Pune, May 22

Soldier Chandu Babulal Chavan, who had “inadvertently” strayed across the Line of Control (LoC) in 2016 after the surgical strikes and spent nearly four months in captivity in Pakistan, has sought premature retirement.Chavan, 24, who was admitted to the psychiatry ward in Military Hospital at Kirkee here, has written a letter to his seniors requesting them to relieve him from service, saying he is “disturbed”.The soldier, from 37 Rashtriya Rifles, had gone missing on September 29, 2016 after he “inadvertently” crossed the LoC, following which the Pakistan Army had taken him into custody. He was handed over to the Indian Army four months later.After returning, Chavan, who hails from Dhule district, faced a sentence for leaving his post without informing his seniors and was later transferred to the Armed Corps Centre at Ahmednagar in Maharashtra. Chavan, who was discharged from the hospital yesterday, said he was seeking retirement as he was “disturbed after whatever happened to him in the last two years”. “I have written to my seniors and requested them to prematurely discharge me from my duties and give me pension,” he told PTI.Chavan said the Army provided him all possible help and he had no complaints.A Southern Command officer, however, said they have not received any letter from Chavan.”We are yet to know the fact as no letter from him has been received so far,” the officer said.Indian Army Special Forces had conducted a Surgical Strikes along LoC on September 29, 2016, and had caused severe damage on Pakistani Terrorist outfit Lashkar-e-Taiba(LeT). PTI 

Inter-Services Public Relations DG Asif Ghafoor’s offer of the Pak army’s willingness to engage with India in talks could open up vast avenues for peace in the subcontinent.

Pravin Sawhney

Editor, FORCE

The conditional ceasefire announced by the Central government in Jammu and Kashmir during the month of Ramzan should hold longer than expected by most. Not because the Modi government has had a change of heart on its Kashmir policy, but because the Pakistan army is likely to give enough time to the international community (the US, China and Russia) to persuade India to move towards conflict resolution, however, slowly.Interestingly, the director-general of Pakistan’s Inter-Services Public Relations Directorate, Maj-Gen Asif Ghafoor, while recently interacting with visiting Indian journalists, said the Pakistan army is willing to join its civilian leadership in talks with India. This development, a first, could open up vast avenues for peace in the subcontinent.For one, the bilateral talks, if they happen, would not get hampered by Pakistan’s impending general election or the existing political upheaval there or the possibility of misrepresentation of Pakistan’s viewpoint by its civilian leadership. For another, the Indian ceasefire and concomitant positivity from the Pakistan army to enter direct talks would open up an entirely new phase in the bilateral relationship: from Confidence Building Measures (CBMs) which have failed to bring peace, to conflict resolution, including military CBMs which hold enormous promise to eventually tackle the most difficult issue about the future of Kashmir.Ghafoor’s sensational offer followed his army chief, Gen Qamar Javed Bajwa’s call to seek a resolution of all disputes with India, including J&K, by peaceful means. The Pakistan army has been trying since 2009 to open direct talks with India. In 2009, quite unexpectedly, the ISI chief, Lt-Gen Shuja Pasha, attended the Iftar party given by the Indian High Commission in Islamabad. There he met India’s defence attaché and floated the idea of having parallel talks with the Pakistan army alongside the civil dispensation. The idea did not go far.Moreover, the ‘comprehensive bilateral dialogue’ format agreed to by the Modi government in December 2015 was unprecedented, in that the Pakistan army had its way while allowing India to save face. After the fiasco over the Ufa statement where India had insisted that only terrorism would be discussed by the two NSAs, on October 22, 2015, Rawalpindi replaced Pakistan’s civilian NSA, Nawaz Sharif’s appointee Sartaj Aziz, with the recently retired Lt-Gen Nasser Khan Janjua, considered close to the army chief, Gen Raheel Sharif. Therefore, while India had its way of holding talks between the NSAs in Bangkok, for the first time it was talking with the Pakistan army.With a civilian government in Islamabad, India had difficulty in talking with the Pakistan army for a number of reasons. The Pakistan army is seen as the enemy directly responsible for the proxy war in Kashmir. India prides itself as a democracy; hence, with an elected government in Islamabad, direct talks with the army would not be in order. Also, India would not like to set a precedent by holding high-level government talks with the Pakistan army, fearing that with time, the Indian military — which is outside the security policymaking loop — would want to be inside it. Finally, Indian diplomats do not like the idea of sharing their exclusive space with military officers; notwithstanding the fact that the present warfare has complex nuances which the diplomats are ignorant about.Despite India’s politically correct arguments for talking with Islamabad and not Army Headquarters in Rawalpindi at the same time, the truth is that results will only accrue when the real power centre in Pakistan is addressed directly. This is how Pakistan works and India can do little about it. For example, years of structured bilateral talks under the rubric of Composite Dialogue with Islamabad have never moved beyond confidence building measures. The CBMs, by definition, are as good as the political will available on the two sides. When a civilian government in Pakistan talks peace with India, it has to look over its shoulders for its army’s nod.There is a bigger problem. The BJP’s ideological mentor, the RSS, maintains that unification of India, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan, without the use of force, is possible. Unlike Vajpayee, who spoke in generalities, Prime Minister Narendra Modi is a hardcore rightist, so there is little possibility of his government talking about the Kashmir resolution which would usher in permanent peace and stability. True to his ideology, Modi, while reviewing the unrest in Kashmir following the killing of Hizbul commander Burhan Wani in July 2016, made it clear that India would only talk about the return of PoK and Gilgit-Baltistan with Pakistan.Notwithstanding all this, there is still a way forward. The two sides could talk security-related issues under the February 1999 Lahore Declaration’s memorandum of understanding. Instead of the strategic restrain regime suggested by the Pakistan army after the 1998 nuclear tests, the two sides could start with humble beginnings. A review of impending defence technologies which are expected to alter the strategic and operational (war-fighting) balance, to include space, cyber and sea-based deterrence, would be of interest to the Pakistan army. India’s argument that it would not discuss defence issues with Pakistan is no longer valid after the Pakistan and Chinese military have developed credible inter-operability (ability to fight together).Moreover, since the US, Russia and China have their own interests in securing peace between India and Pakistan, they would impress upon India to take the correct path to end unnecessary bloodshed on both sides. Perhaps, a beginning could be made at the coming SCO military exercise which would see the armies of India, Pakistan, Russia and China exercising together.

Brig Gurinder Singh (Retd)

IN 1988 my battalion moved to Siachen Glacier. We all were anxious and overawed by exaggerated stories/rumours about life in the highest war zone of the world. It was already September, there was not enough time before the long and severe winter would set in and some of the posts would remain cut off for six months. When it came to occupy a small, precariously located post to be manned by eight men led by a Havildar, the Company Commander made an emotive invocation for volunteers to step out. Even before he finished, Havildar Nathu Khan offered to be the post commander.The next day at 3.30 am, Nathu Khan led his men to the post and got down to taking over the operational responsibility. The post, 30 ft by 20 ft and dominated by enemy fire and observation, lay in the avalanche-prone zone. A wonderful view down the slopes was the only consolation. Over the next few days, Nathu and his men double-checked every bit of stocking of ration, medicines, kerosene and other provisions. They all wrote letters back home to wives, mothers and children (there were no mobiles then) before they were cut off in end November.Then it began to snow heavily and isolation began to test Nathu’s team. The men faced the vagaries of weather cheerfully, but the routine of shovelling tons of snow every few hour and very restricted space for movement were irksome. Much to the relief of the men, the sun shone for three continuous days in the first week of February. The same month, a minor avalanche hit the post and destroyed a bunker. There were no casualties but some rations and provisions were swept away. Nathu kept his flock together in the safest bunker till the avalanche warning receded. When he took stock of the losses, it emerged that apart from some rations, the entire stock of matchboxes were lost in the landslide. With at least three months to go, the only source of fire was a lone wick burning at the top of a kerosene-filled bottle. Nathu and his men resolved to keep the wick burning. It was always guarded by one of the men through blizzard and windy conditions, till the route opened in May.A year after the glacier tenure, Nathu chose to seek premature retirement. By then I had become his Company Commander. I tried to persuade him not to leave but in vain. Later, he invited me to his village in Sikar for the inauguration of his house. After all the guests had left, I asked him about his experience on that isolated post and how he kept the wick burning for three months in those severe conditions. Looking in the distance, he said: ‘I secretly thought of the batti as the beti I never had (Nathu has three sons), and named it Umeed. I decided to care for it the way I would for my daughter — aur beti kab saath chhodti hai?’

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, April 26

The NCC of Panjab University organised an interactive session with the Commanding Officer (CO), 2 Chandigarh Battalion, for the cadets of the university. An annual report of all activities undertaken was presented. CO MK Sharma boosted the morale of the cadets with his motivational thoughts. Lt (Dr) Kuldeep Singh, Coordinator NCC, extended a vote of thanks to the CO for his support to the NCC Panjab University during his tenure. On the occasion, DIG Hemant Kumar (BSF), 50 cadets and others were presen

Our Correspondent

Anantnag, April 26

A civilian was killed after car-borne militants opened fire at a road opening party of the Central Reserve Police Force here on Thursday.The civilian had been identified as Shakeeb Shabir Shah from Shopian district. A hunt had been launched to nab the militants, said the police.“At 2.20 pm, the militants, travelling in a Santro car, opened fire at security forces in the Laizbal area of the town, along the Khannabal-Pahalgam road,” Senior Superintendent of Police Altaf Khan said, adding that one of the bullets hit Shakeeb, who was passing by in a Tata Sumo. Shakeeb succumbed to his injuries while being taken to Srinagar.Meanwhile, the Army fired in air and burst teargas shells when some students of the Islamic University of Science and Technology (IUST) in Awantipora threw stones at Army personnel near the campus.“University students threw stones at an Army party while it was laying and repairing cables near the campus,” a police spokesperson said.He said the Army fired in air and the police rushed to the spot. However, students and university administration refuted the police claims. They termed the Army action as completely uncalled for and unprovoked.Mushtaq A Siddiqui, VC, took note of the “unprovoked” use of teargas shells. “There was no provocation from the students as normal classwork was on in the varsity when the incident occurred. Protests started only after the firing incident,” Siddiqui said in a press release.Three hurt in Kulgam grenade attackAnantnag: Two policemen and a civilian were injured in a grenade blast in Kulgam district on Thursday evening. The injured have been rushed to a hospital. A police official said militants hurled a grenade at a police station at the main town in Kulgam around 8.10 pm. “The grenade exploded outside the premises of the police station,” the official said. OC

A major focus of the exercise was to check combat capability of the indigenously developed Light Combat Aircraft or LCA Tejas and their performance was satisfactory.