In this handout photograph released by Pakistans Inter Services Public Relations (ISPR) on September 23, 2016, Russian troops arrive at a Pakistan military base at an undisclosed location.- AFP

Islamabad, September 23

A mechanised infantry unit of the Russian military on Friday arrived in Pakistan to participate in the first-ever joint military drills dubbed ‘Friendship-2016’ starting from tomorrow, reflecting growing military ties between the two former Cold War rivals.

“A contingent of Russian ground forces arrived in Pakistan for the first-ever Pak-Russian joint exercise from September 24 to October 10,” Army spokesman Lt General Asim Bajwa tweeted along with some photographs of the Russian and Pakistan troops.

A statement by Russia’s Southern Military Command said the drills will involve over 70 servicemen of the Southern Military Command, including the Mountain Mobile Brigade’s personnel deployed to the Karachay-Cherkessia Republic (North Caucasus), and also officers from the headquarters’ staff.

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“The Southern Military Command’s mechanised infantry servicemen are fully equipped and have their mountain gear with them, as well as ammunition for their standard weapons,” Russia’s Itar-Tass news agency reported, citing the statement.

The two militaries will share their experience and employ teamwork in fighting in mountainous areas, particularly destroying illegal armed groups, it said.

“The joint military drills are aimed at bolstering and building up military cooperation between the two countries,” it said ahead of the opening ceremony tomorrow which is scheduled to take place at Pakistan Army’s High Altitude School in Rattu, Gilgit-Baltistan, Pakistan-occupied Kashmir.

About 200 troops from the two countries will take part in the two-week-long military drills called as ‘Friendship 2016’, which have been termed as a sign of growing military ties between the former rivals of Cold war era.

The joint drill is seen as another step in growing military-to-military cooperation, indicating a steady growth in bilateral relationship between the two countries, whose ties had been marred by Cold War rivalry for decades.

Pakistan decided to broaden its foreign policy options after its relations with the US deteriorated following a secret CIA raid in Abbottabad that killed al-Qaeda chief Osama bin Laden in May 2011.

Its relations with the US were soured recently when US lawmakers blocked funds for the sale of eight Lockheed Martin Corporation’s F-16 fighter jets to Pakistan.

Pakistan decided to look at alternative sources to purchase the aircraft, including from Jordan.

Over the last 15 months, the chiefs of Pakistan’s Army, Navy and Air Force travelled to Russia. The flurry of high-level bilateral exchanges resulted in the signing of a deal for the sale of four MI-35 attack helicopters to Islamabad.

The agreement, signed in Moscow in August 2015, was considered a major policy shift on part of Russia in the wake of growing strategic partnership between the US and India.

Islamabad is eager to improve its ties with Moscow to diversify its options in the event of any stalemate in ties with Washington.

After securing the helicopters deal, Pakistan is also exploring options to buy Su-35 fighter jets from Russia. For this purpose, Chief of Air Staff Air Chief Marshal Sohail Aman visited Moscow in July. — PTI

The mother of martyr Hawaldar Madan Lal Sharma lends a shoulder to his coffin. Tribune photo

Ravi Dhaliwal

Tribune News Service

Gharota (Pathankot), September 22Dharmo Devi (82), mother of martyr Havildar Madan Lal Sharma (40), who was killed in a gun battle with militants in the Kashmir valley on Tuesday, stunned everybody present by walking 3 km while lending her shoulder to the coffin in which the body of her son lay.The soldier’s mortal remains were brought to the family house in the village on Thursday morning by the jawans of the 2nd Dogra Regiment. Earlier, it was flown in to the Pathankot IAF base from Kashmir.The moment the body was placed in the house for people to pay their last respects, the soldier’s mother made it clear that out of the four persons who would carry the body to the cremation ground she would be one. She was dissuaded from doing so by senior army officers who told her that keeping in view her age and the long distance to be travelled it would not be feasible for her to lend a shoulder. However, she was adamant and told the officers if that was the case the body would not leave the house.On the entire course, she kept on saying that the country needed more soldiers like her son who could rise to the occasion to defend the nation.More than a thousand people had gathered to pay last respects to the soldier.

A child hit by pellets lies in a hospital bed in Srinagar.

Ishfaq Tantry

Tribune News Service

Srinagar, September 21

The Jammu and Kashmir High Court today declined a plea by the High Court Bar Association to ban pellet guns in the region, observing that these had helped minimise casualties during violent protests in the Valley.The court said that with mobs resorting to violence, the use of force was inevitable. It also said security personnel, if attacked, had to use force for self-defence and for protecting public property.The Bar Association, in its public interest litigation filed in August, had sought a “complete ban” on the use of pellet guns “that have maimed and blinded scores of civilians.”A Division Bench of Chief Justice N Paul Vasanthakumar and Justice Ali Mohammad Magrey, referring to replies filed by the Union Home Ministry, the state police and the CRPF, observed: “Almost every day, security personnel, their camps and police stations are targeted by unruly crowds. It is true that many persons have been injured…, some of them seriously. It is also true that because of the use of pellet guns, the loss of life has been less.”Regarding human rights violations, the Bench said: “If the protest is not peaceful and the security personnel are attacked by a violent mob, they have to necessarily use force for self-defence and for protecting public property.” It, however, observed that only an investigative agency could ascertain if in a particular situation or place the use of force had been excessive.”Thus, it is manifest that so long as there is violence by unruly mobs, the use of force is inevitable. What kind of force has to be used at the relevant point of time or in a given situation or place has to be decided by the persons in-charge…”

Army men in action near the LoC in J&K on Tuesday. Photo: ANI

Majid Jahangir & Ishfaq Tantary

Tribune News Service

Uri/Srinagar, September 20

Two days after the Uri terror attack in which 18 soldiers in the garrison town of Uri in Jammu and Kashmir were killed, the troops on Tuesday foiled two infiltration bids, one in Uri and the other in Nowgam, barely 20 km from each other, killing at least 10 suspected militants. A soldier was killed in the Nowgam encounter.A defence spokesman said the operation in Uri sector was underway. “A group of 10-12 terrorists, who attempted to infiltrate into Uri sector, were intercepted by the Army. The encounter is on,” the spokesman said. Sources said soldiers of 6 Bihar and 17 JAKLI Regiments were engaged in a fierce encounter with the militants at Mayan Katal Lachiora in North Kashmir’s Baramulla district. They also said Pakistan had violated the ceasefire by opening fire. “The firing from across the border was clearly aimed at providing cover to the infiltrating militants,” the sources said.”A soldier was martyred in Nowgam operation,” a defence official said.The Army had foiled two such attempts on September 11 and 16 in Poonch and Uri sectors. Four terrorists were killed in each of these operations.According to the Army, infiltration attempts from across the border have increased this year in comparison with the past three to four years. Pointing out that 19 infiltration bids had been repelled so far this year, the Army described it as a “desperate attempt” by Pakistan to create “disturbance and foment unrest” in the Kashmir Valley. The Valley has been on the boil ever since the killing of Hizbul commander Burhan Wani in an encounter on July 8.

Don’t harbour ultras: US to Pak

• New Delhi: US Secretary of State John Kerry has asked Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif to prevent terrorists from using Pakistani territory as safe havens, as he expressed strong concern over the violence in Kashmir particularly the terror attack on the Army base in Uri. Kerry met Sharif on Monday on the sidelines of the 71st session of the UN General Assembly. TNS

Pakistan IB chief to skip SAARC meet in delhi

• New Delhi: Post the Uri terror attack, Pakistan has decided not to send its Director General of Intelligence Bureau (DGIB) Aftab Sultan to a two-day conference of top security experts of SAARC countries that starts here on Thursday. A senior official in the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) said Sultan would not attend the SAARC meeting and the country would be represented by an official of the Pakistan High Commission in India. According to a statement issued by the Home Ministry, the second meeting of the high-level group of eminent experts from SAARC countries will be held on September 22 and 23. The objective is to strengthen SAARC’s anti-terror mechanism, it said. The first such meeting was held in New Delhi in February 2012. TNS

Info on presence of battalions probably leaked out

Amir Karim Tantray

Tribune News Service

Jammu, September 18

The Army was taken by surprise when the militants attacked a strategic Army base at Uri in the wee hours today. The timing of the attack has raised eyebrows in the Army as how the information of presence of two battalions of the Army at the particular point was leaked out to militants which led to the attack of such a huge magnitude.Sources in the Army said at the rear administrative base two battalions were present and they were to hand over and take over charge of their duties. “There are chances that information must have been leaked to militants from within the Army installation or from the area close to the camp,” said a source.“Some people may have been observing the movement inside the camp by keeping a regular watch from outside,” the source added. He said it was not possible to carry out such an attack without having the knowledge of the Army unit and presence of soldiers inside the camp.Even the Northern Command of the Army said, “This is one of the deadliest terror attacks on an Army installation in the country. The attack occurred around 4.30 am when most of the soldiers were asleep.”“The militants had advantage as they approached towards the Army camp from a hilltop with a dense forest area. They seemed to have all information of the presence of soldiers inside the camp, which helped to go for maximum damage,” the source added. Though the encounter ended within hours and all four militants were eliminated, before that 17 soldiers died and around 23 got injured.This Army installation is sensitive for being close to the Line of Control (LoC) in the Uri sector of north Kashmir’s Baramulla district. In the past, infiltration had been taking place from this area, which has made it vulnerable for terror attacks.“Leaking any information of an Army installation to anti-national elements is an act of treason and it needs to be probed who provided the vital information to militants that led to killing of our soldiers,” the source added.

Who provided information to attackers

• There are chances that information must have been leaked to militants from within the Army installation or from the area close to the camp. Some people may have been observing the movement inside the camp by keeping a regular watch from outside. — A source

Though Kashmir may be too volatile to take note of it, the Union Home Minister has reached out to opposition leaders in a bid to calm down the angry mobs in the Valley, where too a similar accommodative and inclusive approach is required. New Delhi need not overreact to the Pakistani provocation and instead should concentrate on restoring peace in the troubled Valley. Alongside hearing political voices, the government should listen to public opinion of all shades. While appealing for a “minimum use of force”, one group of 40 Kashmiris argues that “irrespective of which side of the complex political problem one stands on, we are certain that no idea is worth more than the life of a fellow human being.” It is tough for security forces to exercise restraint when attacked repeatedly. But that is the challenge. Excessive use of force inflames public anger and prolongs insurgency. Whether AFSPA has helped in the battle for peace in Kashmir requires an independent study but the Supreme Court has ruled that citizens cannot be treated as enemies to justify their killings. The rule of law and police action, or inaction, cannot be different for “locals” and “outsiders” as it happened during a student clash in the Srinagar NIT in April. Wrongs and excesses have scarred a whole generation. The killing of Burhan Wani has unleashed the pent-up anger of youth. If it was not possible to wean Wani from the path of militancy he took aged 15, it should be possible to counsel and save others from going on the destructive path.Experience has shown violence serves no purpose. Only precious lives are lost. At the end of every cycle of violence, issues get sorted out through dialogue only. Even if sections of the Kashmiris do not consider India as their own, the Republic cannot disown them, or treat them differently. There is a parallel narrative of ambition and success running in the Valley which an IAS topper has inspired. This can be built on and strengthened. Peace, safety of citizens, jobs and the return of displaced Kashmiris have to be the state’s top priorities.

CHANDIGARH: Punjab Congress president Capt Amarinder Singh on Thursday joined the veterans’ march to governor VP Singh Badnore and submitted a memorandum supporting the stand taken by the three services chiefs against the bias towards defence services in the Seventh Pay Commission.

The veterans included Lt Gen SS Brar, Lt Gen Jasbir Singh Dhaliwal besides major generals, brigadiers, colonels, junior commissioned officers and soldiers. The memorandum addressed to the President Pranab Mukherjee, who is also the supreme commander of the armed forces, said, “The community of veterans across the country fully endorses the stand taken by the chiefs of the army, navy and air force with regard to the recommendations of the seventh central pay commission.”

“However, the Indian armed forces trusted their civilian brothers and opted to be subject of a common pay commission. But the trust so posed was shattered by gumption of bureaucrats who insinuated two formulae for working out the pay scale of armed forces vis-à-vis civilian employees, placing the former to disadvantageous positions,” the memorandum said.

The ex-servicemen said that in the officer’s pay scale recommended by the fourth pay commission, at the time of its implementation, the government foisted provisions that fudged and diluted the pay scale to such an extent that the rank pay supposed to be paid over and above the recommended scale, was in fact included in the integrated pay scale, virtually depriving officers of their rank pay.

“Are soldiers less patriotic than bureaucrats or are they second rate citizens in their own country? This deserves serious consideration,”

Tribune News Service

Ludhiana, July 4

Vajra Air Defence Brigade under the aegis of Vajra Corps of the Indian Army organised a special welfare meet for widows of veterans besides dedicating Ex-Servicemen Contributory Health Scheme (ECHS) Hospital for veterans in Jagraon.The ECHS Hospital was inaugurated by Anupvir Kaur, zonal president, Army Wives Welfare Association (AWWA). The hospital will benefit more than 6,000 veterans in Jagraon.The veterans were satisfied to have all facilities such as the Canteen Store Department (CSD), Defence Pension Distributing Office (DPDO) and ECHS Hospital in one complex.It was a big welfare step taken to ease the day-to-day difficulties of the veterans of the area.In the run-up of the special welfare meet, an extensive outreach drive was undertaken, wherein special teams contacted widows of the veterans of Ludhiana district and resolved issues related to OROP, pension anomalies, healthcare, arrears of 6th Pay Commission and recruitment of their wards.A medical camp for widows was also organised and specialists of ENT, eye, gynecology and orthopaedics, among others, attended to the health problems of the veterans’ widows.On the occasion, Anupvir Kaur distributed wheel chairs, hearing aids, special walking aids, adjustable walking aids, ECHS and CSD cards to the entitled veterans’ widows.

Tribune News Service

Jammu, September 12

Lt General JS Sandhu will be the new General Officer Commanding (GOC) of Srinagar-based Army’s 15 Corps. He will replace Lt Gen Satish Kumar Dua.In another move, Lt Gen AK Sharma has been appointed as the next GOC of Nagrota-based 16 Corps. He will replace Lt Gen RR Nimbhorkar who proceeds as Master General Ordnance (MGO) at Army Headquarters.According to the posting orders issued by Army Headquarters, Lt Gen Sandhu, who is an officer of the 5th Gorkha Rifles, will take over as the new GOC, 15 Corps. The 5th Gorkha Rifles is the regiment of the Chief of Army Staff General Dalbir Singh. Lt Gen Sandhu has served as the Military Attache in Nepal besides he had also coordinated the relief and rescue operations in Nepal in 2015.The appointment of Lt Gen Sandhu has come at a crucial juncture because the Kashmir valley has been facing widespread violence and unrest since the killing of militant commander Burhan Wani in an encounter on July 8. It is expected that the Army will play an important role to restore normalcy in the Kashmir valley.He has been given an extended joining time of 30 days and would report to Srinagar to take over the command of the 15 Corps on October 25. His predecessor, Lt Gen Dua will have to wait for some time to get his new posting.