Terming hybrid warfare — using non-state actors against an adversary nation — as “not the best option”, Indian Army chief General Bipin Rawat on Wednesday said this tactic was causing more damage to Pakistan than to India.

“Any nation that has attempted hybrid warfare against an adversary has finally been the sufferer. Today, Pakistan is facing that brunt,” Rawat said while delivering a lecture on “Challenges of hybrid conflict in 21st century”.

“They (Pakistan) supported something in Afghanistan but after the imbroglio was over, what happened to those people (the jihadis)? This hybrid warfare launched by them (Pakistan) has actually started affecting them more than it is affecting us,” Rawat said.

However, he warned that the proxy war by Pakistan is there to stay despite all the things and despite India’s effective tackling of it.

Responding to a query as to why India, even after suffering for decades, does not launch offensive hybrid warfare against Pakistan, Rawat said it is not the best option for India, and emphasised that India is satisfactorily countering this warfare directed against it. “Paying the other fellow exactly in the same coin may not be the best option. A stone that is thrown in the air comes back to your head.

“Before we launch the hybrid warfare in the offensive-defensive domain, we should be prepared to see what will happen to those people once the objective is achieved. What you do with those people?” he said.

While he underlined that India does have the capability to launch an offensive hybrid warfare or even “strike across” at those perpetrating the hybrid offensive against it, the army chief said for that the Indian leadership must be clear as to how far the country can go if an escalation happens.

“India will have to carefully work on the escalation matrix as to how far it was willing to go if escalation happens,” he added.

He said to counter such operations by Pakistan, which include a propaganda on the social media, various Indian forces and agencies need to work together in close coordination.

Rawat said India can utilise its soft power with friendly nations to isolate the terror-exporting nation and offered that the Indian Army can help the country expand its soft power in many ways.

Speaking on the Kashmir situation, Rawat said that sustained pressure is needed to tire out the militants instead of wrongly believing after a peaceful year in the Valley that lasting peace has returned.

“When things become comfortable, we would go into this limbo thinking that peace has returned, not knowing that every time the peace returns, the nexus has utilised this period to rebuild their capacities and strength. And therefore sustained pressure is required,” Rawat said.

“What I am trying to highlight is that you get one successful year and you say let’s give peace a chance. That is I think a fault that you have been committing.

“If you think that just after having one successful year you should give peace a chance, that may not be the best option. You should have repeated successes and then think of giving peace a chance. And that is what we are doing now. Let us look at tiring the other side,” he added.

He also rued that the army faces flak even for taking a tough action against those pelting stones at it.

Jammu, January 17

A civilian was injured on Thursday when Pakistani troops violated ceasefire and resorted to firing and mortar shelling along the Line of Control in Jammu and Kashmir’s Rajouri district, officials said.

Northern Command chief Lt Gen Ranbir Singh said the Army is replying befittingly to the Pakistani aggression.

Pakistan troops resorted to firing and mortar shelling on forward posts and civilian areas along the LoC in Nowshera sector, the officials said.

The ceasefire violation resulted in injuries to a civilian who has been hospitalised, they said.

The year 2018 had witnessed the highest number — 2,936 — of ceasefire violations by Pakistani troops in the last 15 years along the Indo-Pak border.

The continuous Pakistani shelling and firing targeting villages has set in fear psychosis among the border dwellers.

Pakistan troops resorted to firing and shelling along the LoC in Poonch district of the state for 12 days of this month.

On Monday, Border Security Force (BSF) Assistant Commandant Vinay Prasad was killed in a sniper firing by Pakistani rangers along the International Border (IB) in Hiranagar-Samba sector of Kathua district.

On the same day in another incident, Pakistani troops resorted to firing and shelling along the LoC in Sunderbani sector of Rajouri district.

On Sunday, an Army jawan was injured in ceasefire violation along the LoC in Keri sector of Rajouri.

On Friday, an Army porter was killed when Pakistani troops resorted to firing in Nowshera sector ofRajouri district.

On the same day, an Army Major and a soldier were killed in an IED blast on the LoC in Laam sub-sector of Rajouri. – PTI

India has received a joint submarine design and construction proposal from Russia to build on the technology transfer acquired while building the nuclear fleet, and promises to drastically reduce the cost of Navy’s next-generation vessel plan.

The proposal, believed to have been discussed at the top level during the Sochi summit in May, offers an alternative to an upcoming $10 b P 75I tender for six new diesel electric submarines that the Navy requires. These are to be fitted with an Air Independent Propulsion (AIP) system that significantly increases their ability to stay underwater.

“The Russian side has offered a transfer of all intellectual property for the design and prototype construction. This will mean that there are also no limits to the number of submarines that can be built under the project…,” officials familiar with the details told ET.

While the current plan is to go in for a global competitive process that will involve companies from Russia, France, Germany and Sweden, the official proposal from Moscow is for a government-to-government deal for joint design with the Advanced Technology Vessel Project (ATVP). This is the project that gave India its first nuclear armed submarine, the INS Arihant, which was constructed in Vizag with considerable assistance from Russia.

A line of nuclear armed and nuclear powered submarines will be rolled out under the project which has completed the Indian nuclear triad — the ability to launch warheads from air, land and underwater.

Sources told ET that the proposal is for joint design and building of a prototype, following which the technical knowhow and papers would be transferred to the selected Indian shipyard for construction. The design consultancy for the project is pegged at under $200 million, something that could result in savings of immediate payments for the Navy for its next-generation submarines.

Under the competitive process, an initial payment of over $ 2 billion (20% of total cost) might be necessary, which given the Navy’s current budget projections, seems difficult. The proposal seeks to design the submarine to meet Indian requirements, including installation of the Brahmos missiles on board, as well as a jointly developed AIP system with the Defence Research and Development Organisation.

Sources involved in the Indian nuclear submarine project said that the proposal can build on the technology that has already been transferred to India but has to be scrutinized carefully to ensure that critical knowhow is not held back. Several parts required under the proposal are already being produced in India, including high strength steel for submarine hulls.

Col Dilbag Dabas (Retd)

Deepak, son of Naresh Sharma, was born in Bidhlan village of Sonepat district on July 3, 1983. He grew up listening to the stories of valour of his grandfather, who was part of the action during World War II, and at a very young age, decided to follow into his footsteps.

Deepak passed his senior secondary education from Shiksha Bharti School, Rohtak. After attaining a Bachelor of Technology degree from Maharishi Dayanand University, he joined the Officer’s Training Academy, Chennai, and was commissioned into the Signal Regiment on September 16, 2006. In March 2008, Deepak, as a young Captain, was sent on two-year attachment with 42 Rashtriya Rifles (Assam) operating in Pulwama district of Jammu and Kashmir.

Pulwama district, located between the Pir Panjal Range and the Greater Himalayas, though geographically not close to the line of control (LoC) in the west, has the dubious distinction of being one of the hotbeds of militancy in the Kashmir valley. And it is strongly believed that due to a false notion of being alienated by the state, Kashmiri youths have covertly been assisting militants exported by Pakistan. Nonetheless, 42 Rashtriya Rifles has an impressive record of conducting many successful cordon and search operations in the Kashmir valley from time to time since its deployment there. During one such counter-militancy operation in Pulwama district, Captain Deepak Sharma, an officer from the Signal Regiment attached to 42 Rashtriya Rifles (RR) Battalion, displayed gallantry of the highest order, for which he was awarded the coveted Kirti Chakra, the second highest peace-time military decoration in the country. The account of gallantry of Captain Deepak Sharma during a counter-militancy operation in the Kashmir valley is recorded in the War Diary of 42 RR Battalion. 

Naresh Sharma, a retired banker, recalls, “During his B Tech final semester, Deepak was offered a well-paid job in an upscale corporate house but for his love for the Army, he declined the offer. I asked him as to what special was he looking for being an Army officer? He told me ‘papa, Army mein mujhe salute milegi, samman milega aur sahi maine mein desh sewa ka mauka milega’. His reply really made me proud”.

During his short leave in January 2010, Deepak got engaged to a serving lady officer from the Signal Regiment itself at a simple ceremony and the marriage was scheduled sometime in June the same year. But no one knew he had a different kind of date with fate three months before that. 

Indu Sharma, mother of Capt Deepak Sharma, opens up with a sigh, “Every mother’s son has a date with fate. My son too had his but he met his date with fate as a warrior, as a ‘shoorveer’, in the finest traditions of the Indian Army”.

The account of his bravery in War Diary of 42 RR Battalion reads…

On March 4, 2010, some terrorists were suspected to be hiding in a room in a village in Pulwama district of Jammu and Kashmir, which could not be cleared due to its close proximity to a large Jamia Masjid. Since the targeted room was adjacent to the masjid, and to avoid any damage to it, direct room intervention was the only option to flush out the militants. At 8.15 am, on March 4, Capt Deepak Sharma along with his buddy closed in and entered the house through a small window by lobbing hand grenades. At point-blank range, Capt Sharma fired and killed one terrorist in the first room. He then crawled to the next room under heavy volume of fire from the terrorists and lobbed another grenade. On spotting two terrorists under the staircase, with total disregard to own safety, Capt Sharma charged at them with a steely grit and killed both of them on the spot. However, during the fire fight, Capt Deepak Sharma sustained a gunshot wound on his neck and he later succumbed to his injuries. Captain Deepak Sharma displayed unflinching devotion to duty and indomitable courage in the face of the enemy and made the supreme sacrifice in the finest traditions of the Indian Army.

(The writer is a veteran Gunner, 6 Field Regiment)

Washington, November 25

The then Bush administration had mobilised special forces to neutralise Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT) terrorists holding people hostage in hotels during the deadly Mumbai terror attack in November 2008, a former White House official has revealed.

But, before the Indian authorities gave the necessary clearances and the special forces could take off for Mumbai from an overseas regional location, Indian commandos had already completed their job, said Anish Goel, who was part of the White House’s 26/11 crisis management group.

Recalling the developments at the White House during the 2008 Thanksgiving weekend, Goel said the US had “some (special forces) teams in the region that we were willing to deploy quickly”. “In the beginning, the Indians were reluctant to accepting US assistance. But, as the attack dragged on for two-three days, they became more accepting of US assistance,” Goel said. — PTI

MK Bhadrakumar
Former Ambassador

Us space agency NASA has abruptly called off a planned visit to the US in February by the head of the Russian state space corporation, Roscosmos Dmitry Rogozin. NASA made the announcement on January 4 following criticism by the US media and lawmakers who demanded cancellation of the visit. The snub to Moscow presages sudden death of the historic Russian-American collaboration in exploring the ‘last frontier’ for mankind. It becomes an inflection point.

Rogozin is a close political associate of President Vladimir Putin. He has been subjected to the Western sanctions over Moscow’s annexation of Ukraine’s Crimean Peninsula in 2014. US Senator Jeanne Shaheen, who is a leading critic of Russia’s alleged meddling in the 2016 US presidential election, threatened that the Congress will be ‘forced to act’ unless NASA withdrew the invitation to Rogozin. Shaheen called Rogozin ‘one of the leading architects of the Kremlin’s campaign of aggression towards its neighbours’ and said the invitation ‘undercuts our message and undermines the US’ core national security objectives’.

The big question is whether the curtain is coming down on the space cooperation between the US and Russia. It is a poignant moment since the two countries have had a long history of working together in space ever since the joint Apollo-Soyuz mission in 1975, and more so, in the past two decades. Within the ambit of cooperation, the two countries have shared training, communications, operational capabilities and expenses in support of the International Space Station (ISS). In particular, following the cancellation of the US Space Shuttle Program in 2011, the US began relying on Russia’s Soyuz capsules for transport to the ISS. Russia receives an average of $81 million per seat on the Soyuz. In a joint statement in 2017, the two countries even projected the idea of collaborating on deep space exploration, including the construction of the Lunar Orbital Platform-Gateway, a research-focused space station orbiting the moon. (Rogozin’s visit aimed at fleshing out the tantalising idea.) Both countries saw clear benefits, given the high price tag for solo space exploration.

However, times have changed. Russia and the US are flaunting today their capability to destroy each other in a thermonuclear war, something unheard of even at the height of the Cold War. Space has become a new domain of warfare. If the 2018 US National Defense Strategy characterised ‘space and cyberspace as war-fighting domains’, Russia’s 2010 military doctrine explicitly stated that ensuring superiority in space would be a ‘decisive factor’ in achieving its strategic goals. In this tense security environment, the need arises to protect space assets (satellites, etc.) with space-based weapons. Suffice to say, the scope for sharing sensitive technology or capabilities in space partnerships has dramatically shrunk due to the growing hostility between the US and Russia.

Secondly, a private sector space industry has appeared in the US and it has spawned commercial interests. The development of advanced technologies by private companies means NASA has new options to choose from and to reduce the dependence on Russia. In fact, NASA is already in a position to use Boeing and SpaceX capsules for human spaceflight beginning in 2020 and even has the option to phase out the procurement of Russian RD-180 rocket engines by 2022. With President Trump ordering the establishment of a sixth branch of the military (‘Space Force’), the dominant aerospace companies in the US — Boeing, Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman, Raytheon and BAE Systems — are eyeing the new frontier. 

Russia’s preference has always been to press on with a space programme entwined with the US’s. But in a scenario where NASA turns its back on Roscosmos, Russia may have to turn to China or India for partnership. Recently, Rogozin openly hinted at this. In his words, ‘China is offering many initiatives for cooperation, is asking us to help them develop, though they have already achieved a good level of development. They are suggesting creating a joint station.’ Rogozin even floated the idea of a ‘BRICS station’. Of course, Russia is technologically capable of building a lone Russian lunar station. But then, as the director of the Institute of Space Policy in Moscow, Ivan M Moiseyev, told the New York Times recently, ‘The technical capability exists, but the finances don’t.’

Quite obviously, considering that space efforts are inextricably connected to military plans, Russia needs to take a leap of faith to form an alliance with China. On the one hand, the scientific space-related endeavours have immense commercial potentials, while on the other, they signify the ultimate ‘eye in the sky’ through a combination of satellites and unmanned aerial reconnaissance vehicles that would give unmatched insight into positions of enemies (as well as allies). They will phenomenally improve military logistics, facilitate ‘orbital strikes’ at enemy targets as well as open up new lucrative trade and travel routes.

India is far better placed than China can ever be to align with Russia’s space programme, as there are no contradictions in the relations between the two countries. China is a competitor for Russia — as much as for the US — in space. Commenting on the recent landing of a Chinese scientific probe on the far side of the moon, Mary Dejevsky at the Guardian newspaper, a veteran Russia hand, wrote, ‘The response in political and military quarters in Washington, as in Moscow… is likely to reflect trepidation.’ It cannot be otherwise in New Delhi also. All factors taken into consideration, therefore, a tapering off in the NASA-Roscosmos cooperation, which is on cards in a near-term scenario, can be to India’s advantage. Delhi should seize the opportunity.

The operation is still under way. Tribune file

Majid Jahangir

Tribune News Service

Srinagar, November 25

Four militants were killed in a gunfight in south Kashmir’s Shopian district on Sunday, officials said.

The gunfight broke at Kapran village of Shopian around 1.30 am when a joint team of the police, Army and CRPF were carrying a cordon and search operation after a specific input about the presence of militants in the area.

“As the forces zeroed in on the suspected area, the militants opened fire, triggering a gunfight. In the gunfight that followed, four militants have been killed so far,” a police officer said. The toll may mount as the operation is still under way.

While identity and the group affiliation of militants is being established by police, sources said the slain include top commanders of Hizbul Mujahideen and Lashkar-e-Toiba

This is the second major encounter in south Kashmir since Friday. On November 23, six local militants, including a top Lashkar-e-Toiba commander accused of murdering top journalist Shujaat Bukhari in June this year, were killed in a gunfight in Bijbehara area of Anantnag district.

Tribune News Service

Jalandhar, September 18

Attacking the BJP-led Central Government and the SAD, Congress leader Nimisha Mehta questioned the “will” of the two parties to have the Kartarpur corridor open for Sikh devotees.

Nimisha said Union Minister Harsimrat Kaur Badal had all the time to point fingers at the conversation between External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj and Punjab Minister Navjot Singh Sidhu but it was sad that she had not realised that her dear NDA government ministers were awaiting a proposal from Pakistan for opening the corridor.

“It is strange that it is the need of Sikh devotees of India to open the corridor and the Central Government, of which Harsimrat Badal herself is a part, and the Centre is expecting a proposal from Pakistan itself. How is it possible? If Indians are being affected, of course the Indian Government will have to put in a request and take an initiative keeping in view the faith of people,” said Nimisha.

But the statements of Union MoS VK Singh that they expect a proposal from Pakistan itself clarifies that it was a sheer delay tactic and a deep-rooted conspiracy of the SAD.

“How can we expect Pakistan to initiate things on its own when we need it the most here as devotees of our country want to visit Pakistan and not Pakistanis want to come here,” she said.

Nimisha said if Sidhu had gone to Pakistan, at least he raised the issue pertaining to millions of Sikh devotees whereas when the Badal family visited Pakistan they returned with buffaloes as a gift in 2012.

She added that the SAD was making tall claims of building the corridor now, whereas its leaders never accompanied the party’s then sidelined leader Kuldip Singh Wadala, who passed away months ago, even for a single prayer for opening of the corridor.