Tribune News Service

Drass, August 19

The Army transformed the trans-Himalayan heights soon after the Kargil war 19 years ago and the measures with additional focus have heightened its confidence level that it can take meet any challenge along the Line of Control (LoC) and the Line of Actual Control (LAC).The Ladakh region has borders with Pakistan — LoC — and also with China — LAC. The terrain and the forbidding low temperatures that dip to minus 40°C during winter multiply the challenges.Northern Command chief Lt Gen Ranbir Singh’s words during his interaction with media on the occasion of Kargil Vijay Divas on July 26 have become a template for the rules that the troops have to follow in Jammu and Kashmir, the state under assault by the infiltration of terrorists from across the LoC and those getting recruited from within.This kind of infrastructural developments and overall modernisation has increased the overall war fighting capacity of the soldiers. Now, they have the night vision devices and night fighting capabilities. Now, no adversary can surprise the Army.The situation on the LoC, particularly in the Kashmir valley and Jammu region, is connected to the situation in the hinterland. Pakistan is continuing with its infiltration bids and has sought to push a number of infiltrators from across the LoC, particularly the Kupwara frontier, over the past few weeks.For them, Lt Gen Ranbir Singh had a stern message that “any terrorist coming from across the LoC will not live for another day. This is the level of the preparedness of our forces.”Within the Valley, the situation is better than the previous years, but the Army has maintained its vigil. The Army is committed to neutralising “those who undertake terrorist activities”.Lt Gen Ranbir Singh made it clear to the soldiers, “Our operations have to be carried out effectively and in a very professional manner.” He demanded of the soldiers “complete respect for human rights and minimal collateral damage during encounters”.The most profound part of the message was that “we should try to ensure that there shouldn’t be any kind of civilian casualties… civilians who are not part of terrorist groups”.This message has percolated down to every soldier on the ground in Jammu and Kashmir.

Vishav Bharti

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, August 12

Her eyes well up when she recites “Qadam qadam badhaye ja”… a song that her husband used to sing the whole night with his comrades from the Indian National Army. However, it seems their contribution has been forgotten long ago, thanks to the Chandigarh Administration, which pays peanuts to its freedom fighters and has not increased their pension for the past one decade. A paltry Rs 2,500 is what Equbal Kaur (84), widow of Lt Harbhajan Singh of the Indian National Army, and five other beneficiaries of the Freedom Fighters’ Pension Scheme get in Chandigarh.  “Just six of us are left now. An amount of Rs 15,000 per month is the complete bill the UT Administration foots for pension of all freedom fighters. Haryana pays Rs 30,000 to each of them,” she says. While in the UT, freedom fighters’ kin get peanuts under Samman Pension, Punjab pays Rs 7,500 and is planning to increase it to Rs 15,000. There are 1,199 freedom fighters in the state.The scheme was notified as Chandigarh Swatantrata Sainik Samman Pension Scheme, 1994. However, the Administration started paying pension of Rs 250 with effect from October 1993. It was increased to Rs 1,500 on the golden jubilee celebrations of Independence in 1997. The last increase was a decade ago in July 2008 when the pension was increased from Rs 2,000 to Rs 2,500.The Chandigarh Administration has failed to increase the pension despite the fact that the Ministry of Home Affairs has directed the state governments and union territories to link the pension to the Consumer Price Index.In the past one decade, Equbal Kaur has given several representations to the Chandigarh Administration. She says her husband suffered from cancer before passing away in 2008. “However, it was not easy even to get peanuts. I used to hire a taxi to take him to the Deputy Commissioner’s office in Sector 17 and then with the help of others, he used to climb the stairs to get the pension every month.”After a lot of struggle, the Chandigarh Administration started direct transfer of the amount. Now, she has given another representation to increase the pension to bring it on a par with neighbouring states. “I don’t wish to be dependent upon anybody, not even my daughters,” she has told the Administration.Equbal Kaur has endless stories to share about her husband — how he was recruited in Hong Kong, got injured in the jungles of Burma and later became a prisoner of war in Nilganj Camp in April 1945.  How just after their marriage, she, along with him, met his two comrades, Chaman Lal and Jaswant Singh, in Delhi and they sang songs of the INA the whole night. “I told their wives, let them sing. They have met after a long time.”After going through a bundle of papers turning yellow over the years and black and white photographs, she fishes out a couple of laminated pages. This is Harbhajan Singh’s pay book from the INA days. Wherever he stayed, he always kept it close to his heart. Perhaps it was the only memorabilia from the INA he had, she says. Then flipping the pages, after a long pause, she casually points to an entry of February 16, 1945, made in fountain pen: “Look! He used to get Rs 150 in 1945. Now, I get Rs 2,500. Can you calculate the difference for me?”

Six beneficiaries in Chandigarh

• Rattan Kaur, w/o Joginder Singh
• Vimla Mehra, w/o Ved Prakash Mehra
• Sarda Devi, w/o Tek Ram Joshi
• Santosh Dhir, w/o OP Dhir
• Nasib Kaur, w/o Arjan Singh
• Equbal Kaur, w/o Harbhajan Singh

Imran Khan’s victory is a positive moment for India-Pakistan relations that should be utilised to commence bilateral dialogue and structured engagement, says Pakistani envoy to India Sohail Mahmood

IN an exclusive conversation with The Tribune, the high commissioner who has remained in touch with senior Indian officials and ministers, says multiple levels of communication and resumption of sporting and cricketing ties will help build confidence between the two neighbours and ties must not be tied down to domestic elections. Smita Sharma talks to Sohail Mahmood. The excerpts:How positive are you about some movement forward in ties with India after Imran’s victory?Chairman PTI Imran Khan in his first public address after the elections reached out to India and outlined a forward-looking vision of bilateral relations. Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s subsequent telephone call to congratulate Imran Khan was another positive development. Beyond the contentions of a part of the commentariat, there is an evidently positive attitude among people of India towards Imran Khan’s victory.Appropriately, this reflects respect for the verdict of the people of Pakistan. There is every reason to build on this positivity and to commence a process of bilateral engagement leading to structured dialogue on all issues.Do you think bilateral exchanges can resume soon? Or will it be difficult as India prepares for elections to be held in 2019? This is a moment of hope and opportunity, which must be seized. Imran Khan has stated that if India takes one step, Pakistan will take two. It will, therefore, be desirable to utilise this window of opportunity and jointly work out a realistic and practical way forward. As for electoral activity in India, it has been said that this is a country of serial elections. This cannot and should not become a reason to postpone business of foreign relations. In any case, India-Pakistan relationship is too important to be kept in abeyance for any length of time.There is a strong perception that Imran Khan may have personal friends in India, but the Pakistan army will dictate foreign-defence policy.Such speculation is unfortunate and detrimental to the cause of fostering better mutual understanding. It will be unwise for anyone to sit in judgment on the competence of a democratically elected leader of a neighbouring country. Equally unwise will be to make motivated projections about its civil-military relations. I can tell you in the clearest terms that all major political parties in Pakistan support a peaceful and cooperative relationship with India, with a just and durable solution of the Kashmir dispute. All state institutions support this primary thrust of Pakistan’s India policy. Its strongest corroboration is found in numerous pronouncements of Chief of Army Staff General Qamar Bajwa.What confidence building measures (CBMs) should be taken by both countries?The foremost is to have requisite channels of communication and multi-layered interaction. The established institutional mechanisms—such as BSF-Rangers, ICG-PMSA (Indian Coast Guard-Pak Maritime Security Agency), DGMOs (Director General Of Military Operations), 1974 Protocol on Visits to Religious Shrines and so on—should be kept fully operational. Kashmir and security-related CBMs should continue to be implemented faithfully. Efforts can be made to accelerate progress on the humanitarian track. Facilitate people-to-people exchanges.Bridging the mutual trust gap, fostering better understanding, addressing mutual concerns, resolving outstanding disputes and nurturing a belief in peaceful coexistence are indispensable for a stable and normal relationship. In this regard, the principles of mutual respect and sovereign equality remain critically important. I will also stress the need for taking cognisance of the new reality in Pakistan. Old narratives no longer hold. Developing a balanced perspective on social, demographic, political and economic transformations underway in Pakistan is the key.Are you hopeful Pakistan can host SAARC summit this year?SAARC reflects the shared vision and common desire of all South Asian nations to promote process of socio-economic development through a collective, regional platform as well. Neither the charter’s letter nor its spirit supports stalling the SAARC process on account of bilateral differences. Furthermore, several other member states — which have a vital stake in SAARC’s uninterrupted continuation — have called for reviving the process and holding the next summit. At the SAARC ministerial held on the sidelines of UNGA (United Nations General Assembly) in New York last year, Pakistan reiterated its readiness to host the summit. We hope it can be convened sooner rather than later.The Indian envoy gifted a bat to Imran Khan. Do you think cricketing ties may be resumed?Cricket is indeed a great connector. It is part of the DNA of the Pakistani and Indian nations.The game is undoubtedly at its best when these two giants clash on the cricket field. Our teams faced each other in international tournaments in third countries. But hundreds of millions of cricket lovers in the two countries are yearning to see their stars play in India and Pakistan. Resumption of cricket and other sports ties will help strengthen efforts to bring the two peoples closer, which is essential for a peaceful and prosperous South Asia.

Brig IJ Singh (retd)

IMRAN KHAN’S PTI is ready to improve ties with India. He has also welcomed Modi’s telephonic call on his victory as a new chapter in relations between the two nations. The PM of India and the PM-designate of Pakistan must consider the mottos of the Indian Military Academy (IMA), Dehradun, and the Pakistan Military Academy (PMA), Kakul. Can they with ‘Valour and Wisdom’ be ‘Men at their Best’?Before the ‘broad-gauge diplomacy’ for young generations is spelt out, some historical aspects must be understood in the correct perspective. It takes three generations to wipe out the mistrust and hatred between nations. The examples to quote are France and Germany, Germany and the rest of Europe, Japan and the USA. Erstwhile North and South Vietnam and the next may soon be the Korean Peninsula.India and Pakistan will be part of a multi-nation counter-terror exercise in Russia in September, under the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation. It will be the first time that India and Pakistan will be part of a military exercise, though their armies have worked together in UN Peacekeeping and other missions. But generations taking part in such missions, when pitted against each other, are found short on confidence-building and conflict-resolution measures. My idea of wiping out the trust deficit starts with the interaction between the young generations of gentlemen cadets of the IMA and the PMA. Can the ‘googly’ of peace thrown by Imran Khan be matched by the yorker of an ‘exchange programme’ by our well-meaning PM Modi? Coming straight to the ‘template of peace’ to be tried for five years between the IMA and the PMA. It will encompass a seven-day visit of 30 IMA cadets to the PMA, conciding with their passing-out parade. It should be reciprocated by the PMA in the succeeding term. The ‘week of friendship’ shall include sports competitions, seminars of mutual interest, i.e. contribution of India-Pakistan to World War I and II, leadership challenges in modern warfare, role of the army in nation-building, trade opportunities by land and sea, role of technology in education and contribution to UN missions.The cadets should be taken on a conducted tour of the academy, culminating in taking part in the passing-out parade. Both countries march to 120 steps a minute.We are targeting the generation which will be there to take forward the peace process in the years to come. These young cadets, when turned into men of substance, will ensure that there is a need to embrace a strategic stability regime which will be able to address problems of non-state actors and will know the importance of economic cooperation, which, in turn, will melt the mountain of hatred. We are looking at people who can predict the future, possibly better than experts.PM-designate Imran Khan, you said that if India take one step forward, you will take two. I would say let us march together and tread the path of peace, development and trust between the two democracies. On our side, India should ensure that we don’t act as a big brother but, at best, an elder brother.The COAS of the Pakistan army, General Bajwa, who had the opportunity to serve under one of our chiefs in the UN mission, should say ‘yes’. Or will he say ‘no ball’ to such exchange programmes!

Both CAG and Parliament should closely examine the processes of decision-making; should they fail in this regard, it would be open to public-spirited citizens to file a petition in the courts

The Rafale fighter jet deal controversy is unlikely to die down in the run up to the general elections. The Opposition has already questioned the price of the deal and the secrecy clause, and made charges of crony capitalism. There is an oblique suggestion of kickbacks involved.

Normally such allegations would be par for the course in any lively democracy. So would the privilege motion moved in the Lok Sabha by the Congress party against the Prime Minister and the Minister for Defence. However, the defence minister’s over-the-top reaction during the no-confidence debate prompted …

he defence ministry on Monday announced it had approved ‘implementation guidelines for the strategic partnership model’.

The ‘strategic partner’ (SP) model of defence procurement, which was promulgated in outline in May 2017, provides a policy framework for

Indian firms to manufacture specified defence platforms in India based on technology transferred by a selected foreign vendor.

The SP policy initially aims at building four categories of weaponry — fighters, helicopters, submarines, and armoured vehicles.

But while the policy framework had been drawn up, and retrospectively included as a chapter in the Defence Procurement Procedure of 2016 (DPP 2016), there was a need for separate selection criteria for each of the four equipment categories.

ALSO READ: Defence ministry plans standard price lists for public sector undertakings

“In an endeavour to convert policy into implementable directions and to kick-start the process, the Defence Acquisition Council (DAC) also approved platform-specific guidelines for procurement of naval utility helicopters,” said a defence ministry release on Monday.

That clears the decks for initiating the Rs 217.38 billion procurement of 111 helicopters for the navy.

“The amplifying guidelines lay emphasis on incentivisation of transfer of niche technology and higher indigenous content. Global majors who in collaboration with Indian partners are ready to make India a regional/global manufacturing hub for the platform will also be incentivised,” said the defence ministry release.

ALSO READ: The real defence scandal lies in massive delay in making military purchases

“All procurements under the SP model would be executed by specially constituted empowered project committees to provide focused attention and ensure timely execution,” stated the ministry.

In the SP pipeline are 110 medium fighters for the air force, 123 naval multi-role helicopters, 111 naval utility helicopters, and six conventional submarines under Project 75-I.

The DAC also accorded approval on Monday for buying eight fast patrol vessels for the Coast Guard under the ‘Buy lndian – lndian Designed Developed and Manufactured’ category for approximately Rs 8 billion. “These vessels will be indigenously designed and manufactured and would strengthen maritime security by undertaking day/night patrolling and policing of (India’s maritime zones),” said the defence ministry.

I had the privilege to be part of the Bomber Force crew in the 1971 War. We were to 8,000 pounds of bombs over the Sargodha airbase in West Pakistan, which we did with precision

Air Commodore  Prashant Dikshit  (retd)I was fortunate to be one of the crews of No. 106 Strategic Reconnaissance Squadron of the Indian Air Force during the 1971 War with Pakistan. In the annals of the Indian military aviation, the exploits of the squadron largely remained away from the public gaze, primarily due to the secrecy surrounding its activities. It operated the unarmed Canberra PR 7 combat aircraft to gather photo intelligence about strategic targets.The 1971 War arrived at my door with a bit of a challenge. On December 4, 1971, in the late evening, the Commanding Officer (CO) broke the news that the Bomber Force was looking for one set of crews for a bombing sortie and he wanted volunteers. All of us, including me, raised the right hand, although it was more than three years, let alone flying a bomber, since I had even taken a peek inside it. In routine circumstances, it would have been through a period of refresher orientation, but here only 20 minutes of preflight inspection were available.The CO had promptly nominated Flt Lt MS Sandhu as the pilot and me as the navigator. We were to drop 8,000 pounds of bombs over the Sargodha airbase in West Pakistan in a midnight raid, which we did accurately and precisely. But the bomber doors would not close after that. This is an emergency condition over enemy territory as it places severe limits on the speed of the aircraft whilst increasing fuel consumption in multiples. For nearly 15 minutes we endured and, in the course of which, we had to descend into the barrage of anti-aircraft fire. The other choice was to remain high and be a sitting duck for air interception. We climbed eventually in the friendly territory to nearly 45,000 feet to save fuel and get benefits from westerly jet streams. But we lost one engine on the landing run due to no fuel.For our photo mission on December 8 and 9 in 1971, when we reached the launching airfield in Guwahati, there was hardly any time to refuel. It was critical to reach our first target at Cox Bazaar at 1400 hrs to coincide with the action of the Indian Navy. We entered the mission at the topmost speed which the aircraft could safely withstand to maintain time. The machine guzzles fuel in those flying conditions.We were to enter East Pakistan at Aizawl from the east to align with our photo run. When we were pulling up for the photo run, there was a potent anti-aircraft fire. We then dived again to the ground quite unmindful of the ground fire and proceeded to Chittagong harbour where a similar photo run had to be executed. Short of the airfield, we climbed through thick smoke billowing from the ships which were perhaps struck a little earlier. Ultimately, we were critically low on fuel.  The photo mission on December 13, 1971 was truly adventurous. We lost a lot of time in rectifying the cause of fire which had erupted in the battery compartment of the aircraft. We were airborne just to be in time to avail of adequate sunlight whilst we covered the Dacca complex. There was great pressure and we were required to proceed directly to Delhi. It was already twilight in Dacca and full darkness as we closed in to Delhi. But, most seriously, our ground speed reduced to 1/3rd compared to what it was during the onward journey to Dacca. It was one of the most noteworthy experiences of westerly jet streams, which are known to have recorded speed up to 180 Kts (over 300 km/hour) in this terrain-induced wind funnel south of the Himalayas. As a result, we arrived at Palam well beyond the planned flight plan and were declared a hostile aircraft in our own country.— The writer was awarded the Vayu Sena Medal for gallantry during the 1971 War

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