New Delhi: Chinese border defence troops have made the “necessary moves” and “enhanced control measures” at the Galwan Valley in Eastern Ladakh, the country’s state media has reported.

The Galwan Valley is the region where Chinese soldiers clashed with the Indian Army resulting in several injuries earlier this month.

The report by Global Times, said China’s border defence troops have taken necessary measures to strengthen an on-the-spot response and control of border areas, “resolutely safeguarding China’s sovereignty and security and maintaining peace and stability in border areas”.

The confirmation by China of increased tensions at the LAC comes amidst a move by India to downplay the incident.

“Temporary and short duration face-offs between border guarding troops do occur along the LAC due to the differing perceptions of the alignment of boundaries, which are not resolved,” Army chief Gen. M.M. Naravane had said in a statement last Thursday. “There were two incidents at Eastern Ladakh and North Sikkim where aggressive behaviour by both sides resulted in minor injuries to troops, post which both sides disengaged after dialogue and interaction at local level.” Gen. Naravane had also said that face-offs happen for a number of reasons, including when a new local commander moves in. He added that there was aggression by both sides.

ThePrint had reported on 10 May that even though “official disengagement” has happened, additional troops have been pressed in.

The Chinese have set up a number of tents on their side to cater to the additional troops.

Also read: Pakistan’s 40-yr-old Gilgit-Baltistan dam project could finally be a reality, with China help

India purposely instigated conflicts: Chinese media  

The Global Times report has blamed India for the incident on the evening of 5 May when Chinese troops attacked Indian soldiers near the Galwan river in Eastern Ladakh.

Chinese troops had objected to Indian presence there claiming it was their territory, which the Army had rejected.

Giving its version of events, the Global Times, citing sources, said that since early May, India has been crossing the boundary line in the Galwan Valley region and entering Chinese territory.

“The Indian side built defence fortifications and obstacles to disrupt Chinese border defense troops’ normal patrol activities, purposefully instigated conflicts and attempted to unilaterally change the current border control situation,” it said.

It added that the Galwan Valley region is Chinese territory, and the local border control situation was very clear.

“The actions by the Indian side have seriously violated China and India’s agreements on border issues, violated China’s territorial sovereignty and harmed military relations between the two countries,” it said.

The Indian Army has been reached for reaction on the Chinese media report and the copy will be updated as and when it comes.

Citing the same source, the Chinese report said the border troops of China and India will keep in touch with each other on the current situation through meetings and representations.

ThePrint had reported on 14 May that Indian and Chinese armies are working out the dates for the next formal discussions between “higher” military authorities in the Ladakh sector to sort out the tensions arising out of the face off.

Jammu, May 19

The Pakistan Army on Tuesday shelled forward areas along the Line of Control (LoC) in Jammu and Kashmir’s Rajouri district, drawing retaliation from the Indian Army, a defence spokesperson said.

This is second ceasefire violation by the Pakistan Army in the last 12 hours along the LoC in Rajouri and Poonch districts.

“At about 0730 hours today, Pakistan Army initiated unprovoked ceasefire violation by small arm firing and mortar shelling along LoC in Sunderbani sector”, the spokesperson said, adding the Indian Army retaliated befittingly.

The cross-border shelling between the two sides was going on when last reports were received, the spokesperson said.

There was no immediate report of any casualty during the Pakistani shelling.

Pakistan had on Monday night opened fire and shelled mortars along the LoC in Gulpur sector of Poonch. —PTI

Sanjay Bumbroo
Tribune News Service
Mohali, May 17

Ex-DGP Punjab Sumedh Singh Saini on Sunday appeared before the Special Investigation Team (SIT) in a case registered against him and other policemen in abduction and disappearance of Balwant Singh Multani in Mataur police station.

Senior Superintendent of Police Kuldeep Singh Chahal said the former DGP had arrived at 4 pm before the SIT and the questioning continued till 5.30 pm. He said the SIT had questioned him about the case, the details of which cannot be revealed.

The roads leading to the office of the SSP had been sealed by the police till ex-DGP Saini appeared before the SIT.

According to sources, the police had cordoned off the area after Saini had requested the police for the same as he did not wish to meet anyone else except the SIT.

Pertinently ex-DGP Saini was summoned by SIT after the local court on May 11 had granted him anticipatory bail.

The court had ordered Saini to join investigation within a week and also submit the passport to the police. The court had further restricted him not to come out of his house till the lockdown period in view of the coronavirus was over.

Following the directions of the court, Saini had submitted his passport and gave undertaking that he was ready to join the investigations and was residing at the said address.

Earlier the Mohali police had constituted the SIT headed by Superintendent of Police Harmandep Singh Hans (Investigation) along with Deputy Superintendent of Police Bikramjit Singh Brar and Inspector Rajiv Kumar SHO Mataur police station to probe the case.

Palwinder Singh Multani, brother of victim Balwant Singh, had filed a complaint against the former DGP in Mohali on May 6 and the case was registered under Sections 364 (kidnapping or abduction in order to murder), 201 (causing disappearance of evidence), 344 (wrongful confinement), 330 (voluntarily causing hurt to exhort confession) and 120 (B) (criminal conspiracy).

ribune News Service

New Delhi, May 21

Defence Secretary Dr Ajay Kumar on Thursday said ways were being found to reduce the wage and pension bill at the Ministry of Defence. Addressing a wider strategic issue, he said the Indian Ocean Region was becoming “a threat” like the South China Sea (SCS).

The latter was the obvious unstated reference to China’s recent activities in the Indian Ocean, including building artificial islands near Maldives and the ongoing tussle in the contested hydrocarbon rich waters of the SCS.

He delivered a talk on “Covid-19, Resource Crunch and Defence modernization” and later answered questions at a web-seminar conducted by the Manohar Parrikar Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses (MP-IDSA) here.

On the Indian Ocean, he answered questions on “blue economy” euphuism for marine, fishing, minerals and energy, when he said security needs in Indian Ocean will have to be addressed, adding that the means of doing it are best left to experts.

On pensions, he said expenses rose from Rs 32,000 crore few years back to Rs 1,33,000 crore. “We have to look at ways to reduce pension and wage bill to free money for capital and modernisation,” he said. Possible extension of service (for jawans) which will reduce pension bill and long-term pension liabilities,” Dr Kumar said.

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, May 17

A senior Himachal Pradesh Police officer has revealed that Chinese helicopters intruded several km iide Indian airspace in the state on two occasions last month.

Rajesh Dharmani, Superintendent of Police, Lahaul-Spiti district which shares the international border with China, told a section of the media that a Chinese helicopter had entered 12-15 km into India in the Sumdo area on April 11. Then, on April 20 another Chinese helicopter intruded into the same area.

The area in question lies to the south of Demchok in Ladakh, a region that sees significant Chinese activity and incursions. Earlier this month, there were reports of a face-off between Indian and Chinese troops in Ladakh and Sikkim.

A senior officer at Headquarters Western Command, Chandimandir, under whose jurisdiction the area falls, however, declined to comment on the matter, saying that only the central government would respond to reports of any such cross border incident.

He added that all activities along the border are monitored by different agencies regularly and any untoward or unusual incident is reported and shared amongst them as per established protocols. The peacetime management of the border is with the Indo-Tibetan Border Police Forces that maintains posts on the zero line.

There have been reported instances of Chinese helicopters violating Indian airspace in Himachal Pradesh earlier. Apart from Lahaul-Spiti, Kinnaur is the other district in the state that shares borders with China. The Western Command’s formation, 26 Infantry Brigade that is responsible for this area, is headquartered in Pooh, which is about 11 km from the border as the crow flies.

A limited cross-border trade amongst locals on both sides is also conducted through the Sipki La pass along the Sutlej river during summers.

New Delhi, May 21

In a firm response, New Delhi has rejected Beijing’s suggestions that its troops had crossed the border and instead maintained Chinese troops had recently undertaken activity hindering India’s normal patrolling patterns.

“Any suggestion that Indian troops had undertaken activity across the LAC in the western sector or the Sikkim sector is not accurate. Indian troops are fully familiar with the alignment of the LAC in the India-China border areas and abide by it scrupulously,” said MEA spokesperson Anurag Srivastava.

Maintaining that improvement of India-China ties hinged on peace and tranquillity in border areas, he pointed to several bilateral mechanisms to resolve such situations. — TN

Tribune News Service

Mandi, May 18

The Border Roads Organisation (BRO) today reopened the Manali-Leh highway to vehicular movement afte six months.

Snow-clearance work on the highway was being carried out since February.

Despite an acute shortage of labourers due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the BRO, in comparison to the previous years, has cleared the road much earlier this year. Last year, the highway was restored to traffic on June 10.

The BRO used remote-controlled snow cutters and dozers for the first time in the region to speed up the snow-clearance work despite many challenges.

Brig MS Baghi, Chief Engineer, Dipak Project, also visited the Baralacha pass today to congratulate the BRO team for the early restoration of the highway.

DC, Lahaul-Spiti, KK Saroch said nine tankers of Indian Oil moved towards Leh from Lahaul side.

The cross-border firing started in Degwar sector around 8:40 am on 17 May, drawing retaliation from the Indian Army. No casualty has been reported on the Indian side thus far.

ammu: The Pakistan Army on Sunday opened fire and shelled forward areas along the Line of Control (LoC) in Poonch district of Jammu and Kashmir, a defence spokesman said.

The cross-border firing started in Degwar sector around 8:40 am, drawing retaliation from the Indian Army, the spokesman said.

He said there was no report of any casualty on the Indian side in the Pakistani firing.

The Pakistani firing ended over a week-long lull along the LoC.

Also read: Global lockdown and Covid crisis haven’t stopped Pakistan from its anti-India agenda

A gun battle broke out between security forces and terrorists in Doda district of Jammu and Kashmir on Sunday morning, officials said. An Army jawan laid down his life in the encounter which is still underway, officials said on Sunday.

IGP Jammu, Mukesh Singh said that one terrorist has also been killed in the ongoing encounter. The slain terrorist belongs to Hizbul Mujahideen. Another terrorist has been injured in the exchange of fire, police sources informed.

According to inputs from sources, a terrorist has been identified by the forces by the name Auqaaf – an associate of slain Haroon Abbas Wani.

“On a specific police input, an operation was launched late last night in Doda district. An encounter has started just now,” police spokesperson and Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Manoj Sheeri said. He said further details shall be shared later.

There has been a spurt in terror activities across J&K amid the coronavirus pandemic. Jammu’s Doda—comprising Doda, Kishtwar and Ramban districts which have been declared militancy free—have also witnessed terror attacks and related activities amid the lockdown.

A day after Hizbul Mujahideen’s chief Riyaz Naikoo was killed in Kashmir, security forces on May 7 arrested an overground worker of the outfit from Doda district. He was identified as Raqib Alam, 22, son of Seeraj Din of Swanda village.

Also read: In Hizbul’s Kashmir terror team, ‘military adviser’ is most brutal

Security forces on April 17 eliminated two Hizbul Mujahideen terrorists, who had hacked a special police officer (SPO) to death with an axe and critically injured another on April 13 in Dachhan area of Kishtwar district.

The National Investigation Agency (NIA) on Friday filed a charge sheet against six people, including three slain Hizbul Mujahideen (HM) terrorists and three arrested overground workers of the terror group, for providing support to Pakistan-based terrorists to kill BJP leader Anil Parihar and his brother Ajeet Parihar in Jammu’s Kishtwar.

Also read: Saifullah Mir aka Ghazi Haider is Hizbul’s new face of terror in Kashmir

The charge sheet has been filed in the special NIA Court, Jammu against the six accused under Sections 302, 120B, 109 and 34 of the Jammu and Kashmir State Ranbir Penal Code (RPC), Sections 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 38, 39 and 40 of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act and Section 25(1A) and 25 of the Arms Act.

The Parihar brothers were shot at point-blank range outside their house on November 1, 2018, when they were returning home after closing their shop.

Meanwhile, Pakistan also violated ceasefire in Malti and Digwar areas of Poonch district on Sunday morning prompting Indian Army to retaliate in equal measure.