All posts by webadmin

Lucknow/Ranchi/Patna: Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav today announced financial aid of Rs 20 lakh each to the families of four jawans killed in Sunday’s terrorist attack in Kashmir. A government spokesperson said: “The Chief Minister has announced a financial assistance of Rs 20 lakh each to the families of four jawans killed in the terrorist attack.” The Chief Minister condoled the death of Army personnel and said the country would remember the great sacrifice made by them. Jharkhand Chief Minister Raghubar Das announced assistance of Rs 10 lakh each to the families of two soldiers killed in the Uri attack. He assured government help to the families as well. He paid tributes to the martyrs and said they would be accorded state funeral. Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar announced Rs 5 lakh each as ex gratia to the next of kin of the three soldiers killed in the terror attack. He announced that the martyrs would be accorded full state honours. — TNS/PTI

The entire nation is entitled to feel enraged that 17 soldiers should have lost lives at the hands of four ‘fidayeen’ attackers from across the Line of Control in the Uri sector in Jammu and Kashmir in Sunday’s wee hours. The Prime Minister has spoken for the entire country when he correctly asserted that those behind the attack would not be allowed to go unpunished. The Union Home Minister, too, has called a spade a spade and minced no word in mentioning Pakistan’s involvement in the Sunday morning outrage. The whole country salutes the brave men and officers of the Indian Army.The Uri assault cannot be brushed away as yet another ‘incident’. Pakistan is ratcheting up tension, violence and instability all along the India-Pakistan border. Islamabad is testing New Delhi’s patience and will. The Modi government will expectedly find itself under angry public opinion — already being worked up by 24×7 news outlets — to come up with a muscular response. The Uri attack is being catalogued as the sixth major terror attack in the past nine months. The Modi national security establishment will also feel the heat from its own mentors in the Sangh Parivar.Though we should never be averse to any escalation of tensions or to even a confrontation with Pakistan, as a mature and stable nation it is incumbent that we try to avoid the trap of a knee-jerk response. Our answers and responses need to be steadied, smart and efficacious. And to be sure, our response need not be defined only in military terms. There are a whole range of punitive options, short of a full-scale war, available to the government. And, only the government can have an appreciation of those choices and it is only the government that can make the over-all cost-benefit analysis of any particular response. Nor is it necessary that our response should come here and now, or be even openly spelled out. All that the government needs to know is that it will have the support of the entire nation in whatever manner it chooses to respond — just as Pakistan should know that terror tactics will not unnerve India.

FEROZEPUR: The Indian army constructed a new bailey bridge over Hussainiwala Barrage, situated about 10km away from Ferozepur.

HT PHOTOArmy jawans constructing a bailey bridge over the Hussainiwala barrage in Ferozepur on Sunday.

It is worth to mention that during 1971 Indo-Pak hostilities, a portion of Hussainiwala Bridge was damaged,

The army had put up a bailey bridge for sustenance of villages inside Hussainiwala, the last village along the IndoPak border in Ferozepur.

Now, a permanent bridge will be made to complete the damaged portion of existing bridge, for which, army has made an alternate bailey bridge to ensure unhindered connectivity to Hussainiwala.

The civil administration and people of Hussainiwala welcomed the development, as the new bridge will pave way for permanent bridge without causing any inconvenience to local population and ensuring continuous traffic movement for local people as well as tourists.

The Army engineers constructed the bridge in spite of limited space, at a working height of over 50 feet and in flood like situations necessitating several precautions like use of safety ropes and nets.

F-16 fighter jet. PTI file photo

Washington, September 10

India is not likely to come to a resolution in ‘transfer of technology’ in production of F-16 and other fighter jets “for at least a year and a half”, a top Pentagon official has said.

“Obviously technology transfer is something that India is really really hoping for—looking for so how much we’re able to work through—will probably be a key determinant,” US Air Force Secretary Deborah Lee James told reporters on Friday.

“Then a key determinant in what India ultimately ends up doing will relate to the make in India part, how many jobs, what sorts of technologies might transfer,” James said.

“The Indian government is not likely to come to a resolution on this for at least a year, a year and a half perhaps, that’s my impression,” she said.

James, who recently returned from India said, India is thinking about manufacturing not just F-16s and F-18s.

“They’re also considering the Grippons and a variety of other aircraft. But I always consider it my—part of my job when I travel overseas is I am team USA and I am going to talk about our fantastic programs and the importance of training and interoperability. These are the types of things that I stress plus the total package approach,” she said in response to a question.

James said her discussions with respect to the F-16 and F-18 did not get into the actual details of what industry proposed.

“My discussions related to the importance of interoperability, joint training, how we have and of course, many countries around the world have extensive experience with both the F-16, the F-18,” she said.

“Now there is always technology transfer issues to work through but obviously, just about the F-16, that has been produced and has been sold to many different countries around the world so it’s a question of working through these technology transfer issues,” James said.

The US Air Force Secretary said, in India she discussed with Indian officials its modernisation programs, their desired modernisation program as well as their strong interest in co-production and co-development technology transfer.

“Some of this would occur under the defence technology and trade initiative. That, of course, would be viewed as complementary, to Prime Minister (Narendra) Modi’s make in India campaign, so they are interested in growing jobs in India,” she said.

“I did have the opportunity to talk about both the F-16 and the F-18 proposals which came direct from industry, they are not US government proposals, they are not FMS (Foreign Military Sales),” she said.

“I had the opportunity to talk to the leaders with whom we met in India about just how high quality both of these aircrafts are how the selection of either one of them would go a long way for interoperability, being able to train with partners and allies and also the importance of the total package approach, that is to say, buy the aircraft, but an aircraft alone won’t do you,” she said. — PTI

Separatist leaders Mirwaiz Umar Farooq, Syed Ali Shah Geelani and Mohammad Yasin Malik. File

Mukesh Ranjan

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, September 6

On his return from Jammu  and Kashmir after leading an all-party delegation to the state, Home Minister Rajnath Singh today met Prime Minister Narendra Modi and briefed him on the ground situation in the Kashmir Valley. There are strong indications that the Centre may toughen its approach towards separatist leaders, making their foreign sojourns difficult and scaling down their security cover.The Home Minister, in an hour-long meeting, apprised Modi on the assessment of the all-party delegation that visited Srinagar and Jammu on September 4 and 5.“Briefed the Prime Minister on all-party delegation’s visit to J&K and also apprised him of the situation in the state,” Rajnath tweeted. Miffed at the Hurriyat leaders snubbing the visiting MPs’ plea for a dialogue, the Centre has decided on a carrot and stick policy. National Security Adviser (NSA) Ajit Doval, say sources, firmly believes in this policy. the Centre is considering curbs on the separatist leaders’ foreign trips by taking back their passports and in some cases denying them travel documents. Sources in the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA ) said bank accounts of separatist leaders may be scrutinised and pending investigations against them hastened. The intention is to send across the message that those provoking the youths in the Kashmir Valley to create disturbance will not be spared. The MHA’s tough stand has come apparently after the Prime Minister’s nod. There is a feeling in the government that lack of governance in Jammu and Kashmir needs to be addressed and that the state government has been treating the separatists with kid gloves. The final decision, however, will be taken after the all-party delegation meets here tomorrow.Pellets kill another youth Srinagar: A 20-year-old youth was killed and over 100 were injured on Tuesday as security forces fired pellets to quell protesters, who were agitating against overnight police raids in south Kashmir’s Anantnag district. Restrictions and separatist-backed shutdown continued on 60th day in Kashmir as death toll climbed to 75. Educational institutions, shops and business establishments remained closed. Pak violates truce in PoonchJammu: Hours after Prime Minister Narendra Modi indirectly accused Pakistan of sponsoring terrorism in the region, the Pakistani army violated the ceasefire agreement at the Line of Control (LoC) in Poonch sector. The firing started around late on Monday night and stopped at 9:45 am on Tuesday. This was the second ceasefire violation by the Pakistani army within a week.Elite to blame for discontent: Ex-Home SecyNew Delhi: Former Union Home Secretary GK Pillai on Tuesday said that “absence of effective local self- governance” in Jammu & Kashmir had led to concentration of power in the hands of a few families, resulting in disconnect and discontent. “The 73rd Amendment pertaining to Panchayati Raj Institutions and the 74th Amendment with regard to urban local bodies are not applicable to the state. This has resulted in concentration of power with the elite.” TNS

Northern Command chief Lt Gen DS Hooda with Governor NN Vohra in Srinagar on Wednesday. A Tribune photo

Tribune News service

Srinagar, August 31

Lt Gen DS Hooda, General Officer Commanding-in-Chief, Northern Command, met Governor NN Vohra here today. The Governor discussed with Lt General Hooda the obtaining internal security situation in Jammu and Kashmir.

Tikamgarh (MP), August 28

Over-enthusiasm by a youth to show his admiration for Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan, dashed his hopes of joining the Army.The class X pass youth, Sourabh Bilgaiyan (22), of Jeron village in the district, wanted to serve as a soldier in the armed forces.However, a tattoo on his chest reading: “Jab tak suraj chaand rahega, Shivraj Mama aur Narendra Modi ka naam rahega” (Chouhan and Modi’s name will remain till sun and moon are visible), has now shattered his dream of getting into the military service.”Though I have no interest in politics, I am a fan of Chouhan and Modi and got this slogan imprinted on my chest as a mark of respect for the two leaders during the 2013 elections,” Sourabh said.”However, when I went to Maharashtra’s Vimannagar in 2014 to appear in a recruitment rally for Army and after appearing in the written examination when I removed my shirt for physical and medical examination, the recruiters declared me unfit for the force because of this slogan,” he claimed.The youth also claimed that he was treated in a similar manner in the Army recruitment rallies held in Guna, Anooppur and Shivpuri.This has led the youth in a piquant situation as he neither wants to remove the tattoo that he got done on his chest in the honour of Modi and Chouhan, nor does he want to give up his dream of serving the military.Meanwhile, retired Colonel V K Saini, who also earlier served as recruitment director, told PTI, “We do not permit any tattoo on the person, on the ground that it will disclose the person’s identity and religion to enemy in the battlefield. We are not supposed to reveal it at any cost in operational areas.””Secondly, when a man wears a uniform then all should look alike, especially when they go to fight an enemy,” he clarified.A senior retired Army officer, A S Tomar, also said, “There is a rule in the Army that any person applying for any post should not sport any slogan about any particular person, especially about political persons.” — PTI

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, August 17

The one-man Judicial Committee comprising Justice L Narasimha Reddy set up by the Central Government to look into the implementation of “one rank, one pension” (OROP) formula for the ex-servicemen and address anomalies arising thereof held its first public hearing at the Chandimandir Military Station today. Ex-servicemen contended that major points of discord were not included in the committee’s terms of reference.A large number of retired armed forces personnel across all ranks attended the hearing to present their views and opinions before the committee, which is scheduled to submit its reports to the government in December. Justice Reddy is a former Chief Justice of the Patna High Court.Ex-servicemen said major points of discord that did not form part of the committee’s mandate included the definition of OROP, not equalising the pension annually, not fixing pension according to the highest rate for the particular rank and instead basing it on the average rate of the rank, fixing the date of implementation and base year for calculations.Veterans said unless these key issues were resolved, OROP would lose its real essence. It would not only deprive them of full benefits, but also lead to more disparities later on. This, they claimed, would lead to more unrest and bad blood.

Legal Correspondent

New Delhi, August 16The Supreme Court today ruled that the Army had taken “suitable action” against about 75 officers for their involvement in the illegal sale of prohibited weapons to criminals and the general public.A three-member Bench headed by Chief Justice TS Thakur also refused to issue any guidelines to the Army to prevent such sale, observing that the Arms Act and its rules and Defence Services Regulations were adequate to ensure that.The Bench, which included Justices AM Khanwilkar and DY Chandrachud, however advised the authorities to ensure that the mechanism for the sale of such weapons was “under strict scrutiny and supervision”.The court noted that 25 officers involved in importing ammunition in excess of authorisation had been awarded “severe displeasure”, while 12 others were subjected to administrative action that resulted in similar punishment.The court expressed the confidence that adequate action would be taken against others facing similar charges.

New Delhi, August 17

India and Bangladesh will jointly produce a documentary on the 1971 War of Independence of Bangladesh, the Information and Broadcasting ministry said on Wednesday.

India will also facilitate the production of a “mega movie” by Bangladesh to mark the 100^th birth anniversary of its Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman in 2020.

In a meeting between Information and Broadcasting Minister M Venkaiah Naidu and Bangladesh Information Minister Hasanul Haq Inu here, India also informed that All India Radio would be launching an exclusive service for Bangladesh and Bengali diaspora titled “Akashvani Maitree” on August 23.

President Pranab Mukherjee India would be launching the channel which would act as a “bridge of amity between the two countries”, an official statement said.

In the context of production of the documentary on the 1971 War of Independence of Bangladesh, Naidu suggested that the archival material available with Films Division, DD and other media units of the government be optimally utilized, a statement released by the I&B ministry said.

This documentary proposed to be produced would commemorate the 50^th year of Bangladesh Independence in 2021.

In the meeting, Naidu also said that information dissemination is critical to counter terrorism which is a common issue plaguing both India and Bangladesh.

“Timely and correct dissemination of information will prevent rumors and falsehood, while at the same time, build the spirit of cooperation and understanding between people,” Naidu said.

During the discussions, India and Bangladesh agreed to work out a proposal for a joint audio-visual co-production agreement between the two countries.

It was also agreed to organize Film Festival of India in Bangladesh and a Bangladesh Film Festival in India. The Bangladesh Minister also agreed to the request of Naidu to provide the celluloid version of the Bengali film Devdas directed by Pramatesh Barua in 1935, the statement said. — PTI