The CAPF personnel have been working in tandem with the local police to maintain law and order. – File photo

Majid Jahangir

Tribune News Service

Srinagar, November 30

For the first time since the abrogation of Article 370, the Centre has begun to withdraw nearly 2,000 Central Armed Police Force (CAPF) personnel from the Kashmir valley owing to “improvement in the situation”. 

The CAPF personnel have been working in tandem with the local police to maintain law and order.

“We have started withdrawing forces. From today, 20 companies of additional forces deployed in various parts of Kashmir have started moving out,” a senior security official said. “Out of those being moved out, 16 are BSF companies and four are from the CRPF.” 

The officer said a decision on withdrawal of more companies would be taken in a phased manner, depending on the ground zero situation. The Valley saw unprecedented tension following the scrapping of state’s special status, but there were no big protests, contrary to the expectations of the government and reports of Intelligence agencies. The situation remains volatile, but under control.

While the forces faced little challenge on the law and order front, they are now fighting biting cold.

Tribune News Service

Ambala, November 30

Three Army men suffered injuries after the vehicle they were travelling in was hit by a canter from the rear at the Devi Nagar toll plaza here today.

The victims were identified as driver Jagjit, Subedar Bishnu Pada Mandal and Subedar Major Sankaran.

The canter driver has been identified as Jasbir Singh, a resident of Gurdaspur.

Jagjit, a resident of Punjab, in his complaint, stated that they were posted at the 1 RT brigade headquarters in Ambala Cantonment. They were on their way in a military jeep towards Patiala. Around 8:20 am, they were waiting in a queue at the toll plaza when a canter driver hit their vehicle from the rear.

Bishnu and Sankaran were rushed to the military hospital, Ambala Cantonment. A case has been registered under Sections 279, 337 and 427 of the IPC at the Ambala Sadar police station.

SHO Sadar police station SI Suresh Kumar said: “The driver was nabbed. He will be produced before a court on Sunday. The victims are stated to be out of danger.”

The about 2.5 lakh-personnel-strong BSF was raised on this day in 1965. File photo

New Delhi, December 1

The government’s decision to bifurcate the erstwhile state of Jammu and Kashmir has rendered the Line of Control (LoC) in Kashmir and the international border along Jammu and Punjab “very sensitive” as terrorists are making continuous efforts to infiltrate into India, a top BSF officer said on Sunday.

Border Security Force chief VK Johri, during his address on the occasion of the 55^th raising day of the force here, said his troops have avowed to ensure that the sanctity of the borders, specifically the India-Pakistan border, is ensured “at every cost”.

The LoC in Kashmir and international border along Pakistan in Jammu and Punjab have become “very sensitive” due to recent administrative decisions, Johri said while referring to the bifurcation of Jammu and Kashmir after the abrogation of Article 370.

“Anti-India forces are continuously trying to infiltrate (through the borders)…we assure the country that the BSF will foil all such bids,” the DG said.

He said the force has expanded its “strategic capabilities” by inclusion of new technology and weapons.

The Union government had abrogated Article 370 of the Constitution that gave special status to the state of Jammu and Kashmir on August 5 and the new bifurcated Union Territories of Jammu-Kashmir and Ladakh came into existence on October 31.

While the BSF guards the over 700 km-long LoC under the operational command of the Army, it also guards 2,289 km of international border with Pakistan that runs along Jammu, Punjab, Rajasthan and Gujarat.

The about 2.5 lakh-personnel-strong BSF was raised on this day in 1965 and is primarily tasked with guarding the India and Pakistan borders apart from rendering a variety of roles in the internal security domain. — PTI

Photo for representation only.

New Delhi, December 1

The Border Security Force (BSF) is working on technical solutions to combat the threat of rogue drones along the India-Pakistan International Border, the chief of the force said on Sunday.

BSF Director General V K Johri also said that the force has expanded its “strategic capabilities” by using new technology and intelligence to guard the over 6,386 km long borders with Pakistan and Bangladesh.

Addressing the 55th Raising Day event of the force at a BSF camp here, the DG said the Line of Control (Loc) in Kashmir and the International Border in Punjab have become “operationally sensitive” in recent times.

“We have received reports about the activity of drones along the western border front (along Pakistan) in the recent past and we are working on technical solutions and taking important steps to tackle this issue,” DG Johri said.

He added that anti-India forces are continuously trying to infiltrate across the border and the BSF is alert “all times” to thwart these bids. — PTI

Japan’s Defence Minister Taro Kono sits in the cockpit of a fighter jet at the Hindon Air Force Station. PTI

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, November 30

Meeting for the first time in a new format, India and Japan set the stage for a summit meeting between Prime Ministers Narendra Modi and Shinzo Abe after a fortnight by resolving to further advance bilateral security cooperation, quickly seal a pact that would permit military vessels to use each other’s ports and conduct cooperative research in emerging areas of unmanned ground vehicles (UGV) and robotics.

The first-ever meeting of Defence and Foreign Ministers of both countries also reached common ground on the maritime domain around China as well as issues of top security concerns to them – Pakistan and North Korea. Significantly, the meeting took place just two weeks before the Modi-Abe annual summit in India. Japan has several such 2+2 meetings but India has this arrangement only with the US.

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar, met their counterparts Kono Taro and Motegi Toshimitsu, respectively, for over an hour.

A joint statement after the meeting noted the threat posed to regional security by terrorist networks operating out of Pakistan and asked it to take resolute and irreversible action against them and fully comply with its commitments, including to FATF.

India returned the favour by agreeing in the joint statement to condemn North Korea’s recent launches of ballistic missiles which are “a clear violation” of the relevant UNSC resolutions.

Leaving no doubt about their partnership in the maritime domain, the four Ministers said further strengthening of bilateral cooperation was in the mutual interest of both countries. They planned to further promote cooperation in the field of capacity building in maritime security and maritime domain awareness, including through “cooperation with other countries.”

On bilateral defence cooperation, the accent continued to be on joint operations with the joint statement green lighting the first India-Japan joint fighter aircraft exercise to be held in Japan.

The sense of the joint statement was that while both sides have made considerable progress in achieving interoperatability between the armed forces, progress has been slow on the transfer of technology, joint production and the promised economic partnership in the north east. There was no mention of the long-pending sale of US2 amphibian aircraft to India, the Asia-Africa Growth Corridor and the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP).

Earlier the two visiting Japanese Ministers called on PM Narendra Modi who expressed his satisfaction over the 2 plus 2 meeting that was decided by him and his Japanese counterpart at their last annual summit in October 2018 to further deepen bilateral strategic, security and defence cooperation. He added that Japan was a key component of India’s Act East Policy as well as the vision of a Indo-Pacific for peace, stability and prosperity of the region.

Photo for representation only.

Patna, December 1

An Army personnel, ailing and on a vacation, on Sunday shot dead his wife and her younger sister near here before pulling the trigger at himself after what was apparently a squabble, police said.

The triple killings took place inside a moving car, which the deceased Army man had hired to visit the city, and the driver beside whom two children of the couple were seated pulled up in Paliganj police station area of rural Patna upon hearing the gunshots, the police said.

“The deceased army man, Vishnu Sharma (33), was a resident of Bhojpur district. He was accompanied by wife Damini (32) and sister-in-law Khushboo (25). They were coming to Patna and they died inside the car. Their bodies have been taken for post-mortem.

“Statements of the children, both said to be less than 10 years of age, and the car driver are being recorded,” Paliganj SHO Indrajit Singh told PTI-Bhasha over the phone.

Police sources said Sharma was posted in Gujarat and had come to his home on a holiday. His children have said that they were coming to the state capital to get him treated for some illness and during the journey he picked up a quarrel with his wife and sister-in-law.

It was not yet clear what illness the Army personnel suffered from. According to some accounts, he had contracted dengue while there were unconfirmed reports said that he had been suffering from depression.

Further investigations were on, police added. — PTI

On Saturday, India and Japan, under the new framework of two-plus-two dialogue, discussed a raft of strategic issues. iStock

New Delhi, December 1

Japan on Sunday said it looked at the situation in Kashmir “very carefully” and hoped that a peaceful resolution to the issue will be found through dialogue.

The comments by a spokesperson of the Japanese Foreign Ministry came a day after India and Japan held their first foreign and defence ministerial dialogue under a new framework to further broadbase strategic ties.

“I do not remember the ministers going into the detailed discussion on the specific issue,” Deputy Press Secretary in Japan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs Atsushi Kaifu told reporters when asked whether the Kashmir issue figured in the talks.

“But at the same time, I can say we looked at the situation there very carefully. We are aware of the long-standing differences of views with regard to Kashmir. We hope a peaceful resolution will be found through dialogue,” he said.

Asked about uncertainty over the Japan-backed bullet train project from Mumbai to Ahmedabad after a new government came to power in Maharashtra, the spokesperson said officials of both the countries are working on it and that challenges occur in large projects.

To a question on China’s growing assertiveness in the disputed South China Sea, Kaifu said freedom of navigation and overflight must be ensured in the region, asserting that Japan does not compromise on security and maritime issues.

“Japan and China now have a lively relationship, but we do not compromise on security and maritime issues including on the South China Sea,” he said, adding that Japan has been trying to engage China in various ways and both countries are working on a bilateral visit by Chinese President Xi Jinping to Japan next year.

On Saturday, India and Japan, under the new framework of two-plus-two dialogue, discussed a raft of strategic issues, including the threat posed to regional security by terror groups operating from Pakistan, latest developments in the disputed South China Sea and evolving security scenario in the Indo-Pacific region.

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar led the Indian delegation while the Japanese was headed by Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi and Minister of Defence Taro Kono.

Asked whether the 5G spectrum issue figured in the talks, Kaifu said it was briefly touched upon in the context of cooperation in the digital sphere.

Beijing has been urging New Delhi to make an independent decision on allowing its telecom giant Huawei to participate in  India’s 5G trial.

The US has banned Huawei, the world leader in telecom equipment and the number two smartphone producer, over concerns of security and Washington has been pressuring other countries to restrict the operations of the company.

On India’s decision to not join the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP), the spokesperson said the countries of the grouping were trying to resolve New Delhi’s concerns as decided at its meeting in Bangkok last month.

Asked whether Japan was keen on carrying out development projects in Arunachal Pradesh, Kaifu said both India and his country were keen on rolling out connectivity projects in the North Eastern region.

Careful deliberations are on about possible areas of engagement, he said.

China has been opposed to any foreign-funded projects in Arunachal Pradesh as it claims the state to be part of its southern Tibet.

Kaifu said Saturday’s talks also laid the ground for Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s visit to India this month for annual summit level talks with his Indian counterpart Narendra Modi.

Referring to Sri Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapaksa’s visit to India few days back, he said the island nation is a key country for maritime security cooperation and that Japan was also trying to expand cooperation with it.

Talking about growing Indo-Japan ties, the Japanese foreign ministry spokesperson also said that both countries can join hands to carry out projects in African continent. PTI

A get-together of Packet aircraft crew in Chandigarh on Friday.

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, November 29

Twenty years after they last met, former IAF officers, who had served on the Packet transport aircraft that had played a crucial military and diplomatic role in the IAF’s early days, got together for a reunion here today.

Over a 100 persons attended the meet. Four officers came from the US to attend the event. Prominent among them were Air Commodore HB Singh (retd), the eldest in the group. Others at the event included Air Marshal BK Pandey, former AOC-in-C, Training Command, Air Marshal AK Goel, who had commanded the Chandigarh Air Force Station as an Air Commodore from 1992 to 1994 and Air Vice-Marshal Harimohan.

The reunion was described as an occasion to sustain and nurture the spirit of comradeship and the joy of working as a team, and also a moment to remember those who had made sacrifices in the line of duty.

The US made C-119 Packet was inducted into the IAF with 12 Squadron, the IAF’s oldest transport squadron, in February, 1954, and over the course of the next 32 years, it flew heads of state across continents, transported dignitaries like the Dalai Lama, ferried enemy generals who had laid down arms and played the all important role of sustaining the armed forces in remote corners of the country.

Packets were also detailed for cross-border assignments and overseas missions. Until supplemented by AN-12s, Packets were the backbone of the IAF transport fleet, tasked with the air maintenance of forward posts. They played a vital role in the 1962 Indo-China war and the 1971 Indo-Pak war. A little known fact about the Packet is that it flew Pakistan’s General AAK Niazi and other prisoner-of-war generals to Nagpur after the end of hostilities.