RADICAL ISLAM : THE GEO POLITICAL EFFECTS OF ITS ERRANT VIOLENT WAYS by Lt Gen Syed Ata Husnain

‘CAPTAIN IS BETTER ADMINISTRATOR THAN BADAL, HAS FULL FAITH IN MY INTEGRITY’::Manpreet Badal

RECORD BREAKING DECISIONS TAKEN BY CAPT AMARINDER SINGH GOVT IN FIRST CABINET MEEETING

CAPTAIN’S TRUSTED LIEUTENANTS

IT IS TIME TO DELIVER ON PROMISES, SAY OPPOSITION LEADERS

SAUDI WOMEN BECOME CHANGEMAKERS BY SAUD M. AL-SATI

THE GRAND BARGAIN

PAK VIOLATES CEASEFIRE ALONG LOC IN POONCH

ARMY RESCUES 127 TOURISTS FROM SELA PASS IN ARUNACHAL

ARTEFACTS FROM ANGLO-SIKH WARS ON DISPLAY IN UK

CM, HIS TEAM SAY NO TO RED BEACONS MOVE FOLLOWS CABINET DECISION EVEN AS A FORMAL NOTIFICATION YET TO BE ISSUED

Phoolka: AAP MLAs to accept minimal security

Govt to review power purchase agreements with pvt players

PVT FIRMS TO PRODUCE TEJAS BODY, WINGS; HAL TO PLAY INTEGRATOR

BACHELOR CMS’ CLUB GETS NEW ENTRANT

UNIMPORTANCE OF BEING NAVJOT SINGH SIDHU HARISH KHARE

CAPT ORDERS CLEAN-UP OPERATION

A vehicle passes through snowbound Zojila on the Srinagar-Leh highway. file Photo

Arteev Sharma

Tribune News Service

Jammu, March 16

Bidders have shown reluctance to execute the ambitious South East Asia’s longest Zojila tunnel project, connecting Kashmir with the strategic Ladakh region, owing to “uncertainty” in the Valley and “very hostile weather conditions”.This is in spite of change in the mode of execution from the Design-Build-Finance-Operate-Transfer (DBFOT) (Annuity) basis to Engineering, Procurement and Construction (EPC) basis. Under the new EPC model, the government is fully funding the project.“Uncertainty hangs over the execution of the project as bidders have shown strong reluctance to the project due to large-scale tension in the Kashmir valley and very hostile weather conditions. No local and foreign bidder is ready to make a huge investment in a scenario which has always been marred by uncertainty and turbulence,” a senior officer of the National Highways and Infrastructure Development Corporation (NHIDCL) said.The Union Ministry of Road, Transport and Highways (MORTH) has entrusted the NHIDCL, its fully owned company, with the task of undertaking and completing the tendering process of the Zojila tunnel project.The NHIDCL officer said, “Now, the government has changed the mode of work to EPC under which it (government) will fully fund the project but we are still waiting for a response from bidders. This is for the fifth times that tenders have been floated. We don’t know what will be the fate of the project.”Under the EPC mode, the NHIDCL invited fresh international-level “Request of Proposal” (NIT) on January 9 and decided to award Letter of Award (LOA) to the final bidder on March 3. However, the corporation has extended the date of tender till May 1 due to poor response from road developers.Under the DBFOT (Annuity) model, the 14.08-km-long tunnel was to be constructed in seven years with an estimated cost of Rs 10,050 crore. The project has also been included in Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Rs 80,000 crore development package for Jammu and Kashmir, which was announced on November 7, 2015.“The estimated cost of project is Rs 5,950 crore under the new EPC model and 84 months deadline has been fixed for the completion of the project from the date of its commencement. The assessment of actual costs, however, will have to be made by the bidder, who will also be responsible for maintenance and operation of the project for a period of 10 years from the date of completion of the project,” the officer said, adding, “There are hostile climatic issues attached with the project as Zojila is the most devastating stretch on the Srinagar-Leh axis.”“The stretch between Gagangir and Sonamarg on the proposed tunnel has 24 avalanche sites, while there are 52 similar sites on the Sonamarg-Manimarg stretch, which records heavy to heavy snowfall. It will not be easy for any executing agency to execute work on the project,” the officer said.The MORTH has envisaged the construction of a two-lane bi-directional Zojila tunnel with a parallel escape (egress) tunnel, including approaches, on the Srinagar-Leh section on the EPC mode. The project assumes strategic importance for the defence forces as Ladakh shares its vast borders with China and Pakistan.It also holds the socio-economical importance for the region as two vital national highways — 434-km-long Srinagar-Kargil-Leh and 474-km-long Manali-Leh — remain closed for six months due to accumulation of snow in harsh winters.The Srinagar-Kargil-Leh road traverses through two major mountain ranges. It first crosses through the great Himalayas at Zojila and then the Zanskar mountain range at Fatula to enter Ladakh. Apart from its tough geography and topography, the mighty Zojila pass witnesses a maximum standing snow of around 5-6 metres every year and the temperature sometimes plummets to -28°C to -25°C.The proposed tunnel will pass through the Zojila Pass, which serves as the gateway to the Ladakh region. The pass, located at an altitude of about 12,000 ft (3,530 metres), is the fourth highest pass in the country. Out of 30 km from the tourist resort of Sonamarg in Kashmir to Gumri near the Zojila pass, the 10-km stretch is tough because of steep ravine and vertical mountains, prone to avalanches.

Project caught in tendering process

• The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) approved the project on October 17, 2013
• After the CCEA nod, only one agency came forward for the first time, leading to cancellation of process. The same happened second and third time, forcing the government to cancel the process
• When tenders were re-invited in December 2015 for the fourth time, the only bidder, IRB Infrastructure, was awarded the tender. The contract was cancelled following allegations of favouritism and corruption in the process by Congress leader Digvijaya Sing

Cops stand guard outside the Punjab Raj Bhawan on Wednesday. PHOTO: MANOJ MaHAJAN

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, March 15

In view of the swearing-in ceremony of Capt Amarinder Singh as the Chief Minister of Punjab at the Raj Bhawan, the roads leading to the Punjab Raj Bhawan will be closed for traffic from 8 am to noon tomorrow.Police officials said the roads leading to the Raj Bhawan from the St Kabir School turn, Sector 26, the Kishangarh village turn, the Sector 26/7 light point near the Kalsa college, the road separating Sectors 7 and 8 near the petrol pump, the KBDAV School, Sector 7, light point and the Sector 5/6/7/8 Hira Singh Chowk will remain closed for the public.People have been advised to use alternative roads to avoid inconvenience. “The roads will be opened soon after the swearing-in ceremony,” said a police official. The traffic police would be deployed at various points to regulate traffic.

CAPTAIN’S KNOCK First in the family to celebrate 75th birthday, CM’s crown is icing on the cake

CHANDIGARH: For Punjab Congress chief Capt Amarinder Singh, his 75th birthday on Saturday will probably rank as the most memorable.

SANJEEV SHARMA/HTCaptain Amarinder Singh flanked by party leaders Harish Chaudhary and Asha Kumari, and (below) his friend from Pakistan Aroosa Alam watching the revelry by Congress supporters at his residence in Sector 10, Chandigarh, on Saturday.

A former soldier, he scripted a huge win for the Congress in Punjab, proving most exit polls wrong that predicted a tight contest with Arvind Kejriwal’s Aam Aadmi Party.

While the AAP was left miles behind, the ruling SAD-BJP recorded its worst-ever performance in the state.

In his home turf of Patiala, the Captain prevailed over the general when he beat former army chief and Shiromani Akali Dal candidate Gen JJ Singh.

But before he entered the poll arena, Amarinder had to do some fighting of his own. He literally arm-twisted the party high command into dropping his predecessor, Partap Bajwa, to hand over the state unit to him.

A third straight defeat on his watch would have been a loss of face for Amarinder personally and a big blow to the party.

Out of favour and sidelined after the 2012 shock defeat, Amarinder’s political career was resurrected by bitter rival Bajwa.

Ahead of the 2014 Lok Sabha election, he proposed that Amarinder take on BJP’s Arun Jaitley from Amritsar, an election that he won.

Bajwa, on the hand, lost to BJP’s Vinod Khanna in Gurdaspur. An emboldened Amarinder openly took on Bajwa and even challenged the leadership of Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi, dubbing him a “political novice”.

His threat to split the Punjab Congress seemed to have worked, as the high command named him the state chief a fourth time.

But, it was a different Amarinder that Punjab saw this time.

Poll strategist Prashant Kishor built several campaigns around Brand Captain such as Coffee with Captain or Halke Vich Captain (Captain in assembly segment).

He also ensured that Amarinder was on the move, was accessible to workers and his poll pitch resonated with the youth, who account for half the state’s voters.

The former royal was no more the chopper-hopping politician, who started his campaign day late and ended it early.

This time, he was the early bird — he hit the road in January 2016, a year before the election was called.

Amarinder also dumped his infamous coterie for the warroom led by Kishor’s team, I-PAC. He worked closely with high command appointees such as Asha Kumari and Harish Chaudhary and his grandson, Nirvan Singh.

Amarinder has won a famous victory for the Congress, battered by at a string of poll defeats. But, he has promised voters the moon. His real test will be to come good on his promises.

Supporters of Capt Amarinder Singh celebrating the Congress victory in Punjab Assembly elections at his residence in Patiala on Saturday. — Tribune photo: Rajesh Sachar

Tribune News Service 

Chandigarh, March 11

The Congress on Saturday made a resounding comeback in Punjab after a gap of a decade, getting a clear majority in the 117-member Assembly with lead/win in 77 seats.  AAP and the SAD-BJP combine were at 22 and 18, respectively.

Click here for all candidates, winners and their votes in Punjab Assembly elections-2017

PUNJAB ROUNDUP: Amarinder wins Patiala, Badal Lambi, Sukhbir Jalalabad seats

With the ruling party facing a humiliating defeat, Chief Minister and Akali patriarch Parkash Singh Badal said he would be submitting his resignation to the Governor tomorrow.

Shiromani Akali Dal managed to win three seats and was ahead in 11 seats.Among key candidates, Congress party’s chief ministerial candidate Amarinder Singh won the Patiala seat with a huge margin of 52,407 votes as he defeated his nearest rival AAP candidate Balbir Singh.SAD candidate and former Army Chief J J Singh finished third by securing 11,677 votes.Chief Minister Badal won from his traditional Lambi seat defeating his nearest rival Congress candidate Captain Amarinder Singh by 22,770 votes.Badal, the SAD candidate, polled 66,375 votes while Singh secured 43,605 votes. The Chief Minister congratulated Congress president Amarinder Singh on his win and assured full support to him.”SAD will discuss the reasons for the defeat of the party in the assembly elections,” he said.A beaming Amarinder Singh thanked the people of the state for their overwhelming support. “People voted out Akalis, who destroyed Punjab and rejected the AAP, who came more like a summer storm,” Singh said.”Committed to good governance, tackling drug menace, besides health and education will be priority,” Singh said.In the 2012 assembly elections, the SAD had won 56 seats and its ally BJP 12 seats.Congress had won 46 and the remaining three seats had gone to Independents. — PTI

AAP leader Arvind Kejriwal and Punjab Congress president Capt Amarinder Singh. — File photos

Chandigarh, March 9

Punjab, which witnessed a triangular contest in the Assembly polls, could be in for a neck-and-neck fight between the Congress and the AAP while the ruling SAD-BJP may face a drubbing, according to pollsters.Exit polls released ahead of the March-11 counting predict the SAD-BJP combine, which has been ruling the state for 10 years, could be struggling to get even into double-digit in the 117-member House due to multiple factors including the anti-incumbency.

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While India Today-Axis exit polls gave 62-71 seats to the Congress and 42-51 to AAP, India TV-C Voter projected 41-49 for the Congress and 59-67 seats for the AAP.India News-MRC and News 24-Chanakya forecast a dead heat giving 55 to the Congress and 54 to the AAP.It the NDTV poll of polls, an average of several exit polls, Congress was predicted to win 55 seats, closely followed by the AAP with 54 seats. The incumbent Akali Dal-BJP alliance was predicted staring at a virtual decimation with only 7 seats in the 117-member assembly.The Assembly elections to five states — Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Uttarakhand, Manipur and Goa — concluded today after polling in Karanprayag (Uttarakhand) and Alapur (UP) constituencies was held.As per the exit polls, the BJP is likely to gain in Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand and Manipur.The ruling Akali Dal-BJP alliance in Punjab was reduced to single digit tally in all exit polls.Away from the hustle and bustle of the exit polls, the SAD-BJP alliance is confident of defying the pollsters “like in 2012″, when it proved the surveys wrong.89-year-old Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal claimed the combine would win 72 seats.As for Congress, Amarinder Singh claimed it would win 65 seats and the AAP exuded confidence of bagging close to 100.The state went to polls in single phase on February 4 and recorded 78.60 per cent polling against 78.57 per cent in the 2012 polls.1,145 candidates are in the fray, 81 of whom are female and one transgender.”The counting of votes will take place on Saturday (March 11) for which all necessary preparations have been made,” an election office spokesman said here today.It was a record for the state when the SAD (with BJP) came back to power in 2012 as no party had ever been given two consecutive terms.Since reorganisation of Punjab in 1966, the Congress and the SAD have been ruling the state alternately. The SAD-BJP alliance formed the government for the first time in 2007 and retained majority in 2012.This time around, while the SAD is contesting 94 seats the BJP is 23. The Congress has contested all the seats.The AAP and its ally Lok Insaf Party, led by the Bains brothers of Ludhiana, are fighting 112 and 5 seats, respectively. — PTI

Here are the exit polls for 5 states:

PUNJAB (TOTAL SEATS: 117)

NewsX-MRC exit poll

Congress: 55

AAP: 55

SAD-BJP: 7

Today’s Chanakya-News 24 exit poll

Congress: 54 (+/-9)

AAP: 54 (+/-9)

SAD-BJP: 9 (+/-5) 

India Today-Axis

Cong: 62-71

AAP: 45-51

Akali: 4-7

India TV-C voter

Cong: 41-49

AAP: 59-67

Akali: 5-13

POLL OF POLLS FOR PUNJAB

Cong: 55

AAP: 54

Akali: 7

Others 1

UTTAR PRADESH (403)

NewsX-MRC exit poll

BJP: 185

SP-Cong: 120

BSP: 90

Others: 8

Times Now-VMR

BJP: 190-210

SP-Cong: 110-130

BSP: 57-74

Others: 8

ABP News-Lokniti

BJP: 164-176

SP-Cong: 156-169

BSP: 60-72

Others: 2-6

India TV-C Voter

BJP: 155-167

SP-Cong: 135-147

BSP: 81-93

Others: 8-20

POLL OF POLLS FOR UTTAR PRADESH 

BJP: 179

SP-Cong: 136

BSP: 77

Others: 11

UTTARAKHAND (70)

Today’s Chanakya-News 24 exit poll

BJP: 53 (+/-7)

Congress: 15 (+/-7)

Independent: 2 (+/-2) 

India Today-Axis

BJP: 46-53

Cong: 12-21

Others: 2-6

India TV-C voter

BJP: 29-35

Cong: 29-35

Others: 2-9

POLL OF POLLS FOR UTTARAKHAND

BJP: 45

Cong: 21

Others: 4

GOA (40)

NewsX-MRC exit poll

BJP: 15

Cong: 10

AAP: 7

Others: 6

Mag: 2

India Today Axis

BJP: 18-22

Cong: 9-13

AAP: 0-2

Others: 4-9

India TV-C Voter

BJP: 15-21

Cong: 12-18

AAP: 0-4

Others: 2-8

POLL OF POLLS FOR GOA

BJP: 17

Cong: 13

AAP: 4

Others: 6

MANIPUR (60)

India TV-C Voter exit poll

Congress: 17-23

BJP: 25-31

Others: 9-15

India Today-Axis

Congress: 30-36

BJP: 16-22

Others:3-5

POLL OF POLLS FOR MANIPUR

Congress: 26

BJP: 24

Others:10

Soldiers at the encounter site in Tral on Sunday. Two militants, including a Pakistani national, were killed in the gunfight. Tribune photo

New Delhi, March 6

Pakistan-based terror groups are financing terrorism in Jammu and Kashmir by generating millions in donations through their charity organisations, a National Investigation Agency (NIA) officer said today.Falah-e-Insaniat Foundation, a charity run by terror outfits Jamaat-ud-Dawa (JuD) and Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT), and Al Rehmat Trust, backed by another terrorists group Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM), have been supporting terrorists and funding terrorism in Kashmir, said Atul Goel, Superintendent of Police, National Investigation Agency (NIA), addressing a session at the 19th Asian Security Conference on ‘Combating Terrorism: Evolving an Asian Response’. The session was chaired by former Home Secretary G K Pillai.Goel said the NIA was looking into the activities of JuD, LeT and JeM and also the working of trusts associated with them in the neighbouring country.“These outfits collect donations from people in Pakistan and then pass on the money to finance terrorism in Kashmir through their over-ground workers,” he added.‘Al Rehmat Trust’ distributes pamphlets to raise funds for sacrificing animals during Eid and after collecting the money, they finance terrorism, the officer said.Meanwhile, Falah-e-Insaniat Foundation, one of the major and fastest growing NGOs in Pakistan, also collects money from people and uses them to fund terrorists, Goel said.“JuD chief Hafiz Saeed addresses the volunteers of Falah-e-Insaniat Foundation. They have an entire network of people who work for their agenda of fomenting terror in Kashmir,” he said.Goel said these organisations indulge in collection of money outside mosques.“The authorities have a video in which two persons are seen soliciting funds from people outside a mosque in Karachi in the presence of Pakistan Rangers,” the officer claimed.These groups organise special campaigns during natural disasters and festivals to solicit money.“The JuD seeks voluntary donations during Eid. Falah-e-Insaniat Foundation, under the name of Tehreek-e-Azadi, Jammu and Kashmir, organises campaigns and seeks donations illegally. It also works online. Such incidents often get published in the local media (there),” Goel said.The groups also run profit-generating businesses like operating schools where fee is exceptionally high in the context of south Asia, targeting upper middle class, Goel added.David Coleman Headley, a Pakistani-American terrorist who is serving a 35-year sentence in the US, before his seventh visit to India, was given fake indian currency note by Major Iqbal of Pakistan-snoop agency Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) in Lahore, which he spent in Mumbai, Goel claimed. Headley is an accused in 26/11 Mumbai terror attack case.Meanwhile, Director General, National Academy of Customs, Excise and Narcotics, PK Dash said terrorism had mutated into a business of power and money cloaked in fundamentalism, funded by rogue economics that requires little capital but gives huge return.“A comprehensive approach is needed to tackle the issue as terrorism cannot be neutralised merely with guns,” Dash added.

How they operate

• Jaish-e-Mohammed’s Al Rehmat Trust distributes pamphlets to raise funds for sacrificing animals during Eid and after collecting the money, they finance terrorism
• Falah-e-Insaniat Foundation, a charity run by terror outfits Jamaat-ud-Dawa and Lashkar-e-Toiba, organises campaigns and seeks donations illegally. It works under the name of Tehreek-e-Azadi, Jammu and Kashmir.
• The terror outfits collect donations from people in Pakistan and then pass on the money through their over-ground worker

The earlier insulation of the Army in its cantonments and being tied down to its professional till has been eroded in the internet and mobile age. Earlier, politics was a taboo subject in officers’ messes. Reservation on espousing a political line has failed to extend to regulating the social media behaviour of the armed forces.

Jawans take a selfie with the Kargil war martyrs statue on the occasion of Kargil Vijay Diwas in Patna. PTI

ONE of General Bipin Rawat’s early concerns into his tenure is social media. He had barely taken charge of the Army when the BSF trooper at a post under Army jurisdiction, along the Line of Control, sent out a social-media salvo on poor food being served. It set off posts by uniformed personnel, including Army soldiers, similarly exercised by myriad perceived impositions on them, such as “Sahayak” (batman or soldier-helper) duties. The Army has since revisited its social media policy. Essentially, its call for restraint is intended to keep personnel from washing dirty linen in public. Tightening internal grievance redress, the Chief has opened a direct line of access to his staff in case lower levels fail to prove responsive. On the batman system, there are innovative proposals in the pipeline, at least for peace stations, substituting for soldiers undertaking domestic work in officer accommodation. It is apparent that the Army has taken the constructively seized  opportunity to make the necessary, if overdue, changes. However, there is one aspect that is likely to have missed its eye.  It is the extent of right-wing trope being exchanged on social media in military networks. It is now so commonplace as to be unremarkable. It is unexceptionable therefore in case the Army is oblivious to this. Precisely for this reason, the matter needs airing. The trend of social media penetration of right-wing jargon, thinking, positions and propaganda line began at the same time as in other middle class social media groups, sometime prior to the last General Election in 2014. It is now in the open that the “Modi wave” was partially manufactured in troll factories by paid agents and committed volunteers. The Army was no exception to this trend since its officer class is middle class. The earlier insulation of the Army in its cantonments and being tied down to its professional till has been eroded in the internet and mobile age. Consequently, the political winds that swept the dysfunctional UPA II government away found their way into the minds of the officer corps. Anecdotal evidence suggests that liberal voices on social media networks were feeble and easily overwhelmed. Protest was silenced through cyber bullying, with the majority being silent spectators. Political posts were widely shared, most with a degree of endorsement. It is easy in retrospect to identify that the Army had its share of what  have since come to be called bhakts. These self-anointed monitors outshouted any group managers who dared intervene on groups ranging from old-boy networks of military schools, course-mate groups to battalion groups. While earlier, politics was a taboo subject in officers’ messes, and perhaps continues to be so, reservation on espousing a political line failed to extend to regulating the social media behaviour of members of the armed forces. The enthusiasm for the conservative party’s victory is explicable as it is in keeping with the universal political inclination of an officer corps; the attractions of the allusion to development; its anti-corruption packaging; and the BJP’s largely pro-security agenda. The problem is that the ideological baggage that attends the politics of the BJP — Hindutva — was part of the package. One popular propaganda line that was seemingly heartily consumed — judging from its traffic on the social media group — was the conflation of the two “others” in the Hindutva worldview, the Indian Muslim with Pakistan. This was easy to sell since a majority of the military has been through Kashmir and has seen the Pakistani hand at play. Exposed to the media attention to the terror attacks in the hinterland, that seldom went beyond the reporting on the blasts to the investigations that have attended these blasts, the theme of a strong government was easily sold. Lately, the letting off by courts of Muslims incarcerated for alleged complicity in the blasts suggests that India was well into the post-truth age before the term was coined. Any collateral damage in terms of marginalisation of the minority and social relationships was found acceptable. The distasteful experience of this writer on social media chatter on Army groups led to his withdrawing from the three social media groups comprising his military cohort and former comrades. It was not so much on account of religious affiliation but constraints on expression of a liberal worldview encountered. The military leadership needs alerting to this unseemly underside of social media. The military’s social media policy is a work-in-progress. It needs updating with stipulations on the content that is exchanged. While self-regulation is best, it has proven insufficient. This has implications for the freedom of expression intrinsic to social media. A case can be made that those who do not wish to receive such posts can opt to leave. The problem with this line of reasoning is that it divides the officer corps, leaving the turf to the cultural nationalists in uniform, for whom patriotism is just not enough. The Army’s social media policy has further steps to take. It needs to be possessive of its social turf. Its cohesion and apolitical nature is at stake. The writer is a former Infantry Officer.