The message has been conveyed to Pakistan. Thinkstock

Washington, October 1

The United States has strongly objected to threats of nuclear warfare made by Pakistan against India and has conveyed its displeasure to that country in this regard.“We made that (American objection on nuclear threat) clear to them (Pakistan). Repeatedly,” a senior State Department official said.The official who spoke on condition of anonymity, however, would not reveal the level at which the message was conveyed to Pakistan.

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“It is very concerning. It is a serious thing,” the official said when asked about Pakistan Defence Minister Khawaja Asif’s assertions, twice in the past 15 days, that his country could use nuclear weapons against India. “We will destroy India if it dares to impose war on us,” Asif had told a Pakistani news channel in his latest interview. “Pakistan army is fully prepared to answer any misadventure of India,” he had said.“We have not made the atomic device to display in a showcase. If such a situation arises we will use it (nuclear weapons) and eliminate India,” Asif had said.The statements raised eyebrows in the Obama Administration and are seen as “irresponsible” behaviour by top Pakistani leadership.In a tacit acknowledgement that it has concerns over the safety of nuclear weapons in Pakistan, the official said the US is closely monitoring the safety and security of those weapons of mass destruction.“The safety of these weapons is always a concern for us. So we are always monitoring it, regardless of what they said on this particular occasion,” said the State Department official.Meanwhile, Deputy State Department Spokesman Mark Toner told reporters at his daily news conference that nuclear-capable states had “a very clear responsibility to exercise restraint regarding nuclear weapons and missile capabilities”.The United States, meanwhile, continued to urge both India and Pakistan to take steps to de-escalate tension following the Uri terror attack.“At the same time, we have made it very clear that what happened in the Indian army base (Uri) is an act of terror,” the senior State Department official said. According to another official of the department, “everyone knows” where the perpetrators of the Uri terrorist attack came from.At his news conference, Toner said the US continued to follow the situation on the ground very closely.“From our perspective, we urge calm and restraint by both sides. We understand that the Pakistani and Indian militaries have been in communication and we believe that continued communication between them is important to reduce tensions.“I think we certainly don’t want to see any kind of escalation and certainly any kind of break in that communication. We have repeatedly and consistently expressed our concerns regarding the danger that cross-border terrorism poses for the region, and that certainly includes the recent attacks–terrorist attacks in Uri,” he said.“We continue to urge actions to combat and de-escalate–and delegitimise terrorist groups like Lashkar-e-Taiba, Haqqani Network, as well as Jaish-e-Mohammad,” Toner said. PTI

Border Security Force (BSF) personnel stand guard at the India-Pakistan Wagah Border on September 30, 2016. AFP

New Delhi, September 30

Russia on Friday said it expected Islamabad to take “effective” steps to stop the activities of terrorist groups in its territory as it voiced concern over “aggravation” of the situation along the Line of Control between India and Pakistan.

It also asked the two neighbours not to allow any escalation of tension and settle their disputes through negotiations.

In a statement, Russia said it stands for “decisive struggle” against terrorism in all its manifestations.

“We are concerned with the aggravation lately of the situation along the Line of Control between India and Pakistan.

“We are calling on the parties not to allow any escalation of tension and to settle the existing problems by political and diplomatic means through negotiations. We stand for decisive struggle against terrorism in all its manifestations.

“We expect that the Government of Pakistan should take effective steps in order to stop the activities of terrorist groups in the territory of the country,” the Russian Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

The statement came amid heightened tension between India and Pakistan after the Indian Army carried out surgical strikes on seven terror launch pads across the LoC on the intervening night of September 28 and 29, seen as a reprisal for the Uri attack. — PTI

For representation only. —Tribune/File

Srinagar, September 29

Pakistani troops on Thursday violated the ceasefire twice along the Line of Control (LoC) by opening fire in Nawgam sector and Poonch district of Jammu and Kashmir. This is the third ceasefire violation by Pakistan in two days.

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“Pakistani troops resorted to unprovoked firing on Indian posts in Naugam sector around 7 am,” an Army official said in Srinagar.

He said the Pakistani troops used small fire arms and mortars, but there were no reports of any casualty. The troops exercised restraint and have not retaliated so far, he added.

The second ceasefire violation took place in Mendhar sector today.

A senior police officer in Jammu said, “There was firing from across the border on forward areas along the LoC in Balnoie belt of Mendhar in the district around 4.30 am.”

There were no casualties, he added.

On Wednesday, Pakistani troops had targeted Indian positions with small firearms along the LoC in Sabzian belt of Poonch district.

On September 20, two days after the terror attack in Uri, Pakistani troops had violated ceasefire in the same sector of Kashmir, targeting Indian Army positions with small firearms.

On September 6, the Pakistani Army pounded Indian positions with 120 mm mortar bombs and firing along the LoC in Poonch district.

On September 2, Pakistani troops had resorted to ceasefire violation by firing on forward army posts along the LoC in Akhnoor sector in Jammu district. —PTI

Says the revocation of the treaty could be taken as an ”act of war”

Islamabad, September 27

Pakistan will approach the UN and the International Court of Justice if India suspended the 58-year-old Indus Waters Treaty, the country’s top diplomat Sartaj Aziz said on Tuesday, insisting the revocation of the treaty could be taken as an “act of war”.“The international law states that India cannot unilaterally separate itself from the treaty,” Aziz, Adviser to Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif on Foreign Affairs, said while briefing the National Assembly on the issue.He said the unilateral revocation of the treaty could pose a threat to Pakistan and its economy. He said if India violated the treaty Pakistan could approach the International Court of Justice.“This Indian act can be taken as breach of international peace and hence giving Pakistan a good reason to approach the UN Security Council,” Aziz said.He said Pakistan is considering drawing the attention of the international community on the dangers of such an action if it is considered seriously.

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“Between the two countries, this act of revocation can be taken as an act of war,” he said.Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday chaired a review meeting of 56-year-old Indus Water Treaty during which it was decided that India will “exploit to the maximum” the waters of Pakistan-controlled rivers, including the Jhelum, as per the water-sharing pact.The meeting came as India weighed its options to hit back at Pakistan in the aftermath of the Uri attack that left 18 soldiers dead, triggering demands that the government scrap the water distribution pact to mount pressure on that country.Under the treaty, which was signed by Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru and Pakistan President Ayub Khan in September 1960, waters of six rivers—the Beas, Ravi, Sutlej, Indus, Chenab and Jhelum–were to be shared between the two countries.Pakistan has been complaining about not receiving enough water and has gone for international arbitration in a couple of cases.Commenting on the development, Ahmer Bilal Soofi, a former federal law minister, president, Research Society of International Law, and an advocate in the Supreme Court on the issue, said India had no legal competence under the treaty to revoke it per se on its own as Article 12(4) of the treaty entitles the termination of the treaty only if both India and Pakistan agreed in writing.He said there is an arbitration clause in the IWT that could be set in motion if India went to that extreme.“India cannot itself conclude that Pakistan has breached the treaty on any grounds, including mistrust. In case India ‘revokes’ the treaty, it literally means it has shunned it,” he said.Soofi said in case India tried to interrupt water flow into Pakistan as an upper riparian, it would set up a regional state practice which under international law could serve as a precedence and equip China with an argument to consider suspension of the waters of the Brahmaputra.“India may have already damaged itself by even considering the suspension of water flow as an upper riparian and the Chinese government must be watching Indian moves with interest,” he said. PTI

As India determines its next steps against Pakistan, we should all avoid loose talk on war, raids or cutting off the flow of the Indus

I f there was any containment of tensions possible after the terror attack on the Indian Army at Uri on September 18, Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif shut the door on that with his speech at the United Nations . In perhaps the most inflammatory public comments of his current tenure – especially given the platform – Sharif remained silent on the attack, not even serving up a perfunctory condemnation. Instead, he hailed the Hizbul Mujahideen militant Burhan Wani as a victimhero. Given the gun-toting videos of Wani — who has come to represent a dangerous new phase of militancy in the Valley of local, educated boys picking up the gun – the attempts by Sharif to present him as some sort of peaceful protester was laughable.

PIBPrime Minister Narendra Modi (right) with his Pakistan counterpart Nawaz Sharif in Lahore, December 25, 2015

In a post 9/11 world haunted by the spectre of the Islamic State (IS) one has to carefully watch Wani’s videos to know that no global leader could support Sharif’s UN eulogy to him. Surrounded by half a dozen militants all brandishing automatic weapons, Wani calls for Kashmiri youth to join the jihad that will eventually usher in a ‘Caliphate’ — first in Kashmir and then globally. He warns the media to step in line or face the consequences. And he threatens those Kashmiris who join the police with death. In an age before the twin towers were brought down and al-Baghdadi became the world’s most wanted man, Sharif may have had some luck making a martyr out of Wani. But now all that foreign minister Sushma Swaraj needs to do when she speaks in New York next week is to play the Wani tapes. Wani’s choice of words — “Caliphate”, “Jihad” — are too close to the idiom of the IS and other global Islamists for the world to express empathy. Sharif scored a giant self-goal.

This is not to say — and some of us have been saying it for two months — that India does not have a genuine problem of alienation and rage in Kashmir. But that is our own problem to resolve, not Islamabad’s to lecture us on. The fatal mistake the government made was for Prime Minister Narendra Modi to invest all his political capital and imagination in Islamabad, instead of in Srinagar. One longed to see a domestic version of a flamboyant gesture like Modi’s unannounced visit to Lahore in the Valley with our own people — but that did happen.

The government wrongly calculated that the road to peace in Kashmir was via Pakistan. If anything, it’s the other way around. The best way to render Pakistan irrelevant is in fact to reach a settlement at home. Pakistan’s hold over the Kashmiri people has been exaggerated. During the recent unrest, I asked a young street protester who pointed my camera to a Pakistani flag flung over a street lamp, what its relevance was to them. He laughed and said, “None. We put these flags up to irritate you people.” But the crying need for a domestic Kashmir dialogue is a longer conversation for a different time; the Uri attacks have brought home the need for the Centre to find an authentic and consistent Pakistan policy.

So far there has been confusion and inconsistency in its approach to Islamabad — lurching wildly between romanticised notions of friendship (the hand-in-hand walk in Lahore), untenable red lines that had to be swiftly shifted (no dialogue if the Pakistanis met with the separatist Hurriyat Conference), wild leaps of faith (allowing Pakistani investigators, including the ISI, into the Pathankot airbase where its own Deep State had attacked us) and now a clear intent to sever ties in the short term at least. Some of this seeming confusion is understandably the malleability that is required of smart diplomacy. But some of it — a substantive part — reflects political confusion. The missteps betray a conflicted identity: Does the BJP want to be the tough-guy it promised it would be while in Opposition; the ‘Action Hero’ alternative to the Congress’s more chocolate-boy wimpish instincts; or, does it want to be Vajpayee-esque in its optimistic and statesman-like determination to keep looking for solutions while hardening stands when needed.

The government is right in gauging that Uri is a tipping point. As the single-largest such attack on security forces in years it has triggered seething rage among people. It is correct for the security forces to be given a free hand and autonomy in determining the appropriate response – covert, overt, localised at the Line of Control or otherwise.

But as India determines her next steps here’s what we should all avoid at all costs — loose talk — either of war or cutting off the flow of the Indus water or cross-border raids. This is no time for delusional talk of peace either, please. It’s a moment to hold our nerve and be cold and calculating instead of impetuous and hot-headed. War is too serious to be treated like an XBox game. Leave it to those who know better — our military — to make their own assessments. In the meantime, a range of other options exist: Postpone the Saarc summit and allow it a NAM-like slow fade into irrelevance; strengthen other regional forums such as Bimstec that keep Pakistan out and yes, while I would never support using water as a weapon, go ahead and scrap the most favoured nation status to Pakistan. If there is no response from Pakistan to the Uri evidence provided by India then think about recalling the Indian envoy or asking the Pakistani envoy to leave. In the meantime, please quit picking on Pakistani actors and artistes in the film industry. Threatening them is shameful. Action is about real ‘targets’, not fall guys.

And finally, a little silence won’t hurt any of us. The gladiatorial thirst and thrust is good for studios and social media warriors. Not for those who actually have to go to battle.

UNITED NATIONS: Afghanistan has accused Pakistan of backing terrorists waging a “full-scale war” and warned that it reserves the right to do “whatever is necessary for the defence and protection” of its people. It called on the international community to eliminate terrorism safe havens.

Laying out a harsh indictment of its neighbor, Afghanistan’s Vice President Sarwar Danesh told the General Assembly summit, “We have repeatedly asked our neighbouring country Pakistan to destroy the known terrorist safe havens, but we unfortunately are yet to witness any change in the situation.”

He spoke of the spate of attacks by the Islamic State (IS) and the Taliban and said, “Based on existing evidence, these attacks were planned and organized from the other side of the Durand Line, inside Pakistani territory.”

He spoke before Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif was scheduled to speak at the Assembly.

Turning to the world leaders in the Assembly chamber, Danesh asked, “Where were the previous leaders of the Taliban and Al-Qaeda residing, and where were they killed? At this very moment, where are the leaders of the Taliban and Haqqani network located? From where and how are terrorists being trained, equipped and financed during a full-scale war?”

Danesh asked countries to avoid “making a distinction between good and bad terrorists.”

More than ten terrorist groups which are sent from outside Afghanistan are waging the “undeclared war” against Afghanistan, he said.

Danesh asked the UN to appoint a Special Representative for the Safety of Journalists “focused on the protecting all journalists, including those serving in Afghanistan.”

“Special target of the foreign-backed terrorists” were democracy, freedom of expression and the independent media, he said.

“That is why our journalists are subject to serious threats while reporting from the battlefields, and also during terrorist attacks.”

The Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS) on Wednesday cleared the final draft of the inter-governmental agreement to be signed with France. Filel photo

Ajay Banerjee

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, September 21When India and France ink their much-awaited contract to buy 36 Rafale fighter jets on Friday, it will not only bridge a two-decade gap in procuring new fighter jets for the Indian Air Force (IAF) but will provide a technological-edge.The Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS) on Wednesday cleared the final draft of the inter-governmental agreement to be signed with France.

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The Indian Air Force has not procured any new fighter jets since the start of this century, the last one being the Sukhoi 30-MKI from Russia that was first ordered in mid-1990’s and since licence- produced in India by Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL).On Friday, the two countries are set to sign a 7.878 billion euros (approximately Rs 58,828 crore) contract with Dassault Aviation of France for these 36 Rafale jet fighters. This means approximately Rs 1,634 crore for each plane that will add to teeth to the IAF’s fleet — presently operating at its lowest force levels in a decade.The first of the jet from France is to be delivered in 36 months that is September 2019 and the entire lot will be delivered over the following thirty months.The French company will make India-specific changes, such as next generation missiles like Meteor and Scalp, which will add capability much beyond India’s immediate adversaries. The Meteor, is a BVR (Beyond Visual Range) air-to-air missile with a range in excess of 150 km. It will allow IAF to hit targets inside both Pakistan and Tibet from within its own territory. The Scalp is a long-range air-to- cruise missile with a range of 300 km.The Ministry of Defence and the IAF team that negotiated the price have secured a concession of almost 722 million euros (approximately Rs 5,390 crore). In January this year, a day before French President François Hollande and Prime Minister Narendra Modi were to jointly issue a statement during the French President’s visit to India, the French team had quoted a price of 8.6 billion euros.The negotiations ended at a price of 7.898 billion euros, sources in the Ministry of Defence said. Of this, 3.42 billion euros is the cost of the bare planes; 1.8 billion euros is associate supplies for the infrastructure and support; 1.7 billion euros is India-specific changes to the plane; 710 million euros is the additional weapons package and 353 million euros is the cost of  ‘Performance-based Logistics Support’.Under this logistics support, Dassault will ensure that at least 75 per cent of the fleet remains operational or air worthy at any given time under what is called the existing frontline fighter, the Sukhoi 30-MKI has only 60 per cent availability.Other concessions include are free training for nine IAF personnel, additional guarantee for 60 hours of usage of training aircraft for Indian pilots and six months of free weapons storage without charge.Under the originally planned (and now scrapped) proposal to produce 126 planes in India, the first batch of 18 planes were to be manufactured in France and 108 were to be manufactured in India.  France cited that cost of man hours (labour) in India need to produce a plane was 2.7 times higher due to lack of automation. This along would have meant additional Rs 150 crore per plane.

Manohar Parrikar, Defence Minister

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, September 21

To strengthen the Jammu and Kashmir Police, particularly in view of the unrest in the Kashmir valley, the Centre today approved the recruitment of an additional 10,000 Special Police Officers (SPOs) with immediate effect. There are 25,000 SPOs in the state already.The Centre had information suggesting that thousands of Kashmiri youths had opted for the job, despite a call by Hurriyat hardliner Syed Ali Shah Geelani to boycott recruitment rallies.(Follow The Tribune on Facebook; and Twitter @thetribunechd)The government issued a statement which read: “The additional SPOs will be utilised especially for security-related requirements. The reimbursement of expenditure to the state government by the Centre in respect of 10,000 SPOs will be as per the existing approved Security Related Expenditure (SRE) Guidelines.”An SPO initially draws a salary of Rs 5,000 per month, Rs 5,300 on completion of one year and Rs 6,000 on completion of three years. The Centre is in the process of providing employment opportunities to 1.40 lakh youths in the state through various means, including skill development. Official sources said one lakh youths, mostly under-graduates, would be given job-oriented training under the Himayat scheme in the next five years.

We’re serious about punishing: ParrikarNew Delhi: Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar on Wednesday said the government is “serious” about punishing those responsible for the Uri attack as it will “not sleep over” terror being pushed into India from across the border. He also dismissed reports about Pakistan’s threat of use of tactical nukes, saying that an “empty vessel makes bigger noise”. tns/pti

A file photo of Pakistan High Commissioner to India Abdul Basit. India blames the attack on the outlawed Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM). Tribune fiile photo

New Delhi, September 21

India on Wednesday gave Pakistan evidence of involvement of Pakistan-based terrorists in the Uri attack and demanded that it refrain from supporting and sponsoring terrorism directed against it.

Foreign Secretary S Jaishankar summoned Pakistan High Commissioner Abdul Basit and told him that latest terrorist attack in Uri only underlined how terrorists remained active in Pakistan.Jaishankar provided Basit with the content of GPS recovered from the bodies of terrorists with coordinates that indicate the point and time of infiltration across the LoC and the subsequent route to the terror attack site and grenades with Pakistani markings as evidence of Pakistan’s role in Uri attack in which 18 jawans were killed.(Follow The Tribune on Facebook; and Twitter @thetribunechd)

“If the Government of Pakistan wishes to investigate these cross-border attacks, India is ready to provide fingerprints and DNA samples of terrorists killed in the Uri and Poonch incidents,” he told the Pakistan envoy.

Asserting that the latest terrorist attack in Uri only underlines that the infrastructure of terrorism in Pakistan remains active, Jaishankar demanded that Pakistan lives up to its public commitment to refrain from supporting and sponsoring terrorism against India.

He also reminded Basit that the Pakistan government had made a solemn commitment in January 2004 to not allow its soil or territory under its control to be used for terrorism against India. “The persistent and growing violation of this undertaking is a matter of very serious concern,” he told Basit.

In a release, External Affairs Ministry said this year, beginning with the Pathankot airbase attack, there have been continuous attempts by armed terrorists to cross the LoC and International Boundary in order to carry out attacks in India.

“Seventeen such attempts have been interdicted at or around the LoC, resulting in the elimination of thirty one terrorists and preventing their intended acts of terrorism.

Foreign Secretary also reminded him that even as he spoke two engagements at the LoC were ongoing,” it said.

Apart from GPS content, India has recovered a number of items that included communication matrix sheets and equipment, other made in Pakistan stuff like food, medicines and clothes, which were shown to Basit.

“We now expect a response from the Government of Pakistan,” Jaishankar told him.

Basit’s summons came a day after Jaishankar headed a high-level meeting, attended by senior Home Ministry officials and Director General of Military Operations (DGMO), during which the evidence recovered by Indian Army from the terrorists was shared with the MEA. — PTI