The corridor was thrown open on November 9. File photo

Chandigarh, December 1

Punjab Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh on Sunday made it clear that devotees applying online to visit Kartarpur Sahib in Pakistan were not being charged facilitation fee by ‘sewa kendras’ set up by the state government and said anyone asked to pay any fee should inform his office directly.

Reacting to reports of pilgrims beings charged some kind of facilitation fee for applying through the online portal at the ‘sewa kendras’, which provide citizen centric services, the chief minister said there was no question of charging the devotees and the application process was totally free of cost.

“If any specific complaint is received by the state government, I will personally ensure strict action against the officials found guilty of such misconduct, which would be a total violation of my government’s decision to provide free application service to the devotees,” he said in a statement here.

Singh pointed out that he had been personally opposing the USD 20 fee imposed by the Pakistan government for devotees travelling to the historic Darbar Sahib Gurdwara in Kartarpur through the Kartarpur Corridor, as the imposition of any fee for such purpose was totally against the religious tenets of Sikhism.

In fact, India had never charged pilgrims from any country, including from Pakistan, for visiting and paying obeisance at any religious shrine, he said, adding that his government was completely against any deviation from this practice.

Singh said the ‘sewa kendras’ had been issued detailed guidelines for facilitating and processing online applications of those desirous of visiting the gurdwara at Kartarpur.

These guidelines did not include any facilitation fee, he said, adding that he would take serious note of any violation of these guidelines.

The Kartarpur Gurdwara, where Sikh faith founder Guru Nanak Dev spent the last days of his life, held a special place in the life of every Sikh, and in fact of every follower of the great Guru, and he, like his father and great grandfather before him, would do everything in his power to ensure that the revered shrine is preserved for Sikhs for centuries, Singh said.

The corridor, connecting Dera Baba Nanak in Gurdaspur district with historic Gurdwara Darbar Sahib in Kartarpur, Pakistan, the final resting place of Guru Nanak Dev, was thrown open on November 9.

On November 9, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had inaugurated the portion of the corridor falling on the Indian side while his Pakistan counterpart Imran Khan inaugurated corridor’s part on the Pakistani side, three days ahead of the 550^th birth anniversary of Guru Nanak Dev. — PTI

Import of military equipment for the Army, IAF and the Navy has been to the tune of Rs 42,974 crore or nearly $6 billion for the financial year ending March 31, 2019.

Ajay Banerjee

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, November 30

India’s plans on making military equipment on its own have two-pronged story. While orders to the domestic industry and defence public sector undertakings have grown, the import of equipment has also grown in the past five years.

Import of military equipment for the Army, IAF and the Navy has been to the tune of Rs 42,974 crore or nearly  $6 billion for the financial year ending March 31, 2019. The import was Rs 29,222 crore or $4.18 billion for the year ending March 2015. These are actual payments that have been made during a fiscal.

The Defence Ministry informed the Rajya Sabha about the spending on foreign sources in a written reply on November 25. The figures are based on the data received from the Comptroller General Defence Accounts (CGDA), the ministry said in its reply.ayments to international vendors are staggered. This includes some upfront payment followed by installments. Sweden-based think-tank Stockholm International Peace Research Institute in its March 2019 assessment, done for a five-year period (2014-2018), said India was the second largest importer.

Titled “Trends in International Arms Transfers-2018”, it says, “India was the world’s second largest importer of major arms in 2014-18 and accounted for 9.5 per cent of the global total.”  On India being labelled as the largest importer, the MoD said there was no authoritative and official information on India being the largest importer of weapons as no country officially reveals information on import of defence equipment.

During a period of five financial years starting April 2014 and ending March 31, 2019, India has spent Rs 1,62,283 crore ($ 23.2 billion) on foreign purchases. Giving out details of indigenous equipment, the MoD said the government in the past five years from 2014-15 to 2018-19 and current year till September 2019 had accorded Acceptance of Necessity (AoN) to 218 proposals, worth Rs 4,09,244 crore to promote domestic manufacturing.

Also India’s nine public sector companies now collectively have orders of $33.1 billion to make equipment that includes warships, planes, helicopters, tanks and missiles, among other items. The “order book” volume of defence PSUs was told in the Lok Sabha on November 27 and the collective total worked out to be Rs 2,31,931 crore.

• Rs 42,974 crore Import of military equipment for Army, IAF and Navy for financial year ending March 31, 2019
• Rs 29,222 crore Import for year ending March 2015
• Sweden-based think tank Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) in its March 2019 assessment said India was the second largest importer of major arms in 2014-18 and accounted for 9.5 per cent of the global total

The hideout was busted iRafiabad area of Sopore in north Kashmir

Srinagar, December 1

Security forces have busted a militant hideout in Baramulla district of Jammu and Kashmir and seized a cache of arms, ammunition and other items, including a satellite phone, police said on Sunday.

The hideout was busted in Rafiabad area of Sopore in north Kashmir, a police official said.

He said the recovery includes two AK rifles, 2000 AK rounds, three RPG rounds, two wireless sets and a satellite phone.

A case has been registered, the official said, adding that the incriminating material has been seized by the police and taken into records for further investigation.

Investigation in the matter is in progress, he added. —PTI

Chandigarh, November 30

The city-based 48 squadron of the IAF, also known as the Camels, commemorated its 60th anniversary here today.

Several service and social events were organised to mark the occasion, which were attended by Deupty Chief of Integrated Defence Staff, Air Marshal Rajeev Sachdeva, a former commanding officer and the senior most serving officer of the unit and Air Cmde HB Singh (retd), the senior most veteran of the unit.

The Camels were raised in November 1959 at Barrackpore in West Bengal and shifted to Chandigarh in May 1986. The squadron has operated three types of aircraft, the Dakota, C-119 Packet and the currently operational Russian origin An-32.

With its motto, ‘Courage Always Triumphs’, the squadron has a meritorious history of participating in every major conflict since inception, including the Chinese aggression in 1962, the Indo-Pak war in 1971, IPKF operations in Sri Lanka and the Kargil conflict.

It played a major role in the famous paradrop at Tangail in the heart of Bangladesh during the 1971 war.

In recognition of its service, the Camels were presented the President’s Standards by Dr APJ Abdul Kalam in February 2007. — TNS

The CAPF personnel have been working in tandem with the local police to maintain law and order. – File photo

Majid Jahangir

Tribune News Service

Srinagar, November 30

For the first time since the abrogation of Article 370, the Centre has begun to withdraw nearly 2,000 Central Armed Police Force (CAPF) personnel from the Kashmir valley owing to “improvement in the situation”. 

The CAPF personnel have been working in tandem with the local police to maintain law and order.

“We have started withdrawing forces. From today, 20 companies of additional forces deployed in various parts of Kashmir have started moving out,” a senior security official said. “Out of those being moved out, 16 are BSF companies and four are from the CRPF.” 

The officer said a decision on withdrawal of more companies would be taken in a phased manner, depending on the ground zero situation. The Valley saw unprecedented tension following the scrapping of state’s special status, but there were no big protests, contrary to the expectations of the government and reports of Intelligence agencies. The situation remains volatile, but under control.

While the forces faced little challenge on the law and order front, they are now fighting biting cold.

Tribune News Service

Ambala, November 30

Three Army men suffered injuries after the vehicle they were travelling in was hit by a canter from the rear at the Devi Nagar toll plaza here today.

The victims were identified as driver Jagjit, Subedar Bishnu Pada Mandal and Subedar Major Sankaran.

The canter driver has been identified as Jasbir Singh, a resident of Gurdaspur.

Jagjit, a resident of Punjab, in his complaint, stated that they were posted at the 1 RT brigade headquarters in Ambala Cantonment. They were on their way in a military jeep towards Patiala. Around 8:20 am, they were waiting in a queue at the toll plaza when a canter driver hit their vehicle from the rear.

Bishnu and Sankaran were rushed to the military hospital, Ambala Cantonment. A case has been registered under Sections 279, 337 and 427 of the IPC at the Ambala Sadar police station.

SHO Sadar police station SI Suresh Kumar said: “The driver was nabbed. He will be produced before a court on Sunday. The victims are stated to be out of danger.”

The about 2.5 lakh-personnel-strong BSF was raised on this day in 1965. File photo

New Delhi, December 1

The government’s decision to bifurcate the erstwhile state of Jammu and Kashmir has rendered the Line of Control (LoC) in Kashmir and the international border along Jammu and Punjab “very sensitive” as terrorists are making continuous efforts to infiltrate into India, a top BSF officer said on Sunday.

Border Security Force chief VK Johri, during his address on the occasion of the 55^th raising day of the force here, said his troops have avowed to ensure that the sanctity of the borders, specifically the India-Pakistan border, is ensured “at every cost”.

The LoC in Kashmir and international border along Pakistan in Jammu and Punjab have become “very sensitive” due to recent administrative decisions, Johri said while referring to the bifurcation of Jammu and Kashmir after the abrogation of Article 370.

“Anti-India forces are continuously trying to infiltrate (through the borders)…we assure the country that the BSF will foil all such bids,” the DG said.

He said the force has expanded its “strategic capabilities” by inclusion of new technology and weapons.

The Union government had abrogated Article 370 of the Constitution that gave special status to the state of Jammu and Kashmir on August 5 and the new bifurcated Union Territories of Jammu-Kashmir and Ladakh came into existence on October 31.

While the BSF guards the over 700 km-long LoC under the operational command of the Army, it also guards 2,289 km of international border with Pakistan that runs along Jammu, Punjab, Rajasthan and Gujarat.

The about 2.5 lakh-personnel-strong BSF was raised on this day in 1965 and is primarily tasked with guarding the India and Pakistan borders apart from rendering a variety of roles in the internal security domain. — PTI

A get-together of Packet aircraft crew in Chandigarh on Friday.

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, November 29

Twenty years after they last met, former IAF officers, who had served on the Packet transport aircraft that had played a crucial military and diplomatic role in the IAF’s early days, got together for a reunion here today.

Over a 100 persons attended the meet. Four officers came from the US to attend the event. Prominent among them were Air Commodore HB Singh (retd), the eldest in the group. Others at the event included Air Marshal BK Pandey, former AOC-in-C, Training Command, Air Marshal AK Goel, who had commanded the Chandigarh Air Force Station as an Air Commodore from 1992 to 1994 and Air Vice-Marshal Harimohan.

The reunion was described as an occasion to sustain and nurture the spirit of comradeship and the joy of working as a team, and also a moment to remember those who had made sacrifices in the line of duty.

The US made C-119 Packet was inducted into the IAF with 12 Squadron, the IAF’s oldest transport squadron, in February, 1954, and over the course of the next 32 years, it flew heads of state across continents, transported dignitaries like the Dalai Lama, ferried enemy generals who had laid down arms and played the all important role of sustaining the armed forces in remote corners of the country.

Packets were also detailed for cross-border assignments and overseas missions. Until supplemented by AN-12s, Packets were the backbone of the IAF transport fleet, tasked with the air maintenance of forward posts. They played a vital role in the 1962 Indo-China war and the 1971 Indo-Pak war. A little known fact about the Packet is that it flew Pakistan’s General AAK Niazi and other prisoner-of-war generals to Nagpur after the end of hostilities.