CHENNAI/NEW DELHI: Union defence minister Manohar Parrikar made a brief pit stop at Chennai’s Tambaram airbase on Saturday morning before leaving to monitor the ongoing search for the IAF AN-32 airplane missing since Friday.

“As of now, a massive search operation is in progress, braving prevalent monsoon weather conditions and poor visibility, wherein the IAF, Indian Navy and Indian Coast Guard have pooled in all available resources to look for any possible sign of the aircraft in this vast swath of the Bay of Bengal between Chennai and Port Blair,” an IAF official said.

The Russian-made Antonov-32 plane disappeared about 280km off the coast of Chennai. Those onboard included six crew members, 15 personnel from the IAF, army, navy and coast guard, and eight civilians who were family members of the personnel.

Parrikar was briefed by senior navy and air force officials before boarding his plane to conduct an aerial survey of the ongoing search and rescue operation.

Meanwhile, the wife of one of those missing was hopeful of his return. “Nothing will happen to my husband. I am confident he will return safely,” said Purnima to her relatives. Purnima’s husband, Pati Nagendra Rao, is a fitter in the Naval Armament Depot (NAD) in Visakhapatnam.

At 34-year old Nagendra’s residence in Lakshminagar, relatives, residents and politicians consoled Purnima. Nagendra’s two sons — six-year-old Sai Praneeth and three-year-old Nihar — have been unable to comprehend the bustle around their home. Nagendra’s parents, Prakash Rao and Eshwari, are in a state of deep shock.

The situation at the residence of 55-year-old Nammi Chinna Rao is no different. Ever since NAD authorities informed them of the missing plane, his family — a wife, two sons and a daughter — have been distraught. Rao, who was working as tradesman mate (TMM) in NAD for the last 25 years, contacted the family on Friday morning. “In the evening, at around 4pm, we got a call from authorities that there is no trace of my father as the flight is missing,” his son told Andhra Pradesh chief minister N Chandrababu Naidu, who called on the families on Saturday morning.

New Delhi: The Supreme Court has directed the military establishment to take possession of the scam-tainted 31-storey Adarsh Apartments in the heart of Mumbai and maintain the building with 102 flats till the disposal of Adarsh Housing Society’s appeal against the Bombay High Court’s April 29 order of demolition. A Bench asked the Bombay HC’s Registrar to ensure that the housing complex was handed over to the Military Estate Director on or before August 5. All residents vacated the complex in 2010 as the authorities cut off water and power supply on court orders. The HC has also ordered criminal proceedings against politicians and bureaucrats for their role in illegal construction of the tower. tns

Snafu, made famous by Joseph Heller’s “Catch 22”, accurately captures the situation in Kashmir. Snafu stands for Situation-Normal-All-Fouled-Up. Internet and mobile services are shut, a curfew has been imposed in many towns and hospitals even in faraway Amritsar are treating people maimed by gunfire while over 30  youths are dead. The Indian state and Jammu and Kashmir’s elected representatives are trying their utmost to break the cycle of deaths, demonstrations and more deaths after the security forces killed an urbane and photogenic militant Burhan Wani. What the situation didn’t require was for Pakistan to wade into the mess. Over the past few days, Islamabad’s energetic exertions have spanned from briefing every sundry envoy available in the Pakistani capital to locking horns with the Indian representative in the United Nations.Pakistan invariably acts as the class monitor every time the security situation deteriorates in Kashmir. It is primarily to remind the world, as also its citizens, that its covetousness for territory has a moral underpinning. This time, Pakistani statements laden with brimstone and fire serve the double purpose of keeping away the regime changers from an ailing and tainted Prime Minister’s doorstep. One killing and an eruption of protests has gifted Nawaz Sharif an opportunity to shore up his political capital. While no politician will let go of an opportunity, more so in a democratically brittle state like Pakistan, it has done the Kashmiris and their cause no good. This unending stream of invectives from Pakistan has got India’s back up. Once the Kashmir issue transmogrifies into an India-Pakistan slanging match, introspection is the casualty. Separatist leaders may feel comforted by this unequivocal backing, but Pakistan’s active insertion has narrowed the space for saner elements to push for normalisation of the situation. It has also shut the debate on whether gunfire is the only answer in J&K or elsewhere. What we see instead is the government’s veiled warning for “responsible” coverage by media and peaceniks on social media getting labelled as Pakistani stooges and worse. Calming down of Kashmir will have to await another day.

चंडीगढ़। रक्षा मंत्रालय की वन रैंक वन पेंशन योजना को चंडीगढ़ आर्म्ड फोर्स ट्रिब्यूनल (एएफटी) में चुनौती दी गई है। सोमवार को वन रैंक वन पेंशन (ओआरओपी) के खिलाफ कुल आठ याचिकाएं दायर हुईं। ट्रिब्यूनल के जस्टिस प्रकाश कृष्णा व लेफ्टिनेंट जनरल डीएस सिद्धू की बेंच ने रक्षा मंत्रालय को नोटिस जारी कर जवाब मांगा है।

Tribune News Service

Udhampur, July 8

There were two turning points in the Kargil war —capture of Tololing and Tiger Hill — the physical and psychological blow to the adversary after the latter was captured by 8 Sikh Regiment, which brought the war to an end in Kargil.The regiment, colloquially referred to as “Chardhikala” regiment, celebrates its victory against all odds in a very solemn and pious manner to commemorate the contribution of those who made the supreme sacrifice on 6 July 1999. There were attacks, deception, blocks and beating back of number of repeated fierce counterattacks. The “Chardhikala” Battalion did all this with unparalleled determination till the feature had the Indian Tricolour flying proudly atop it. Success came with its own price. The battalion lost one officer, four junior commissioned officers and 30 jawans in the battle of Tiger Hill.

Tributes paid

• After the Tiger Hill was captured by 8 Sikh Regiment, the war came to end in Kargil
• The regiment commemorated the contribution of those who made the supreme sacrifice on July 6, 1999.

Handicapped children of government employees and pensioners are eligible for lifelong pension irrespective of age in case there is no other eligible claimant in the family.

The Armed Forces Tribunal’s Chandigarh bench has dismissed a petition filed by the Army Headquarters asking for ‘Leave to Appeal’ in the Supreme Court to challenge the grant of pension to a handicapped son of a former soldier even though a cabinet decision exists to grant pension in such cases.

Handicapped children of government employees and pensioners are eligible for lifelong pension irrespective of age in case there is no other eligible claimant in the family. Vinod Kumar, an 80 per cent handicapped son of an Army jawan of the rank of Naik was, however, refused his pension on the interpretation that handicapped children who got married were not eligible for pension. The AFT had held in 2010 that no such condition could be imposed and had directed the Government to release the pension to Vinod Kumar.

Later in the year 2013, on the directions of the Union Cabinet, a letter was issued by the Central Government clarifying that even married handicapped children shall remain eligible to pension thereby settling the controversy once and for all.

Contrary to government policy issued after cabinet’s sanction, the Army HQ filed an application in the AFT seeking leave to appeal to the SC stating that it wanted to challenge the verdict since it involved a point of law of “general public importance”.

Lawyers familiar with litigation, involving the Defence Services, say that the Army HQ has been directing government lawyers to file such appeals in many cases which have attained finality even at the SC. There has been a spate of applications for filing appeals and reviews against disabled soldiers and even in the issue of enhanced pension of Honorary Naib Subedars which have already been decided by the SC and in which even the Attorney General had asked the three service chiefs not to file further appeals since it was causing embarrassment to the government.

Lawyers further say that unlike the Air Force and the Navy, the Army HQ seldom strongly protests or informs the senior functionaries about the correct legal position when any entity in the MoD asks it to file an appeal, opting to rather obey rather than recording on file the law laid down by the SC.

The All Indian Ex-Servicemern Association had earlier pointed out to the Defence Minister that litigation by the Government had become “lucrative business” and officers were flaunting ‘legal opinions’ to justify appeals when the matter had been settled by the apex court and directions had been issued even by the Prime Minster and Defence Minister to reduce such litigation.

A lawyer dealing with the subject says that nothing would change unless courts impose personal costs on officers of the Army and MoD who are directing the filing of such appeals and reviews in settled matters.

In the past, while the Army HQ has been claiming that it is the MoD which asks it to file appeals, the MoD has been putting the blame on the Army HQ. Recently, multiple applications for appeals against disabled soldiers were filed by the Army HQ even when the SC had directed the grant of disability pension to them based on a series of consistent orders.

Sources say, crores of rupees are spent on govt lawyers by the three services by filing infructuous appeals in settled matters by alleging artificial distinctions. It is also said that rather than following law laid down by the SC or the political executive, officials tend to give more weight to legal advice by government lawyers in favour of filing appeals.

LUDHIANA: Vajra Air Defence Brigade, under the aegis of Vajra Corps of Indian Army organised a special welfare meet for 200 widows of veterans and inaugurated Ex-Servicemen Contributory Health Scheme (ECHS) Hospital for veterans in Jagraon, on Monday.

HT PHOTOAnupvir Kaur, zonal president, Army Wives Welfare Association, inaugurating the ECHS Hospital in Jagraon near Ludhiana on Monday.

With an aim to provide ease to more than 6,000 veterans in Jagraon, the hospital was inaugurated by Anupvir Kaur, zonal president, Army Wives Welfare Association (AWWA). She said that the facilities of Canteen Store Department (CSD) and Defense Pension Distributing Office (DPDO) are provided along with ECHS in a single complex.

In the run up of special welfare meet, extensive outreach drive was undertaken and widows of the veterans of Ludhiana district were contacted to resolve the issues related to one rank one pension (OROP), pension anomalies, healthcare, and arrears of 6th pay commission along with recruitment of their wards. Medical camp with ENT, eye, gynecology and orthopedics specialists was also held to address the problems of the widows.

Anupvir interacted with the widows and distributed wheel chairs, hearing aids, special walking aids, adjustable walking aids along with ECHS and CSD cards to the entitled widows.

India blamed JeM for the January 2 attack. Reuters

Islamabad, June 27

The Pakistan government has said that it will decide whether or not to allow Indian investigators to visit the country in connection with their probe into a deadly terror attack on an Indian airbase, after Eid-ul-Fitr.On January 2, a heavily armed group attacked the Pathankot Air Force Station.(Follow The Tribune on Facebook and Twitter @thetribunechd)New Delhi has blamed Pakistan-based jihadi group Jaish-e-Muhammad (JeM) for orchestrating the brutal assault.A high-level meeting to be attended by top civil and military officials will be convened by Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif after he returns from London to discuss India’s request for a visit by its investigators and issues related to bilateral dialogue between the neighbours, reports the Express Tribune.The Express Tribune has quoted a senior official, who is part of the government’s core team dealing with India, that the meeting would decide whether to allow a team from India’s National Investigation Agency (NIA) to travel to Pakistan for carrying forward the probe into the Pathankot attack.A five-member Joint Investigation Team (JIT) from Pakistan had visited India between March 27 and 31 to collect evidence with regard to the attack.The team comprising officials from police and intelligence agencies had met officials from NIA in New Delhi and had also been given access to the Pathankot airbase where the attack took place.Islamabad, however, contended that its investigators were given limited access as they were not allowed to meet eyewitnesses.New Delhi in return requested Pakistan to allow its investigators to visit the country to question alleged masterminds of the attack, including JeM chief Maulana Masood Azhar and his brother.So far, Pakistan has not officially responded to the Indian request. One of the reasons behind the government’s reluctance has been reported that it thinks India may use the visit to ridicule Pakistan.“We will take the final decision after Eid,” the Express Tribune quoted an official as saying.The official on being asked about the prospects of resumption of the bilateral dialogue said India appeared to be “hiding behind the Pathankot incident”. The Pathankot attack led to the cancellation of crucial foreign secretary-level talks, which were to take place in mid-January.External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj last week at a news conference in New Delhi said that foreign secretary-level talks were not cancelled but New Delhi is only awaiting probe from the Pakistan side on the Pathankot attack.Though the prospects of resumption of talks at present are grim, officials hope both nations will eventually return to the negotiating table before the next Saarc summit scheduled to be hosted by Pakistan in November this year. ANI