‘Unplanned’ stopover at Lahore on way back from Kabul signals start of new journey in vexed bilateral ties

Simran Sodhi & PTI,New Delhi/Lahore, Dec 25

Prime Minister Narendra Modi today arrived in Lahore for a meeting with his Pakistani counterpart Nawaz Sharif, the first visit to Pakistan by an Indian premier in more than 10 years. Government officials in Delhi maintain that the visit was ‘unplanned’ and that it all started with Modi’s phone call to Sharif this morning. The latter invited him to stop by and the PM decided to do so. However, there were whispers in the South Block that a prime ministerial visit could not have been unplanned. Editorial: Modi in LahorePakistan, after the Modi-Sharif meeting, said the visit marked the start of  a comprehensive dialogue between the two countries. The Pakistan foreign secretary called the visit a goodwill gesture. “That’s like a statesman,” External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj tweeted about Modi’s Pakistan visit. Swaraj’s successful visit to Islamabad recently provided the momentum for the Prime Minister’s surprise visit today, sources said. Modi was received by Sharif with a warm hug on the tarmac of the Allama Iqbal International Airport.He was returning home after a day-long trip to Afghanistan on the conclusion of a two-day visit to Russia. Modi had travelled to Russia in an Air India jumbo flight and an Indian Air Force aircraft followed later. After the Russia leg, most officials were sent back on the AI flight while the PM travelled to Kabul on the IAF plane.Modi was accorded a red carpet welcome on his arrival at Lahore, 20 minutes past four in the evening. He then took a chopper to Sharif’s palatial residence in Raiwind on the outskirts of Lahore.“Looking forward to meeting PM Nawaz Sharif in Lahore today afternoon, where I will drop by on my way back to Delhi,” tweeted Modi, as he wound up his visit to Afghanistan.  It was the PM’s tweet that broke the news about his stopover in Lahore. “Spoke to PM Nawaz Sharif & wished him on his birthday,” Modi said in another tweet. Sharif turned 66 today. He shares his birthday with Atal Bihari Vajpayee and Mohammad Ali Jinnah, founder of Pakistan. The visit came more than two weeks after Modi and Sharif had an unscheduled meeting at climate change talks in Paris.Ties between India and Pakistan have witnessed some positive developments after a chill that lasted  several months. The two countries decided to start a comprehensive dialogue after the Modi-Sharif meeting in Paris.The last time that an Indian Prime Minister visited Pakistan was in 2004. Atal Bihari Vajpayee had then broken the ice between the two countries. Modi visited Pakistan today, that happened to be Vajpayee’s 91st birthday. The Pakistani authorities put security on high alert in Lahore, especially around the airport, after the announcement of Modi’s brief visit to the eastern city.A PML-N source said that Sharif had invited Modi for the marriage of his granddaughter Mehrun Nisa at his Raiwind residence. “Welcome to Pakistan @narendramodi. Constant engagement is the only way to resolve all outstanding issues,” PPP chairperson Bilawal Bhutto Zardari tweeted.Since the now famous Paris handshake on November 30 when both PMs had a brief chat, India-Pakistan relations have moved forward rapidly. The two National Security Advisers met in Bangkok on December 6 and External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj travelled to Islamabad for a multilateral conference on December 8-9. There it was decided that the ‘comprehensive composite dialogue’ would be resumed and that the Foreign Secretaries of the two countries would meet soon. They are expected to do so on January 15.Modi returned to New Delhi late in the evening. “Breakfast in Kabul, tea in Lahore & dinner in Delhi! PM @narendramodi returns after a unique day in Indian diplomacy,” MEA spokesman Vikas Swarup tweeted. Meanwhile Pakistan Foreign Secretary Aizaz Ahmad Chaudhry said: “PM Modi’s visit was not a planned one. It was organised on a short notice after Mr Modi expressed his wish to come here en route to Delhi from Afghanistan.”

Good morning.
Day 3.
17 Dec 2015
Today was bit relaxed day. War Veteran Group was divided in two; ladies to proceeded, after  B’fast to do the most awaited job of shopping in Dhaka, with money changed to Dollar & then to Takas of Bangladesh Currency to buy some famed silk Saries of  B’desh escorted by the female Liaison Officers of B’desh Army, Air force &  Navy. Happy hunting !
Veterans after rest (since some of them past 80, one being 1947 Commissioned) breakfast moved at 10am to have interaction with all three Service Chiefs of Air Force( Bangladesh Armed Force or short BAF), Navy & then Army HQ.
All three Service Chiefs had very frank interaction with Veterans after giving overview about their Respective Wings of Services Viz; BAF, BN, BDA which was followed by light refreshment. Veteran were invited to ask questions, if any, about their Services, Service Conditions, resettlement of ESM, their health, housing etc. Army Chief briefed that he reports directly to PM & no one else. MOD us basically to do jobs like budgeting, discipline coordination, promotions, housing etc. He sits in Budget Committee chairs by PM since he holds the rank of Addl Secy Govt of B’desh. As per him, invariably, all projections are generally accepted by the Govt in the annual Budget.
Incidentally, a senior Army Officer is in charge of all Projects at National level & he directly interacts with the PM.
Though their strength of Services is at conservative level as compared to India, obviously because of size & national threat perception but has all elements of training, administration, health, housing welfare of very high standard. After interaction, Indian Delegation
returned to Hotel around 2.15 pm. After was a relaxed affair. Some of the Veterans interacted with the Media arranged by Brig Jaggi Nanda, a smart, very professional, resourceful, dynamic Indian Army Rep in Dhaka, B’desh.
Evening a  Cultural Programme was organised which was very well attended.
A very large gathering had cone to witness this Cultural Programme.
Returned around 9pm to Hotel, did bit packing for next day’s picnic to an out station & lake by Helicopter ride in MI 17 Helicopters.
Overall it was a nice day.
Next dispatch will be on 19th Dec after  our return.

Bahadur Singh

For Bathinda Tribune

(Nikhila)

Tribune News Service

Bathinda, December 9

The 12-day long desert storm motorcycle expedition of Sarvashreshth Regiment culminated at Bathinda today. The expedition covered a total distance of 1,850 km, starting from Bathinda and explored the arid desert terrain of Rajasthan. The team had a refreshing and challenging exposure of the rugged terrain during the course of the expedition, traversing through the desert area in close proximity of the border.On arrival, the team members were accorded a grand welcome by the Sarvada Agrani Brigade. The senior officers of the station welcomed the team and congratulated each member of the team on their performance.The expedition team displayed great and camaraderie in living off the land with no administrative back-up for survival in the inhospitable desert terrain. The team also took the opportunity of promoting the Army in remote border villages and by interacting with the youth in various schools.The team also won accolades for its initiative to inspire the youth to join the Armed Forces. Brigadier Vinay Gupta, commander of the Sarvada Agrani Brigade, complimented the team leader for the superlative conduct during the expedition and expressed the hope that more such expeditions will be undertaken to inculcate a spirit of adventure and further the positive image of the Indian Army.

GEN KV KRISHNA RAO – THE FARSIGHTED GENERAL

Recently my wife and I were in Secunderabad in connections with the annual get-together of my 34th NDA Course. While there I sought permission from General KV Krishna Rao, our 11th Chief of the Army Staff, to meet him in connection with a book I am writing on General Kumaramangalam.
He most graciously accepted to meet us and invited us to his house on the morning of 03 November 2015. The General, 93 years of age, is, by the grace of God, hale and hearty. He does not use spectacles; though a bit hard of hearing does not use hearing aid and does not use a computer though he has written three voluminous books – an autobiography, one on leadership and the third a study on national security. He is an engrossing talker and it becomes difficult to keep track of the passage of time in his presence as he narrates episode after episode.
KV Krishna Rao was a brigadier when Kumaramangalam was the Vice Chief. KVK had never in his life asked for any specific posting but in 1965, on approval for promotion to the rank of brigadier the MS asked him for his preference. He had opted to command 114 Mountain Brigade deployed at Dham Chok and Daulat Beg Oldie, Ladhak and his request had been granted.
He exercised the battalions of his brigade in a realistic manner which was appreciated by the Western Army Commander Lieutenant Gen Harbakash Singh, the man who had saved Punjab in 1965, and Gen Kumaramangalam.
When he finished his command tenure he was sent to do the course at the Imperial Defence College, UK, now called RCDS. No sooner had he landed back in India after the course when Lt Gen Sartaj Singh, DMO, told him that the Gen PP Kumaramangalam, by then the Chief, wanted him to produce an appreciation on what the Commander in Chief of Pakistan would do. KVK was to himself set the aim and terms of reference as would have been given out by their President, Field Marshal Ayub Khan. He had a fortnight to write the appreciation.
Having written the appreciation Krishna Rao presented it to the DMO. He approved of it and asked him to take it to the Vice Chief, Lt Gen KS Katoch who in turn saw the value in it and arranged for the Chief, Gen Kumaramangalam himself to review it.
The high point of Krishna Rao’s career was in 1975 when he was GOC 16 Corps. General Raina, the then chief, appointed him as the Chairman of the Experts Committee constituted to develop a twenty-year perspective on reorganization and modernization of the Army. Eminent generals such as K Sundarji and ML Chibber were members of the committee. They visited Gen Kumaramangalam and Field Marshal Manekshaw at their residences at Hosur and Wellington respectively.
After nearly an hour of interesting interaction we bade good bye to the General and left him after signing his visitor’s book.

Tribune News Service
BHIWANI, NOVEMBER 30
After waiting for several hours for a PGIMS, Rohtak, team to collect the body of Sub Pratap Singh Jangra(retd), who had pledged to donate his body , his family members today performed the last rites at Patuwas village.
Sheela Devi and Sunita Devi, two of the six daughters of Pratap Singh Jangra, told media that their father died at Base Military Hospital, New Delhi, yesterday.
“Our father had pledged to donate his body. We contacted the PGIMS authorities several times today but after getting no satisfactorily reply, we had to perform the last rites”, they said. Dr Sudha Chhabra, head, anatomy, Rohtak medical college, however, said that they were not contacted by the deceased’s family members.

Jerusalem, November 27

For the first time, the Israeli military has successfully tested from a ship an advanced surface-to-air missile co-developed with India which will be deployed to secure vital offshore assets like gas fields.“A Barak 8 missile fired from an Israeli Navy ship successfully intercepted an enemy target registering 100 per cent success,” Israeli military sources said.The Barak 8 was tested from a ship for the first time and intercepted a small drone simulating an enemy craft. The system extends the range of Israel’s aerial defence and should be operational in about two years.“The next test on the system is likely to be held in December this year onboard an Indian navy vessel,” they said.INS Kolkata is the Indian ship likely to be used for testing as the launchers and radars to track missiles are already installed on the vessel.The missile is being jointly developed by the Defence Research & Development Organisation (DRDO), Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI), Israel’s Administration for the Development of Weapons and Technological Infrastructure, Elta Systems, Rafael and other companies.Bharat Dynamics Limited (BDL) will be assigned the task of producing the missiles with 32 initial ones to be fitted on INS Kolkata.Israeli security sources said the missile system would be deployed to secure offshore gas fields.It will help defend Israeli navy ships from anti-ship missiles like the Yakhont missile.Designed to defend against a variety of short-to-long- range airborne threats, including fixed-wing aircraft, helicopters, drones and projectiles, Barak-8 incorporates a state-of-the-art phased array multi-mission radar, two-way data link and a flexible command and control system, enabling users to simultaneously engage multiple targets day and night and in all-weather conditions, defence sources here said. — PTI
On target
The missile has a range of 80 km
It has the ability to simultaneously engage 12 targets with 24 missiles
15 warships, including the Vikramaditya andunder-construction Vikrant, will have the missile
It will guarantee protection to a ship from an aircraft and even sea-skimming cruise missile
Barak-8 has been designed to defend naval vessels against incoming missiles, planes and drones
The Barak 8 (Hebrew word for lightning) was tested from a ship for the first time

INdian army is short of as many as 11238 officers and it is increasing year after year. The reason is that officers leave the army on superannuation or take voluntary retirement to join more lucrative jobs in private or multi-national companies.
AN ARMY officer is a leader of soldiers he commands. He leads them into battle. On his, foresight, patience, perseverance and moral courage depends the outcome of a battle. If the officer is physically fit, mentally alert and spiritually robust and well trained to handle his job, has acquired leadership qualities, then he will command the respect of soldiers he leads. They will have implicit faith in him and carry out his orders even if they have to risk their lives for it. It is the officer who leads his soldiers from the front, practices what he preaches and keeps the honour, safety and welfare of his country first always and every time. He cares for men under his command in the same way and puts his own safety and welfare last always and every time.An army officer of this calibre is trained at the National Defence Academy, Khadakwasla and the Indian Military Academy, Dehra Dun. On successful completion of his training when a gentleman cadet passes out of his alma mater he is a perfect model of an officer and a gentleman.
Locating officer material
Where is the officer material found? Well, find the potential officer among citizens of India in average homes in towns and villages and train him to perfection. An officer is not born but made. In the medieval age it was believed that officers come from among the royalty alone or from the ruling classes or the so-called martial classes. However, the two world wars proved that only the aforesaid specified classes cannot provide the large number of officers needed by the armed forces. The common folks rose to the occasion and provided good officer material that was trained to become fine officers and leaders of men who won battles. So far so good. Now in the 21st century, our Indian Army is facing an acute shortage of officers and many units are so deficient of officers that their battle efficiency is adversely affected. It has so happened because over a period of time the officers in the army lost luster and were down- graded in the social set up. It is unbelievable but true. As of now, the Indian army is short of as many as 11238 officers and does not know where to get them from. The shortage of officers is increasing year after year. The reason is that more officers leave the army on superannuation or take voluntary retirement to join more lucrative jobs in private or multi-national companies. In the year 2008, there was an intake of 1500 officers but as many as 1800 officers said good bye to the uniformed service. It was hoped that the economic recession and shrinkage of job opportunities elsewhere will reroute talented young men to the officer cadre of the army. Sadly it did not happen. The youth don’t find the army service attractive enough to make a bid for it in preference to becoming an executive in a multinational company or joining the Indian administrative service to become administrators. It is understood that big money lies there and not in the army service. Of course, patriotism attracts the youth to the army to defend the motherland. With a rise in external and internal threats and Islamist terrorism gaining ground, some young men feel that joining the army is a step forward towards patriotism. The Sixth Pay Commission’s recommendations and their implementation provide a silver lining to the dark cloud. The pay and perks are now fairly attractive and it is hoped that the youth will now prefer the army to a non-cushy job in the civil.
Mental make up of men and women
The school syllabus may have to be moulded in such a way that patriotism, defence of the nation and stories eulogising gallantry and heroic actions of our leaders of soldiers in the past like Maharana Pratap, Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj, men of principles and action of our legendary past like Maryada Purushottam Shri Ram and Yogeshwar Shri Krishna are taught to mould minds of young men and women. Such motivated men and women will not only join the armed forces but also motivate others to follow suit. Young women who don’t join the army have another important role to play. They may opt to marry army officers and encourage their female friends to follow suit. If pretty young women in large numbers come forward to marry army officers, the stock of army officers in social circles goes up. This in turn provides indirect motivation to other young men to join the corps of officers and serve the nation. One should remember that marriage is the bedrock of happy family life. A happy family is the basic unit that makes a nation happy. A happy nation thinks well, acts well and does problem solving effectively. Thereafter, winning a battle becomes a matter of battle procedure and the overawed enemy either turns tail or lays down arms in surrender. Thus a correct mental make -up that leads to happiness of the family is a battle winning factor. An army that comes to be known as a winner attracts more young men who are good officer material. Thus, it is a chain reaction of the good attracting the good leading to the better and the best in life.
Amelioration of hard living
A whispering campaign among young nubile girls in colleges has had adverse effect on army officers finding good brides. The whisper pertained to the hard living conditions in non-peace stations and hard peace stations. The newly-wed couples don’t mind living in one-room tenements in hard peace stations as it is quite cosy. In some stations these are called ‘honeymoon quarters or mercy quarters’. However, some who stay in transit camps find the fixed menu, the bill of fare rather a bore and an appetite killer. Once a bride complained of repeat bill of fare and got a polite reply “Madam, this is a transit officers mess. Here the officers change, not the menu.” Jokes apart. One needs a good will power to survive on that kind of food for a long time. With the passage of time, children born and grow up. The problem of education arises. Fortunately, the army schools have ameliorated the educational hardship quite a bit but not wholly. The higher education is also now being looked after by the army in medical and technical fields. This should be made known to rank and file so that all concerned know that the army life is now liveable and the anti-publicity is a legacy of the lingering past. It will indeed put paid to civilian establishments stealing the talented youth from the army. Guarding its youth pool and putting a stop to brain drain will enrich the corps of officers day by day. The army should keep the media, both print and electronic, on its right side so that the good word is spread to every nook and corner of the country. The good word is: the Indian army looks after its personnel and the future of the new generation is bright. Join the corps of officers of the Indian Army and believe in the dictum – See more at: http://www.merinews.com/article/need-to-check-shortage-of-officers-in-indian-army/15788266.shtml#sthash.dHVTqOP5.dpuf