INDIAN ARMY’S NEIGHBOURHOOD DIPLOMACY IS IN GOOD STEED

INVESTITURE CEREMONY AT IMA

PALAMPUR GIRL JOINS ARMY AS DOCTOR

MILITANTS AMBUSH ARMY CONVOY; 3 JAWANS INJURED

FOUR SENIOR POSTS IN ARMY FALL VACANT

OF 800 APPEALS AGAINST SOLDIERS WITH DISABILITY IN SC, JUST 1 WIN FOR CENTRE

PUNJAB HEADLINES 01 APR 2017

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The remarks in the Chinese daily came after Gen Bipin Rawat last week said India must have close ties with Iran, Iraq and Afghanistan considering the security matrix. File photo

Beijing, May 8

India should not “overly interpret” Beijing’s military development or exaggerate concerns over the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor, a state-run Chinese daily said on Monday, days after the Indian Army chief suggested New Delhi carry out counter-encirclement of its “future adversaries”.    The article in Global Times, a publication of the ruling Communist Party, said India worries that China was intentionally meddling in India-Pakistan disputes, “utilising the CPEC (which runs through the Pakistan-occupied Kashmir) to grant legitimacy to Islamabad’s control over the disputed region.”      “India is viewing Beijing and Islamabad as potential threats and is suspicious of Beijing’s One Belt and One Road initiative and the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC),” it said, adding that “India is exaggerating the situation”.“Beijing respects New Delhi’s sovereignty concerns, and is willing to mediate in India-Pakistan disputes, on the condition that it accords to the wishes of both India and Pakistan,” it said.The remarks in the Chinese daily came after Gen Bipin Rawat last week said India must have close ties with Iran, Iraq and Afghanistan considering the security matrix.He said such a strategy will create a two-pronged dilemma for Pakistan, and also help tackle issues with the other difficult neighbour China, suggesting New Delhi should “carry out counter-encirclement for our future adversaries.”Referring to his remarks, the article said China advocates peaceful development and it has and will “never seek hegemony in the region.”China’s defence budget will rise by about 7 per cent this year, the lowest since 2010 and Beijing’s military development is “part of its national construction, and New Delhi should not overly interpret it,” it said.The Indian media suggests that China’s military expenditure for 2017, about 1.3 per cent of the GDP, is three times higher than that of India.“Frankly speaking, even if New Delhi’s military spending is boosted to the same level, India still lags behind its northern neighbour in its military capability. For instance, India’s development of aircraft carrier is very slow despite its early start,” it said.China has one refurbished aircraft carrier and recently launched a homemade carrier, which was expected to take a few years to operationalise. A third carrier is reportedly under construction. — PTI

Security personnel take position during a search operation after militants ambushed an Army convoy in Srinagar on Saturday. PTI

Majid Jahangir

Tribune News Service

Srinagar, April 1

Just a day ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to J&K, militants today surfaced in Srinagar and ambushed an Army convoy on the outskirts of Srinagar city, injuring at least three jawans.The ambush by militants, believed to be two to three in number, at the Bemina bypass along the Srinagar-Jammu national highway, took place in the afternoon when an Army convoy was on its way from border town of Uri in Baramulla to Srinagar.“Militants armed with assault rifles fired at the Army vehicles near a hospital on the Parimpora-Panthachowk bypass road which was retaliated. Three soldiers were injured in the ambush. The attackers managed to escape,” sources said, adding that the shootout created panic in the area.The attack took place despite the highway being secured by the Army and CRPF under the Road Opening Procedure (ROP), a daily drill to protect security vehicles that ply on the road.Soon after the attack, the police and CRPF cordoned off the locality and carried out searches to trace the militants involved in the attack.Defence spokesman Col Rajesh Kalia said three injured soldiers were evacuated to the Army’s 92 Base Hospital.“The firing took place in the overcrowded area and the Army showed maximum restraint,” Col Kalia said.Militant group Hizbul Mujahideen in a statement to a Srinagar-based news agency claimed responsibility for the attack.The attack took place amid heightened security in the wake of PM Narendra Modi’s visit to the state. Modi will inaugurate the Chenani-Nashri tunnel, India’s longest highway tunnel, on the Jammu-Srinagar national highway on Sunday.Even as many ambushes on forces on the national highway in south Kashmir took place last year, today’s ambush was the first attack on the Army on the 14-km Parimpora-Panthachowk bypass in the past nearly four years. In 2013, Lashkar-e-Toiba militants had ambushed an Army convoy at Hyderpora, Srinagar, in which eight jawans were killed and over a dozen injured.Minutes before the ambush on the Army convoy at Bemina, panic spread in the city centre of Lal Chowk after gunshots were heard in the locality. Sources said a mentally challenged man entered a hotel in the Lal Chowk and the security men took him as a militant. However, the person was detained from the hotel by the police. As he was being taken away, locals feared that a militant had been arrested by the police and they threw stones on forces. The forces fired a few gunshots.SP (East) Sheikh Faisal said a boy tried to enter the hotel. “I think he is mentally deranged. He is with us and we are ascertaining his identity,” Faisal said.Following the incident, there were massive clashes in the city centre for at least an hour. The police also fired teargas shells to disperse the mob.Soldier killed in explosion on LoCJammu: A junior commissioned officer of the Army was killed on Saturday in an explosion near LoC in Poonch district, the police said. Police sources said the incident occurred in the Degwar sector in Poonch. “The exact cause of the explosion is being ascertained,” the sources said. —IANSMajor attacks since 2016February 20-22, 2016: Three elite para commandoes, including two Captains, two CRPF men, three militants and a civilian were killed in a gunfight in Sempora, Pampore, on the Srinagar Jammu highway. The militants took shelter in the EDI building after carrying out an attack on a CRPF convoy on the Srinagar-Jammu national highwayJune 3: Three BSF jawans were killed and seven others were injured after militants ambush their convoy on the busy Srinagar-Jammu highway at Bijbehara in south KashmirJune 25: Militants intercepted a convoy of the CRPF and killed eight security personnel and injured 22 personnelAugust 17: Two Army jawans and a policeman were killed as militants ambushed a convoy of the Army in Baramulla districtDecember 17: Three soldiers were killed and two others injured in a militant attack on an Army convoy on the Srinagar-Jammu highway at Pampore in Pulwama districtFebruary 23, 2017: Three Army jawans were killed and five others, including two officers, were injured in a militant attack in south Kashmir’s Shopian district. A woman was also killed in the firing 

Chandigarh: Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh on Tuesday cleared the name of Maj Gen SPS Grewal (retd) as the chairman-cum-managing director of the Punjab Ex-Servicemen Corporation (PESCO). A formal order is expected soon. Maj Gen Grewal is from the Corps of Signals. In his last appointment as Chief Signals Officer, Western Command, Chandimandir, he oversaw the Army’s mobile and static communication network in the region. He is also the vice-chairman of the Guardians of Governance scheme, Capt Amarinder’s initiative to involve ex-servicemen in keeping a watch on the implementation of government schemes. The post had been lying vacant since February when the term of the then chairman, Lt Gen Kulip Singh (retd), had finished. PESCO’s mandate is to make efforts for the welfare and economic uplift of the ex-servicemen. TNS

A security man with a pellet gun stands guard during curfew in Srinagar. PTI file photo

Satya Prakash

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, March 27

The Supreme Court today asked the Centre to look for an alternative to pellet guns in Jammu and Kashmir where hundreds of youngsters have suffered serious injuries during various protests since the killing of Hizbul Mujahideen terrorist Burhan Wani in July last year.A three-Judge Bench headed by Chief Justice JS Khehar, however, agreed with Attorney General Mukul Rohatgi’s submission that the nature of weapons used by the forces could not be judicially determined.It said the alternative weapon and strategy for its use could be tested at four or five places where protests were frequently held.The Attorney General, who submitted a sealed cover report to the court, said the interim report prepared in October last was still being examined by security experts. The court asked him to come up with further suggestions in four weeks. Expressing concern over the death of youngsters, the court told Rohatgi, “Go by our spirit.” The suggestion came during a hearing on a petition by the Jammu and Kashmir Bar Association (Kashmir) against an order of the state High Court, refusing to ban the use of pellet guns.Senior counsel Zafar Shah told the Bench that many a young boy had lost an eye. Fifty persons had died and 300 had been partially or totally blinded. Pointing out that “4,000 more pellet guns have been imported,” Shah said pellet guns were not being used in any other state, save Kashmir. “It wasn’t used in Haryana where so much violence and damage to property took place,” he said.Shah suggested that instead of targeting the crowd by pellet guns, rifles could be used against selected protesters resorting to violence. “Are you saying that the security forces should use actual guns,” the Bench asked. As Shah answered in the affirmative, the Attorney General disapproved of the use of actual guns.Rohatgi said it was difficult to distinguish between young and adult protesters. “It is not a simple protest… There are anti-national protests…Protesters are often used as shield by militants to attack security forces. I am not justifying the casualties. But that’s the situation there,” he said.Rohatgi drew the court’s attention to the 1,522 attacks on the CRPF between July 8, the day Wani was killed, and August 11, 2016. On behalf of Jammu and Kashmir, Advocate General Jahangir Iqbal Gabi said pellet guns were being used as the last resort to contain mob violence, pointing out that between July 8 and August 11 last year, 3,777 policemen had been injured and two had died in mob violence. At one point the Bench suggested that parents of the boys indulging in violence be acted against.“Why don’t you take action against the parents of these children,” the Bench asked. But the Attorney General said, “If we start acting against parents, it will create an upheaval.” He said a 17 or 18-year-old boy was not under the “complete control of his parents”.

What court said

• A three-Judge Bench headed by Chief Justice JS Khehar agreed with Attorney General Mukul Rohatgi’s submission that the nature of weapons used by the forces could not be judicially determined
• It said the alternative weapon and strategy for its use could be tested at four or five places where protests were frequently held

An Indian army soldier patrols near the Line of Control in Poonch district after a ceasefire violation by Pakistan on Monday. PTI

Jammu/New Delhi, May 1The Indian Army-BSF patrol, whose two members were beheaded by Pakistani special forces on Monday, might just have walked into a death trap laid by the enemy, official sources said.The incident in Krishna Ghati sector along the Line of Control in Jammu and Kashmir occurred when a joint team of the army and BSF had gone to check the veracity of an intelligence report that landmines had been planted by Pakistani troops on the Indian side.

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As they were looking for landmines, the patrol was taken by surprise by Pakistan’s Border Action Team (BAT) which had laid an ambush over 250 metre deep inside the Indian territory.While the Pakistani troops attacked two forward posts with rockets and mortar bombs, the BAT personnel lay in wait for their targets. The Indian army patrol, too, came under fusillade of gunfire, resulting in the death of two soldiers.The BAT personnel quickly moved in and beheaded two fallen soldiers, official sources said in New Delhi.It was still not known if landmines had indeed been planted in the area.K K Sharma, the Director General of BSF, one of whose personnel was killed in the attack and decapitated, met Union home secretary Rajiv Mehrishi and briefed him on the incident.”It was a pre-planned operation by Pakistan army. They had pushed in the Border Action Team over 250 metre deep inside Indian territory and set up the ambush for a long period to carry out the attack,” a senior officer said in Jammu.”Their target was a patrol party of 7-8 members, which had come out of a post,” the officer said, adding that as the posts were engaged, the patrol team members ran for cover.Two troopers — one of the army and another of BSF — were targeted by the BAT.Head Constable Prem Sagar of 200th Battalion of the BSF and Naib Subedar Paramjeet Singh of 22 Sikh Regiment of the army were killed and their bodies mutilated.The BAT is specifically employed for trans-LoC action.In Pakistan, the SSG (special services group) forms the core of BAT. Its primary task is to dominate the LoC by carrying out disruptive actions in the form of surreptitious raids.BAT attacks in the pastThere have been several BAT attacks in the past in which jawans have been beheaded or their bodies mutilated.On October 28, 2016, militants attacked a post and killed an Indian army soldier and mutilated his body close to the Line of Control (LoC) in the Machil sector.In January 2013, Lance Naik Hemraj was killed and his body mutilated by BAT. It also beheaded Lance Naik Sudhakar Singh. Constable Rajinder Singh of the BSF suffered injuries in the attack.In June 2008, a soldier of the 2/8 Gorkha Rifles lost his way and was captured by BAT in Kel sector. His body was found beheaded after a few days.During the 1999 Kargil conflict, Captain Saurabh Kalia was tortured by his Pakistani captors who later handed over his mutilated body to India. In February, 2000, terrorist Ilyas Kashmiri had led a raid on the Indian army’s ‘Ashok Listening Post’ in the Nowshera sector and killed seven Indian soldiers.Even then, Kashmiri had taken back to Pakistan the head of a 24-year-old Indian jawan Bhausaheb Maruti Talekar of the 17 Maratha Light Infantry. — PTI

Vikramdeep Johal

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, March 27

Private Sarn Singh’s name won’t ring a bell in India, but he is being remembered with reverence in Australia. This year marks the death centenary of the soldier who was killed in the Battle of Messines in West Flanders, Belgium, during World War I.Part of the 43rd Australian Infantry Battalion, Sarn Singh was originally a farmer hailing from Chhokran village in Phillaur subdivision of Jalandhar district.Son of zaildar Kishan Singh, he enlisted in the Australian Imperial Force in Adelaide in May 1916. Three months later, this pint-sized Punjabi—described as “63.25 inches tall, 136 pounds in weight, chest 34 to 36 inches”—was sent to the UK. Fighting in one of the bloodiest battlefields of WWI, he lost his life on June 10, 1917. He was posthumously awarded the British War Medal and the Victory Medal, which were given to his widow, Partap Kaur, in 1922.“The Australian Sikh Heritage Association (ASHA), along with local South Australian Sikhs and the wider Australian community, is organising a special commemorative event in Adelaide on June 10 to remember Private Sarn Singh’s ultimate sacrifice,” says a statement issued by ASHA, whose team includes Harjit Singh, Kuljit Kaur Jassal and Tarunpreet Singh.Earlier this month, the association had commemorated the 75th death anniversary of Manmohan Singh, a Flying Officer of the British Indian Air Force who died in Broome, Western Australia, during World War II. Rawalpindi-born Manmohan, regarded as one of the first Sikh aviators, had served as the chief pilot for Maharaja Bhupinder Singh, the then ruler of the Patiala princely state.When WWII broke out, he was picked as the leader of an Air Force batch of pilots sent to England for training and active duty. As the oldest of the group, he was fondly called chacha (uncle). Manmohan was known to have a cold shower every morning and not eat anything until he had recited the Japji Sahib. He was killed in a Japanese air attack on the Broome harbour on March 3, 1942.The pilot has been immortalised on the ‘Memorial Wall to the Allied Dead of World War II in Northern Australia’ in Darwin, while Private Sarn Singh’s name is inscribed on the war memorials in Adelaide and Canberra and the Menin Gate in Ypres (Belgium).

Kulbhushan Jadhav. File photo

Islamabad, April 27

Pakistan on Thursday stuck to its stand on Kulbhushan Jadhav’s sentencing, saying the military court’s ruling was based on specific evidence and the trial was conducted in a “transparent” manner.Pakistan’s assertion came a day after India handed over an appeal by the mother of retired Indian Navy officer Jadhav, sentenced to death by the Field General Court Martial, to the appellate court, initiating a process to get his conviction overturned.Pakistan Foreign Office spokesperson Nafees Zakaria claimed that Jadhav has been tried for espionage according to the law of the land in a “transparent manner”.Jadhav’s sentencing was based on specific evidence as well as his “confessional statement” that also led to the dismantling of the terror network in the country, Zakaria was quoted as saying by Radio Pakistan.Zakaria’s remarks at a briefing came a day after the appeal on behalf of Jadhav was given to Pakistan’s Foreign Secretary Tehmina Janjua by Indian High Commissioner Gautam Bambawale, who also handed over a petition by Jadhav’s mother seeking the Pakistan government’s intervention for his release and expressing the desire to meet him.Jadhav was given death sentence earlier this month, evoking a sharp reaction in India which warned Pakistan of consequences and damage to bilateral ties if the “pre- meditated murder” was carried out. — PTI