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

NEW DELHI: ‘Fallen’ soldiers evoke tremendous emotions, passions and reverence within the soldering fraternity. The dignity accorded to them emanates from the sacred warrior credo that, ‘you leave no man behind’ – physically, emotionally and spiritually.

This truism resonates from the US Rangers (fifth stanza of the Army Ranger creed), the 7th article in the Code d’honneur du Legionnaire (“In combat you act without passion or hatred. You respect vanquished enemies. You never surrender your dead, your wounded, or your weapons”), as indeed, in the timeless DNA of the Indian Armed Forces.

It is therefore hardly surprising that all professional militaries are steeped in the highest ceremonial sensitivities, symbolic traditions and etiquettes, when it comes to the solemn occasion of handling the ‘fallen’ brothers.

Strict protocols and traditions are laid determining the handling of the poignant moment – with the ultimate respect afforded by the draping of the warrior’s coffin with the National flag.

This spirit was profoundly echoed by a 24 year daredevil, Captain Vikram Batra PVC, who besides immortalising, “Yeh dil maange more!” had also prophetically stated, “Either I will come back after hoisting the Tricolour, or I will come back wrapped in it. But I will be back for sure”, and indeed his body came wrapped in the Tricolour, as the nation mourned its valiant son who paid the ultimate price.

At military funerals the uniform, saluting protocols, gun salutes to laying of the wreaths – the somber occasion has an unmistakable air of decorum, structure and nobility attached to the entire proceedings. The hauntingly melancholic, ‘the last call’ is played by the military buglers signifying the end of the soldier’s journey, as an unforgettable ode to his martyrdom.

It is in this context that the ‘Coffingate scam’ in the aftermath of the Kargil victory, acquired a hugely emotional import and dimension, beyond the standard contours of procedural lapses and financial compromises.

Recently the pictures showing the dead bodies of seven soldiers of the IAF helicopter crash, wrapped in paperboard cartons with ropes tying the makeshift coffins, as opposed to body bags have militated against the conscience and natural emotions of all. The coincidence of the moment, with the Air Force Day celebrations, added to the immediate irony.

The virulently polarised and politicised environment of the day, which has deeply infected mainstream polity, has not spared the relatively insulated domain of the Armed Forces, and soon calls of ‘disrespect’ and ‘apathy’ were countered in equal measure by trolls counter-claiming the needless politicisation of the tragedy – unfortunately today, events like the civilian tragedies runs the risk of vitiating the environment for a proudly, apolitical Defence Forces. Therefore it is important to understand the background, prevailing circumstances and the need to remain ever-sensitive to such symbols of military honour, correctness and above all, pride.

Thankfully, the military institution reacted swiftly and the Army’s Additional Directorate General of Public Information, immediately clarified that the wrapping of corpses in the ‘local resources’ as an ‘aberration’ and as a situational necessity, and further added that the soldiers were ultimately given full military honours by the Air Force.

Willy-nilly the Defence Forces acknowledged the basic unacceptability of the initial handling, but perhaps attributable to the constraints of the helicopter crash that took place at a height of 17,000 feet in Tawang sector.

That a lot of ‘forward’ areas do not have body-bags is a reality, as they are equipped by just about the bare-essentials of the administrative wherewithal, not the ideal situation, but the reality, nonetheless. The issue was rightfully and promptly doused by timely response and necessary clarifications by the officials.

However terming the heartbreaking images that would naturally infuriate the sensibilities of all, especially those who are serving and the Veteran community as needlessly, ‘creating a controversy’, is equally unfair and unnecessary. Any soldier worth his salt who has served in the Uniform, would be instinctively hurt at the initial images, and is in his full right to question and demand a correction to the perceived indignity, inherent in the images, to his sacred institution.

It is important to recognise that the serving institution rightfully expresses no opinion or dissenting voice, as that could complicate the institutional construct, ethos and efficacy. Therefore it is invariably the Veteran community that espouses institutional causes that are perceived to be detrimental, hurtful or insulting.

It is the Veterans who have been in the forefront of expressing serious displeasure on issues like the OROP, slides in Pay Commissions, concerns on material and personnel adequacies, overstretched deployments et al – as long as these concerns emanate from the singular motive of protecting the institutional steel, pride and dignity, no political motive or dimension needs to be read, thereon. Like the serving fraternity, when it comes to issues pertaining to the Services only, the Veterans ought to maintain political indifference, distance and rectitude.

Already, over the decades the politico-bureaucrat combine has pushed the Services to a stage bordering neglect and despair. The last thing the institution needs is a further snubbing of its ‘voice’, however uncomfortable it is to any political dispensation – the soldier fights for the nation only, and not for any political party. Thus the Veteran lamenter and the counter-trolls need to spare the taints of political aspersions on such queries.

The significance of the ‘fallen’ soldier can be gauged from the fact that the Republic Day parade starts with the PM and the three Chief’s saluting the Amar Jawan Jyoti (Tomb of the Unknown Soldier). The marble cenotaph of the rifle and a helmet with an eternal flame is unfathomable in its emotive significance.

As the other inspirational epitaph of the ‘fallen’ soldier at the Kohima cemetery evocatively states, “When you go home, tell them of us, for your tomorrow, we gave our today”.

This incident was indeed an ‘aberration’ as stated, which logically evoked initial concerns by Veterans – matter ends with no political or personal aspersions or bickering, as the dignity for the ‘fallen’ soldier, is foremost.

(Lt General Bhopinder Singh (Retired) is former Lt Governor of Andaman and Nicobar Islands & Puducherry)

Major General B S Raju said the Army and other security agencies would continue to take all necessary actions against militants so that the people of south Kashmir could live in peace. PTI file

Srinagar, November 3

Around 80 militants have been killed in south Kashmir in the past six months and around 115 ultras are still active in the region, of whom over a dozen were foreign terrorists, a top Army official has said.

“There are around 115 militants in south Kashmir and out of them, 99 are local and 15-16 are foreign terrorists. The actions that we have taken in past 6-7 months, we have neutralised nearly 80 terrorists including top leadership.

“…as soon as the number of terrorists decreases, the situation will improve,” General Officer Commanding of the Army’s Victor Force, Major General B S Raju, told reporters.

Asked about the killing of a BJP youth leader in Shopian yesterday, Major General Raju said these were “acts of desperation” by the militants.

“Two to three such incidents have taken place in the recent past. We are given to believe that these are acts of desperation by the terrorists.

“They are not able to make any concerted action against the security forces. So they are looking at weaker targets and I am given to believe that police are taking necessary action against the perpetrators of these crimes,” he said.

He said the Army and other security agencies would continue to take all necessary actions against militants so that the people of south Kashmir could live in peace.

“The situation in south Kashmir is much better. Stone pelting and random acts initiated by terrorists have also decreased. As the winter season sets in, our actions would be more effective and peace shall return,” he added.

On the Jaish-e-Mohammad militants in south kashmir, Major General Raju said the process of neutralisation of the Jaish cadre has already begun.

“We intend to act particularly against the Jaish”.

On fresh recruitment among the militant ranks, he said that it was definitely a cause for concern.

“A lot of stakeholders need to work in a concerted manner to ensure that new recruitment is put in check. I would put the onus on the parents to ensure that they are able to take care of their children and I would put the onus on village elders, to the Moulvis in the villages and towns to ensure that they get right message across to the young people,” he added.

He said teachers and principals of schools and colleges also have a role to play.

“The security forces have to ensure that they conduct operations in such a manner that would not alienate the population and the youth,” he added. PTI