As far as People’s Liberation Army (PLA) Navy ships and submarines are concerned, the Indian Navy keeps a close eye and monitor their movements. We have maritime domain awareness of the deployment of PLA naval forces in the Indian Ocean region SUNIL LANBA, Navy chief

NEW DELHI: The Indian Navy said on Friday it was aware of the deployment and movement of Chinese naval ships and submarines in the Indian Ocean region, and that it has “kept a close eye” on them.

Addressing the annual Naval Day news conference here, Navy chief Sunil Lanba said a Chinese nuclear submarine was deployed in the Indian Ocean and it did a port call at Karachi harbour.

“As far as People’s Liberation Army (PLA) Navy ships and submarines are concerned, the Indian Navy keeps a close eye and monitor their movements. We have maritime domain awareness of the deployment of PLA naval forces in the Indian Ocean region (IOR).

“We launch surveillance missions in the form of aircraft and ships to keep a track of them. They had started deployment of their submarines from 2012,” he said.

The Navy also termed as “bogus” the claims made by Pakistan that an Indian submarine had entered into territorial waters.

“There was no Indian submarine deployed in the area where the Pakistani Navy is claiming it to be. As far as repelling a submarine of any nation goes, it is not an easy task and the claim made by Pakistani Navy is totally bogus. We deploy submarines where there is an operational necessity and we will continue to deploy them,” Lanba said.

The Pakistani Navy had last month claimed that it had prevented an Indian submarine from entering its territorial water. The Chief of Naval Staff said India’s primary area of interest was the IOR followed by Strait of Bab el Mandeb and the Strait of Hormuz.

NAGROTA/NEW DELHI: Army chief General Dalbir Singh visited the Nagrota-based 16 Corps headquarters on Wednesday and was briefed about Tuesday’s terror attack in which seven officers and jawans were killed.

Meanwhile, the Border Security Force (BSF) detected a narrow tunnel in Chamliyal area of Jammu on Wednesday, which it suspects may have been used by Pakistani infiltrators who were killed by the force a day before. The channel, which is extremely narrow and seems to be man-made, is the fourth tunnel detected in the Jammu area since 2012.

The BSF suspects the three heavily-armed infiltrators the force killed a day before may have crawled inside India using the tunnel to attack security installations in the area.

After the operation ended at the Chamliyal border outpost, the BSF started checking the fence in order to see where it was breached. The BSF detected an 80-metre long tunnel in Chamliyal area in Ramgarh sub sector of Samba district. This was the fourth such tunnel found along the IB since July 2012 In March this year, a trans-border tunnel originating from Pakistan was detected 30 metres inside India near Allah Mai De Kothe post in RS Pura sector of Jammu district JULY 2012: A 540-meters long trans-border tunnel was detected near Chalyari post of Chachwal village in Samba sector AUGUST 2014: Tunnel that ran 50 meters inside Indian Territory was detected in Pallanwala area of Akhnoor sector.

The Nagrota attack is considered the second biggest attack on an army cantonment after Uri.

The army chief spent around 25 minutes at the site of the encounter before heading back to Delhi. Earlier, he laid wreaths before the mortal remains of the seven soldiers at the technical airport in Jammu. The Nagrota attack is considered the second biggest attack on an army cantonment after the Uri strike on September 18.

To some extent, Gen Kayani and Gen Sharif have distanced the army from the Musharraf era of total control of the political process. That has been a sensible and pragmatic repositioning that Gen Bajwa must try and further.

Treading a tricky terrain: Gen Qamar Javed Bajwa, the new chief of the Pakistan army. He will have to retool the army to continue counterterrorism efforts.

ON Tuesday, General Qamar Javed Bajwa will start his tenure as chief of army staff, the fourth individual in Pakistan to do so in the 21st century. His predecessor Gen Raheel Sharif has given Gen Bajwa an excellent platform to build on, though circumstances will also shape how the chief will be able to proceed. Certainly, a priority must be to wind down large-scale military operations and retool the army for the next phase of counterterrorism operations. The rehabilitation of Fata, the return of IDPs and a new constitutional scheme for the war-ravaged tribal areas are other important tasks in which the military will have an influential role. Then there are the national security and foreign policy arenas in which the military has an outsize role, a de facto situation made all the more important because of severely strained relations with India and Afghanistan and a growing focus on ties with China and CPEC.While the army is an institution, the personality, preferences and personal relationships with leaders of other institutions of any army chief do matter. In this, it will remain to be seen what kind of leadership style Gen Bajwa has — the mould of the thinker that Gen Kayani cast himself in, the no-nonsense, action-oriented leader that Gen Sharif has been, or something else? But once again, the direction that is needed is relatively clear — the focus on counterterrorism and the need to initiate action in Punjab beyond the superficial steps taken so far. Clearly, there are matters of law and constitution to navigate here. It is the prerogative of the elected government to decide policy and the military must abide by decisions taken. However, just as Gen Sharif was able to impress on a reluctant PML-N government the need to fight the banned TTP and abandon the foolhardy path of seeking negotiations — a view the centre belatedly embraced — Gen Bajwa may be able to persuade the government of new steps to be taken. It must certainly not be done in a way that the government is seen to be under orders; there are cooperative ways to persuade the need for a change in policy.Finally, there is the issue of military interference in politics. To some extent, Kayani and Sharif have distanced the army from the Musharraf era of total control of the political process. That has been a sensible and pragmatic repositioning that Gen Bajwa must try and further. Where the civilians themselves seek military input and advice, the army chief can play a role that is democracy-enhancing and system-strengthening. Beyond that, however, all army chiefs need to be mindful of institutional separation and the constitutional scheme of things. At no point would Gen Sharif have gained more than he would have lost had he opted to wade deep into the political process. Politics for politicians, army for national defence.Apolitical, easy-going & compassionate

Lt Gen Qamar Javed Bajwa, something of a dark horse in this race for the post of COAS, is currently serving at the GHQ as Inspector General of Training and Evaluation — the position Gen Sharif held before becoming the army chief. He has commanded the 10 Corps, the army’s largest, which is responsible for the area along the Line of Control (LoC). Lt Gen Bajwa has extensive experience of handling affairs in Kashmir and the northern areas of the country. As a major general, he led the Force Command Northern Areas. He also served in the 10 Corps as lieutenant colonel, where he was GSO.Despite his extensive involvement with Kashmir and northern areas, he is said to consider extremism a bigger threat for the country than India. He has served with a UN mission in Congo as a brigade commander, alongside former Indian Army chief Gen Bikram Singh, who was also there as a division commander. He has previously also remained the commandant of the Infantry School in Quetta. His military colleagues say he is not attention-seeking and remains well-connected with his troops.“He is extremely professional, but very easy-going and full of compassion,” an officer who had served under him said, adding that he was not protocol-minded either. Gen Bajwa is also said to be an apolitical person without any biases. He is from the infantry’s Baloch Regiment, which has given three officers to the post of army chief — Gen Yahya Khan, Gen Aslam Beg and Gen Kayani.By arrangement with the Dawn

Gen Qamar Javed Bajwa took over as new Pak army chief on Tuesday.

Simran Sodhi

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, November 29

Pakistan is pushing hard for a resumption of dialogue with India on the sidelines of the Heart of Asia Conference being held in Amritsar on Sunday. India has so far been noncommittal to the offer and reiterated its position that “talks and terror cannot go together”.Sartaj Aziz, Pakistan’s Foreign Affairs Adviser, will travel to the historic city on December 4 and as of now, his itinerary indicates he will return home the same day.Aziz has already indicated Pakistan is ready for talks in Amritsar and yesterday only, country’s High Commissioner to India Abdul Basit said Islamabad was ready for unconditional talks with India. Sources in the government said it would be difficult for India to initiate a dialogue with Pakistan, especially in the wake of the recent Uri terror attack.Also, the worsening situation across the Line of Control (LoC) and the international border would not give India much confidence in resuming talks. To put pressure on India, Pakistan also delayed clearances to a special flight of Home Minister Rajnath Singh, who is representing India at Fidel Castro’s funeral in Cuba.Another factor is a change of guard in the Pakistan army — Gen Qamar Javed Bajwa today took charge as the army chief from Gen Raheel Sharif. Bajwa is believed to be less of a hawk when it comes to India and also pro-democracy, factors that worked in his favour and led to his elevation.Sources in the government, however, maintain one has to “wait and watch” and see how the situation changes with Bajwa at the helm. External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj, who is currently unwell, will skip the conference, which will see Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Afghan President Ashraf Ghani in attendance.NSA Ajit Doval and Foreign Secretary S Jaishankar are expected to accompany the PM to the conference on Sunday and Pakistan is hoping the presence of India’s top officials might squeeze in a bilateral to restart a dialogue.

Sartaj Aziz was speaking in the National Assembly

Islamabad, November 26

Pakistan has vowed to defend its borders, waters and space against any attacks by the neighbouring country, however, reiterating its stance that it would not respond in any kind to Indian aggression.Adviser to the Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif on Foreign Affairs Sartaj Aziz, speaking in the National Assembly on Friday, hinted that talks with India would take place only if Kashmir issue was included in the agenda.“We are ready for a dialogue with India if the Kashmir issue is included [in the agenda],” the Dawn quoted Aziz as saying in his eight-minute-long speech on the floor of the House.

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Alleging that Indian forces had defied all international norms by attacking an ambulance at the LoC, he said the situation had escalated following the attack in which 11 people were killed.Aziz said India wanted to divert the world’s attention away from the Kashmir issue.The adviser said the Kashmir cause is actively being taken forward by Pakistan since Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif delivered his speech at the UN General Assembly. “It is an indigenous freedom movement…led by youth. We will continue political, diplomatic and moral support to Kashmiris,” Aziz said.Urging political parties to keep away from making political points on Kashmir and the LoC, he said it gave a wrong message to the rest of the world.Asserting that Pakistan would not come under any pressure, Aziz said a befitting response would be given to India for any aggression in the border areas. ANI

Says all river water disputes need to resolved through talks; appeals to countrymen to opt for phone banking; thanks people for taking currency ban in stride

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday vowed to utilise “every drop” of the Sutlej-Ravi-Beas river waters that has been flowing over to Pakistan, for the benefit of farmers of border states, especially Punjab and Jammu and Kashmir. “These rivers, as per the Indus water treaty, belong to India and our farmers. I will utilise every drop of it ,” Modi said at the foundation stone-laying ceremony of the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) here on Friday.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi addressing the gathering during the foundation stone­laying ceremony of

“Every drop will be utilised by the farmers of Punjab and Jammu and Kashmir and other states. I am committed to this,” the Prime Minister said.

The PM’s statement also holds significance in the wake of the SYL canal imbroglio in which the Badal regime in Punjab refused to abide by the apex court judgment and returned the land acquired for the canal to the owners. Without mentioning the SYL issue, he said all water disputes could be resolved through talks. “We are with Badal sahib on water issue,” he, however, said.

He blamed the previous successive governments for water disputes and under-utilisation of the natural resources.

ROOTS FOR MOBILE BANKING

A day after the opposition’s uproar against demonetisation in the Parliament, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday looked rather firm on his move, appealing to the countrymen to go for phone-banking or e-banking.

“Mobile phones are your wallet and your banks now. Download the banking apps on your phones and curb corruption,” the Prime Minister said at the foundation stone-laying ceremony of All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) here.

He said the number of mobile connections was four times the number of family units in the country.

Acknowledging the harassment to the common people due to cash crunch, Modi said he was thankful to the people of the country “for standing by us (NDA regime) in this mission of demonetisation and bearing the shortlived brunt”.

The PM, however, skipped a reply to his predecessor Dr Manmohan Singh’s claim that this move initiated by Modi will lead to 2% decline in the growth of country’s gross domestic product (GDP) and people may “lose faith in currency and banking system”.

The PM also appealed to the information technology (IT) experts in universities and other agencies to train the people in net-banking. “We have taken this step to save the poor people and to save the middle class from exploitation. This will end all unaccounted transactions and rid us of fake currency,” he said.

ADVISES PAK TO FIGHT TERROR, NOT INDIA

The Prime Minister advised the regime in Pakistan “to fight corruption and black money in their country, if they want to fight terror”.

He said people in India were equally pained due to terror strikes in Pakistan.

“I want to tell the people of Pakistan that we are also pained for the deaths of children in Peshawar,” he said.

Punjab chief minister Parkash SIngh Badal, deputy CM Sukhbir Singh Badal, Union minister Harsimrat Kaur Badal and Union health minister Jgat Prakash Nadda were among those present on the occasion.

New York, November 24

Alarmed by the escalation of tension with India along the LoC, Pakistan today asked the UN to act before the situation snowballs into a “full-fledged crisis”.Pakistan’s Ambassador to the UN Maleeha Lodhi met Deputy UN Secretary General Jan Eliasson and the Chef de Cabinet of the Secretary General Edmond Mulet and alleged that the situation along the Line of Control (LoC) posed a “grave threat to international peace and security”.Lodhi, according to a statement issued by the Permanent Mission of Pakistan to the UN, alleged that escalating tensions on the LoC “was a deliberate attempt” by India to “divert the attention of the international community from the gross human right violations being committed” by it in Kashmir.Alleging that the attack on an ambulance trying to evacuate the injured was a particularly “abhorrent act” that was a breach of the most fundamental legal and humanitarian laws, Lodhi urged the UN to act before the escalating tensions snowballed into a full-fledged crisis.The UN Department of Peace Keeping Operations was separately asked to mobilise United Nations Military Observer Group in India and Pakistan (UNMOGIP) to effectively monitor the LoC and the Working Boundary as a step to help deescalate tensions between the two. — PTI

Pakistan reaches out to United Nations over LoC tension with India

Pakistan’s Ambassador to the UN Maleeha Lodhi met Deputy UN Secretary General Jan Eliasson

New York, November 24Alarmed by the escalation of tension with India along the LoC, Pakistan on Thursday asked the UN to act before the situation snowballed into a “full-fledged crisis”.Pakistan’s Ambassador to the UN Maleeha Lodhi met Deputy UN Secretary General Jan Eliasson and the Chef de Cabinet of the Secretary General Edmond Mulet during which she alleged that the situation along the Line of Control (LoC) posed a “grave threat to international peace and security”.

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Lodhi, according to a statement issued by the Permanent Mission of Pakistan to the UN, in her meeting with UN officials alleged that escalating tensions on the LoC “was a deliberate attempt” by India to “divert the attention of the international community from the gross human rights violations being committed” by it in Kashmir.Alleging that the attack on an ambulance trying to evacuate the injured was a particularly “abhorrent act” that was a breach of the most fundamental legal and humanitarian laws, Lodhi urged the UN to act before the escalating tensions snowballed into a full-fledged crisis.The UN Department of Peace Keeping Operations was separately asked to mobilise United Nations Military Observer Group in India and Pakistan (UNMOGIP) to effectively monitor the LoC and the Working Boundary as a step to help de-escalate tensions between India and Pakistan, a statement said.Pakistan Army on Wednesday said seven people, including three of its soldiers, were killed in an exchange of fire with Indian troops on the LoC.The clash occurred a day after India warned of retribution after losing three soldiers in Pakistan firing and after Pakistan on Wednesday rejected as “false” and “baseless” the charges that the body of an Indian soldier was mutilated by Pakistani soldiers in a cross LoC-attack. PTI

Army pays tributes to the braveheart
The Army pays tributes to three soldiers — Gunner Manoj Kumar Kushwah, Rifleman Prabhu Singh and Rifleman Shashank Kumar Singh — in Srinagar on Wednesday. Tribune photo
Tribune News Service
Srinagar, November 23
Rifleman Prabhu Singh would have celebrated his 25th birthday today and may have been gifted flowers. Instead a floral wreath was laid on his body today during a ceremony here to pay tributes to the fallen soldiers.
Three soldiers of 57 Rashtriya Rifles battalion, including Prabhu Singh, were killed in Pakistani action in the Machil sector in the frontier district of Kupwara on Tuesday. The body of one of the soldiers was mutilated.
The Army today paid rich tributes to the three soldiers Gunner Manoj Kumar Kushwah, Rifleman Prabhu Singh and Rifleman Shashank Kumar Singh at the Army’s Srinagar-based headquarters of 15 Corps.
Prabu Singh, a resident of Khirjankhas village in Jodhpur district of Rajasthan, is survived by his wife.
Kushwah, a resident of Daddupur village in Gazipur district of Uttar Pradesh, is survived his wife and two children Muskan, 6 and Manav, 4.
Shashank, a resident of Nasiruddin Pur of Gazipur in Uttar Pradesh, is survived by his mother.
General Officer Commanding of Chinar Corps Lt Gen JS Sandhu and all ranks paid their homage to the three slain soldiers in the solemn wreath-laying ceremony.
“The trio is remembered by their comrades for their commitment and dedication to duty,” an Army spokesman said after the ceremony.
The mortal remains of the martyrs will be flown to their native places tomorrow where the last rites will be held with full military honours.
“The Army stands beside the families of the bravehearts in this hour of grief and remains committed to their well being in future,” the spokesman said.

Cong condemns killing of soldiers

• Jammu: The JKPCC has condemned the cowardly act of Pakistan in beheading a soldier and killing of two other jawans in Machil sector besides resorting to heavy shelling in border areas targeting civilian population. JKPCC chief GA Mir it was an act of provocation and violation of all international norms. TNS

Indian soldiers patrolling near the Line of Control in J&K. — File photo

Majid Jahangir

Tribune News Service

Srinagar, November 22

Three soldiers were killed and body of one of them was mutilated at Machil sector in Jammu & Kashmir’s frontier district of Kupwara on Tuesday. While Army said the jawans were killed close to the Line of Control in “action”, sources said there was a possibility the action may have been carried out by BAT (Border Action Team) with support of Pakistani Army. (Follow The Tribune on Facebook; and Twitter @thetribunechd)The army has vowed to revenge soldiers killings. “Three soldiers killed in action on LC in Machhal. Body of one soldier mutilated, retribution will be heavy for this cowardly act,” Army northern command said in a tweet.Sources said the firing took place at Kumgari near Shalabatu at around 1 pm.This is the second such incident of mutilation of the body of an Indian soldier on the LoC since October 29. Earlier, the Pakistani military said Indian firing killed at least four Pakistani nationals and injured 10 others in different sectors along the Line of Control (LoC).”There are reports of heavy casualties of Indian soldiers due to effective retaliatory fire by Pakistani troops,” a statement from the ISPR said late Monday. — With agencies