Current Events :
Jammu, July 1
Northern Army Commander Lieutenant General YK Joshi on Thursday named a gate at the Udhampur military station in J&K as ‘Nowshera’ to honour the valiant soldiers who made the supreme sacrifice in the Battle of Naushera in 1948 to protect the territorial integrity and sovereignty of the country, a defence spokesman said.
The Army Commander named one of the important gates of the Udhampur military station as ‘Nowshera’ and unveiled it. He paid rich tributes to the soldiers. — PTI
A house damaged in the encounter at Rajpora, Pulwama. PTI
Tribune News Service
New Delhi, July 2
Security forces today neutralised five Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT) militants, including district commander Nishaz Lone, in an encounter in the Hanjin Rajpora area of Pulwama district of Jammu and Kashmir. One Army jawan was also killed in the exchange of fire.
Vijay Kumar, IGP, Kashmir, said, “District commander of proscribed terror outfit LeT Nishaz Lone and a Pakistani terrorist have been neutralised in the ongoing Pulwama encounter. A total of five terrorists have been killed in the gunfight.”
Following the information about the presence of militants in Rajora, the security forces, in a joint operation, launched a cordon and search operation, officials involved in the operation said.
“When the security forces were moving towards the targeted house after sealing all exit points, militants hiding inside opened indiscriminate fire,” an officer said, adding that subsequently it turned into an encounter.
He said in the initial exchange of fire, an Army soldier, Havaldar Kashi Rao, was injured. He later succumbed to his injuries at a hospital in the Valley. Soon after, reinforcements were rushed to the area and five militants were killed.
Kumar said the operation was a “big success” for the forces.
Ex-filtration bid in Baramulla, 4 held
Srinagar: The police on Friday arrested four youths trying to cross the LoC to enter PoK in Baramulla district. “An ex-filtration bid has been foiled with the arrest of four youths, who were heading towards the LoC to enter PoK via Gowhallan sector in Uri,” a police spokesman said. Incriminating material, including knives, was recovered from their possession, he said. A case has been registered against them. PTI
Explosives-laden drones were used to carry out attack on Jammu Air Force station on Sunday
Air Chief Marshal RKS Bhadauria. Photo credit: Twitter/IAF
New Delhi, July 2
The drone strikes in Jammu airbase was an act of terror that was aimed at targeting key military assets, Air Chief Marshal RKS Bhadauria said on Friday asserting that the Indian Air Force is in the process of bolstering its capabilities to deal with such security challenges.
Also read: Drone spotted over Indian mission in Islamabad; India lodges protest
BSF opens fire after Pakistani drone spotted over international border in Jammu
The Chief of Air Staff said the IAF has carried out a detailed analysis in terms of implications of drones and other similar capabilities falling into the hands of non-state actors, and taking a series of measures to counter them.
“What happened at Jammu was essentially a terrorist act which attempted to target our assets there. The attempt failed of course. The assets were not damaged. Two explosives were used,” he said in an interactive session at a think tank.
Explosives-laden drones were used to carry out an attack on the Jammu Air Force station on Sunday in the first such instance of suspected Pakistan-based terrorists deploying unmanned aerial vehicles to strike at vital military installations in India.
The Chief of Air Staff said a detailed investigation into the attacks was under way and that all sets of measures would be on the table based on the findings of the probe.
“We have gone over the subject in terms of the implications of this kind of capabilities in the hands of non-state actors and the kind of effect the armed drone capabilities would have in future conflicts,” Air Chief Marshal Bhadauria said.
He said the IAF analysed a large extent the requirements in terms of planning and required systems and infrastructure to enhance its abilities to go for “soft kill” and to have a counter-drone system.
“It should be possible to react in the short notice; detect, quickly react and be able to target it and that targeting is essentially directed energy kind of targeting in terror attack kind of a situation,” the IAF Chief said.
“All these issues have been looked at and many of the projects have already been undertaken and some of the systems were already fielded,” he said.
He said the Jammu Air Force station did not have critical assets and systems to detect drones were not fielded there.
Referring to the attacks, he said there was no visibility when the incident took place.
“Very soon we will have enough systems and we will target.. we will find ways to tackle this threat,” the Air Chief Marshal said. PTI
For first time, selection process introduced for foreign cadets
Photo for representational purpose only. iStock
Vijay Mohan
Tribune News Service
Chandigarh, July 2
The National Cadet Corps (NCC) will be inviting youth delegations from 15 new countries for the Republic Day Camp—2022 celebrations, in addition to such contingents from 10 friendly countries that have regularly been attending the camp in the past.
The new countries are USA, Canada, United Kingdom, France, Japan, Oman, United Arab Emirates, Brazil, Argentina, Australia, New Zealand, Mauritius, Mozambique, Nigeria and Seychelles.
As part of its youth exchange programme, members of similar organisations in Bangladesh, Nepal, Bhutan, Russia, Kazakhstan, Singapore, Kyrgyz Republic, Sri Lanka, Maldives and Vietnam have been attending the Republic Day Camp in India while selected NCC cadets make reciprocal visits to these countries.
About 300 cadets or members of organisations similar to the NCC from these 25 countries would be in India from January 15 to 29 next year, which coincides with Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav’ for commemorating 75 years of Independence.
Ten cadets along with their supervisors from each country will attend important events of the Republic Day celebrations. Visits to various places of historical and cultural importance have also been planned, as part of the program and they would also be exposed to yoga and ayurveda.
For the first time, the cadets or youth participating in the Republic Day Camp from foreign countries will compete to get selected based on a process to be organised by the NCC in those countries in association with the Ministry of External Affairs, Defence Attaches in Indian Embassies overseas as well as the youth organisation of the respective country. Partner youth organisations have also been identified. The selection competition will adjudge candidates on their knowledge about India, its achievements in last 75 years, culture and people.
The Republic Day Camp is the most prestigious annual event of the NCC and provides several life-time experiences for the cadets, including the Republic Day Parade on Rajpath and the Prime Minister’s NCC Rally. They also interact with top dignitaries, including the President, Prime Minister, Defence Minister and the Service Chiefs.
Last year, 2,155 cadets, including 710 girls from all 17 NCC directorate in the country had attended the Republic Day Camp. This year however, the number had come down to about a thousand cadets due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
To ensure safety of the youth participating in the program, all protocols and safety aspects of Covid-19 will be followed at the forthcoming camp. The participating countries have also been requested that all the cadets visiting India should be fully vaccinated and have health insurance.
Sandeep Dikshit
Tribune News Service
New Delhi, July 2
A drone was spotted hovering over a late-evening get-together on the Indian High Commission premises in Islamabad on June 26, a day before explosives-laden drones were used to carry out an attack on the Jammu Air Force station, the Ministry of External Affairs said on Friday.
Lodging a strong protest, India has asked Pakistan to investigate the incident. “We have taken up the matter officially with the Pakistan government and expect it to investigate and prevent breach of such security,’’ said an MEA spokesperson.
No proof given: Pak
Dismissing the claim as “preposterous”, Pakistan said Indian diplomats had not shared any facts to substantiate these allegations.
The Indian High Commission too has taken up the issue strongly with the Pakistani authorities through a note verbale. Sources said the drone was spotted twice over the High Commission’s premises around 10 pm when the get-together was in progress.
However, spokesperson of Pakistan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs Zahid Hafeez Chaudhri dismissed the claim as “preposterous” and said Indian diplomats had not shared any facts or proof whatsoever to substantiate these allegations. Chaudhri went on to describe the allegations as “diversionary Indian tactics” and then diverted the topic to Kashmir by stating that Islamabad will continue to stand by the people of J&K in their “struggle for the right to self-determination”.
The drones over Jammu Air Force station and the Indian High Commission’s premises were the first such instances of unmanned aerial vehicles being used against government assets. The MEA said the Jammu drone attack was still being investigated and reiterated its demand to Pakistan for credible, verifiable and irreversible action against terrorist networks on its soil.
BSF targets Pak drone at Jammu border
The BSF on Friday opened fire at a suspected Pakistani surveillance drone after it tried to venture into the Indian territory along the International Border (IB) in Arnia sector of Jammu region. Spotted around 4.25 am, the drone returned to the Pakistani side when the troopers fired half a dozen rounds to bring it down, said BSF officials.
Tribune News Service
New Delhi, July 2
Chief of Defence Staff Gen Bipin Rawat on Friday cleared the air on creating theatre commands, saying the Northern Command of the Indian Army for the time being would remain as it is while there would be dedicated integrated commands for China and Pakistan.
These would have the Air Force component, separate from the Air Defence Command that would be the exclusive mandate of the IAF. General Rawat was speaking at a ‘Global Counter-Terrorism Council’ webinar on artificial intelligence and other modern technologies. He also talked of the existing counter-drone systems. He said as far as the Indian Air Force was concerned, the country’s entire airspace would be looked after by the Air Defence Command.
The theatres with the northern and western adversary (China and Pakistan) would be land-based, General Rawat said. Offensive air support for these would be provided by the IAF. On the Northern Command of the Army, he said: “The Northern Command looks after both the fronts — the China front in Ladakh and the northern front in the Kargil sector. This is one area that would witness a two-front war.”
A new short span bridging system designed and developed by Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) has been inducted into the Indian Army.
The structure is 10-m long and is expected to play a crucial role in bridging the gaps, ensuring faster movement of troops and equipment across canals and waters bodies.
The first lot of 12 bridges was inducted by Army Chief Gen MM Naravane at a ceremony at Delhi Cantt on Friday. The Defence Minister congratulated the DRDO. tns
Tribune News Service
New Delhi, July 2
The Supreme Court on Friday refused to entertain a PIL seeking action against Union Minister Gen (Retd) VK Singh for allegedly violating oath of office by making certain comments on the India-China border stand-off.
“Are you a scientist? Use your energies to find a solution. If he is not good, the Prime Minister will look into it,” a Bench led by Chief Justice of India NV Ramana told the petitioner’s counsel after he insisted that Singh made statements against the Army.
“If the Minister of State for Road Transport and Highways has done something it was for the Prime Minister to act and the court can’t pass any order in this regard,” the Bench said.
“If you don’t like a statement by a minister, you file a plea and ask him to be removed,” it told the counsel for petitioner Chandrasekaran Ramaswamy, who cited various events where Singh made controversial statements.
Ramaswamy, an activist, had sought directions to declare that Singh breached of his oath for his recent statements on the Line of Actual Control in which the former Army Chief allegedly claimed that India transgressed the LAC many times, as per its perception, and the Chinese had taken advantage of the statement made and used it to blame India for encroaching upon its perceived territory.
14 drones were launched reportedly from across the International Border and LoC in the recent past. (Representational Photo:AFP)
SRINAGAR: Three more flying objects — possibly drones — were spotted over strategically important areas of Jammu on Wednesday. Security forces opened fire at them following which they withdrew, officials said.
The unnamed officials quoted by local newsgathering agencies said that the drones were seen hovering over Miran Sahab, Kaluchak and Kunjwani areas of Jammu where several military bases and sensitive installations are located.
They said that the first “unidentified flying object” at a height of about 1,000 meters was sighted near a place called Goswami Enclave in Kaluchak area at around 4.40 am. The second one was spotted near the Indian Air Force ‘Signal’ in the neighbouring Kunjwani area and the third at Miran Sahab at around 6 am. “All these activities on the third consecutive day were witnessed near defence installations but the alert security personnel quickly swung into action and opened fire at these objects,” said an official.
On June 27, the overly sensitive Air Force Station at Jammu had come under a terror attack when two low-intensity bombs believed to have been dropped by drones hit a barracks and an open space in quick succession, leaving two IAF personnel were injured in the explosions that took place within a gap of five minutes.
A day later, the Army averted two separate drone activities in Ratnuchak-Kaluchak belt close to the border with Pakistan in Jammu region and, thereby, as was claimed by it, foiled a possible threat in this extremely sensitive military area. The activity continued on Tuesday when the drone-like objects were seen flying at a couple of places in the same security belt.
The Jammu and Kashmir police and Indian Army officials in Jammu had said on Monday that as many as 14 drones were launched reportedly from across the International Border (called Working Boundary by Islamabad) and Line of Control (LoC) in the recent past.
They said that the areas which witnessed the activity include Jammu, Rajouri, Samba and Kathua districts of Indian-administered Kashmir. Six sorties with weapon payloads were found in Samba sector, three to four in Hiranagar sector and two each in Nowshera-Rajouri and Arnia sectors.
J&K’s director general of police, Dilbagh Singh, said that in the recent past drones have been used to drop weapons and narcotic consignments. He said that the twin blasts at the Jammu Air Force base was a “terror attack” in which IED payloads were dropped using drones. A security alert for all vital installations in the Jammu region as well as Kashmir Valley was issued on Sunday itself.
In view of the June 27 bombing at the Air Force Station Jammu and subsequent increased activity of illegal unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) or unmanned aircraft systems (UASes) in Jammu region, director general (DG) of National Security Guard (NSG), M.A. Ganapathy, who is also DG, Bureau of Civil Aviation Security and Director General Central Industrial Security Force, Subodh Kumar Jaiswal arrived in Jammu to assess the situation.
Rajouri’s DC Rajesh Kumar Shavan has, through an order issued on Wednesday, banned the storage, sale or possession and use and transportation of the flying machines (drones). He has also directed those having drones or like objects in their possession to deposit them with the local police station.
However, the government agencies using drones for mapping, surveys and surveillance would get the local police station in-charge and executive magistrate informed, the order says.
