To PM: ‘Canards. Apologise’

Ex-PM: Ill-thought transgression, no Gujarat talk with Pak dignitaries

Dr Manmohan Singh, Ex-PM

New Delhi, December 11

Former Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh today lashed out at PM Narendra Modi for “spreading canards” about a recent dinner between some Indian and Pakistani dignitaries and said the PM should “apologise to the nation for his ill-thought transgression”.He was speaking after Modi accused the Congress of “hobnobbing with Pakistan in attempts to impact election results in Gujarat”.

Editorial:Arrest them all

“I am deeply pained and anguished by the falsehood and canards being spread to score political points in a lost cause by none less than PM Narendra Modi. Fearing imminent defeat in Gujarat, desperation of PM to hurl every abuse and latch on to every straw is palpable,” Singh said in a statement, adding that the PM, with his insatiable desire to tarnish every constitutional office, including that of the former PM and Army Chief, was setting a dangerous precedent.(Follow The Tribune on Facebook; and Twitter @thetribunechd)In a signed statement, Singh said Gujarat elections were not discussed at the recent dinner meeting, which former Congress MP Mani Shankar Aiyar hosted. The dinner was attended among others by former Pakistan foreign minister Khurshid Mahmud Kasuri.“I reject the innuendos and falsehoods as I did not discuss Gujarat elections with anyone else at the dinner as alleged by Mr Modi, nor was Gujarat issue raised by anyone else present at the dinner.  The discussion was confined to India-Pakistan relations. None of those who attended the dinner could be accused of indulging in any anti-national activities,” Dr Singh said.The former PM hoped the PM “would show maturity expected of the high office he holds instead of concentrating his energy solely on erroneously conceived brownie points. I hope the PM will apologise to the nation”.Dr Singh, who attended the dinner along with former Vice-President Hamid Ansari, added that the Congress did not need any sermons on nationalism from a “party and PM whose compromised track record on fighting terrorism is well known”.“Let me remind Shri Modi that he had gone to Pakistan uninvited after the terrorist attacks in Udhampur and Gurdaspur. Let him also tell the country the reason for inviting the infamous ISI of Pakistan to our strategic airbase in Pathankot to investigate a terror attack that emanated from Pakistan,” Singh added. — TNS‘Don’t lamely question public service record’“My track record of public service to the country over the last five decades is known to everyone. No one, including Shri Modi, can lamely question it to gain lost political ground.” Dr Manmohan Singh, Ex-PM‘Must be prepared to answer questions’“The meeting was a political misadventure… Congress should explain the context of attending the dinner hosted by suspended party leader Mani Shankar Aiyar for Pakistan diplomats. The main Opposition party was expected to follow the national policy, which states that terror and talks cannot go hand-in-hand. If anyone defies the national line, he should be prepared to answer questions.” Arun Jaitley, FM

Jaitley rules out PM apology

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, December 11

Virtually ruling out an apology by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley today charged former PM Manmohan Singh with defying the national line by meeting Pakistan diplomats and demanded to know the context, relevance and necessity of such a meet.Terming the meeting as “political misadventure”, Jaitley wanted Singh and the Congress to explain the context of attending the dinner hosted by suspended party leader Mani Shankar Aiyar for Pakistan diplomats.He said the main Opposition party was expected to follow the national policy, which states that terror and talks cannot go hand-in-hand. “Is (the) main Opposition party not part of the State?” he said.Jaitley said if anyone defies the national line, he should be prepared to answer questions. “It is a political misadventure, it has a political cost,” he said.Hours after Singh asked the PM to apologise to the nation for setting a “dangerous precedent”, Jaitley said he wanted the former PM to explain what transpired at the meeting. He went on to defend his government’s track record of fighting terror, saying no government in the past has a track record this government has in fighting terrorism.In response to Singh’s demand for apology, Jaitley said people who had violated the national policy of talks and terror not going hand in hand should apologise.Earlier, the BJP, while hitting back at Singh on why it took him “over 48 hours to accept” that a “hush-hush” meeting with the Pakistan envoy did take place, wondered the need for Pakistan to issue its “unwarranted” advice on elections to a democratic country like India.Condemning Pakistan foreign office spokesman Mohammad Faisal’s statement, the BJP called it a confirmation of Modi’s viewpoint on Congress’ involvement. Law Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad said the statement appeared to be aimed at bailing out the Congress.Faisal in his tweet said: “India should stop dragging Pakistan into its electoral debate and win victories on own strength rather than fabricated conspiracies, which are utterly baseless and irresponsible.”Prasad said: “I wish to tell Pakistan that Indians are capable of contesting India’s democracy on their own as they do…. India completely abhors any outside interference in India’s electoral affairs.”Also, BJP leader GVL Narasimha Rao said: “Why has it taken 48 hours for Dr (Manmohan) Singh to accept the meeting took place. Why did the Congress leaders deny yesterday?” (With agency inputs)

Pak stays at centre of Gujarat election battle

Air Marshal N J S Dhillon

Kapurthala, December 9

Air Marshal N J S Dhillon on Friday said the Indian Air Force (IAF) is fully equipped to face any foreign aggression.

However, Air Marshal Dhillon, a Senior Air Staff Officer at the Western Air Command, said there was little possibility of any foreign aggression against India.

Air Marshal Dhillon, an alumnus of Sainik School Kapurthala, was here to participate in the annual ‘old boys’ meet of the school here.

Talking to the media, Air Marshal Dhillon said the Indian Air Force is the fourth largest air force in the world.

And, he said, after inducting 18 Rafale fighter jets next September, the capabilities of the IAF would be enhanced manyfold.

Air Marshal Dhillon, who was the chief guest at the event, laid a wreath at the ‘Saikap Smriti Sthal’ in the school.

Major General Balwinder Singh, the chairman of the local board of administration of the school, lauded the achievements of the school. PTI

Maj Gen MP Bhagat (retd) speaks as (L-R) Lt Gen HS Lidder (retd), Gen VP Malik (retd), Lt Gen TS Shergill (retd) and Lt Gen SR Ghosh (retd) look on, during the Military Literature Festival at Lake Club in Chandigarh on Saturday. TRIBUNE PHOTO: RAVI KUMAR

Vijay Mohan

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, December 9

Former Army Chief Gen VP Malik here today said military diplomacy could effectively supplement foreign policy, but India was unable to make full use of this aspect because of the set up of the Central Government where military was not adequately consulted or even recognised as an important element of diplomacy.Maintaining that while military diplomacy could never replace regular diplomacy, Gen Malik said much more could be achieved in the realm of foreign policy with active participation of the military. “Joint exercises, delegation exchanges and high-level visits can lead to better understanding between militaries and can help avoid war or hostile situations. Coercive diplomacy or quiet liaisoning can play a vital role if the military comes into the picture,” he said.Lt Gen SR Ghosh (retd) said joint exercises with friendly countries, part of military diplomacy, was important as these sent a clear message to the target nation. “Because of their high visibility, such operations are critical to power projection,” he said. Lt Gen TS Shergill (retd) said joint drills were a means of learning about the weapon system and tactics of other countries and also offered a useful insight into contemporary military practices and thought. Recalling a visit by then Defence Minister Pranab Mukherjee to Washington where the American protocol was tweaked, Lt Gen Ghosh, then defence attaché, said, “While working out the schedule, the issue of US Secretary of Defence Donald Rumsfeld hosting a dinner for Mukherjee came up and we were told Rumsfeld never ever hosted a dinner for anyone.” On repeated insistence and after being told that the Americans should reciprocate Mukherjee hosting dinner for Rumsfeld in New Delhi, they finally agreed, but the dinner was to be held in a restaurant. As the dinner was progressing, then US Vice President Dick Cheney walked in through backdoor to join in, he added.Lt Gen HS Lidder (retd), who was posted as defence attaché to Washington in the wake of India’s second nuclear tests, recalled how for over a year, there was nothing to do because of the cold shoulder extended by the US. “Then 9/11 happened and we were called in for the first time and told by the Americans that they now understand India’s experiences and the pain it has been enduring. They sought our inputs,” he said. He said India would never be a great power unless it migrated from being a reactive to a proactive nation. And if that has to be done, military diplomacy would have to come of age. Recalling his tenure in Washington from 1992-96 when the Indo-US relations were at its lowest ebb, Lt Gen Shergill said then US Assistant Secretary of State for South Asia was intensely pro-Pakistan. 

The meeting of US Defence Secretary Jim Mattis with the leaders of Pakistan during his visit to Islamabad early this week was to find common ground in fight against terrorism, the Pentagon said on Friday.“The Secretary had very fruitful conversations about where we can find common ground,” Pentagon chief spokesperson Dana White told reporters at her weekly news conference.She said the effort was to broaden the relationship between the two countries.

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“As he said no one had lost more troops and lives to terrorism than the Pakistanis. So again, this is about broadening our relationship and looking for opportunities. I think there are opportunities. I think his trip showed that,” White said.She was responding to a question on Mattis’ conversation with Pakistani leaders in Islamabad on Monday.“Terrorism. I mean, the threat of terrorism–I mean everyone has–Pakistan has an interest in ensuring that terrorism is defeated. They’ve lost thousands of troops, and they’ve lost thousands of innocents as well,” White said.The Pentagon chief spokesperson said it was in the interest of Pakistan and the US to find a lasting solution to the Afghanistan problem.“It is in the interests of Pakistan, the US, the region to ensure that we can encourage that Afghanistan has a political reconciliation. So we’ll look for ways to work with Pakistanis to find that common ground and move forward,” White said.Mattis had on Monday asked Pakistan to “redouble” efforts to confront militants operating from its soil. PTI

Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, December 5

Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman tonight said she would reconsider the cap on the education expenses of children of martyrs.Speaking in Ahmedabad, she said fee capping was part of the 7th Pay Commission recommendations. The Cabinet took a call on it. “I will go back and reconsider it,” she said. Terming it a sentimental issue, she said, “Our government is never against soldiers.”(Follow The Tribune on Facebook; and Twitter @thetribunechd)The Tribune was the first to report the matter in its edition dated December 1.The Ministry of Defence (MoD) has already asked for details in this regard and is expected to sort out the matter. In September, the Department of Ex-servicemen in the MoD decided to cap the fee at Rs 10,000 per month, impacting around 3,200 students in schools, colleges and professional institutions.The forces raised an objection on October 10, but the ministry turned it down. Now, the forces, under the banner of the Chairman Chiefs of Staff Committee (a body of three service chiefs), have sought removal of the cap.A letter by the committee says “these personnel made the supreme sacrifice for the country and the provision of educational concessions to their wards is a small gesture to recognise their commitment to the defence of the country”. The committee has sought a review of the government decision.Under the scheme, rolled out in 1972, the tuition fee of children of martyrs or those disabled in action is paid by the ministry.The scheme to bear the cost of education of children of martyrs was announced in the Lok Sabha on December 18, 1971—two days after the Pakistani forces surrendered to the Indian forces at Dacca (now known as Dhaka).

An Army convoy in the Valley. Tribune file Photo

Majid Jahangir

Tribune News Service

Srinagar, November 26

Last week thousands of Kashmiri youth participated at an Army recruitment rally at Panzgam garrison in frontier Kupwara district to don the olive green. In July, more than 3,000 youth from J&K took the written exam for the selection of officers in the Territorial Army.In April, Farooq Dar, a shawl weaver, was tied to a jeep and used as a “human shield” by a Major for allegedly escaping stone throwers during the parliamentary bypoll in Budgam. The officer was later awarded the Chief of Army Staff Commendation (COAS). The human shield incident had sparked outrage in the region, deepening the army-civilian divide.These two examples explain the two narratives about the Army in Kashmir which is at the forefront in counter-insurgency and counter-infiltration operations in Kashmir since the outbreak of militancy. The past baggage of the alleged mass rape in Kunanpospora, Kupwara, in 1991 and a series of fake encounters like Pathribal, Machil and ‘enforced disappearances’ have dealt a major blow to the Army’s image. The Army, however, has always denied the allegations of mass rape in Kunanpospora.Over the years, however, the complaints of human rights violations against the Army in Kashmir have considerably reduced as the force has focused on image-building in the Valley.To win the hearts of people, the Army in 1998 started Sadbhavana — a goodwill programme — with an objective to bridge the gap between the ‘jawaan’ (Army) and ‘awaam’ (people). At present over 500 projects of Sadbhavana are underway in various developmental sectors across Kashmir.However, over the years the Army has been successful in bridging the gap only to some extent. In Kupwara, for example, the Army has maintained good relations with people for over a decade but the district witnessed hundreds of stone-throwing incidents during the 2016 unrest.“It is wrong to interpret that Sadbhavana will have an impact on the political situation of Kashmir. Kupwara has the highest military concentration, but when there is a political problem, it also behaves like the rest of the Valley,” said Mohammad Adil, 32, a businessman from Kupwara town.A postgraduate student from Srinagar, Shabnum Kulsum said the Army was “meant for security but their image is negative among youth for killings and creating an atmosphere of fear”.“No matter how many publicity programmes the Army tries to organise in Kashmir, its image will always scare a Kashmiri,” Kulsum said.Political scientist Noor Ahmad Baba said relations between people and the Army are never good in a conflict situation. “Naturally when the Army is in contact with people, especially in a conflict situation, relation are not always good,” he said.However, the surrender of footballer-turned-Lashkar-e-Toiba militant Majid Khan tells a different story of the ties between the Army and people in south Kashmir.“When young Majid Khan decided to return, the Army was contacted and not any other security agency. This shows the level of trust the Army has been able to gain from the people. “Even when one militant was injured in a gunfight where we lost a soldier, we accepted his surrender. It shows the humane face of the Army and the trust it enjoys here,” said an Army officer in Kashmir. “However, there are always elements in some pockets who want to create issues and widen the gap between the locals and the Army. A majority of the people supports us, but due to fear they don’t want to say it in public. We are enjoying excellent relations with the people.”In the early 1990s, when militancy was at its peak, few Kashmiri youth used to join the Army. The trend, however, changed slowly after the Army started holding massive recruitment rallies. Over 5,000 Kashmiris are serving in the Army at present and there are nearly 8,500 ex-servicemen. At least seven Kashmiri Army men, including the unarmed Lt Ummer Fayaz, have been killed in Kashmir.The continuation of AFSPA is another issue with the people. “The Army recently said around 200 militants were active in the Valley. How does the government justify such a large presence of the Army now and AFSPA?” asked Khursheed Ahmed, a Srinagar resident. The Army, however, has been maintaining that time is not ripe for the withdrawal of the Armed Forces Special Powers Act.

Bridging the gap

Over the years the Army has been successful in bridging the gap only to some extent. In Kupwara, for example, the Army has maintained good relations with people for over a decade but the district witnessed hundreds of stone-throwing incidents during the 2016 unrest. 

Apprehensions about China have brought back the idea of the ‘Quad’ of democratic nations – US, Japan, India, and Australia – about 10 years after it was mooted.

China’s Belt and Road Initiative conference in Beijing in May 2017 sent ominous signals about its approach to multilateral cooperation. The response to it was an almost immediate creation of a defensive psyche among stakeholders of Asia’s stability and security.

Apprehension is evident after China spelt out its vision at the recently concluded 19th Congress of the Communist Party of China. The Indo-Pacific, as it is now called, will probably feel the effects of this aggressive Chinese vision much earlier, as the nation charts its course towards its ambitions for 2050.

A spurt in aggression was more noticeable after China sensed that the US, under Donald Trump, was veering towards greater isolationism, and was diluting its strategic space in the Indo-Pacific. The Doklam standoff between India and China has also contributed to the concerns about China.

These apprehensions have brought back the idea of the ‘Quad’ of democratic nations, almost 10 years after it was first mooted. There is concern in the Indo-Pacific’s power centres about China’s emergence as a major global power. The US, Japan, India and Australia (the current poles of the Quad) have common interests in the Indo-Pacific, which see the aggression of China as an aberration in the dynamics that ensure peace in the region.

The strategic space of the Indo-Pacific region has overlapping power centres. ASEAN is the one institutional grouping, but its security footprint is minimal. The East Asian region has the US straddling with individual alliances with Japan and South Korea, but no trilateral arrangement with them. There is a Trilateral Security Dialogue (TSD) between the US, Australia, and Japan since 2002. However, Australia and Japan have had different perceptions about security, especially since Australia does not perceive a direct threat from China. This has prevented the TSD becoming fully operationalised.

With the extension of the zone of concern from Asia-Pacific to the Indo-Pacific, India’s steadily increasing strategic importance and commonality of threat perception has made it a far more important player. Its strategic control over the Indian Ocean Region (IOR) and the clash of interests with China’s Maritime Silk Route give it even greater significance.

The Quad, though only at a consultative stage between government officials, has re-emerged as an idea rather rapidly. The recent robust diplomatic consultations in Asia by US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and Defence Secretary James Mattis have obviously corrected what appeared earlier as a flawed US perception about its willingness to yield strategic space to China. That had created much apprehension among US allies such as Japan and South Korea. China’s ability to wean away smaller ASEAN nations such as Cambodia, Laos and Thailand (even Philippines to some extent) also caused some consternation in the ranks of the players looking at security of the Indo-Pacific.

The Quad, at its inception stage, is likely to be more of a consultative mechanism rather than an alliance. If anything, its idea removes the reticence from important stakeholders about doing anything which China would perceive as inimical to its interests. It will fill a strategic void where China thus far has had a free run.

Convergence of interests through diplomatic consultation, defence cooperation, and promotion of free trade and freedom of navigation is a way of ensuring the Quad is taken ahead successfully. Its forums can have larger consultations with regions of interest stretching from Africa to East Asia as a multi-layered alternative to the singular pole China has to offer.

A formal formulation of the grouping could take place soon, as leaving it only as an informal consultative mechanism is unlikely to meet the demands of the highly complex strategic environment in which China is likely to respond with its own counter-balancing strategy. China may also restructure some of its initiatives, which have received the label of ‘predatory economics’.

For India, it’s a win-win situation for its Act East policy, and enhancing proximity to the emerging zone of importance for the future, without having to be directly at loggerheads with China.

Lt. Gen. Syed Ata Hasnain (Retd), a former GOC of Srinagar-based 15 Corps, is associated with the Vivekanand International Foundation. 

Tribune News Service

Dehradun, November 14

The much-awaited Passing out Parade of the Indian Military Academy will be held on December 9. Ahead of the parade, the graduation ceremony of ACC wing of the academy will take place on December 1. This will be followed by the award ceremony on December 6 and subsequent Commandant’s Parade on December 7.Over 500 Gentlemen cadets, including foreign cadets, will participate in the parade. Preparations have already begun for the event at the academy.Since its establishment during the pre-Independence days, around 60,000 officers have passed out from the academy. The parade is held in June and December, which is also known as the autumn term parade, every year. Events to be heldDec 1: Graduation ceremony of ACC wing

Dec 6: Awards ceremony

Dec 7: Commandant’s Parade

Dec 9: Passing Out Parade