SRINAGAR: Army chief General Dalbir Singh reviewed the security situation in Kashmir on Wednesday and appealed to the people to maintain peace while calling for strict vigil along the Line of Control (LoC).

PTIChief of Army Staff Gen Dalbir Singh having a word with army officers during his visit to the Srinagar-based Chinar Corps on Wednesday.

The Army chief also complimented the troops on ground for showing maximum restraint even in the face of grave provocation besides appreciating the synergy being shown among all security agencies that has resulted in successful counter-terrorist operations, an Army spokesman said.

“The Chief of Army Staff reviewed the security situation in Kashmir during his visit to the Srinagar based 15 Corps,” the spokesman said. He said the Army Chief was briefed by the Northern Army Commander Lt Gen D S Hooda and Chinar Corps Commander Lt Gen Satish Dua on the situation along the LoC and the hinterland including the measures instituted to ensure close coordination with all security and other government agencies towards maintaining peace in the Valley.

The Army chief, accompanied by the Northern Army and Chinar Corps Commanders, also visited the Kupwara Division in north Kashmir and Awantipur based ‘Victor Force’ where he was briefed on the operational preparedness as also the initiatives taken by Army in collaboration with civil administration to alleviate hardships being faced by the populace due to the prevailing unrest, the spokesman said.

Protesters clash with security personnel in Srinagar on July 14, 2016. — AFP

New Delhi, July 14

Hitting out at Pakistan for trying to internationalise the killing of Hizbul militant Burhan Wani, India today  reiterated that Kashmir was an internal matter and that Pakistan had no locus standi. India accused Pakistan of sending terrorists into its territory and fanning discontent in the Kashmir valley.At the United Nations, India’s Permanent Representative Syed Akbaruddin said Pakistan used terrorism as a state policy towards the “misguided end of coveting the territory of others”.His strong remarks followed Pakistan’s PR Maleeha Lodhi describing Wani as a ‘Kashmiri leader’.Pakistan had summoned the Indian High Commissioner in Islamabad on Monday and raised the Kashmir issue.Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Vikas Swarup today said the Indian envoy told Pakistan that Kashmir was India’s internal matter and that India had rejected the demarche issued in the matter.“Terrorism is terrorism and no amount of justification on part of Pakistan is going to change that,” Swarup said. Dismissing reports that India planned to summon Pakistan High Commissioner Abdul Basit, he said this being an internal matter, India saw no reason to involve Pakistan.  On a dialogue with Pakistan, he reaffirmed that India never shied away from talks. However, he said it was incumbent upon Pakistan to create the right atmosphere as “talks and terror cannot go hand in hand”.  — TNS

Bilawal calls up Mirwaiz, vows support

• Srinagar: Pakistan People’s Party chairman Bilawal Bhutto called up Mirwaiz Umar Farooq on Thursday and expressed ‘solidarity’ with the Kashmiris, the moderate faction of the Hurriyat Conference said. “Spoke to @MirwaizKashmir & expressed condolences, condemnation & solidarity withpeople of #Kashmir,” Bilawal wrote on his twitter handle. TNS

Vanita Singh, widow of Ranbir Singh, shows a letter written to the President and the Prime Minister to know the cause of her husband’s death. Photo: Indervesh Duhan

Sat Singh

Tribune News Service

Bhiwani, July 13

Ranbir Singh of Indian Navy died in 2015 while he was on a 45 days’ official tour on INS Teg in Mauritius. Officials attributed the death to brain haemorrhage, but his widow Vanita Singh (36) refused to buy this theory.“After repeated requests and an RTI plea, Navy has failed to tell me in writing the cause of my husband’s death,” she told the media here today.Vanita is a mother of two children.“On July 25, 2015, Navy officials told me that my husband was seriously ill in Mauritius. They took me to hospital, where his body was lying, on July 29,” Vanita said, adding she was told verbally that Ranbir died of brain haemorrhage.She said her husband was physically fit before leaving for Mauritius. “When I saw the body, there were injury marks on his head. That made me suspect foul play.”Ranbir of the district’s Kadma village had joined Navy in 1995. He was posted as the Senior Chief Petty Officer (SCPO) at the time of his death.Vanita claimed she did not receive support from the Navy in bringing back the body. “There is a protocol to bring the body back home. In my case, I had to arrange everything.”On her struggle, she has written to the President, Prime Minister, Defence Ministry and Navy Admiral, demanding that the cause of Ranbir’s death should be made public, but all in vain.But she is determined. “I will put more efforts to get a court of inquiry conducted, as knowing the cause of my husband’s death is my right,” she added.

Mukesh Ranjan

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, July 12

Chairing a high-level meeting on the situation in Kashmir within hours of his return from the four-nation Africa tour, Prime Minister Narendra Modi today appealed for “calm and peace.” He is believed to have expressed “unhappiness” over the media coverage of the violent protests following the killing of Hizbul millitant Burhan Wani and the latter’s portrayal as a “hero”. The meeting was attended by Home Minister Rajnath Singh, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj, Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar, Minister of State for PMO Jitendra Singh, NSA Ajit Doval and Foreign Secretary S Jaishankar, among others. The PM was briefed on the Wani encounter, the subsequent violence and Pakistan’s response to the terrorist’s death. The issue of a Rs 80,000-crore package recently announced for Jammu and Kashmir was also taken up.Sources said Home Ministry officials expressed concern over the situation in the Valley in the next two days. Separatists intend to observe July 13 (tomorrow) as “Martyrs’ Day” and there is every possibility of emotions running high after the Friday prayers the following day.Rajnath is expected to make a statement on the violence on the first day of the Parliament session (July 18). He was to visit the US for the ‘Homeland Security Dialogue’ scheduled for next week. Sources said it would not be “possible for him to embark upon the US visit” in view of his “busy schedule in Parliament” and that the new dates had yet to be worked out. He was also to travel to Pakistan for the SAARC Home Ministers’ conference in August, but the visit is “highly unlikely” now.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi shakes hands with South African President Jacob Zuma in Pretoria on Friday. PTI

Simran Sodhi

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, July 8

Prime Minister Narendra Modi today reached out to South Africa on the second leg of his Africa tour and recalled Mahatama Gandhi and Nelson Mandela saying the duo connected the two nations.Defence and security co-operation was high on agenda as well as increased co-operation at international forums. South African President Jacob Zuma is scheduled to visit Goa later this year to attend BRICS Summit, an event that will provide both the leaders another chance to discuss various issues. Interestingly, Zuma did not explicitly endorse India’s bid for a permanent seat in the UNSC, but said South Africa would work with India on reforming the council. The issue of the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) also came up since South Africa was among those nations that had objected to process-related procedures for India’s entry. Modi “thanked the President for South Africa’s support for India’s membership to the Nuclear Suppliers Group”. In a joint statement issued at the end of the talks, Modi reiterated India’s commitment to comply with NSG guidelines and continued commitment to non-proliferation and disarmament. “Beyond economic ties and links of business, trade and investment, we can also partner in defence and security,” Modi said in Pretoria after holding delegation-level talks with Zuma. Terrorism was another topic discussed between the two leaders.

LEST my kin takes recourse to singing paeans of my moderate accomplishments in life, I thought it prudent to write my own obituary. History is replete with such instances: Shah Jahan got his grave constructed next to his beloved wife’s at the Taj Mahal; his successor, the cruel  Aurangzeb, a modest earthen grave at Daultabad; and Alexander the Great  kept his empty hands hanging out of the coffin. All of them were conquerers and emperors and had their wishes fulfilled, whereas I am Shakespeare’s “a poor player who struts and frets his hour upon the stage and is heard no more”. So, I prefer Ghalib’s “Hue kyon yun marke ruswa, hue kyon na gharq-e-dariya; na kahin janaza uthta na kahin mazar hota” (Why in death did I have to suffer such humiliation; why I had been not swallowed by a river, as there would have been no funeral nor a grave).Obituaries often cover up what would otherwise be worthless and embarrassing — to say only kind words even if it tantamount to being  PB Shelly’s Ozymandias “whose frown and wrinkled lip and sneer of cold command tell that its sculptor well those passions read which yet survive, stamp’d on these lifeless things, the hand that mock’d them and heart that fed”, and the pride… “My name is Ozymandias, king of kings: look on my works and despair!” I am the child born just before India became free, beginning a ‘once upon riches’ story traversed long distances under fire and piercing knives from Lahore and Shimla to Chandigarh. Facing scarcity of everything, except hard work, self-respect, faith and never-say-die spirit, my parents endured hardships and put me in an English-medium school, emphasisng on character building, integrity and personal sacrifice. Mediocre at studies and sports, both in school and college, I adored some of the great personalities of that era and their profound thoughts: Gandhi’s My Experiments with Truth and the Gita; Rudyard Kipling’s If; Kennedy’s “Ask not what your country can do for you” speech; Patton’s “No bastard ever won war by dying for his country”; Churchill’s ‘victory’ sign. I continued to be realistic and dreamy; dominating but flexible; firm but angry; upright and scheming; pure and not-so-pure; virtuous and vile; but ever introspecting and trying to improve myself.In the aftermath of the 1962 defeat at the hands of China and the betrayal by Pakistan in 1965, I resolved to join the Army — for a promising, bright future. Participating in the 1971 war with Pakistan, at a place where we lost ground, though remorseful, I too joined the victory lap at the dismemberment of Pakistan. A career that had its highs and lows — nothing very creditable — but lent leadership, sincerity of purpose, selflessness and personal sacrifice.No regrets — no worthwhile social service, no castles built, no bank balance. A simple family man full of love and concern, I have nothing very substantial to leave behind except good wishes and blessings for my lineage, my admirers and my detractors;  peacefully fading away like a soldier of Douglas MacArthur.

Anwar Akhtar
A positive sign is that Pakistan is seeing a downturn in violence. If only the state would give up its obsession with ‘strategic depth’, ‘enemy is India’ and the good Taliban/bad Taliban equation.

IN SHADOW OF DEATH: Women walk past a wall with portraits of people killed in a 2013 bombing in Karachi. REUTERS

HOW do you measure social progress in Pakistan? Where to begin? The economy? Growing according to some indicators. Property speculation? Also up, especially in Karachi, Lahore and Islamabad.A quick look at Pakistan’s many social ills — inequality, poverty, street children, gender inequality, law and order breakdown, violence against women, corruption, weak governance — tells you to spin around Clinton’s famous line. It’s not just the economy, stupid. It’s more than that.So how do you measure social progress in Pakistan? Something a colleague has been asking me for a while, given my work on The Samosa media project on human rights and culture in Britain and Pakistan. That colleague is Michael Green, director of the www.socialprogressimperative.org. This organisation has now gone further in answering this question, for all countries, with their annual Social Progress Index (SPI).The 2016 SPI has confirmed just how bad things are in Pakistan. It defines social progress as: “The capacity of a society to meet the basic human needs of its citizens, establish… building blocks… to enhance and sustain the quality of their lives… reach their full potential.”Awful news for Pakistan. Of 133 countries in the Social Progress Index for 2016, Pakistan ranks 113th. India is 98th and Bangladesh 101st. The ranking for tolerance and inclusion is even worse — Pakistan comes 132nd of 133.As someone with family in Pakistan, who has spent a lot of time in Pakistan and has a lot of love for Pakistan, I try to take the glass-half-full scenario. Karachi is a great economic engine, a megacity of huge potential. I’m full of admiration for countless welfare and charitable networks — Edhi Foundation, the Citizen’s Foundation, Human Rights Commission Pakistan, KVTC Karachi, Simorgh Women’s Welfare Project, Azad Street Children Welfare and Care Pakistan, to name a few — that work tirelessly to alleviate poverty, provide education and justice for the poor.The message from the SPI table for 2016 is terrible. Pakistan is staring into the abyss, a perfect storm of rapid population growth, social injustice, a huge street children population (estimated by the UN at 1.5 million), gender inequality, institutionalised state violence against women and chronic lack of economic opportunities for most people. Yes there’s a growing middle class, but in a county of 200m, too many are left out. The 2016 SPI has confirmed worst fears about how bad things are in Pakistan. Its evidence-based analysis makes difficult reading for those who care about Pakistan. This has to be seen in context. It is hard to plan transport, education and health provision when the Taliban and other hate-fuelled sectarian groups are waging war across the country.There may soon come a point where it becomes impossible to turn things around unless action is taken to address the immediate risks to Pakistan’s future as a state — poverty, lack of education, sectarian hatred and so on. How do you develop transport infrastructure, national schools programme or national health provision in such circumstances?A positive sign, as recently stated, is that Pakistan is seeing a downturn in the violence. Only if the state would stop its failed strategy of ‘strategic depth’, ‘enemy is India’ and the good Taliban/bad Taliban equation. Those in power, the military, billionaire oligarchs, and politicians need to understand that Pakistan is nearing the tipping point to becoming a failed state.There is criticism of Pervez Musharraf’s period as president, including outrageous attacks on civil society and abuse of democracy that ultimately led to his failure. One thing he at least tried — and I am not sure if the current leadership is — was a plan to tackle poverty, the educational crisis and other social ills.What would such a plan entail today? I think it involves raising a most sensitive issue in Pakistan. The country’s military expenditure in 2015 was $9.5 billion. India spent over $30bn in 2016. Nearly all this money goes to the West. It is colonisation by another method. Until this Dr Strangelove madness ends and both countries focus on education, trade, social welfare and peaceful relations, the annual SPI will I fear make ever more upsetting reading for Pakistan. A huge step in the right direction would be to reduce expenditure on missiles and increase it for education, health, housing and transport. Another is for the state to stand against the hate messages against women and minorities in Pakistan, promoted by sectarian parties in Pakistan, by tackling violence against women and protecting minority rights.The writer is director of www.thesamosa.co.uk, a culture and politics site with a focus on Britain and South Asia. (By arrangement with Dawn)

7th Pay Commission Pay Calculator for Defence Personnel

[Disclaimer: This calculator gives only approximate value on the basis of the recommendations of 7th Central Pay Commission and also shown the estimate figures only basis on your inputs. Reader are requested to refer 7th Pay Commission Report]

NEW DELHI: 

A big pay hike for over a crore government employees and pensioners was cleared by the cabinet on Wednesday.

With this raise, several senior government officials will draw a higher salary than lawmakers in Parliament.

Salaries and allowances will rise by at least 23.5 per cent, which had been recommended by the 7th Pay Commission – the panel that decides on government salaries.

The hike – the lowest in the last 70 years – is expected to cost the taxpayer an additional Rs. 1 lakh crore annually, or nearly 0.7 per cent of the GDP.

The move will impact nearly 50 lakh employees and 58 lakh pensioners. The changes will be effective retrospectively from January 1 this year.

The raise is built around a 14.27 per cent hike in basic pay.

Rs. 73,650 crore of the total payout will come from the general budget, while Rs. 28,450 crore will come from the railways.

The previous pay panel had recommended a 20 per cent hike which was eventually doubled when it was implemented in 2008.

Under the new scheme, the maximum salary for a government servant will be about 2.5 lakhs a month, that’s more than double the highest pay of Rs. 90,000  a month.

The move has led to the discontent among the lawmakers who allege disparity with government officers. To address their resentment, the government is also considering a hike in salaries and allowances of lawmakers.

The minimum pay recommendation is Rs. 18,000 per month. This too is more than double of the present Rs. 7,000.

Sources say Finance Minister Arun Jaitley has made provisions for the payout.

Though the government is making an effort to increase revenue by bringing more under the tax net, the payout will reduce its kitty. The Centre also needs about Rs.70,000 crore to meet the One Rank One Pension (OROP) commitment for the armed forces.

On the flipside, the huge payout will boost demand at a time the economy is sluggish.

While some believe additional cash in the market may fuel an inflationary trend, experts say that the impact of the pay hike may become a turning point for the Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government to trigger demand that drives growth investment and profits.

Ajay Banerjee

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, June 27

The recent decision of the Ministry of Defence (MoD) to acquire a new set of artillery guns is literally the first “baby step” towards meeting the Army’s artillery modernisation plans drawn up in 1999.The MoD okayed the letter of acceptance that would be delivered to the US supplier, BAE Systems, for 145 ultra light howitzers (ULH) of the 155 mm variety. This was the first formal okay for a 155 mm gun since March 1986 when the Bofors guns were purchased.The Army’s artillery modernisation has ambitious needs. Called the Field Artillery Rationalization Plan, and drawn up in 1999, it talks about acquiring 2,800 guns by 2027. The first step in that direction was taken on Saturday, but the follow-up steps are expected to be rapid.The plan talks about 155 mm guns of all types—that is 1,580 towed guns, 814 truck-mounted guns, 100 tracked self-propelled guns,180 wheeled self-propelled guns and 145 ultra light howitzers.The bulk will come through when mounted guns and towed guns are procured. International companies have been invited for this to join the “Make in India” initiative.To apply for the contract of the 1,580 towed guns, French company Nexter has teamed up with local partner Larsen & Toubro. Israel’s Elbit Systems has partnered with Bharat Forge.In case of the 814 truck-mounted guns, Nexter and L&T have bid, along with Ashok Leyland. TATA has South African gun-maker “The Denel” as its partner.The immediate addition to the artillery gun numbers could come from two separate tenders. First is a “tracked self-propelled” gun mounted on a tank-track type chassis. India plans to buy 100 pieces of this. The MoD is negotiating with the L&T-Samsung combine. The evaluation process is over and the price bids were opened in December 2015.The second will be the indigenous Dhanush gun, based on Bofors design and transfer of technology. The MoD yesterday laid down a stiff time line for the Ordnance Factory Board (OFB), its maker, to be ready with six “production-level prototypes” for trials and bulk orders will follow. The Army want to acquire 114 pieces of this.