his newly elected Pakistani counterpart Imran Khan, conveying that India was looking for constructive and meaningful engagement with his country.

Modi noted that India was committed to peaceful neighbourly ties with Pakistan, official sources said, quoting from the letter.

The prime minister also stressed the need to work for a terror-free South Asia, they said.

The prime minister conveyed to Khan that India was looking for constructive and meaningful engagement with Pakistan, the sources said.

Khan was sworn in as Pakistan’s 22nd prime minister on Friday. PTI

IMRAN KHAN’S OATH-TAKING Sidhu hugs Pak army chief, kicks up a storm back home

Leave a comment

https://twitter.com/twitter/statuses/1030684573838000130

http://

http://

http://

http://

http://

http://

Vibha Sharma
Tribune News Service
New Delhi, August 18Indian cricketer-turned-politician Navjot Singh Sidhu on Saturday met and hugged Pakistan Army chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa at the oath-taking ceremony of Imran Khan in Islamabad.Sidhu, who was wearing a dark blue suit and a pink turban, was seen seated next to President of Pakistan Occupied Kashmir (PoK) Masood Khan at the swearing-in ceremony.The Pakistan government instead of seating Sidhu with other foreign dignitaries, positioned him next to Masood Khan in Aiwan-e-Sadr Hall of President’s House.Read: Haryana minister Vij attacks Sidhu for attending Imran Khan’s swearing-in

Talking to the state-run PTV, Sidhu used his usual poetic expression to praise Khan.

“A new morning is here in Pakistan with a new government which can change the destiny of the country,” said Sidhu, a minister in the Congress government in Punjab.He hoped that Khan’s victory will be good for the Pakistan-India peace process.Earlier, Sidhu and Pakistan Army Chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa were spotted hugging each other at the President House prior to the ceremony.Before entering the President House, Sidhu said: “People like Khan sahab (Imran Khan) create history. With this invitation, they have honoured me. People who build relationships are respected, people who break them are disrespected and I am one of those who respect relationships. It’s a new dawn. This government has come to change this country’s perception, picture and destiny, with high hopes and expectations”.

The storm back home

Sidhu’s hug has earned him sharp rebuke from his former party, the Bharatiya Janata Party, which called it a “heinous crime”.“Navjot Sidhu and Congress party have committed a serious crime. He hugged Pakistan Army Chief Bajwa, a man responsible for terrorism in India, killing hundreds of innocent Indian civilians and Army men and then sat next to so-called PoK president Masood Khan. The kind of vote of thanks he gave later, does it justify his position as an Indian minister and send the right message to the people across the country he represents,” questioned BJP spokesperson Sambit Patra.“Sidhu is not an individual but a representative of the government. What he has done today is no simple crime. He should’ve refused to sit next to Masood Khan, who was deliberately brought in front where Sidhu was sitting. Sidhu should have refused to sit with him. He should have said I will not sit next to him,” Patra said.

Pakistan violates ceasefire on LoC

Leave a comment

Pakistan violates ceasefire on LoC

Jammu, August 17

The Pakistan Army on Friday resorted to unprovoked firing on Indian forward posts on the Line of Control (LoC) in Jammu and Kashmir’s Poonch district, defence sources said.
“Adequate retaliatory action was taken by our troops. No casualty has been reported from our side,” the sources said. — IANS  

 Four soldiers hurt in Nowgam sector gunfight

4 soldiers hurt in Nowgam sector gunfight

Northern Command chief Lt Gen Ranbir Singh reviews security situation in the Rajouri sector on Thursday. Tribune Photo

Tribune News Service

Srinagar, August 16

Four Army men were injured in a gunfight close to the Line of Control (LoC) in north Kashmir’s frontier Kupwara district in the wee hours of Thursday, defence sources said.The gunfight erupted in the Nowgam sector, 120 km northwest of Srinagar, when soldiers noticed suspicious movement near a forward post.“As the group was challenged, it opened fire, which was retaliated. In the exchange of fire, four soldiers were injured,” sources said. The injured soldiers were shifted to a hospital.Defence sources said the infiltrators were supported by the Pakistan army which resorted to a ceasefire violation to give a cover to the militants.“It could have been a BAT attempt which was foiled or it could have been an infiltration attempt,” they said.Soon after the firing, the Army launched a massive combing operation in the sector to trace the militants. However, there is a possibility that the militants could have escaped to Pakistan-occupied Kashmir taking the advantage of the ceasefire violation.This is the second time in the past 24 hours that Pakistan has fired on Indian posts in Kupwara district.On Wednesday evening, the Pakistan army fired on Indian posts in the Tangdhar sector. The two sides exchanged fire at forward posts in the Sudhpora and Danni areas of Karnah till Thursday morning. The firing has created panic among locals.Armed men spotted in Jammu, search held  

  • Jammu: A search operation was launched in the Bathindi and Narwal areas of Jammu city on Thursday after the Army received an input of two armed men roaming in the area in a  vehicle.
  • After the intelligence input, the quick response teams were activated in these areas and the search operation was on till the filing of the report.
  • The police also joined the Army in the search operation and a close watch was being kept on the movement of vehicles. TNS

Army foils infiltration bid in Rajouri district

  • Rajouri: Troops of the Gorkha Regiment have foiled a major infiltration attempt by terrorists in the Jhangar sector of Rajouri district.
  • Defence sources said around 5.15 am on Wednesday, alert troops noticed some movement along the Line of Control in the Jhangar sector and challenged the intruders.
  • “On being challenged, the intruders opened fire on the troops which was retaliated effectively. Pakistani soldiers also provided cover fire to the intruders. An Indian soldier, Krishan Bahadur Acharya, received injuries during the firing and was evacuated to a hospital,” the sources said. TNS