!!!Ex.SERVICEMEN JOINT ACTION FRONT!!!

PRINT MEDIA NEWS --25 SEP 2011

2011-09-25T06:13:00.000+05:30

Indian Air Force Honours Indian Army Signal Regiment
                                               By Lieut Colonel Pritam Singh Jauhal World War II Veteran.
I was delighted to receive my Posting Order to 1 Air Formation Signal Regiment located at New Delhi, after taking active part in 1965 Indo-Pak War as Deputy Chief Signal Officer Pathankot, post created only for the War.
On taking over my new Regiment on June 24,1966, to my dismay I discovered that it was housed in old Wartime Hutments, which leaked during rains without exception. I was also flabbergasted to learn that No Senior Air Force Commander had ever visited it.
A few days later, I was called for an interview with my new Boss Air Marshal Shivdev Singh AOC-in-C Western Air Command. He was known as a “Hard Task Master”. All Air Force Unit Commanders/Officers under his command were scared to face him. Having served under late Colonel (later Maj Gen) S N Antia, also a Hard Task Master in 5 Div Sig Regt, I had good experience of strict Commanders. I was, therefore, not the least jittery to face my new Boss.
During the interview the AOC-in-C asked me “Are you satisfied with taking over the Regiment“? I replied in affirmative. He then emphasized that he wants excellent Land Line Communications in his Command and nothing short of that. “I shall do my best Sir“ I responded. He further said “I know you Army-types are fond of traveling in jeeps but you don’t have to waste your time by travelling in jeeps. You take an aircraft for going to the Airfields instead. This, being extremely encouraging direction from my new Boss, I was extremely pleased and thanked him for it immensely.
The problem of how to go about getting new accommodation built for my Regiment kept bothering me all the time. After nearly a year, I decided to request the AO C-in-C to pay a visit to my Regiment followed by a Lunch in the Officers Mess which was housed in a Store Tent and let him see the state of affairs in the Regiment for himself. I discussed my plan with Air Commodore S P Singh, Chief Signal Officer (C S O) Western Air Command. He liked it and promised to support it. I requested him to convey my request for the visit to the AO C-in-C. He confirmed a couple of days later that my request has been accepted by the AOC-in-C.
Immediately I held a Durbar of all ranks of the Regiment and explained to them that this was an excellent opportunity for us to get new accommodation sanctioned by the AOC-in-C. In the two weeks we had for preparation for the visit, they all worked extremely hard and brought the Regiment to a tip-top shape.
On the day of the visit, the AOC-in-C accompanied by the C S O arrived in my Regiment. I received him with a smart salute at the Regiment Quarter Guard. The Guard Commander turned out the Guard and gave him a General Salute. He inspected the Guard with keen interest. After that I took him around and showed demonstrations in Cable Laying, Road Crossing, use of ACT 1+3 and S+DX, working of a Teleprinters, Unit Lines, Stores, Recreation Room, Cook House and Dinning Hall, M T Park, Officers Mess   and all single Officers living in dug-out 180 lbs tents. Imagine those were the conditions in which my Regiment used to function during 1966 in New Delhi!!!. How would you like that?
On the day of AOC-in-C’s visit, being Summer, it was exceedingly hot. I took him to my Office, which incidentally also had leaky spots. There he was served with badly needed cold soft drink which I am positive he liked. At that time I discussed with him all the problems faced by my Regiment including the Airfields where my men were deployed for providing Land Lines Communications. The requirement of new accommodation for my Regiment Headquarters at Palam topped the list. During my frank and elaborate discussions, I got an impression that the AOC-in-C was more than satisfied with everything I requested him to sanction for my Regiment.
On completion of the discussions, I guided the AOC in-C to the Officers Mess where three pedestal fans were circulating air at full speed, but because of the prevailing excessive heat they hardly had any effect on human beings.
I had detailed the junior-most Lieutenant of my Regiment to take care of the AOC-in-C’s drinks and four Lieutenants to keep him company. The AOC-in-C appeared so happy that he soon became informal with the Youngsters and started narrating personal stories of his younger days. He said that when he was posted to a Wing, after his Fighter-Pilot training, he was detailed to disburse pay to Other Ranks. He outright objected and said that being a Fighter Pilot, he does not have to do such administrative jobs. But on advice from his Superiors, he obeyed the order and disbursed the pay. In the bargain he ran short of Rs 250/- which he paid from his pocket.
With the Lunch over, the AOC-in-C made an announcement saying that he was exceedingly happy with what he has seen in the Regiment as well as with the excellent Land Lines Communications provided by it for the Air Force both during War and Peace. He has therefore, decided to reward it appropriately.
Hearing that announcement from the Horse’s mouth, the C S O looked at me and said “Colonel Jauhal it is time for you to apprise the AOC-in-C in case, you want anything special from him”. Being overwhelmed with the situation, I informed the AOC-in-C that whenever I meet to local Army Officers and tell them that my Regiment is housed in old War-time hutments, they do not speak very highly of the Air Force. With their adverse remarks against the Air Force, I feel embarrassed. My first and foremost request to you therefore Sir is to sanction new accommodation for my Regiment at Palam. The AOC-in-C concurred without hesitation. He further said that, that is not enough, you deserve more than that. He said that his Command had procured a Trophy for the Air Chief of Iraq, who was to visit the Air Command, but due to ill-health, he cancelled his visit. I have decided to award that Trophy to the Signal Regiment for its excellent accomplishments.
As I thanked the AOC-in-C for his kindness and generosity, there was a sustained standing ovation from all Officers present in the Officers Mess.
It was later learnt that the AOC-in-C had an appointment with Air Chief Arjan Singh at the Air Headquarters after his visit to my Regiment. Being late for the appointment, he had to apologize to the Air Chief by saying that he got caught up in the Signal Regiment during his visit.
The Trophy was presented to the undersigned ceremonially byAir Marshal Shivdev Singh AOC-in-C Western Air Command in his office in the prersnce of all Western Air Command Staff officers. Photes of the Prfesentation Ceremony were taken and published in Fauji Akhbar and many local Newspapers.
The next day, I took the Trophy to Colonel (later Maj Gen ) J. Mayadas, CAFSO. He congratulated me for the Trophy. My request to him to take the Trophy and show it to the Signal Officer-in-Chief, the top Signal Officer of Indian Army was however, declined, maybe he took the presentation in some negative sense. He said that I shall soon be receiving a congratulatory letter from the SO-in-C for the achievement. Instead, I received my Posting Order to ‘P’ Comn Sig Regt at Alwar in Rajasthan asking me to leave on the day I completed two years in New Delhi
In the photo I can be seen receiving Trophy from the Air Marshal Shivdev Singh, AOC-in-C Western Air Command.
Later in Canada, I received a letter from the Indian Army's Signal officer-in-Chief and Senior Colonel Commandant of Corps of Signals sayiong " It may ionterest you to know, the accommodation of 1 Air Formation Signal Regiment has improved considerably with the excellent start given by your dedicated efforts. I hope during your next visit to India, you will spend some time in the Regiments Officers Mess to see for yourself how the 'baby' you nurtured has grown."
I also received a letter from the Commanding Officer of 1 Air Formation Signal Regiment saying " The trophy presented to you by Air Marshal Shivdev Singh AOC-in-C Western Air Command is a part of our proud heritage ad is displayed prominently in the Officers Mess. May I request you to visit us during your next trip to Delhi, stay with us in the Officers Mess for a few days and go aound to see the Regiment in its present form. It will be our honur and will give you satisfaction to see your efforts fructified."
Lieut Colonel Pritam Singh Jauhal World War II Veteran World War II Veteran.
Founding President Indian Ex-Servicemen Society British Columbia, Canada.
E.mail:colpsjauhal@hotmail.com
Telephone: 604-581-9383
Date: September 20, 2011.

India, China to set up mechanism to curb LAC violations Ashok Tuteja/TNS

New Delhi, September 24
India and China propose to institute a joint mechanism to prevent the possibility of any misunderstanding between them in the event of the violation of the Line of Actual Control (LAC) unwittingly by either side. Senior officials of the foreign ministries of the two countries met in New Delhi early this week to give a concrete shape to the proposal.
It is learnt that a formal announcement about the proposed mechanism would be made at the 14th round of talks on the boundary dispute between the Special Representatives (SRs) of the two countries, to be held in November in New Delhi.
National Security Adviser Shivshankar Menon is the SR on the Indian side while State Councillor Dai Bingguo is the SR on the Chinese side. The two countries began the dialogue at the SR level in 2003 following the historic visit of the then Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee to Beijing.
According to official sources, the proposal to establish a joint mechanism had been agreed upon in principle between Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and his Chinese counterpart Wen Jiabao when they met in the Chinese beach resort of Sanya in April on the margins of the BRICS Summit.The two countries already have a bilateral arrangement to deal with any complaint of intrusion along their over 4000-km long border. However, both New Delhi and Beijing fear that the situation could flare up if the media, particularly in India, sensationalises reports of the ‘perceived’ Chinese intrusions into the Indian territory.
Hence, there was need to establish a mechanism for direct communication between the foreign ministries of the two countries to deal with any untoward incident along the border. It was all the more necessary to establish the mechanism since the LAC was not delineated from Arunachal Pradesh to Ladakh, leading to frequent violations of the LAC by the troops on both sides.
The sources said the proposed mechanism would also have representatives from the External Affairs, Defence and Home ministries, intelligence agencies and the military. It would be led by a senior official of the External Affairs Ministry.

Pak mobile signals pose a major security threat Anirudh Gupta

DANGER WAVES

n Pakistan-based network operators have penetration inside the Indian terrain along the border
n However, Indian firms have been barred from providing high connectivity in the border areas

Ferozepur, September 24
The recovery of three Pakistani SIM cards by the BSF in Amarkot area along Zero Line recently indicates that cross-border smuggling continues despite the vigil at the border. It is clear that the smugglers use Pak SIMs inside the Indian territory so that their conversation is not intercepted by the security agencies. The Indian agencies have been unable to find a solution to this practice which can pose a serious threat to the country’s security.
A BSF official, pleading anonymity, said Pak-based operators had penetration inside the Indian terrain along the border but the strength of the signals varied from place to place. However, Indian companies have been barred from providing high connectivity in the border areas.
Pakistani service provider Mobilink, with 30.75 million subscribers, has connectivity up to hundreds of metres in Mamdot, Khemkaran and Ferozepur areas while another company U-Fone has its signals reaching villages in Mamdot and Amarkot areas.
Several foreign companies also operate in Pakistan, which include Telenor (Norwegian) which has 20 million customers, Zong (Chinese), WorldCall (Oman) and UAE-based Warid. Security officials say that in the absence of any stringent regulatory laws in Pakistan, a large number of unregistered SIM cards are in circulation there, which at times make their way into India.
On several occasions, the BSF and other security agencies have recovered these SIM cards during seizure of drugs, arms and other contraband.

N-capable Shourya missile successfully flight-tested

Balasore (Orissa), September 24
India today successfully flight-tested its nuclear capable surface-to-surface ‘Shourya’ missile from Integrated Test Range (ITR) at Chandipur, around 15 km from here. ‘Shourya’ can carry a one-tonne nuclear and conventional warhead over 700 km and is powered by a two-stage solid fuel.
The state-of-the-art missile is equipped with multiple advanced computing systems, very high accuracy navigation and guidance systems, defence sources here said.
“The trial of the missile, which took off from Launch Complex-III of ITR at 1430 hrs, was fully successful,” ITR Director S P Dash said. The missile was flight-tested from a canister in a ground-launch mode. “The launch was perfect like in text book and followed the path exactly to the predefined target," he said.
All radar, telemetry and electro-optical stations along the east coast have tracked and monitored all the mission parameters, Dash said.
Ships located near the target have also tracked and witnessed the flight test and the missile reached the target within few meters accuracy, a defence official said.
Today’s flight test was the second developmental trial of the missile. The first test of the missile was successfully conducted on November 12, 2008, from the same base, he said.
“This developmental flight trial is part of the on-going technology refinement work undertaken by the Defence Research Development Organisation (DRDO),” he said.
The defence official said the sophisticated missile combines simplicity of operation with low maintenance. It can be easily handled, transported and stored in the canister for longer shelf life.The high manoeuvrability of the missile makes it less vulnerable to available anti-missile defence systems.
“We have designed ‘Shourya’ in such a way that it can be launched from under water as easily as from land. The gas-filled canister that houses the missile fits easily into a submarine. The underwater leg of the nuclear trial needs to be totally reliable and needs a state-of-the-art missile," said a scientist associated with the project.
DRDO chief controller Avinash Chander congratulated the scientists and employees of the organisation and other establishments for the successful test flight. As a safety measure, prior to the test, Balasore district administration had temporarily evacuated 400 families residing within 2 km radius of the launch pad to nearby shelter camps early this morning, official sources said. — PTI

US fires fresh salvo at Pak Tells it to rein in military-run ISI

Washington, September 24
Brushing aside Islamabad’s rebuttal, US has fired fresh salvos charging Pakistan’s military-run ISI of not only supporting the Haqqani terror network but also ‘encouraging’ it to launch more brazen strikes on American installations in Afghanistan.

Demanding a “strong and immediate action” against the outfit, US officials said Haqqani group’s activities have become “more brazen, more aggressive and more lethal”.
Capt John Kirby, spokesperson of Chairman Joint Chiefs of Staff Admiral Mullen, told Pentagon reporters that there has been a long-standing historical relationship between the ISI and extremist groups.
Kirby said: “There has been a lot of activity over the course of this summer - the hotel attack in Kabul, Wardak truck bomb, attack on the embassy and others smaller level operations. It has been a very busy summer for the Haqqani network. It has gone worse.
“Their (Haqqani’s) activities have become more brazen, more aggressive and more lethal. Information has become more available that these attacks have been supported or encouraged by the ISI. The Chairman (Mullen) just had the conversation with Gen Ashfaq Kayani last week in Spain. He said this because this is the truth.” “All I can tell you that we are confident that the ISI continues to support and even encourages the Haqqanis to launch these attacks,” he said. — PTI

China asks US to respect Pak sovereignty

BEIJING: With the US and Pakistan engaged in a war of words, China on Saturday sprung to the defence of its 'all weather ally', asking Washington to respect Islamabad's sovereignty and territorial integrity while fighting its war on terror.

Defence area steals a march in literacy Megha Mann
Tribune News Service

Bathinda, September 24
People living in the Defence pockets of Bathinda are more literate as compared to their rural and urban counterparts.
The 2011 census data reveals that 84 per cent people from the Defence are literate followed by 74 per cent living in areas under the Bathinda Municipal Corporation (BMC) limits, 66 per cent of those living in urban areas while the rural folks trail at a mere 56 per cent.

RURAL AREASn Rampura Phul tehsiln Bathinda tehsiln Talwandi Sabo tehsiln Thermal plant at Lehra Mohabbat
URBAN AREAS
n BDPO Bhagta
n MC limits Rampura
n MC Bhucho
n MC Goniana
n MC Sangat
n MC Kotafatta
n MC Raman
n MC Maur
n Talwandi Sabo
DEFENCE AREAS
n ITBP 7th Battalion Bibiwala road
n Bathinda cantonment
n Air Force Station Bhisiana
n CISF unit Nangal

“Literacy is directly related to prosperity and the availability of infrastructure. Sadly enough, only the underprivileged are now left behind in the villages as those rich in the rural areas have moved to the cities to educate their children,” observes educationist Prof Paramjit Singh Romana, Dean, Students Welfare, Central University of Punjab, Bathinda.
While the rural areas are bereft of prosperity and infrastructure in terms of education, the rural illiterates mainly comprise of the lower-rung migratory population and domestic servants.
“The problem lies in the fact that whosoever studies from the village, settles down in the city for livelihood. This person is counted as a literate in the city and not that of the village to which he or she belongs to. Even the poverty alleviation projects in rural education sector, such as mid-day meals schemes or free books are limited to their materialistic boundaries,” says Sukhjinder Pal Singh, a teacher and resident of village Multania.
Professional colleges sprouting in and around the city have failed to have an impact on the rural literacy rate. Educationist Jagmohan Kaushal feels that those in the education sector itself have turned more into realtors rather than educationists. “When the fence starts devouring the fields, who would care for the crop? The so-called educationists have set up infrastructure in the rural areas but not even a single seat is reserved for children from the rural areas,” he adds.
The high literacy rate in the district has, however, failed to have an impact on the declining sex ratio. A professor in economics at the Punjabi University Regional Centre, Bathinda, RK Mahajan feels that there must be a positive correlation between the improvement in the literacy rate and subsequent improvement in sex ratio.
“However, this is not visible in Bathinda, which baffles us. There has been an improvement in literacy rate from 61.1 per cent in 1991-01 to 69.6 per cent in 2001-10 period. But during the same period, the sex ratio in the district has deteriorated,” says a concerned Mahajan.

Egypt’s Military Leader Testifies at Mubarak Trial

CAIRO — Egypt’s military ruler, Field Marshal Mohamed Hussein Tantawi, testified Saturday at the trial of his onetime patron and colleague, former President Hosni Mubarak, in a closed hearing that disappointed prosecutors who had hoped he would help determine whether the ousted Egyptian leader conspired to order the killing of unarmed demonstrators in his final days in power in February.
Related
Times Topics: Hosni Mubarak |Egypt News — Revolution and Aftermath

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Pool photo by Amr Nabil
Field Marshal Mohamed Hussein Tantawi
Lawyers said that Field Marshal Tantawi’s testimony lasted nearly an hour but fell far short of their expectations. One lawyer said he failed to provide evidence one way or the other about Mr. Mubarak’s role in the crackdown on protesters, saying that he was not present in meetings that could have proven decisive to the prosecutors’ case. “We thought that he would say either ‘yes’ or ‘no’ and solve the whole case, but this didn’t happen,” the lawyer said, speaking on the condition of anonymity.The appearance of Field Marshal Tantawi was another dramatic moment in a trial that has swung between poignant moments that seemed to illustrate the frailty of absolute power, and chaotic scenes in court that have undermined public faith in the proceedings. The judge presiding over the trial ordered that Field Marshal Tantawi’s testimony be heard behind closed doors, in contrast to the court’s first session in August, when Mr. Mubarak pleaded innocent from a gurney in a courtroom cage. That session, lasting hours, was televised nationwide by Egyptian state television.If the lawyer’s version proves correct, it may serve to deepen suspicions in the country that Mr. Mubarak’s former allies in the military are trying to acquit him of more serious charges. The military leaders seem loath, as well, to possibly incriminate themselves in decisions taken before the president was overthrown.Those suspicions surfaced early in the trial, when the first five witnesses, all police officials, recanted what prosecutors said were initial statements about instructions from senior police officials to use live ammunition or other force against demonstrators. It appeared at that time that prosecutors had intended to build their case against the country’s former leaders from the bottom up, starting with the orders issued to police officers confronting the demonstrators.Lawyers for victims’ families described Saturday’s session as chaotic — one said a fight broke out and the police roughed up a lawyer. Many of their colleagues were not allowed into court, and lawyers were allowed to ask only a handful of questions of Field Marshal Tantawi. In response, one lawyer filed a challenge, insisting Judge Ahmed Refaat be replaced. The trial was adjourned until Oct. 30 to allow another court time to review the challenge and decide the judge’s fate.“This is all a big show,” said Abdel-Karim Ibrahim, whose brother was among those killed in the protests. “How long are they going to postpone the trial? Will they keep postponing it till people forget? If there are no positive steps taken before the end of September, we will go back to the streets and take our rights with our own hands.”Until last week, there were questions of whether Field Marshal Tantawi would even testify, which is being held in a police academy once bearing Mr. Mubarak’s name. He was scheduled to appear Sept. 11, but failed to attend, citing a busy schedule and offering to provide written testimony instead. He was summoned again, and on Friday, in a statement carried by the state news agency, he said he would appear before the court.Though a veteran of Mr. Mubarak’s tenure, having served 20 years as his defense minister, Field Marshal Tantawi said he wanted “to stress the rule of law, which must be the guiding approach for the Egyptian state after the January 25 revolution.”Since Feb. 11, when Mr. Mubarak was forced from office after protests convened in Tahrir Square, Field Marshal Tantawi has served as the head of the ruling military council, which has exercised absolute and largely unaccountable power. It claimed to seize power in the name of the revolution, but after months of ineffectual rule, suspicions over its willingness to fully surrender power and a plan for elections that has satisfied few, the council’s appeal has diminished.“All of those ruling us were here before the revolution and they did nothing for us,” Mohammed Abdel-Gawad, an accountant, said after Friday Prayer at a crowded mosque. “We’re still waiting for the party that’s going to bring us change, real change.”Mr. Mubarak, 83, is being tried on charges of corruption and of conspiring to kill nearly 840 unarmed protesters. Field Marshal Tantawi’s testimony was considered crucial to the second charge since he was part of the former president’s inner circle.Last week, another confidant of Mr. Mubarak, Omar Suleiman, the former intelligence chief and, briefly, vice president, testified. Field Marshal Tantawi’s deputy on the council, Sami Anan, the chief of staff of the armed forces, was scheduled to appear before the court on Sunday, but that will apparently be delayed.Field Marshal Tantawi arrived Saturday with a military escort to the court where, as in past sessions, scores of admirers and detractors of Mr. Mubarak shared space in a parking lot. Mr. Mubarak was at the trial, though given the news blackout, it was unclear how he responded to the testimony. Lawyers had said that Mr. Mubarak would be offered a chance to comment after each witness testified.so facing the charges of conspiring to kill protesters are former Interior Minister Habib el-Adly, one of the most loathed figures in recent years here, along with six senior former security officials. On the corruption charges, Mr. Mubarak’s sons, Alaa and Gamal, stand accused with their father.

PRINT MEDIA NEWS --24 SEP 2011

2011-09-24T06:25:00.000+05:30

You risk losing an ally, Pak warns USA

Islamabad\Washington, September 23
Pakistan warned the United States it risks losing an ally if it continued to accuse Islamabad of playing a double game in the war against militancy, escalating the crisis in relations between the two countries.
Foreign Minister Hina Rabbani Khar was responding to comments by U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff Admiral Mike Mullen, who said Pakistan's top spy agency was closely tied to the Haqqani network, the most violent and effective faction among Islamic Taliban militants in Afghanistan.
It is the most serious allegation levelled by the USA against nuclear-armed and Muslim-majority Pakistan since they began an alliance in the war on terror a decade ago. "You will lose an ally," Khar told Geo TV in New York in remarks broadcast on Friday.
"You cannot afford to alienate Pakistan, you cannot afford to alienate the Pakistani people. If you are choosing to do so and if they are choosing to do so it will be at their (the United States') own cost."
Mullen, speaking in Senate testimony, alleged Haqqani operatives launched an attack last week on the U.S. embassy in Kabul with the support of Pakistan's military intelligence. The tensions could have repercussions across Asia, from India, Pakistan's economically booming arch-rival, to China, which has edged closer to Pakistan in recent years.
A complete break between the USA and Pakistan - sometimes friends, often adversaries - seems unlikely, if only because Washington depends on Pakistan as a route to supply U.S. troops fighting militants in Afghanistan, and as a base for unmanned U.S. drones. Pakistan relies on Washington for military and economic aid and for acting as a backer on the world stage. But support in the U.S. Congress for curbing assistance or making conditions on aid more stringent is rising rapidly. The unilateral U.S. Navy SEALs raid that killed Osama bin Laden in Pakistan in May took already fragile relations between Pakistan and the United States to a low. Relations were just starting to recover before the Kabul attack. Both sides are now engaged in an unusually blunt public war of words.
The dangers could be enormous if Washington fails to arrest the deterioration in relations with Pakistan, a largely dysfunctional state run by a feckless, military-cowed government and teeming with Islamist militants. At stake are the fight against terrorism, the security of Pakistan's nuclear arsenal and - as Islamabad plays off its friendship with China against the United States - regional stability. "Anything which is said about an ally, about a partner, publicly to recriminate it, to humiliate it, is not acceptable," said Khar. The USA has long pressed Pakistan to go after the Haqqani network, which it believes operates from sanctuaries in North Waziristan on the Afghan border. Pakistan says its army is too stretched fighting its own Taliban insurgency. But analysts say the Islamabad government regards the Haqqanis as a strategic counterweight to the growing influence of old rival India in Afghanistan. The Haqqani network, Mullen said, is a "veritable arm" of Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence agency (ISI).
The charges come amid mounting exasperation in Washington as the Obama administration struggles to curb militancy in Pakistan and end the long war in Afghanistan. Mullen, CIA director David Petraeus and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton all have met with their Pakistani counterparts in recent days to demand Islamabad take action against the Haqqani network. Any Pakistani offensive against the Haqqanis would be risky. The group has an estimated 10,000-15,000 seasoned fighters at its disposal and analysts say the Pakistani army would likely suffer heavy casualties. — Reuters

Why the frayed tempers

US Joint Chiefs of Staff Admiral Mike Mullen had said Pakistan's top spy agency was closely tied to the Haqqani network, the most violent and effective faction among Islamic Taliban militants in Afghanistan. The Haqqani network, Mullen said, is a "veritable arm" of Pakistan's ISI.

US-Pak strained tiesFight against terrorism may take new turn

THE assertion of Admiral Mike Mullen, chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff, that the “Haqqani (terror) network … acts as a veritable arm of Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) Agency” shows that the love-hate relationship between the so-called “key allies” in the war against global terrorism is fast getting transformed into a hate-hate one. Admiral Mullen has bluntly told Pakistan that Haqqani operatives attacked the US Embassy and Inter-Continental Hotel in Kabul and assassinated former Afghanistan President Burhanuddin Rabbani with ISI help. This amounts to saying that the ISI is like any terrorist outfit and should be dealt with accordingly. The top US military official, due to retire soon, made this comment after a long meeting with Pakistan Army Chief Ashfaque Parvez Kiyani in Spain on the sidelines of a NATO conference. Perhaps the two, though considered friends, could not come to an agreement that Pakistan must abandon its policy of using terrorist networks to achieve its geopolitical objectives.

Before Admiral Mullen’s terse comment came the remarks by US Ambassador to Pakistan Cameron Hunter that “there is evidence linking the Haqqani network to the Pakistan government”. US Defence Secretary Leon Panetta, blaming the ISI for the successful operations of the Haqqani network against US interests in Afghanistan, told Pakistan while addressing a gathering at the Pentagon this week, “If you are against terrorism, you have to be against all forms of terrorism”. Amidst the rising tension between the US and Pakistan the Senate Appropriations Committee, a key US Congressional body, has suggested that security and economic aid to Pakistan must be linked to its cooperation in fighting the Haqqani network and other terrorist outfits.

There are clear indications that if Pakistan does not cooperate with the US in defeating its enemies in the Af-Pak region Washington may ignore Islamabad and go ahead with its plans to safeguard its interests in the area. The US has already started using what it calls the Northern Distribution Network, avoiding the routes passing through Pakistan, for its supplies to Afghanistan. Now what course the US takes to tame Pakistan remains to be seen. It seems the US post-troop withdrawal strategy for Af-Pak is undergoing a change.

India, UK sign pact on defence research Tribune News Service

New Delhi, September 23
Under a new agreement, Indian and British scientists will work together to develop cutting-edge technologies for defence and security.
A letter of arrangement was signed by DRDO Director General V K Saraswat and Sir Mark Welland, Chief Scientific Adviser of Britain’s Ministry of Defence, in London.
The two countries will pool their world-class science and engineering expertise to work on projects such as unmanned aerial vehicles, advanced explosives, and factors affecting human performance on the battlefield.
Welland thanked Saraswat for his efforts in “reaching this milestone in our relationship with India”.

SIKKIM EARTHQUAKEStrategic roads can’t be restored before two months: Army Ajay Banerjee
Tribune News Service

New Delhi, September 23

Last Sunday’s earthquake in Sikkim has severely hampered the Army’s movement and temporarily cast a shadow on its rapid counter strike ability in the strategically crucial mountainous state. The Army’s in-house assessment is that it would take more than two months to restore the road network, vital for movement in northern Sikkim that abuts China.

The infantry units under the 112 Brigade - some 5,500 men and officers - that is responsible for northern Sikkim are well stocked on all accounts - food, equipment like 105 MM artillery guns, vehicles and fuel.

The road blockade will also not affect the movement of the infantry as the troops anyway walk over obstacles. Besides, officials said that the quake would not have any impact on preparedness.

But, with the roads blocked, the movement of stocks, equipment, ammunition and weapons will be hit. The roads are needed to move heavy things that require wheeling in.

Fields reports from the Army reaching the headquarters here have led to the assessment that it could take two months to restore two key road arteries that take off from Chungthang (some 70 km north of Gangtok). One leads west to the Lachen valley and other leads east into the Lachung valley. Both the roads are vital for maintaining supplies to northern Sikkim.

In case of an exigency, there will be no way to replenish troops and equipment once the stocks stored at the forward bases finish.

Meanwhile, the Army has physically covered 94 villages in their search-and-rescue operations.

Army Chief reviews operational readiness

Chandigarh, September 23

Chief of Army Staff Gen VK Singh today visited Headquarters Western Command, Chandi Mandir, to review operational and training matters pertaining to the Western Sector.

He was briefed on the operational preparedness of the command by local formation commanders. The chief also reviewed the operational coordination between the Western Command and the South-Western Command.

Tourist arrivals pick up at Milam glacier

Pithoragarh, September 23

Though most of the people had left Milam village in search of some other livelihood after the closure of their traditional profession of the Indo-Tibet trade in 1962, some of them are still living in the same village situated near the world-famous glacier of Milam.

The village that is situated 55 km from the border town of Munsiyari, has today become the main base camp for tourists coming to visit this glacier between June and October.

“Every year, over 2,500 tourists from across the country visit the glacier. This tourist route is providing livelihood to more than 50 hotel and restaurant owners of the region at the camps of Bogdyar, Martoli and Milam,” said Digvijay Singh Rawat, the owner of a motel in Milam village.

“Villagers who had left their houses decades ago are again coming back and taking to the cultivation of potato and local herbs that fetch a handsome price if reach the market on time,” said Jagdish Singh Rawat, president of the Hotel Owners Association of Munsiyari.

He further said many hotels, restaurants and motels had sprung up in the area and some villagers had also started providing the facility of paying guests to tourists.

According to residents of Milam, most of the people had left the village after the closure of the trade in 1962 “At present, only 10 families live in the village,” said Rawat. “We charge Rs 300 per tourist for two days in Milam,” said Rawat.

However, he maintained that tourists visiting Milam wanted more facilities. “Besides the facilities of transportation and communication, the cooperation of the ITBP and paramilitary forces guarding the India-China border is required, said Keshav Bhatt, who led a trekkers team to Milam recently.

An ITBP officer in the Milam area said: “Besides helping tourists in this border region, they have to keep vigil on them as most of them lose their way.”

THE NATURE BEAUTY " J&K

2011-09-23T05:37:00.000+05:30

Hundreds still stuck in remote Sikkim villages

New Delhi/Gangtok, Sept 22

Even as most of the media focus has been on Manang in north Sikkim that is said to be the worst affected in Sunday's earthquake, there are around 400 people still stuck in villages beyond where rescue workers are still struggling to reach, a relief coordinator said. Nearly four days after the quake, rescue operation is still on. However rain and landslides have been acting as hurdles in the process and several places in north Sikkim - the worst affected - are still cut off.
“There are at least three villages beyond Manang which are still cut off after the earthquake and at least 300-400 people are in those villages,” BB Rai of the Voluntary Health Association of Sikkim (VHAS), said.
“The devastation and its impact is still being unearthed and it is clear that survivors have a long haul ahead. In the coming days there will be a huge challenge for even the basic needs of food and water,” said Swapan Singha of Action Aid India.

SPECIAL TO THE TRIBUNEIndia, Pak must stop using RAW, ISI against each other: ImranShyam Bhatia in London

Imran Khan says India and Pakistan should stop using their intelligence agencies for settling scores against each other and base their future relations on civilised dialogue around a table.
The former Pakistani cricketer-turned-politician, who was speaking at the London School of Economics, criticised what he described as the “back-stabbing” role of the agencies, like India’s RAW and Pakistan’s ISI.
He called for a “stable relationship where all our problems are discussed politically, based around a dialogue around a table and with an end to the role of intelligence agencies. “Any issue about Kashmir should be dealt with on the table and not using militants. It hasn’t worked.”
Imran, visiting the UK to promote his autobiography, ‘A Personal History’, is currently ranked as one of Pakistan’s most popular politicians. His political party, Tehreeq-e-Insaaf, is also expected to attract massive new support when the country goes to the polls in 2012.
He attracted repeated applause from a packed audience at the LSE where he talked about bilateral relations with India, the abysmal state of Pakistani politics, terrorism and the war in neighbouring Afghanistan.
Asked about India-Pakistan relations, he responded, “As I’ve always maintained, you can’t change your neighbours. You have to live with them in a civilised manner.”
He added that Pakistan blames India for its troubles in Baluchistan and India blames Pakistan for the unrest in Kashmir. But asking his audience to look ahead, he went on: “The future is bright for South Asians.”
As far as Pakistan was concerned, Imran projected what he described as a “soft revolution” through the ballot box when elections are held next year. He claims that his own party, Tehreeq-e-Insaaf, is number one in the tribal areas and in the last four weeks alone has attracted 3,50,000 new members.
He anticipated “light at the end of the tunnel” because of increased political awareness than ever before, the existence of an independent Supreme Court and a vibrant, independent media.
Asked which Pakistani leader was his role model, he replied, “Jinnah. The reason is that Jinnah never compromised on his goals. He was selfless. He was dying of TB, but never gave up.”
If his party wins the next elections, Imran said one of his priorities would be to reduce the level of violence in the country. He painted a bleak picture of Pakistan where the economy has lost some $ 70 billion, terrorism is rampant on city streets and recent attacks on military bases, including army and navy headquarters, suggest deep internal divisions. He also explained that this has been the bloodiest year for Pakistan since independence with revenge attacks for every Pakistani army move against militants in the tribal areas.
In Imran’s words, Pakistan has become a polarised society with 30 Taliban groups active in the country.

Indo-Pak talks should be result-oriented, says PoK ex-PM
Ehsan Fazili
Tribune News Service

Srinagar, September 21
A former Prime Minister of PoK, Sultan Mehmood Chaudhary, said today that he felt elated that his maiden visit had created history.
“When I reached here for the wedding of a relative, I had tears in my eyes and smile on my face,” Chaudhary said while interacting with mediapersons.
During his stay here, the senior leader of the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) met a cross-section of leaders, including separatists, members of the Bar Association and some officials.
He also visited the martyrs’ graveyard at Eidgah and Pahalgam.
He said he had a chance meeting with Chief Minister Omar Abdullah at the wedding.
About his visit to Pahalgam,he said it was a dream come true to visit scenic spots in Kashmir.
Chaudhary said his party was in favour of talks between India and Pakistan and added that unless the Kashmir issue was discussed, the dialogue would not be fruitful.
“We want the dialogue to be result-oriented,” he said.
He added that there were certain bottlenecks on the Srinagar-Muzaffarabad bus service and the cross-LoC trade, which needed to be removed.
He said the LoC should be made irrelevant and people should be allowed a hassle-free movement.
He also favoured a multiple visa system instead of the permit system for the cross-LoC travel.
On his visit to the martyrs’ graveyard, Chaudhary said much blood had been spilt in Kashmir over the years and it was due to the “sacrifices” of the people that the Kashmir issue had reached the parliaments of foreign countries like Norway and Britain.
He also referred to the problem in Afghanistan and said the conflict had its roots in the Kashmir problem. “Unless the Kashmir issue is resolved, the Afghanistan issue will remain there,” he added.

Mini UAVs to assist troops in J&K Vijay Mohan/TNS

Chandigarh, September 21

Troops on ground in Jammu and Kashmir will soon have their own “eyes in the sky”. The Army is procuring 20 miniature unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) to be deployed in the operationally sensitive Northern Command.
These UAVs, sources said, would be used for general surveillance along the Line of Control as well as in certain volatile areas in the hinterland. These would also be used during anti-terrorist operations for providing real-time intelligence and for detecting intrusions as well as for limited search and rescue.
Many armed forces the world over use mini UAVs for tactical purposes. These are man-portable systems that can be transported and operated by a crew of two and three. Though much smaller than the UAVs used for long range and high endurance reconnaissance, these nonetheless have emerged as indispensable force multipliers in combat situations where visual contact with the opponent is difficult, specially in rough terrain. Such systems are also being use extensively by the Allied forces in Afghanistan.
Several counties have designed and developed a range of mini UAVs. The Defence Research and Development Organisation also recently demonstrated its capability to produce a mini UAV, which has been christened Netra. Besides the Armed Forces, it has also been offered to the state police forces for security management and handling law and order situations.
The system being sought by the Army would be equipped with cameras and sensors having low light as well as night photography capability besides having the ability for simultaneous recording and transmitting imagery in real time. Also, it has the ability to operate in rough field conditions and combat environment, as the sound of its propulsion gear is not heard beyond about 50 metres and a runway is not required for its launch and recovery.
The Army’s requirement is that the system should have a minimum flying endurance of one hour and a service ceiling above 1000 metres with a radio-control range in excess of five kilometres.

Mangan in better timesby Lt-Gen Baljit Singh (retd)

WHEN on September 18, the international television focussed on Mangan, a lowly hamlet in the Sikkim Himalayas as the epicentre of a severe earthquake, my thoughts flashed back to mid-1903. That was when Mangan had been chosen as the last logistics staging base for the British Expeditionary Force (BEF) to Lhasa, primarily because the Teesta river valley here had a meadow vast enough for the BEF to camp in. Besides, it was the last habitation to commandeer yaks and ponies for the mission to Lhasa.
This was also the occasion when officers and soldiers of the BEF (33 & 34 Sikh Pioneers and 2/8 G R) witnessed for the first time the spectacular sunrise over the Kanchenjunga, India’s highest and the world’s 3rd highest summit! It would inspire Claude White, the British Resident in Sikkim, to have a government rest house constructed on a knoll at Mangan, its bedroom window framing the “Five Treasuries of Great Snows,” as the five-fanged summit is called by the Lepchas, the true inhabitants of Sikkim.
Over the next 20 years, Mangan would once again slide into anonymity till Major F M (“Hatter”) Bailey of the 34 Sikh Pioneers (BEF) assumed charge of the British Residency at Gangtok, in 1921. That is when Mangan truly became a name to reckon with both in the world of mountaineering and of natural history. In the intervening years Hatter Bailey had acquired such proficiency in Tibetan dialects that he chose to converse with the Dalai Lama without the presence of interpreters!
Bailey’s sensitivity to Tibetan culture and empathy with its people so impressed the Dalai Lama that Bailey could call at the Potala without the usual protocol. It was, therefore, natural for the Foreign Office in London to harness Bailey’s good offices to obtain permission for the British to attempt the Everest summit.
The permission was duly gained but Kathmandu refused the team transiting through Nepal! So Bailey was back to Mangan, both to arrange porters for the Everest expedition as also to enlarge the rest house, got constructed by White. He also added another rest house, five-day march up the Teesta valley, at Thanggu in the North. Over time, the occupancy registers maintained at Mangan and Thanggu became absorbing Everest memorabilia, of the first three attempts between WW I and II! During his frequent visits, Bailey also collected and catalogued many species of butterflies from Mangan unknown to science hitherto. Little wonder that today butterfly buffs place Mangan only second to Shillong as their Mecca!
One wonders what the Lepchas (whose only space in the wide world lies around Mangan), would make of the terrible retribution now paid out to them by the earthquake. More than one lakh houses have been rendered unsafe and the count of the dead is far from certain, yet.  Indian Air Force Honours Indian Army Signal Regiment.                    By Lieut Colonel Pritam Singh Jauhal World War II Veteran.I was delighted to receive my Posting Order to 1 Air Formation Signal Regiment located at New Delhi, after taking active part in 1965 Indo-Pak War as Deputy Chief Signal Officer Pathankot, post created only for the War.On taking over my new Regiment on June 24,1966, to my dismay I discovered that it was housed in old Wartime Hutments, which leaked during rains without exception. I was also flabbergasted to learn that No Senior Air Force Commander had ever visited it.A few days later, I was called for an interview with my new Boss Air Marshal Shivdev Singh AOC-in-C Western Air Command. He was known as a “Hard Task Master”. All Air Force Unit Commanders/Officers under his command were scared to face him. Having served under late Colonel (later Maj Gen) S N Antia, also a Hard Task Master in 5 Div Sig Regt, I had good experience of strict Commanders. I was, therefore, not the least jittery to face my new Boss.
During the interview the AOC-in-C asked me “Are you satisfied with taking over the Regiment“? I replied in affirmative. He then emphasized that he wants excellent Land Line Communications in his Command and nothing short of that. “I shall do my best Sir“ I responded. He further said “I know you Army-types are fond of traveling in jeeps but you don’t have to waste your time by travelling in jeeps. You take an aircraft for going to the Airfields instead. This, being extremely encouraging direction from my new Boss, I was extremely pleased and thanked him for it immensely.
The problem of how to go about getting new accommodation built for my Regiment kept bothering me all the time. After nearly a year, I decided to request the AO C-in-C to pay a visit to my Regiment followed by a Lunch in the Officers Mess which was housed in a Store Tent and let him see the state of affairs in the Regiment for himself. I discussed my plan with Air Commodore S P Singh, Chief Signal Officer (C S O) Western Air Command. He liked it and promised to support it. I requested him to convey my request for the visit to the AO C-in-C. He confirmed a couple of days later that my request has been accepted by the AOC-in-C.
Immediately I held a Durbar of all ranks of the Regiment and explained to them that this was an excellent opportunity for us to get new accommodation sanctioned by the AOC-in-C. In the two weeks we had for preparation for the visit, they all worked extremely hard and brought the Regiment to a tip-top shape.
On the day of the visit, the AOC-in-C accompanied by the C S O arrived in my Regiment. I received him with a smart salute at the Regiment Quarter Guard. The Guard Commander turned out the Guard and gave him a General Salute. He inspected the Guard with keen interest. After that I took him around and showed demonstrations in Cable Laying, Road Crossing, use of ACT 1+3 and S+DX, working of a Teleprinters, Unit Lines, Stores, Recreation Room, Cook House and Dinning Hall, M T Park, Officers Mess   and all single Officers living in dug-out 180 lbs tents. Imagine those were the conditions in which my Regiment used to function during 1966 in New Delhi!!!. How would you like that?
On the day of AOC-in-C’s visit, being Summer, it was exceedingly hot. I took him to my Office, which incidentally also had leaky spots. There he was served with badly needed cold soft drink which I am positive he liked. At that time I discussed with him all the problems faced by my Regiment including the Airfields where my men were deployed for providing Land Lines Communications. The requirement of new accommodation for my Regiment Headquarters at Palam topped the list. During my frank and elaborate discussions, I got an impression that the AOC-in-C was more than satisfied with everything I requested him to sanction for my Regiment.
On completion of the discussions, I guided the AOC in-C to the Officers Mess where three pedestal fans were circulating air at full speed, but because of the prevailing excessive heat they hardly had any effect on human beings.
I had detailed the junior-most Lieutenant of my Regiment to take care of the AOC-in-C’s drinks and four Lieutenants to keep him company. The AOC-in-C appeared so happy that he soon became informal with the Youngsters and started narrating personal stories of his younger days. He said that when he was posted to a Wing, after his Fighter-Pilot training, he was detailed to disburse pay to Other Ranks. He outright objected and said that being a Fighter Pilot, he does not have to do such administrative jobs. But on advice from his Superiors, he obeyed the order and disbursed the pay. In the bargain he ran short of Rs 250/- which he paid from his pocket.
With the Lunch over, the AOC-in-C made an announcement saying that he was exceedingly happy with what he has seen in the Regiment as well as with the excellent Land Lines Communications provided by it for the Air Force both during War and Peace. He has therefore, decided to reward it appropriately.
Hearing that announcement from the Horse’s mouth, the C S O looked at me and said “Colonel Jauhal it is time for you to apprise the AOC-in-C in case, you want anything special from him”. Being overwhelmed with the situation, I informed the AOC-in-C that whenever I meet to local Army Officers and tell them that my Regiment is housed in old War-time hutments, they do not speak very highly of the Air Force. With their adverse remarks against the Air Force, I feel embarrassed. My first and foremost request to you therefore Sir is to sanction new accommodation for my Regiment at Palam. The AOC-in-C concurred without hesitation. He further said that, that is not enough, you deserve more than that. He said that his Command had procured a Trophy for the Air Chief of Iraq, who was to visit the Air Command, but due to ill-health, he cancelled his visit. I have decided to award that Trophy to the Signal Regiment for its excellent accomplishments.
As I thanked the AOC-in-C for his kindness and generosity, there was a sustained standing ovation from all Officers present in the Officers Mess.
It was later learnt that the AOC-in-C had an appointment with Air Chief Arjan Singh at the Air Headquarters after his visit to my Regiment. Being late for the appointment, he had to apologize to the Air Chief by saying that he got caught up in the Signal Regiment during his visit.
The Trophy was presented to me ceremonially by Air Marshal Shivdev Singh AOC-in-C Western Air Command in his Office, in the presence of all Western Air Command Staff Officers. Photos of the Presentation Ceremony were taken and published in the Fauji Akhbar and many local Newspapers.
The next day, I took the Trophy to Colonel (later Maj Gen ) J. Mayadas, CAFSO. He congratulated me for the Trophy. My request to him to take the Trophy and show it to the Signal Officer-in-Chief, the top Signal Officer of Indian Army was however, declined, maybe he took the presentation in some negative sense. He said that I shall soon be receiving a congratulatory letter from the SO-in-C for the achievement. Instead, I received my Posting Order to ‘P’ Comn Sig Regt at Alwar in Rajasthan asking me to leave on the day I completed two years in New Delhi
In the photo I can be seen receiving Trophy from the Air Marshal Shivdev Singh, AOC-in-C Western Air Command.

Later in Canada, I received a letter from the Indian Army's Signal Officer-in-Chief and Senior Colonel Commandant of the Corps of Signals saying "It may interest you to know that the accommodation of 1 Air Formation Signal Regiment has improved considerably with the excellent start given by your dedicated efforts. I hope during your next visit to India, you will spare some time in the Regiment's Officers Mess to see for yourself that the 'baby' you nurtured has grown."

I also received a letter from the Commanding Officer of 1 Air Formation Signal Regiment saying " The Trophy presented to you by Air Marshal Shivdev Singh AOC-in-C Western Air Command is a part of our proud heritage and is displayed prominently in the Officers Mess. Consequent to your efforts, the Regiment is now housed in proper buildings. May I request you to visit us during your next trip to Delhi, stay with us in the Officers Mess for a few days and go around to see the Regiment in its present form. It will be our honour and will give you satisfaction to see your efforts fructified."

Lieut Colonel Pritam Singh Jauhal World War II Veteran.
Founding President Indian Ex-Servicemen Society British Columbia, Canada.
E.mail:colpsjauhal@hotmail.com
Telephone: 604-581-9383
Date: September 20, 2011.

PRINT MEDIA NEWS --21 SEP 2011

2011-09-21T06:44:00.000+05:30

Battery-powered vehicle with gears developed Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, September 20
The trainees at the Army’s Ambala-based Industrial Training Institute (ITI) have accomplished a rare-feat by fabricating a battery-operated utility van that has five gears, including one reverse gear.
Though gear-less battery operated carts or vehicles have now become a common thing in India, a battery-operated vehicle with gears is an unusual thing.
Students who fabricated it belong to motor mechanic, electrician and welder streams, according to a statement issued here today.
The idea germinated about six months back when the dean and instructors at the ITI decided to fabricate a battery-operated vehicle that is unique and at the same time has training value commensurate with the cost incurred.
Christened “Cleanlander”, this vehicle is pollution free and energy efficient four-wheeler. The Chief of Staff, Kharga Corps, while inaugurating the Cleanlander, commended the team for translating a path-breaking idea into reality. He also presented a special prize to Nk Kalka Prasad who had worked overtime for timely completion of the project.
Army ITI is engaged in imparting technical training to the soldiers as well as their male wards to equip them with marketable skills to help them in post retirement rehabilitation or for career development. It is planning several new innovative projects during the current academic session.

Rehabilitating retiring soldiers Use them to combat Maoistsby Lt-Gen Harwant Singh (retd)

MORE than 80 per cent soldiers retire at the age of 36 or 37 years and their annual number is almost 50,000. They do not even reach the midway point of their pay band, miss out on increments, get pension based on the point in the pay band they are retired, missing out 24/23 years of higher pay if they, like all civilian government employees, had to serve up to the age of 60 years.

Consequently, they suffer multiple disadvantages. Retired too early and given inadequate pension, they, in addition, lose out on the largesse of at least two subsequent Central Pay Commissions. After taking the best years of a soldier’s life, we throw him out to fend for himself in the harsh realities of life: to find a job in mid-life.

The Defence Minister has finally realised that ex-servicemen do need a second career. According to him, they could be accommodated in Central Police Organisations (CPOs — now called CAPFS), government jobs, etc, and that he will also write to the states to employ ex-servicemen. Surely, he should know that instructions to the states and the CPOs already exist to that end, but are not implemented. Simply because implementation of orders/instructions, enforcement of laws, timely completion of projects, etc, are extremely poor in this country. Above all, there is so much money to be made in fresh recruitment!

This trained manpower, instead of being taken as a national asset, is simply being wasted, resulting in an ever-increasing number of disillusioned veterans. The government must work out a comprehensive scheme to absorb this trained and disciplined manpower into gainful employment. Some percentage must be taken into government jobs, the CAPFS, the railways, the state police, the forest departments and so on. Some others can be given technical training so that they can run their own little establishments or join the industrial force. These schemes will be implemented only when an Act of Parliament to this end is passed.

CAPFS units presently deployed against the Maoists and those special state police units created to deal with the Maoists, no matter how fanciful a name one may give them, (Grey Hounds, Cobras, etc) have simply not been able to measure up to the job. Reinforcing these units, presently fighting the Maoists, with retiring soldiers will not do. The latter will soon acquire habits and work culture prevalent in these units.

The deficiency with these units is of leadership, which has failed to train their men and are unwilling to lead and share the risks faced by their constables, etc. Thus, policemen of all hues, ill trained as they appear to be, are being routinely killed in large numbers while their officers do not figure even among the wounded! How come in every “fire-fight,” Maoists are always successful in carrying away their dead! There is the other issue of morale of this constabulary. At the last Independence Day function policemen were given around 900 gallantry awards. This is an unusually high number. According to Sun Tzu, the great Chinese soldier and scholar, indiscriminate grant of gallantry awards to a force is a sure sign of low morale. There is complete failure to infiltrate these groups with intelligence organisations’ own operators (moles). Consequently, the police is being perpetually surprised.

Raising more CAPFS and state police units in any form will not do, as these have simply not been able to meet the Maoist challenge. Moreover, these units will be on the country’s pay rolls for the next 40 years and on the pension list for another 15 to 20 years: long after the Maoist problem would have disappeared. Therefore, raising of such units should be stopped and instead financial resources earmarked for these be deployed for the betterment of people in the Maoist-affected areas. The practice of outsourcing an anti-Maoist operation to SPOs and Salwa Judum groups must be ended. Such groups tend to become law unto themselves, settle personal scores, indulge in contract killings, kidnapping, etc, as it happened in Punjab during the eighties and the early nineties. Such vigilante groups are no solution for combating insurgencies.

Based on the indications from the Ministry of Home Affairs, the military is reported to be working on raising two Corps with Rashtriya Rifles (RR) units. RR battalions have been formed by milking regular units. This has resulted in serious deficiencies in the regular units, particularly of officers. This shortage is impacting training, administration and operational fitness of these units. Raising more RR units will aggravate this problem. It amounts to dealing with one problem and creating another far more serious. Further, the situation in Jammu and Kashmir does not appear to be stable enough to pull out RR battalions from there. In case these are raised as an additional manpower, the problem would be the same as in the case of raising more police units.

A better and cheaper option is to raise military units from the retiring soldiers, who are already trained. These units should be headed by Short Service Commission and other officers who retire early. It may be advisable to take some retired and yet young brigadiers and maj-generals who have a vast experience of counter-insurgency operations. This should be taken as their second career, spanning five (for officers) to 10 years (soldiers), with pay and gratuity in addition to the emoluments earned earlier. For cohesiveness and integration of personnel into well-organised units, it would be preferable to form them out of their original groupings — Dogras, Jats, Kumaon, the Artillery Regiment, etc.

Where possible, officers for these units too should be from the same groups. Brigade and divisional headquarters as well as corps headquarters can be formed mostly from the pool of retired officers and others. This force should be mandated to operate across state boundaries and work in consonance and in coordination with the CAPFS, state police forces, intelligence agencies and state governments. Such an arrangement will prove an effective instrument to completely eliminate the Maoist problem in a span of five to 10 years, which otherwise has all the portents of spreading. While these new units and formations are given six months to organise, integrate and train at the regimental centres, minimum essential temporary accommodation must be there in various locations where these units and formations are to be housed. Once such a proposal is accepted, the other details can be worked out.

The eventual remedy for the Maoist problem lies in undertaking developmental work in the affected districts. Therefore, anti-Maoist operations and developmental work must go apace; these should be well coordinated and be complementary to each other. While we go hammer and tongs after the Maoists, every step must be taken to avoid collateral damage and mishandling of innocents and those caught up in the vortex of Maoists violence. Operations should be coordinated by all agencies.

The Maoist problem needs urgent attention. Though the Prime Minister considers it as the most serious threat to internal security, there is much delay and procrastination in the proper tackling of this menace. Left inadequately addressed, it will spread, with grave consequences for the country’s stability and progress.n

The writer is a former Deputy Chief of Army Staff.

DEFENCE RELATED PRINT MEDIA NEWS-----20 SEP 2011

2011-09-20T05:25:00.001+05:30

Pak wants China rail link through PoK

Beijing, September 19

Pakistan wants China to construct a rail link through Pakistan-occupied-Kashmir (PoK) and a network of oil and gas pipelines, which will help cut costs for Beijing's burgeoning energy needs and ensure mutual benefit.
Pakistan has also offered to be part of a Chinese plan to build a new Silk Road to connect the oil-rich Xinjiang region with Euro-Asian countries, including Russia. Xinjiang borders Russia, Mongolia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Afghanistan, Pakistan and India.
While Pakistan president Asif Ali Zardari referred to some of these proposals during his recent visit to Xinjiang province, Pakistan's Ambassador to China Masood Khan today elaborated on them in an article in the state-run daily 'Global Times'.
"Pakistan and China both aspire to enhance connectivity between them. They will achieve this objective by upgrading the Karakoram Highway, building a 411-mile-long railroad from the Pakistani town of Havelian to Khunjerab Pass, located on the Sino-Pakistani border, install a fibre optic link across the border, and plan the laying of oil and gas pipelines that can originate from the Gulf and end up in China's western region," he said.
Much of Khan's article dwelt on China's new plan to develop its western region, including Xinjiang bordering PoK, under which billion of dollars of investment is expected to pour in by creating new SEZs and industries that can benefit both Pakistan and China.
China sees Xinjiang's development as revival of the new Silk Road connecting it to Euro-Asian countries as well as Russia. — PTI

Beneficial for both

n China plans to develop its western region, including Xinjiang, which borders PoK

n Billions of dollars of investment is expected to pour in by creating new SEZs and industries to benefit both Pakistan and China

n China sees Xinjiang's development as revival of the new Silk Road connecting it to Euro-Asian countries as well as Russia. Pak wants to be part of the plan

n Trade routed via Xinjiang can save China 5,000 miles and several days of transit time

Infiltration bids on the rise:

Lt-Gen Nehra
Ravi Krishnan Khajuria
Tribune News Service

Jammu, September 19
A senior Army officer said today infiltration attempts in the state had increased in the past few months.
Talking to mediapersons on the sidelines of a two-day national seminar on “Mapping Contemporary Pakistan” here, Lt-Gen JP Nehra, GOC of the 16 Corps, said the Indian troops were vigilant to deal with such attempts.
“For the past one and a half months, infiltration attempts in the state have increased. But we are alert and vigilant,” he said.
“Our LoC and border management is strong. Our troops and leaders are all motivated and ready to face any situation. Infiltration attempts increased recently, but we thwarted them successfully,” he said.
“Training camps are intact on the other side of the LoC and militants are still getting arms training, but we will not allow them to succeed in their designs,” the GOC said.
“It is a sense of desperation or other strategy,but we are not aware of it.However,we are vigilant and all their nefarious designs will be thwarted,” he said.
Regarding the number of terror camps and militants across the LoC, Lt-Gen Nehra said the number kept on changing.
According to the information given by intelligence agencies, 42 militant camps were still active, while 250 to 500 militants were waiting to infiltrate, he added.
Asked whether the Army had recovered propaganda material like CDs in Rajouri district to engage the youth in militancy, he said, “We have not recovered any propaganda material from hideouts or from anywhere else,but we have recovered war-like stores”.
However, he admitted that militants were trying to lure teenagers into militancy.
On the e-mail reportedly sent by the Harkat-ul-Jihadi-al-Islami (HuJI) to some mediapersons after the Delhi blast, Nehra said once the investigation was complete, the truth would come out.
The Army officer also denied reports of a recent attack by the Pakistan troops on an Indian forward post along the LoC in the Pallanwala sector to capture it.

‘Pakistan a wounded tiger’Tribune News Service

Jammu, September 19
Noted analyst Prem Shankar Jha called Pakistan a lost state while the Commander of the White Knight Corps, Lt-Gen JP Nehra, dubbed the country as a wounded tiger vis-à-vis Kashmir.The Vice-Chancellor of the University of Jammu, Prof Varun Sahni, felt that Pakistan, on the lines of India, should have used its forces to cleanse certain “no-go” areas immediately after Partition.
These views were expressed at a two-day national seminar on “Mapping Contemporary Pakistan”, which began at the University of Jammu here today.
Though the views of Jha and Sahni did evoke interest among the audience, it was Lt-Gen Nehra, who felt that Pakistan’s internal situation would make no difference to its policy on Kashmir and it continued to send militants to India.
“Pakistan will remain contemporary for us for a while. Some of us still feel the pain of Partition because we were one country before 1947. Further,historically, geographically and culturally, there are strong linkages between the two countries.However, let us not be obsessed with Pakistan,” he said.
Nehra described Pakistan as a wounded tiger in the wake of the defeat of its army at the hands of the Indian military in the past and its failure to annex Kashmir. “We are a far more powerful country and have to play our role in the international arena, but we need to understand Pakistan. It occupies a unique geo-strategic place in South Asia,” said Lt-Gen Nehra.
He also made an interesting observation that despite being the “epicentre” of militancy, Pakistan was also a key ally of the US in its war on global terrorism.
“Ostensibly, there is a civilian government, but the army calls the shots. Forces at loggerheads within Pakistan coexist miraculously,” Lt-Gen Nehra said, adding besides a pro and anti-US and anti-West pulse in the neighbouring country, an anti-India sentiment was being nurtured continuously over the years.
Amid all the ills plaguing it, Pakistan had also suffered the ignominy of defeat several times at the hands of India and it was like a wounded tiger, he said.
The image of the Pakistan army had taken a beating post-Osama killing. “With over six lakh serving and five lakh reserve troops, the Pakistan army is still a force to reckon with. And, when it comes to their army, there is ISI also. It is just like a state within a state,” he added.
“They (ISI) are the ones involved in planning terror attacks, breeding terrorists and funnelling funds to promote militancy, and not to forget, that, too, in a nuke state,” Lt-Gen Nehra said. In this context, he referred to Pakistan’s defence budget.
On Pakistan’s growing ties with China, Lt-Gen Nehra referred to the recent statements of Chinese leaders, who had described their relations with Pakistan as “higher than mountains and deeper than oceans”.

Shed path of confrontation to resolve Kashmir issue:

PoK ex-PM

Srinagar, September 19

India and Pakistan should carry forward the positive change in their relations and shed the confrontationist and military approach to settle issues between them, says a senior politician of PoK.

"There has been a positive change in the relations between India and Pakistan and efforts should be made to carry it forward. The focus should be on the resolution of issues, including Kashmir,"a former Prime Minister of PoK, Sultan Mehmood Chaudhury, said here today.

Chaudhury, the first prominent politician from PoK to visit the state in the last 60 years,said the confrontationist attitude and the military approach had failed to resolve the Kashmir issue in the past 64 years and would not yield any results in future.

Appreciating the Indian response to the recent blasts as "mature", he, however, said the statements about the existence of training camps and militants in PoK was a diversionary tactic.

"India and Pakistan have to engage in a dialogue for resolving the Kashmir issue, but the leadership on both sides of the LoC has to be involved in finding a lasting solution," Chaudhury, who is here to attend a wedding,said.

He said the people on either side of the LoC were the "real sufferers" of the conflict.”We are a flexible people. We should be allowed to interact frequently. May be, we will come up with a solution that does not strengthen the status quo and is also acceptable to all the three parties to the dispute," the former PoK premier said and added a conducive atmosphere was needed for the dialogue to succeed.

Lauding the Government of India for allowing him to visit Kashmir, Chaudhury said: "It is a small confidence-building measure. However, it can be followed up by allowing more leaders from both sides of Kashmir to interact .— PTI

Rs 3-cr flares for IAF jets turn useless Their shelf-life expires after delay in project to upgrade MiG-21Vijay Mohan/TNS

Chandigarh, September 19

Infra-red flares worth over Rs 3 crore procured for IAF fighter aircraft were rendered useless as their shelf life expired while still in storage on account of slow pace of the project to upgrade MiG-21 Bison.

The issue has also revealed contradictory reasons forwarded by the Ministry of Defence (MoD) and the Air Headquarters over the IAF’s inability to utilise the flares that were procured from overseas between 1997 and 2002.

In January this year, the IAF accepted that 19,450 flares were destroyed after expiry of their shelf life due to delays in the project. The Air HQs also suggested life-extension clearance on some of the flares still in its inventory.

The MoD stand, on the other hand was that the holding of the flares was necessary due to the prevailing security scenario. Further, the ministry maintained that flares were kept in stock and not released to combat units, as their operational requirement did not arise till 2009.

Of the 20,000 flares procured, only 390 were used during the design and development phase of the Bison and subsequent trials and testing. The remaining were rendered useless in 2009.

In March 1996, the MoD had concluded a contract for procurement of a Counter Measure Dispensing System (CMDS) that protects aircraft against radar-guided and heat-seeking missiles. The flares form a part of this system and are used to deflect heat-seeking missiles.

The requirement and procurement of the system was projected and undertaken in consonance with the upgrade of 125 Bison aircraft that was originally scheduled to begin in 1998 and conclude in 2001.

Additional requirement was projected for installing the CMDS on the MiG-23 as well as the MiG-27 aircraft.

It was initially planned to utilise the entire stock of the flares by 2002. The project, however, progressed slowly due to delay in the indigenous development of certain avionic systems and flight testing. The upgrade was finally complete in 2008.

India, Lanka start major naval exercise in 6 years

DELHI: India and Sri Lanka on Monday kicked off their first major naval combat exercise in six years, with 16 warships off Trincomalee as part of New Delhi's continuing intensive diplomatic and military engagement with Colombo despite protests from some Tamil groups in the island nation. The six-day exercise called " SLINEX-11" near the north-east coast of Sri Lanka has six Indian warships led by eastern fleet commander Rear Admiral H C S Bisht, including the spanking new stealth frigate INS Shivalik, a Rajput-class destroyer and a missile corvette, participating in the combat manoeuvres. Sri Lankan navy has deployed two large off-shore patrol vessels, one fast-missile vessel, two fast-gun boats and six fast-attack craft for the exercise to boost "interoperability" between the two forces. "The last naval exercise with Sri Lanka was held in 2005. So, this is a major step-up in the navy-to-navy cooperation. Sri Lankan defence minister Gotabhaya Rajapakshe is likely to personally review the exercise by embarking on a warship," said an official. India's strategy to provide arms and military training, coupled with intelligence sharing and `coordinated' naval patrolling, undertaken even when the Sri Lankan forces were battling theLTTE, has been primarily aimed to counter ever-growing strategic inroads into the island nation by both China and Pakistan. Indian Navy in recent times has undertaken hydrographic surveys and salvage operations for Sri Lanka. Over the last several years, India has also trained thousands of Sri Lankan personnel at its military institutions ranging from Counter-insurgency and Jungle Warfare School at Vairengte (Mizoram) to School of Artillery at Devlali (Maharashtra), apart from providing specialized naval courses in gunnery, navigation, communication and anti-submarine warfare. Incidentally, India recently inked an Rs 300-crore contract with a Sri Lanka-based ship manufacturer, SOLAS Marine, to build 80 fast-interception craft or high-speed patrol boats to equip the new Sagar Prahari Bal (SPB) being raised by Navy in the aftermath of the 26/11 terror attacks in Mumbai. With 1,000 well-armed personnel, the specialized SPB will be tasked with the protection of naval and other assets, bases and harbours on both west and east coasts.

DEFENCE RELATED PRINT MEDIA NEWS-----18 SEP 2011

2011-09-18T22:29:00.000+05:30

Keep off PoK, India warns China

A few months ago, when China sent a diplomatic protest (demarche) to India regarding proposed oil and gas exploration in the South China Sea off Vietnam, India had refused to entertain it. Instead, in its reply, India told China that it should stop its activities in Pakistan occupied Kashmir (POK).
In fact, India has followed up its criticism with another strongly worded representation to China, issued a few weeks ago, asking it to stop its activities in PoK. India said Pakistan was in illegal occupation of that part of Kashmir and Chinese activities were in contravention of international norms. In Vietnam, India's ONGC and Petro Vietnam are in a joint venture in oil exploration in the South China Sea. India bought BP's assets in the project after it exited in 2006.
NEW DELHI: India has upped the ante against Chinese activities in Pakistan occupied Kashmir.

British parliament debates Held Kashmir

Published: September 17, 2011

The debate was initiated by a conservative MP, Steve Baker, who demanded that an International Commission should investigate the human rights violations in Jammu & Kashmir, KMS reported.Referring to an Amnesty International report MP Baker said, each year hundreds of people are held under the black law, Public Safety Act without charge or trial with many exposed to higher risk of torture and other forms of ill-treatment. tabling the motion, Mr Baker said, we should be strong advocates for the rights of Kashmiris.ISLAMABAD (APP) - In a significant development, the first of its nature, a general debate was held on Kashmir in the House of Commons, in London, on Thursday.A Labour MP, Shabana Mahmood maintained that the Kashmir dispute had turned into one of the most dangerous conflicts in the world, which needed urgent attention. She said that the suppression of an uprising in Indian Occupied Kashmir had led to grave human rights violations.Several MPs including lan Austin, Jonathan Lord and Andrew Griffiths said that the right to self-determination was the only way to resolve the dispute.

DEFENCE RELATED NEWS------17 SEP 2011

2011-09-17T05:15:00.000+05:30

THE LAST WORDBhuvan Chandra KhanduriRETURN OF THE GENERALS.M.A. Kazmi

He is back and he has taken command. Barely a month before his 77th birthday on October 1 and just about two years after he was unceremoniously shown the door by his own party, Major General (retd) Bhuvan Chandra Khanduri was sworn in as the Chief Minister of Uttarakhand for the second time last week.
He is already hard at work. He has asked his ministers and IAS and IPS officers in the state to disclose their property by October 15. He is hurrying through a new ‘Jan Lokpal Bill’ to give the Lokayukta more teeth and is committed to usher in a Public Services Act to ensure greater accountability and better governance.
And he is building bridges. Soon after he was sworn in, General Sahib, as he is called by political workers, drove to the house of the veteran Congress leader and the state’s first Chief Minister Narayan Dutt Tiwary. The gesture surprised people who have known Major General (retd) B.C. Khanduri even as it signalled how much the former army officer-turned-politician has changed, mellowed and learnt since his first stint as Chief Minister four years ago.
The Bharatiya Janata Party had dumped him in 2009, barely two years after he had led the party to victory. The stern and upright General had rubbed too many people the wrong way. Khanduri had refused to go out of his way to woo industrialists and businessmen. He was blamed for turning away the Tatas who were keen to shift the Nano plant from Singur in West Bengal.
His decision to launch inquiries into as many as 56 alleged scandals alienated a section of bureaucracy. His efforts to enforce punctuality prompted vicious whisper campaigns and his attempts to make MLAs used to the habit of seeking prior appointments and lay down the business were deemed ‘insulting’.
While the earlier Congress government had allowed outsiders to buy up to 500 square yards of land, Khanduri clamped down the ceiling at 250 yards, which allegedly stifled the real estate boom in the state. He also stopped extravagant spending and tried to bring in financial accountability and probity in public life.
While his predecessor conducted politics from his bedroom and through informal and oral directions, the former Major General, who had commanded a Regiment on the Western front during the 1971 war, tried to bring about military discipline in the civilian government and soon fell foul of the wizened politicians, contractors and businessmen.
Described, unfairly as it were, as a ‘negative’ person prone to pull up colleagues and public servants in public, the dissidents forced the BJP to replace him in 2009, though he still had the support of a majority of the MLAs. The loss of all the five Lok Sabha seats in the state in the 2009 General Election to the Congress came in handy for the BJP to axe Khanduri.
Now he has been brought back by a beleaguered BJP to lead the party to the election, which is barely four months away. With his public image of being a clean politician and a good administrator, the party hopes to ride over the corruption scandals, controversies and poor governance that marked the last two-and-a-half years in the state.
But it might turn out to be a little too late for the General to pull off a miracle. His priorities are clear though.
“I admit that not presenting the recommendations of the Lokayukta in the state Assembly since 2006 was a mistake but I am all for giving more powers to the Lokayukta and to bring the office of the Chief Minister under its ambit,” he says emphatically. There is not much more though that he can hope to achieve in the short time at his disposal. But whether such legislative measures will impress the electorate remains to be seen.
What’s more, he is ‘once bitten twice shy’. Having learnt bitter lessons from his last stint, this time the General Sahib appears more accessible, more conciliatory, more media savvy and more willing to strike a compromise. He would be hoping that it does not cramp his style though or affects his public image and prevents him from delivering on his promises.
Khanduri comes from an illustrious and well-to-do Brahmin family from Tehri-Garhwal. An engineering graduate from Allahabad University, Khanduri plunged into politics soon after his retirement from the Army Engineering Corp in 1990.
Nominated by the BJP to contest the 1991 general election from Pauri, he won the Lok Sabha seat. Although Khanduri lost the seat in the next general election, he wrested it back in 1998 and retained it in 1999. That was when Atal Bihari Vajpayee included him as a Union Minister of State in the Union Council of Ministers.
Entrusted with independent charge of surface transport, the former army officer soon became the poster boy of the National Democratic Alliance (NDA). He used his engineering background to good effect in executing Vajpayee’s ambitious Golden Quadrilateral project to connect the North with the South and the East with the Western parts of the country through highways. That is also when he acquired the reputation of being a tough administrator with a no-nonsense approach.
Earlier he went to jail during the agitation for separate statehood, demanding that the Garhwal and Kumaon hills be taken out of Uttar Pradesh. The protracted agitation paved the way for the formation of Uttarakhand in November, 2000. That was the year he became a union minister and such was his reputation that while the BJP lost the 2004 general election, he himself had no difficulty in retaining his seat in Parliament. Indeed, he was forced to resign from the Lok Sabha in 2007 and move to the state as chief minister.
The return of the prodigal is prompted as much by BJP’s political compulsions as by the former General’s astute moves. Lying low since 2009, Khanduri nevertheless maintained contact with his supporters, travelling to all corners of the state and lending his weight to popular issues. He was quick to endorse Anna Hazare’s campaign against corruption and led a march in its favour. As the Pokhriyal government was dragged into scandals, the contrast with Khanduri became more visible.
Khanduri persuaded Lt General (retd) T.P.S. Rawat to leave the Congress and join the BJP, but Rawat was unhappy with the BJP leadership in Delhi and formed the “Uttarakhand Raksha Samiti’, even as Khanduri supporters called upon him to leave the BJP if necessary. The rattled BJP leaders gave in and Khandhari became chief minister.
The election, scheduled for early next year, will be an acid test for the veteran. But the father of a son and a daughter, the former a journalist in the United States and the latter married to an IAS officer, Khanduri appears to be brimming with confidence. He is acutely aware that losing this one battle could cost him the war.

SPECIAL TO THE TRIBUNEPak forced to shut shop at UK arms fair for flouting normsShyam Bhatia in London

Until it was forced to close down early (on Friday), Pakistan had the most-sought-after stand at this year's international arms fair in London where 49 countries and more than 1,000 weapons manufacturers have been displaying their lethal wares.
But popular interest in Islamabad’s flamboyant display of gold-plated sub-machine guns could not prevent the Pakistanis from being kicked out on Friday for “infringement” reasons from the Defence and Security Equipment International (DSEi) exhibition.
The Tribune has been given to understand that Pakistanis were penalised by exhibition organisers for publicising the manufacture of cluster bomblets that are forbidden under UK law.
A spokesman for the exhibition explained, “We have very strict laws in the UK about what kind of exhibits can be shown here. If exhibitors infringe UK law, we close their stand.”
He said, “The Pakistan Ordnance Factory stand and Pakistan’s Defence Export Promotion Organisation pavilion have both been permanently shut after promotional material was found on both containing references to equipment, which after close examination, was found to breach UK Government export controls and our own contractual requirements.
“We are currently investigating how this breach of our compliance system occurred. However, we believe that the immediate action we have taken highlights our commitment to ensuring that all equipment, services, promotional material, documentation and anything else on display complies with domestic and international law.”

Gold-plated gifts

Earlier in the week, arms specialists from Islamabad were also showcasing other defence items like fashion body armour, another way of describing leather jackets and waistcoats with reinforced linings.
More deadly items, such as nuclear weapons parts, which used to be available to the highest bidder, were missing. They have remained off limits ever since the US pressurised the Pakistani authorities to arrest the notorious nuclear scientist Dr AQ Khan.
What was left for interested buyers visiting the Pakistan stand at the Defence and Security Equipment International (DSEi) exhibition were relatively “harmless” artillery shells although these were easily overshadowed by the ‘piece-de-resistance’ represented by gold-plated sub-machine guns manufactured under licence from German weapons manufacturer Heckler&Koch.
A spokesman for Heckler&Koch explained how sometime in the past - in the 1970s - the German Government granted Pakistan a licence to manufacture the 9mm weapon that has a range of 30-40m. Each one of the gold-plated variety is available for a mere £10,000 (approximately Rs 7.5 lakh) and their most eager customers, according to Pakistani defence salesmen before they were forced to shut down their stand, inevitably are Arab princes from Saudi Arabia and the Gulf states who want something a little different to give as presents to their friends and relatives.
These princes, in turn, got the idea of gold-plated weapons from the late Saddam Hussein who started a trend back in the 1980s by gifting gold-plated pistols and Kalashnikovs to friends and allies in his own country and the rest of West Asia.
Although the defence value of such weapons is questionable - the consensus at the exhibition is that they are prestige/ceremonial items for display - they easily outshone more standard items of warfare on show from other countries.
The nearest popular rival to the Pakistanis before they withdrew was the so-called invisible tank made by the UK’s BAE System. It is described as invisible because of its ability to create a false thermal image of a van or a truck for an enemy wearing night-vision goggles.

The Indian stall

India is also visible at the arms fair, although its presence is less obtrusive. The Defence Research Development Organisation has been exhibiting models of the Light Combat Aircraft (LCA), recently ordered by the IAF, as well as the Advanced Medium Combat Aircraft (AMCA) and the Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) that has attracted attention from Oman and South Korea.
Buyers from Slovakia have expressed interest in India’s armoured personnel carrier (BMP2K). Private companies selling wares to countries like Egypt have also shown interest in India’s small calibre ammunition and the 7.62 medium machine gun.
Tata Steel, which is separately represented, is involved in an extremely interesting project to produce under licence an ultra-hardened steel called super bainite that can be used for a new type of body armour. The British Ministry of Defence wants super bainite to be manufactured at Tata’s plant at Port Talbot in Wales.

Air Force’s 17 Squadron celebrates diamond jubilee Tribune News Service

Bhisiana (Bathinda), September 16
As part of the 60th anniversary celebrations (diamond jubilee) of the Golden Arrows, the gallant 17 Squadron of the Indian Air Force (IAF), an impressive programme was organised at the Air Force Station here today. The Commodore Commandant of the squadron, Air Vice-Marshal BS Dhanoa, was the chief guest on the occasion.
Displaying their skills, an 11-member Air Devil team, led by Squadron Leader Dinesh Tyagi, jumped from a height of 8,000 ft from an aircraft with parachutes. A member of the team jumped with the Air Force flag while three others demonstrated their skill by making the Tricolour formation with coloured parachutes.
After this demonstration, an 18-member Air Warrior Drill Team presented a wonderful performance by making various formations, including tunnel. An Air Force officer also presented an aircraft aero modelling show by flying a model aeroplane with remote.
Later, Air Vice-Marshal Dhanoa and the Commanding Officer of the Air Station, Wing Commander Rajesh Nandedkar laid wreaths at the war memorial. Air Vice-Marshal also inaugurated the Station Museum.
Interacting with mediapersons, Air Vice-Marshal Dhanoa said the 17 Squadron was formed on October 1, 1951, at Ambala. He said the 60th anniversary celebrations were on and would conclude on October 1 at Delhi.
He said the 17 Squadron participated almost in all the wars, including those in 1965 and 1971, besides playing a key role in “Operation Safed Sagar” during the Kargil war in 1999 and won the highest number of gallantry awards in the IAF, including a Vir Chakra (posthumous) to Squadron Leader Ajay Ahuja. Besides the officers of the Air Station, their family members were also present to witness the show.

Lt-Gen Parnaik visits remote areas of Kishtwar Tribune News Service

Jammu, September 16
The GOC-in-C,Northern Command, Lt-Gen KT Parnaik, paid a visit to the Counter-Insurgency Delta Force , yesterday.
He was accompanied by Lt-Gen JP Nehra, GOC, White Knight Corps.
During the course of the visit, the Army Commander visited the forward location of the Rashtriya Rifles Battalion at Navpachchi, which is the highest and the remotest area within the jurisdiction of the force.
Lt-Gen Parnaik was briefed by the Commanding Officer, the Sector Commander and the GOC of the Counter-Insurgency Delta Force Delta, about the operations and situation in the surrounding areas.
The GOC-in-C also interacted with the troops and appreciated the work being done by them.
Later, the delegation flew over the Keshwan, Warwan and Inshan Valleys before landing at Kishtwar.
On arrival at Kishtwar, the Army Commander interacted with prominent personalities of the district, including civil administration officials, officers of the Central Police Organisations and political leaders.
Members of religious institutions and representatives of the judiciary and the Health Department also interacted with the Army Commander.
Two disabled persons, ex-sepoy Thakur Das of the Army Service Corps of Moolchattar village, and Kantram of Chingam village, were given wheelchairs by the Army Commander.
During the last leg of his visit, Lt-Gen Parnaik was briefed by Maj-Gen M Ramesh Babu, GOC, Delta Force, on the prevailing situation in the region.
The Army Commander also had a detailed discussion with senior Army officers at Dharmund.

The terror webUS acknowledges Indian Mujahideen threat

THE designating of the Indian Mujahideen (IM) as a “foreign terrorist organisation” is a clear-cut sign of the growing realisation in the US that it can no longer be indifferent to the continuing terror attacks in India because these have a bearing on the entire world. Terror organisations are seamlessly enmeshed and the US just cannot afford to target only those which pose a direct challenge to its country and citizens. Besides putting IM on terror blacklist, the US has gone on to describe it as a terrorist group with “significant links to Pakistan”. That underscores the point that its patience with Pakistan’s antics is running out. IM maintains close links with other US-designated terrorist entities like the Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT), Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) and Harkat ul-Jihad-i-Islami (HuJI). A US Congressional report had recently identified IM as an example of dangerous growing trend of indigenous Islamist terrorism in India.
Besides carrying out dozens of bomb attacks throughout India since 2005, IM also played a facilitative role in the 2008 Mumbai attack carried out by LeT that killed 163 persons, including six Americans. The slapping of sanctions means that all American citizens will be prohibited from knowingly providing material support or resources to, or engaging in other transactions with, IM, and the freezing of all property of the organisation that are in the US or come within the US, or the control of US persons.
How one wishes the US had been that firm with all tentacles of terrorism right from the beginning. Even now it has a long way to go. Ms Lisa Curtis, a leading South Asia expert who is Senior Research Fellow at the Heritage Foundation, told a Congressional hearing on US-India counter-terrorism cooperation recently that downplaying connections between al-Qaida and India-centric terrorist groups was counter-productive. By choosing to view their activities through a separate lens, US officials had failed to hold Pakistan accountable for dealing effectively with terrorists located on its territory. Indian officials also believe that the US has withheld information on al-Qaida terrorist operatives suspected of having ties with Kashmiri militants.

Golden Arrows Diamond Jubilee CelebrationsSkydivers’ valour leaves spectators spellbound Sushil Goyal
Tribune News Service

Skydivers (left) showcase their skill during the 60th anniversary celebrations of the Golden Arrows, 17 Squadron of the Indian Air Force, at the Air Station in Bhisiana near Bathinda on Friday

Bhisiana (Bathinda), September 16
As part of the diamond jubilee celebrations of the Golden Arrows, the gallant 17 Squadron of the Indian Air Force (IAF), an impressive programme was organised at the Air Station of the IAF here today.
The Commodore Commandant of the squadron, Air Vice-Marshal (AVM) BS Dhanoa, was the chief guest on the occasion.
Displaying skills, an 11-member Air Devil team of skydivers, led by squadron leader Dinesh Tyagi, jumped from an aircraft at the height of 8,000 feet.
A member of the team jumped with the IAF flag while three others synchronised to form the Tricolour with their coloured parachutes leaving the spectators spellbound.
Later, an 18-member Air Warrior Drill Team presented a thrilling performance by making various formations, including tunnel, which was applauded by the gathering. An IAF officer also presented an aircraft aero modelling show by flying a model aeroplane with a remote control.Later, AVM Dhanoa and the Commanding Officer of the Air Station, Wing Commander Rajesh Nandedkar, laid wreaths at war memorial.

Members of an Air Warrior Drill Team perform during the celebrations. Tribune photos: Pawan Sharma

The AVM also inaugurated the Station Museum. Interacting with mediapersons, he said the 17 Squadron was formed on October 1, 1951, at Ambala, adding that the 60th anniversary celebrations were on and would conclude on October 1 at Delhi.
The AVM said the 17 Squadron had participated in almost all the wars besides playing a key role in the ‘Operation Safed Sagar’ during the Kargil war in 1999. The squadron also won the highest number of gallantry awards in the IAF, including a Vir Chakra awarded to Squadron Leader Ajay Ahuja posthumously.
Family members of the officers of the Air Station also attended the celebrations.

Army’s trekking team flagged in Tribune News Service

Bathinda, September 16
A team of an Engineers Regiment that was marched off by Brigadier Rajeev Chaudhry from Bathinda on August 10 last to scale the mighty peaks of the 'Operation Vijay', was flagged in here today.
The team of nine soldiers from the youngest regiment of the Indian Army was led by Lieutenant Vijay Kumar Sharma. The team negotiated the mighty peaks of the most rigorous and tough terrains, including the Tiger Hill, Tololing, Drass, Kargil, Batalik, Jubar,Sonal Top and Chorbat la.
The team scaled heights of over 5000 meters over a period of 31 days from August 15 to September 16 and paid homage to the martyrs of the “Operation Vijay” on the 12th anniversary of the victory of the Indian Army in the Kargil War.

NO END TO PAK REPRESSION IN GILGIT----CLICK FOR VEDIO

2011-09-16T22:32:00.000+05:30

Western Command marks 64th Raising Day Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, September 15
A solemn wreath-laying ceremony marked the Western Command’s 64th Raising Day at its headquarters in Chandimandir today.
General Officer Commanding-in-Chief, Western Command, Lt Gen SR Ghosh and Lt Gen Vijay Oberoi, the Command’s former GOC-in-C, paid floral tributes to
martyrs at the Veer Smriti war memorial.
A ceremonial guard reversed arms as a mark of respect to the martyrs, while buglers sounded the Last Post. A two-minute silence was also observed. Senior officers were also present on the occasion. Inmates from the Paraplegic Rehabilitation Centre, Mohali, also attended the ceremony as the Army is observing 2011 as the ‘Year of Disabled Soldiers’.
Raised in 1947 as the Delhi and East Punjab Command, with headquarters at Delhi, it was mandated to control formations with an operational role in the territorial areas of the present Western and Northern Commands. It was redesignated as the Western Command in January 1948. In 1954, the headquarters of the command moved to Shimla. After the Indo-Pak Conflict of 1971, the Northern Command, with its Headquarters at Udhampur, was carved out of the Western Command to assume operational responsibility of Jammu and Kashmir. Later headquarters of the Western Command moved to Chandimandir in 1985.
The Western Command was instrumental in effectively blunting the Pakistani aggression in 1947, 1965 and 1971, and subsequently carrying the battle into enemy territory. Its troops, formations and units have always distinguished themselves, winning a large number of gallantry awards, including 11 Param Vir Chakras.

Armed Forces Tribunal to be armed with contempt powers Vijay Mohan
Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, September 15
The Armed Forces Tribunal will get more teeth as it is expected to be armed with powers of contempt. This would give the Tribunal the much-needed authority to get its judgments and orders implemented by the executing agencies.
At present, the tribunal does not have the powers of civil contempt, under which it can initiate action like the High Court against erring parties if its directives are not implemented. This was perceived as a serious handicap in its functioning. Tribunal’s chairman Justice AK Mathur had, during a visit to Chandigarh some time ago, termed the tribunal as a “toothless” body as a large number of its orders were not being implemented by the defence establishments. Similar views were also expressed recently by Justice Ghanshyam Prashad, a senior judicial member of the Chandigarh Bench.
Sources revealed that the proposal to empower the tribunal with contempt powers has already been approved by the Chiefs of Staff Committee and the Ministry of Law has given its opinion and recommendations on it. The file is now reportedly back with the Ministry of Defence and would be sent to the Cabinet after being cleared by the Defence Minister.
While the Armed Forces Tribunal Act, 2007 conferred powers of criminal contempt, where action can be initiated against anyone for misconduct, obstructing the functioning of the tribunal or showing disrespect to the bench, the provisions relating to civil contempt are ambiguous.
Earlier this year, a judgment of the Kerala High Court, while interpreting the provisions of the Act, brought out that the tribunal has full powers to initiate contempt proceedings if its orders are not implemented. Sources said there is also a proposal to increase the upper age limit for the tribunal’s judicial members.
The tribunal’s bench comprises a judicial member, who should have been a judge of the High Court, and an administrative member, who should have served in the rank of Major General and equivalent for at least three years.

2011-09-15T06:59:00.000+05:30

World War-II hero dies

Ludhiana, September 14
Lt. Col. Chanan Singh Dhillon, famous Punjabi Indian Sikh World War-II hero and veteran, passed away after a prolonged illness here today. He was 91.
Lt. Col. Dhillon fought in World War II in the British Indian Army. Lt. Col Dhillon was an NCO when he was taken a POW in 1943 and remained confided to POW Camp XII in Limburg near Frankfurt in Germany. He was rescued by Americans in December 1944 and taken to Paris from where he was brought to London and sent back to India.
In the camp, he was responsible for the welfare of the POWs. He along with some Canadian, British and Australian soldiers managed to dig a tunnel while at the Odine POW camp near Naples in Italy.
When the Germans arrested Marshal Missolini, Italian soldiers were disheartened. In the resultant laxity, Lt. Col. Dhillon and others managed to stage a dramatic escape. But he was caught soon along with others and brought back to Germany. Lt. Col Dhillon, who rose from being a Havildar during the war, was instrumental in successfully persuading the British Government to erect a war memorial for all those who had perished in the world wars in the early 2000s in London.
He was invited to attend the Victory Parade in August, 1995. As part of marking 50 years of the war, he attended Liberation Day at Bethune in France, 29 km north of Arras, where two memorials have been erected for Indian soldiers who died in the two wars. He also visited the Menin Gate Memorial in Belgium, also in the memory of the Indian soldiers.
At both the places, local inhabitants took his hand and kissed it, calling him their saviour. They thanked him for fighting for them. To his surprise during the Victory Parade in London, there was no mention of the Indian forces. This forced him to write to Queen Elizabeth. He also met the then Prime Minister John Major.

IAF suspends Group Capt Amit Gupta

New Delhi, September 14
Group Captain Amit Gupta was today suspended from service by the Indian Air Force after he was arrested in connection with the alleged suicide of former officer Anjali Gupta.
"Amit, who is currently posted at the Nagpur air base, has been suspended under the Air Force Act after he was arrested and taken into judicial custody by the local police authorities in Bhopal," IAF officials said here. They said the officer would remain suspended till the completion of the judicial process. Amit was arrested under Section 306 of the IPC in connection with the suicide committed by Anjali at his residence here on September 11.
Family members of Anjali, who was the first IAF woman officer to be dismissed from service, have alleged she was in a live-in relationship with Amit since 2001 and that continued even after she was court-martialled in 2006. They have claimed Amit had promised to marry her but as it did not materialise, she committed suicide. — PT

Chinese troops enter Indian side, Army denies it

Leh, September 14
Chinese troops are reported to have entered into Indian territory and destroyed some old Army bunkers and tents in the Chumar division of Nyoma tehsil, about 300 km from here.
While some reports suggested that the Chinese troops in helicopters entered one-and-a-half km into Indian airspace, other reports said the helicopters landed in Chinese territory and then the troops marched into the area to dismantle the bunkers, a move aimed at displaying that the area belonged to them.
The Army denied that any such incident had taken place.
The Chinese troops attempted to dismantle an old Army bunker, which was not used by the troops for long, sources said. — PTI

A damning reportIndia needs to fill gaps in air defence

THE recent revelation that the Indian Air Force has been unable to meet its critical requirement of jam-resistant and secure air defence communication links is a matter of grave concern. A recent report prepared by the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) has detailed a disappointing account of how the country’s premier aeronautical agency, the Hindustan Aeronautics Limited, produced a vital communication system that was both unreliable and severely deficient in performance.

The communication system in question assumes considerable importance keeping in view that it was meant for use in a sophisticated high-technology environment that involved data linking and communication with the Israeli-supplied airborne warning and control system (AWACS) that have recently been inducted into the air force. A secure and advanced communication system is paramount in today’s complex battle environment that comprises highly advanced electronic warfare systems capable of jamming, intercepting and distorting communication. The AWACS, a key force multiplier inducted by the air force, functions as a long distance eye in the sky and will play a vital role in the event of a war. Hence, developing a secure communications system becomes even more vital. The recent CAG report is but one among a long list of reports in which anomalies in India’s defence have been figuring with monotonous regularity. For example, most of India’s artillery, a sizable portion of tank regiments and a large portion of the air force fighter, transport and helicopter fleet are vintage and are in dire need for either urgent replacement or modernisation.
India, with its size, importance and security concerns, can ill afford such gaps in its defence preparedness. Both the 1999 Kargil War and the Indian military’s mobilisation in December 2001 following the terror attacks on Indian Parliament revealed shortcomings in the country’s military. A decade later, successive reports prepared by CAG and by the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Defence continue to expose deficiencies in India’s military capabilities. The government needs to seriously review India’s defence preparedness and ensure that that there are no serious gaps.

Twenty-hour Kabul siege shows Taliban strengthLongest insurgent attack on Afghan capital claims 25 lives

Kabul, September 14
A marathon siege in Kabul’s diplomatic enclave ended today with the death of the last two of a group of gunmen who had held off Western and Afghan security forces for nearly 20 hours, showering rockets on Western embassies in a dramatic show of insurgent strength.

It was the longest and most audacious militant attack on the Afghan capital in the decade since the Taliban was ousted from power and a stark reminder of insurgents’ resources and reach as Western forces start to return home.
At least 11 civilians were killed, three of them children, NATO-led foreign forces said. The Ministry of the Interior said four policemen died, and that toll was likely to rise. Eleven insurgents also died in the battle, seven of them in the clearing operation inside the building where the attackers were holed up near the US embassy. Four other attackers served as suicide bombers.
US Ambassador Ryan Crocker said about six or seven rockets had hit inside the embassy area during the early hours of the attack, launched early on Tuesday afternoon, but said the range meant they had not posed a serious threat. “They were firing from at least 800 metres away and with a rocket-propelled grenade that’s harassment. That’s not an attack,” he said in an interview transcript handed out to journalists in Kabul.
The insurgents had holed up in a multi-storey building still under construction and launched their attack by firing rockets towards the US and other embassies and the headquarters of NATO-led foreign forces.
Afghan security forces backed by NATO and Afghan attack helicopters fought floor-by-floor in the 13-storey building, which the six insurgents appeared to have booby trapped.
They had arrived under burqas in a car packed with explosives and entered the high-rise after shooting a security guard. “As our country is traditional and Islamic, there is a special respect for women and the enemies exploited this to get to the building,” Kabul Police Chief Ayoub Salangi said. — Reuters

AFT orders reinstatement of jawan dismissed for molestation Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, September 14
About five years after an Army jawan was dismissed and sentenced to rigorous imprisonment by a summary court martial for allegedly molesting the wife of another jawan, the Armed Forces Tribunal (AFT) has set aside the verdict of the court and ordered that he be reinstated in service with full consequential benefits.
The bench, comprising Justice NP Gupta and Lt Gen HS Panag, held that the charges levelled against the accused, Gurpreet Singh could not be proved beyond reasonable doubt. He was tried for two charges under Section 69 of the Army Act.
The alleged incident took place in 2005, whereas the summary trial was conducted a year after the incident. He was a member of the night guard troop when the wife of another jawan alleged that he broke into her first-floor house and molested her. The petitioner had contended that the statements of the complainant were inconsistent, false and the trial was conducted without adherence to the Army Act and the Army Rules.
The bench observed that there was no eyewitness in the case and the complainant did not identify the accused for two consecutive days immediately after the alleged incident despite all members of the guard troop being lined-up and ample opportunity being given to her. She only identified him from a photograph two days later.
On the other hand, the petitioner had a watertight alibi supported by three witnesses. The bench ordered that reinstatement of the petitioner be done in another unit and he would be entitled to pay and allowances from the date of his dismissal to the date of his reinstatement.

Air Marshal Chandra visits 3 BRD Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, September 14
Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief Maintenance Command, Air Marshal J Chandra came on a two-day inspection visit to No 3 Base Repair Depot here today. This is his first visit to the depot after taking over as the Maintenance Command Chief earlier this month.
Air Marshal Chandra interacted with officers of the depot and was given a presentation on various activities being undertaken there. He visited different technical groups and evaluated the efforts undertaken by the depot towards production enhancement.
During the visit, the AOC-in-C will also interact with the air warriors and civilian staff besides reviewing various welfare measures adopted at the depot as per the laid down policies.
Air Marshal J Chandra started his career as an engineering officer in an Air Defence Direction Centre, which provides air surveillance for most air bases in the Western Air Command. He has had two tenures in the Radar Communication Project Office, various appointments at fighter airbases and has also been the Chief Engineering Officer of a major fighter and helicopter-training base, Air Officer Commanding of a Radar and Communication Repair Depot. Before assuming the responsibilities as the Maintenance Command head, he was the Director General (Systems) at Air Headquarters.

2011-09-14T17:47:00.000+05:30

2,000 retired Armymen to help CRPF tackle Naxals

New Delhi, September 13
The CRPF will for the first time in its 71-year history induct over 2,000 former Army personnel in one go to bolster its anti-Naxal operations, offering them a salary of upto Rs 55,000 per month.
A total of 2,012 retired Junior Commissioned Officers, Non-Commissioned Officers and others are being hired by the force to enhance its capabilities to undertake counter-IED operations in Naxal-hit zones where the force has deployed over 70,000 troops.
Initially, 348 JCOs and 1,754 NCOs will be recruited on a minimum contract of three years. While the JCOs would be paid Rs 55,000 a month, NCOs would draw Rs 34,000, Sudedar Majors Rs 34,000, Subedars Rs 33,000 and Naib Subedars Rs 32,000.
The ex-Armymen’s numbers could be increased if the force requires more personnel. They would render special training and assistance in CRPF patrols to counter ambushes and IED. — PTI

Sikh officer takes command of Canadian unit Prabhjot Singh/TNS

Chandigarh, September 13
After joining Canadian army as a trooper in 1989, Harjit Singh Sajjan, now a Lieutenant-Colonel, has became the first Indo-Canadian to take command of a Canadian regiment.
He took over as Commanding Officer of the British Columbia Regiment yesterday at a glittering ceremony held at Beatty Street Armoury in Vancouver. He took over from Lieut-Col Bruce Kadanoff, who had been the Commanding Officer for three years.
The British Columbia Regiment has been the oldest Regiment of the Canadian army. Colonel Sajjan's appointment has come at a time when the Sikh community of Canada in general and British Columbia in particular is busy in the centenary celebrations of the oldest Sikh Gurdwara of North America at Abbotsford. It is symbolic and appropriate that for the first time a Canadian Sikh has been given the command of a Canadian army regiment. Two years after joining the army, Colonel Harjit Singh Sajjan was commissioned in the British Columbia Regiment in 1991. Four years later, he was promoted as Captain and later as a Major.

Old equipment puts IAF ops, aircraft at risk Vijay Mohan/TNS

Chandigarh, September 13
Despite having spent Rs 116 crore and considerable time, the Indian Air Force has been unable to meet its critical requirement of jam-resistant and secure air defence communication links.
Consequently, not only does the IAF continue to use obsolete and unreliable equipment that has led to aborted missions and potentially unsafe situations in the air and low aircraft availability, but also, this has raised the spectre of the network’s effective integration with the Airborne Warning and Control System (AWACS).
Radio sets in service with the IAF for air defence communication links were scheduled to be phased out in 2004 and a project was initiated as far back as 1993 to develop airborne and ground-based secure radio/telephone sets. Christened INCOM, these were to be developed by Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) as per specifications laid down by Air Headquarters in 1987.
Though INCOM sets were meant for use in a hi-tech environment, Air Headquarters granted certain concessions in the specifications during the development stage itself in view of technological constraints. In 1997, IAF accepted INCOM sets worth Rs 71 crore from HAL.
Additional concessions were sought by HAL between 1999 and 2001. Evaluation trials, however, revealed poor performance and unreliability of the system with respect to range, inter-frequency interference, software and frequent breakdown in communication, according to the latest report of the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG).
Despite being aware of these “unsatisfactory” trial results and the fact that the INCOM sets were expected to be used in a highly sophisticated environment in the future for data linking and communication with airborne warning systems, five more contracts worth Rs 45 crore were signed between 2003 and 2006 for installing INCOM sets on different aircraft fleets. Most of the sets were supplied by HAL between 2006 and 2010.
HAL was supposed to make good the technical concessions during development subsequently, but failed to do so. In 2008, it claimed it had reached the limit of its technological capability for further development.
“The performance and reliability of the sets was far below the requirements of the IAF. The contracted specifications in the area of frequency range, speech secrecy, anti-jamming etc, considered vital for flight safety of the combat fleet, have not been met,” CAG observed.

A magnificent view of the Ranjit Sagar Dam after a rainy spell in Jammu.

कोस्ट गार्ड, कैसे बनें तटरक्षक

कोस्ट गार्ड भारत के समुद्री तटों की सुरक्षा करने वाली प्रमुख एजेंसी है। यही एजेंसी समुद्री तटों की सुरक्षा को सुनिश्चित करती है। ऐसा भी माना जाता है कि यह एजेंसी किसी भी तरह के संकट में भारतीय मछुआरों की भी मदद करती है और उन्हें सुरक्षा प्रदान करती है। कोस्ट गार्ड की डय़ूटीज में समुद्री तटों के पर्यावरण के संरक्षण और सुरक्षा के साथ प्रदूषण को नियंत्रित करना और तस्करी विरोधी ऑपरेशंस में प्रशासन की मदद करना भी शामिल है।

काम के घंटे
कोस्ट गार्ड समर्पित, पेशेवर अफसरों और लोगों की ऐसी टीम है, जो समुद्री जहाजों, विमानों को ऑपरेट करने के अलावा समुद्री तटों के आसपास भारतीय सरोकारों की हिफाजत करती है। कोस्ट गार्ड ऑफिसर का जीवन कड़ी मेहनत, पेशेवर रुख, रिस्क, एडवेंचर और भारत व विदेश जाने के अवसरों का मिला-जुला रूप होता है। एक कोस्ट गार्ड अफसर का रूटीन उसके कार्यो पर निर्भर करता है।
वेतनमान
सहायक कमांडेंट के रूप में एक व्यक्ति 5400 रुपये ग्रेड पे के अनुसार प्रतिमाह 15600 से लेकर 39100 रुपये प्रतिमाह प्राप्त करता है। डिप्टी कमांडेंट के रूप में ग्रेड पे 6600 रुपए तक बढ़ जाता है। डिप्टी जनरल इंस्पेक्टर के रूप में व्यक्ति की तनख्वाह 8700 ग्रेड पे के अनुसार 37,400 से 67,000 रुपए प्रतिमाह होती है। और जब व्यक्ति डायरेक्टर जनरल के स्तर तक पहुंचता है तो ग्रेड पे 12,000 रुपए तक बढ़ जाती है। इस तनख्वाह में महंगाई भत्ता, यातायात भत्ता और किट मेंटिनेंस अलाउंस भी शामिल है। इसके अतिरिक्त ड्य़ूटी की प्रकृति और पोस्टिंग की जगह के अनुसार अन्य भत्ते भी स्वीकार्य हैं।
स्किल्स
फिजिकल स्टेमिना, भारतीय तटों के बारे में अच्छी जानकारी, कम्युनिकेशन स्किल आपके लिए अतिरिक्त योग्यता साबित हो सकती है।
कैसे प्रवेश लें
बारहवीं क्लास साइंस के साथ पास हो, उम्र 21-25 साल के बीच हो और आपके पास मैथ्स और फिजिक्स के साथ बीएससी की डिग्री हो, तभी आप असिस्टेंट कमांडेंट के लिए आवेदन कर सकते हैं (सामान्य डय़ूटी के लिए) और लड़कियां शॉर्ट सर्विस नियुक्तियों के लिए आवेदन कर सकती हैं। असिस्टेंट कमांडेंट, जनरल ड्यूटी (पायलट/नेविगेटर) के लिए आपकी उम्र 19-27 साल के बीच होनी चाहिए और आपके पास फिजिक्स और मैथ्स के साथ बीएससी की डिग्री होनी चाहिए। असिस्टेंट कमांडेंट की भर्तियां हर एक साल बाद होती हैं। पात्रता की शर्तों और शारीरिक मानकों के बारे में अधिक जानकारी के लिए आप www.indiancoastguard.nic.inवेबसाइट देख सकते हैं।

Chinese troops enter Indian territory; dismantle old bunkers

LEH: Chinese troops are reported to have entered into Indian territory and destroyed some old Army bunkers and tents in Chumar division of Nyoma sector, about 300 kilometres from here.
While some reports suggested that the Chinese troops in helicopters entered one-and-a-half kilometres into Indian airspace, other reports said that the helicopters landed in Chinese territory and then the troops marched into the area to dismantle the bunkers, a move aimed at displaying that the area belonged to them. The Army denied that any such incident had taken place. But sources in the know said that two Chinese helicopters had entered into air space and landed one-and-half kilometres into the Indian territory at Chumar in Chingthang area of Tehsil Nyoma.
The Chinese troops attempted to dismantle an old army bunker, which was not used by the troops for long, the sources said. Another version quoted to eyewitnesses, who are often the grazers, said that Chinese helicopters landed near the Line of Actual Control and then marched in to destroy old bunkers of the army and tents of ITBP.

Air Force: Where's the question of us denying Mausam permission?

Pankaj Kapur's Mausam reportedly ran into trouble when it was screened for the Indian Air Force earlier this month, as they objected to certain scenes in the film.
But Indian Airforce PRO Wing Commander Gerard Galway says otherwise. "There is absolutely no controversy. I do not know where these stories are coming from," he said.
According to him, the producers of Mausam screened the film for them on September 6 and 7. On the first day, there was no problem. On the second day, some scenes that were being worked upon on the computer were shown.
These were flying scenes -- a fight sequence showing Shahid Kapoor [ Images ] flying a fighter plane along with five other fighter planes.

"We gave them some suggestions that would make the scenes look more realistic," Galway said. "The producers agreed. I hear they have incorporated our suggestions. Once we see it, we will give them permission. Where is the question of us denying them permission?"The changes, apparently, can be made on the computer and does not require the scenes to be re-shot.The film's producer Sheetal Talwar had said that the script had been cleared by the Air Force on August 23."We are not talking about the script; there is no change in the script. The script remains as it is," Galway clarified. As far as the Indian Air Force is concerned, Mausam will release on its scheduled date, September 16. Unfortunately, the film missed out on its premiere at the ongoing Toronto International Film Festival because of the controversy.

शाहिदा बनेंगी पाक की पहली थ्री-स्टार महिला सेनाधिकारी

Source: agency | Last Updated 18:49(13/09/11)

आर्टिकल

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इस्लामाबाद. पाकिस्तान की सेना की एक शीर्ष अधिकारी शाहिदा बादशाह देश की पहली थ्री स्टार महिला अधिकारी बनने जा रही हैं। बादशाह सेना की दो स्टार जनरलों में सर्वाधिक वरिष्ठ हैं और इस समय आर्मी मेडिकल कालेज में पदस्थ हैं।
अक्टूबर में पांच लेफ्टिनेंट जनरल के सेवानिवृत्त होने पर बादशाह को पदोन्नति दिए जाने की संभावना है। सर्जन जनरल लेफ्टिनेंट रेहान बर्नी तथा चार अन्य थ्री स्टार जनरल अक्टूबर में सेवानिवृत्त होने जा रहे हैं।
सूत्रों ने बताया कि बादशाह, बर्नी का स्थान ले सकती हैं। सेना के एक सूत्र ने बताया,‘कम से कम पांच मेजर जनरलों की लेफ्टिनेंट जनरल के अगले पद पर पदोन्नति करने के लिए प्रक्रिया पहले ही शुरू हो चुकी है।’ अन्य दो स्टार वाले जनरलों में नेशनल लॉजिस्टिक सेल प्रमुख मेजर जनरल जुनैद रहमत वरिष्ठता सूची में शीर्ष पर हैं।
पाक सेना में महिलाएं: पाकिस्तान एक मात्र ऐसा मुस्लिम देश है जहां महिलाएं मेजर जनरल पदों पर हैं। देश में अधिकतर महिलाएं चिकित्सा और शिक्षा कोर तक ही सीमित हैं। हाल ही में सरकार ने लड़ाकू क्षेत्र को भी उनके लिए खोल दिया गया है। वर्तमान में करीब 4000 मुस्लिम महिलाएं पाकिस्तान की सेना का हिस्सा हैं।

2011-09-12T08:57:00.000+05:30

Tributes paid to those killed in Phillora Tribune News Service

Patiala, September 11
The 46th anniversary of the ‘Battle of Phillora’ in the 1965 Indo-Pak war was commemorated in a solemn ceremony held at the Black Elephant Cenotaph in Patiala, near Raja Bhalendra Singh Sports Complex here today.
A wreath was laid at the cenotaph by General Officer Commanding, Black Elephant Division, Major General Ravindar Pratap Sahi to pay homage to the brave martyrs. Many senior officers, JCOs and other officers were present at the ceremony and joined in honouring those who ‘gave their today for our tomorrow’, as the ceremonial guard reversed arms and the buglers sounded the Last Post.
During the Indo-Pak war of 1965, the offensive against Pakistan in the Sialkot sector was launched on the intervening night of September 7 and 8, 1965, and Phillora was captured by 11th September. The Battle was intense with over 400 tanks slugging it out in a limited area of 50 Square kms. A total of 165 enemy tanks were destroyed by the Indian Army with five officers and 64 other ranks of the Black Elephant Division paying the ultimate price by laying down their lives in this battle. Among the martyrs was Lt Col AB Tarapore, who was awarded the Param Vir Chakra, the country’s highest award for gallantry.

Remembering the warriors

n During the Indo-Pak war of 1965, the offensive against Pakistan in the Sialkot sector was launched. Phillora was captured by 11th September
n 165 enemy tanks were destroyed by the Indian Army with five officers and 64 other ranks of the Black Elephant Division paying the ultimate price by laying down their lives
n Among the martyrs was Lt Col AB Tarapore, who was awarded the Param Vir Chakra, the country’s highest award for gallantry

Lt-Gen Singh visits Jammu Tribune News Service

Lt-Gen AK Singh, Army Commander, Southern Command (left), being received by Maj-Gen TPS Waraich, GOC of the Tiger Division in Jammu on Sunday. A Tribune photograph

Jammu, September 11
Lt-Gen AK Singh, Army Commander, Southern Command, met the soldiers of his regiment here today to motivate them and to know about their problems.
Lt-Gen Singh is the Colonel of the 46 Armed Regiment and the 51 Armed Regiment.
On his two-day-long visit to Jammu, the Army Commander was received by Maj-Gen TPS Waraich, General-Officer-Commanding of the Tiger Division.
Addressing the troops at a special sainik sammelan, Lt-Gen Singh expressed happiness that the units were doing well and were all geared up to face any challenges.
Suneeta Singh, regional president of the Family Welfare Organisation of the Southern Command, accompanied him and interacted with the families of the soldiers and apprised them about the welfare schemes initiated by the regiment.

Army contention on age of Chief fallacious: MoD

New Delhi, September 11
The Defence Ministry has told the Army headquarters that it is “completely fallacious” to contend that anomaly in General VK Singh’s date of birth exists only in one branch of the Service.
“Both on facts and in substance, it cannot be stated that there were no anomalies in the records and it is completely fallacious to state that there was ‘only one omission’ in one branch,” the Defence Ministry said in documents obtained through RTI.
It has been contended that the issue pertaining to confusion over Gen Singh’s date of birth is due to the Military Secretary branch, which, on the basis of his UPSC form for entry into the National Defence Academy (NDA), has recorded May 10, 1950 as his date of birth.
The ministry said an earlier RTI reply, in which the Legal Adviser (Defence) had accepted Army Chief’s age to be May 10, 1951, had to be “abrogated” as Army’s Adjutant General’s branch “had not provided full facts” before the officer.
The Defence Ministry said it had been stated by the Attorney General that the amendment of the date of birth was not “legally tenable” and the issue could not be reopened at this stage on any basis whatsoever. — PTIIndia's obsession with Pakistan has often cast a cloud on relations with other neighbours. That is why the 'Big Brother' going more than half way to address the concerns of Bangladesh is a positive step in the right direction

STAKES IN THE WELL-BEING OF NEIGHBOURSAshok Tuteja

DESPITE Dr Manmohan Singh's assurance that he was committed to the Teesta river deal sooner rather than later, the Sheikh Hasina government is still under siege in Bangladesh for allegedly conceding too much to India without getting anything worthwhile in return. The all-pervasive suspicion in Dhaka is that the deal will never come to be signed.

IT TAKES TWO TO TANGO: BSF Patroling Indo-B’Desh border near Siliguri. Smuggling and illegal immigration remain contentious bilateral issues.

Prime minister Dr. Manmohan Singh with Sheikh Hasina during his visit to Dhaka last week.—AFP

The Teesta failure brought so much pressure on Sheikh Hasina that her government wriggled out of the Feni water sharing accord and signing a 'letter of intent' containing Dhaka's consent to let India use Chittagong and Mongla ports to carry goods through the Bangladesh territory to its north-eastern states.
However, in the midst of the action-packed drama over the Teesta issue, the two countries did sign a landmark accord to end their border feud. The accord paves the way for settlement of the land boundary issue, including the undemarcated areas, territories under adverse possession and exchange of enclaves. But the land accord has already triggered protests in Assam. Still many believe that the land swap deal, in fact, could be a trend-setter for resolving border disputes between India and other countries in the region, like Pakistan and Nepal.
Another significant accord, whose significance was lost in the din over the Teesta controversy, is on the exchange of television programmes. Under the agreement, Doordarshan and Bangladesh Television agreed on telecast of TV programmes, recognising the value of television channels as a means to promote cultural exchange and dissemination of information. This could well be a precursor to a similar agreement with Pakistan.

Extradition

But an extradition treaty between the two countries still appears to be a distant dream, given Dhaka's reservations about such a pact. Bangladesh is of the view that that any such treaty must include other SAARC nations. The issue has been hanging fire for years despite New Delhi's anxiety to conclude the agreement without any further loss of time. However, Bangladesh still appears reluctant on extraditing top ULFA insurgent Anup Chetia, who has served his sentence in the country after being arrested on the charge of entering the neighbouring country without valid documents in 1997.
Despite a steady improvement in ties, the relationship is still dogged by a sense of mistrust and neglect. Bangladesh feels that India's 'big brother' attitude is the bane of all problems.
People in Bangladesh duly recognise the role of India in the birth of their country in 1971 but wonder why the relationship went sour within a few years. The general impression is that India is so obsessed with Pakistan that Bangladesh and other regional countries get marginalised.
What apparently adds to their frustration is the constant charge by India about the illegal movement of people from Bangladesh to India. The illegal immigrants from Bangladesh are not confined to the Northeast any longer but spread across the length and breadth of India. They are now on the voters' lists and hold ration cards. Point this out to a Bangladeshi and he retorts, "So what, there are a lot of Indian products and goods being smuggled across the border and, in return, you get (our) people.''

Dividends

The yawning trade gap has been another major issue between the two countries. The perception in Dhaka has been that while Bangladesh has been, on both official and non official accounts, a major market for Indian products, India has devised a number of non-tariff barriers that have stood in the way of mutually beneficial trade.
Therefore, Prime Minister Singh's announcement to remove all 46 textile lines which are of interest to Bangladesh from India's 'negative list' for least developed countries (LDCs), thereby reducing the applicable duty rate to zero, was appreciated across Bangladesh.
But the impression in both New Delhi and Dhaka still is that the follow up after the summit-level meetings between the two countries is extremely poor and disappointing. Expectations that frequently arise out of these summits then lead to disappointments and, if anything, further accentuation of the mistrust and suspicion on both sides.
Indian officials say they have tried very hard but were not getting the desired results with Bangladesh. Part of this has something to do with the rather fractured politics of Bangladesh where political parties are always at each other's throat due to an extremely frustrating relationship between Sheikh Hasina and Begum Khaleda Zia. Unlike India, the political psychology in Bangladesh is that 'winner takes it all' and 'God help the loser'.

China’s shadow

There are also elements in Bangladesh who feel that the relationship with India has not paid dividends and it is time that Dhaka reaps the benefit of friendship with China. No surprises that China is building bridges and ports and has become the number one trading partner of Bangladesh.
Beijing is believed to have proposed to help Bangladesh build a deep-sea port in Chittagong and exchange data about the Brahmaputra that flows from Tibet to Bangladesh through India. China has also promised assistance in installing Bangladesh's first space satellite. Of course, China's deep forays in Bangladesh do not serve New Delhi's strategic interests.
The growing fundamentalism in Bangladesh too can cause problems for India. Indian officials, however, dismiss the apprehension that Bangladesh could go Pakistan's way, given the rise of Islamic ideology. They point to the fact that Bangladesh has an active civil society, mass-based political system and a strong sense of national identity among the people.
While returning from Dhaka, the Indian Prime Minister described his visit to Bangladesh as a 'sentimental' journey. He recalled that soon after the liberation of Bangladesh, he was asked by Indira Gandhi to go to Dhaka to work out a programme of economic cooperation between the two countries. Even Bangladeshi leaders greatly admire the contribution made by Singh in putting the India-Bangladesh economic engagement on the fast track. However, much more needs to be done to give content and meaning to the bilateral relationship.
It's time for the leaderships in both India and Bangladesh to think a little out of the box to move forward and set aside the baggage of the past. India, being the largest country in the Continent, will have to take the lead.

1965 war hero's statue a picture of neglect Mohit Khanna
Tribune News Service

The statue of war hero Major Bhupinder Singh in a neglected state near Bharat Nagar Chowk in Ludhiana. Tribune photo: Himanshu Mahajan

Ludhiana, September 11
While city residents were glued to their TV sets to watch the ceremonies marking the tenth anniversary of the 9/11 terror attacks on the United States, the heroic exploits of an unsung hero of the 1965 Indo-Pakistani war, army major Bhupinder Singh, who was posthumously awarded the Mahavir Chakra for laying down his life for the country, went unnoticed.
Soldiers of Hudson Horse unit who came all the way from Pathankot to celebrate India’s victory in the war paid floral tributes to Bhupinder who played a key role in it. However, the shabby condition of the statue of the war hero dampened their zeal.
The statue, standing atop of a Centurion battle tank stationed near Government College for Women, and which was once a source of inspiration for the city’s youngsters, is now languishing in utter neglect. Garbage is littered around and wild vegetation has grown around it.
Jagjit Singh, a soldier of the unit, lamented the state of neglect in which the statue has been kept. “We’ve written several letters to the authorities concerned to clean the area around the statue, but nothing has been done so far. When we come here every year we first wash the statue and clean the surroundings, but as soon as we leave the place antisocial elements come and take way the garlands. We’ve come to know the tank has been used as a shelter by beggars," he added. In the absence of a ladder a soldier perched atop the statue put a garland around the hero’s neck with the help of a wooden stick.
The garland got stuck around the turban and it was after great deal of struggle that the solider managed put the garland around the neck, causing embarrassment to onlookers.
Except Swarn Singh, a retired soldier, no ex-army man was present at the scene to pay tributes to the war hero. Even Bhupinder’s family members did not turn up at the venue.
"We had informed Bhupinder’s relatives about the programme, but unfortunately they couldn’t come," said RIS/Maj Tirath Singh.

Decorated for heroism in tank battle

y Maj Bhupinder Singh, who was posthumously awarded the Mahavir Chakra for his sacrifice in the 1965 Indo-Pakistani war, was a squadron commander of the Hudson Horse unit in the war. He destroyed many enemy tanks in the Sodereke battle, during which his tank caught fire and he suffered major burn injuries. However, he did not stop and captured part of enemy territory.

2011-09-09T18:01:00.000+05:30

Oil, Civil Aviation, Navy & IAF singed by CAG reportsTribune News Service

New Delhi, September 8

Although not as damning as some of the earlier reports, three CAG reports tabled in Parliament on the last day of the Monsoon session today, made the Government squirm again.

Describing the decision to place orders for 111 aircrafts for Air India and Indian Airlines as a ‘recipe for disaster’, the Comptroller & Auditor General’s long-awaited report, roundly criticised the Ministry of Civil Aviation for the ‘supply driven’ order. The decision, the report pointed out, was taken not by the airlines but at the ministry.

The original proposal was to buy 28 aircrafts and was first floated in 1996. But while the United Front and NDA governments failed to finalise the contract till 2004, the UPA government moved at lightening speed so that in a little over a year, the proposal to buy 68 aircrafts for Air India and 43 for Indian Airlines was formulated and approved by the Air India board, the ministry, the Planning Commission, the Public Investment Board and the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs.

The report also criticised the merger of the two national carriers and held the Government responsible for not allowing them a level playing field. Their most profitable routes were hived off to other airlines, records the report, and added that both the decisions, the purchase order and the merger, originated ‘from the top’ and not from the airlines.

Another CAG report pulled up the Petroleum Ministry for giving undue favour to Reliance Industries. It faulted the Oil Ministry and the Directorate General of Hydrocarbons ( DGH) for allowing Reliance to retain ‘the entire 7645 Km offshore block’ in the Bay of Bengal in contravention of the Production Sharing Contract. Reliance should have relinquished 25 per cent of the area as per the PSC, it stated.

The report, however, is silent on whether the Reliance claim of capital expenditure having gone up from the estimated US $ 2.4 billion in 2004 to US $ 8.8 billion in 2006 was unjustified or inflated.

In a third report, the CAG pulled up the Indian Air Force and the Navy for procedural irregularities, acquiring aircrafts without weapons, purchasing ineffective missiles and poor supervision in installing vital radars and aerostats causing loss to the treasury.

CAG slams Navy for buying MiGs without weaponsAjay Banerjee/TNS

New Delhi, September 8

Pointing to a sheer wastage of public funds, the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) in its report slammed the Ministry of Defence and the Navy for buying war planes that do not have weapons. It also pointed a finger at the Indian Air Force (IAF) for having ‘let off’ three of its officers who caused a loss of Rs 302 crore when a sensitive aerostat radar got damaged.

The CAG, in its report tabled in both Houses of Parliament, said the Indian Navy followed a flawed approach in acquiring its fighter aircraft fleet by not finalising the associated weapon package. The CAG said that 11 out of 16 MiG 29K aircraft, acquired at a cost of $740.35 million (Rs 3,405.61 crore), been delivered in December 2009 and May 2011. No matching armament, for which a contract was signed in March 2006, has been delivered as on October 2010, thereby adversely affecting the operational capabilities of the aircraft.

Further, the Navy has selected a ‘beyond visual range’ (BVR) missile with an unsatisfactory track record. Lastly, the complete armament package finalised for the aircraft contains certain ammunition, worth $20.98 million (Rs 93.68 crore) which did not have the approval of the competent authority.

The MiG 29K is a deck-based fighter meant for seaborne aircraft carrier INS Vikramaditya (Admiral Gorshkov). At present, the fighters are based at a land base in Goa as the aircraft carrier itself has not arrived.

The agreement was signed under an Inter-Governmental Agreement (IGA) between India and Russia in October 2000 for the procurement of an aircraft carrier along with the MiGs for onboard operations. The Ministry of Defence in January 2004 concluded a contract with Russian Aircraft Corporation (RAC-MIG) for procurement of the MiG 29K aircraft. The weapons package was postponed and de-linked from the negotiations for the aircraft.

IAF censured over damaged radar

The CAG went on to question the capability of the IAF in tracking enemy aircraft. Saying it has taken a hit as one of its two aerostat radars was damaged in an accident in 2009.

This was due to the "failure" of its three officers and is likely to be operational only by next year. A Court of Inquiry was ordered to investigate the causes of the accident involving the Rs 338 crore aerostat. It “held three officers responsible for their failure in adequate supervision" of the maintenance activities.

CLAW-LESS HAWKS

No matching armament for the Navy’s MiG 29K fighter planes, for which a contract was signed in March 2006, has been delivered till Oct 2010
Then, the Navy selected a ‘beyond visual range’ missile with an unsatisfactory track record
The complete armament package contains certain ammunition that do not have the approval of the competent authority

Fresh twist to Army Chief’s age row Tribune News Service

New Delhi, September 8
Less than 10 days after the Army Chief Gen VK Singh filed an unprecedented statutory complaint seeking a review of his date of birth (DoB), Defence Minister AK Antony yesterday added a new twist to the issue, saying the Army Chief has got his last three promotions on the basis of the same DoB that he was now disputing.

AK Antony, a man who is normally reticent and has avoided commenting on the matter to the media, in a written statement in the Rajya Sabha, yesterday revealed that the Army Chief has been getting his promotions on the basis of the DoB of May 10 1950.

He said: “The date of birth of Gen VK Singh, Chief of Army Staff, has been maintained as May 10, 1950, at the time of his selection as Corps Commander in 2006 as well as his subsequent promotions as Army Commander in 2008 and Chief of the Army Staff in 2010”.

In 2006, the Chief was promoted from Major General to Lieut General and posted as Corps Commander of the Ambala-based 2 Strike Corps. His next promotion was in 2008 when he was made the General officer Commanding-in-Chief (GoC-in-C) of the Kolkata-based Eastern Command. In March 2010, Gen VK Singh took over as Army Chief.

Antony further said the General was left with eight months and 23 days of service as on date. (Retirement due in May 2012 as per May 10, 1950 date of birth). A different date of birth finds mention in certain documents, the minister replied to a query posed by Mohan Singh in Rajya Sabha yesterday.

Recently, Gen VK Singh had filed a statutory complaint in the matter, Antony’s reply said. Sources said that this answer in Parliament should not be interpreted as an answer to the statutory complaint. As per the Army Act, the statutory complaint has to be replied within 90 days and this case that would mean by November 25 2011.

The Army Chief has two sets of date of birth in records. The Military Secretary (MS) branch shows it to be May 10, 1950 whereas the Adjutant General's (AG) branch shows it to be May 10, 1951.

The two DoB’s have a 45-year-old history. The General, when he joined the National Defence Academy, had mentioned his DoB as May 1950 in his signed application that is maintained by the MS branch. Gen VK Singh’s matriculation certificate says his DoB is May 10, 1951. The Defence Ministry has rejected his contention on July 22 and Gen VK Singh, in response, on August 25 filed the statutory complaint under the Army Act seeking redressal.

2011-09-06T16:28:00.000+05:30

Defence Secy visits LoC

Srinagar, September 5

Defence Secretary Shashikant Sharma, who arrived on a three-day visit here yesterday, visited the Line of Control (LoC) in the Tangdhar sector in Kupwara district today. He was accompanied by Lt-Gen AS Lamba, Vice-Chief of the Army Staff Subhash Chandra, and senior Army officers, a defence spokesman said.
The high-level delegation from Delhi was briefed on the current situation on the LoC, infiltration and ceasefire violations by the Pakistan army. Later, the delegation called on Governor NN Vohra and Chief Minister Omar Abdullah and interacted with them on various security-related issues. — TNS

Home for orphan girls celebrates anniversary Tribune News Service

Jammu, September 5
The Borderless World Foundation’s (BWF) home for orphan girl children performed a havan to celebrate its second anniversary at Barnai here yesterday.
A number of dignitaries, including Maj-Gen TS Waraich along with his wife, took part in the celebrations.
Maj-Gen Waraich interacted with the children and inquired about their health. “It is good to see the kind of work the Borderless World Foundation is doing and supporting these girls and helping them stand on their feet. The kids are very confident and I am sure they will have a great future. My wife and I are very happy to be here.”
Rajani Devi, warden of the home, said, “Last year, we were new to this place and the people in the neighbourhood barely knew us. This year, we have more children and the people around have shown a lot of love and generosity to us. We are happy. It seems like one huge family.”
Adhik Kadam, the founder and Chairman of the foundation, was also present during the celebrations. Before the conclusion of the ceremony, the girls gave handmade gratitude cards to all the guests.

Lt Col convicted for selling weapons illegally Vijay Mohan/TNS

Chandigarh, September 5
A lieutenant colonel was held guilty as the first in a series of general court martials to try officers for alleged irregularities in sale of non-service pattern (NSP) weapons concluded today.

He has been awarded a severe reprimand and loss of one year’s seniority for the purpose of promotion, sources said. The court verdict is subject to confirmation by the convening authority. The trial, presided over by a brigadier, was held at Bikaner military station.

The Army had ordered trial by court martial of close to 30 officers. Some of these trials are already underway at different military stations. Names of several senior officers, including those of major generals and brigadiers, figure in the case. Those facing court martial so far are of the rank of Colonel and below. Officers have challenged the proceedings against them before the Armed Forces Tribunal (AFT).

A large number of officers and ex-servicemen had reportedly sold off their NSP weapons, procured from ordnance depots at concessional prices for personal use, to civilians at higher rates. The weapons include pistols, revolvers, shotguns and rifles of different calibres that are obsolete.

A PIL filed in Rajasthan High Court had alleged these weapons were falling into hands of people with dubious credentials. Further, these officers had not taken prior permission from competent authorities before selling the weapons.

In view of this, the Army had initiated a court of inquiry (COI) in the matter. It was conducted by Maj Gen B.S. Daulta, then General Officer Commanding, 16 Infantry Division. Investigations were carried out by military intelligence and it forwarded a four-volume 339-page report to the presiding officer of the COI.

Documents attached with the petitions filed before the AFT reveal that the military intelligence had complied a list of 113 weapons that were disposed of. The persons “involved” in the sale of weapons include three major generals, six brigadiers and three women, presumably wives of officers. Some names figure several times in the list.

In their petition before the tribunal, some of the accused officers have claimed the said weapons were sold on cash payments by the ordnance depot on basis of allotment by the director general ordnance services (DGOS). They have alleged that the particulars of all the officers and weapons are available with them, yet on pretext of non-identification, some officers have been left untouched, which appeared a deliberate attempt to hide their identity. Also, no action has apparently been initiated to identify them even after three years have elapsed.

A POIGNANT MOMENT AND A MOMENT OF TRUTH

The Commandant

Bombay Engineer Group & Centre

Kadki, Pune – 411 003

Respected Commandant,

Jai Hind & my salute to you.

1. I am addressing this email to you, mainly to seek a small favour.

2. I was Coy Cdr 182 Engr Construction Coy of 268 Engineer Regiment during the 1971 war; and, 268 ER was in sp of 9 Inf Div, astride Bangaon-Jessore-Khulna axis in the Eastern Theatre.

3. I am presently in a state of mourning; for CAESAR, my lovable Labrador and my constant companion for the past twelve years & a half passed away at 10 AM on Thursday, 11 Aug 2011, leaving behind a big void. To be honest, I do not know as to how to come to terms with the loss; as I was not prepared for it.

4. The night before CAESAR passed away I was sitting next to him with his head on my lap; and patting him on his head, I was crying and pleading, ‘CAESAR please do not leave me and go away. I love you’. He then gave me a mournful look, as if asking me, ‘Master, why are you crying? I know it is because you love me so dearly’. He then said, ‘Hark back to Dec 1971; when on the night 7/8 Dec 1971 and on the morning of 8 Dec 1971 your coy suffered casualties on account of mine blasts. One Sapper died and ten were seriously injured. After having constructed the Krupmann Bridge over R Kabadak or Kapotakshi at Jingergacha in the morning of 8 Dec 1971, you walked nine or ten miles to collect the body of the Sapper from the site of the mine blast and cremated him on the banks of the river at 2 AM on the night 8/9 Dec 1971. Please tell me Master, did you cry for the Sapper who died during the War? No. Why? It is not because you did not love your soldiers. It is the Army’s ethos that one does not cry for soldiers killed in war; for there is no time to cry; and one has to move on to fight the next battle. I agree that at the end of each day or night during war; the numbers of soldiers killed & injured are just statistics, cold statistics. But Master, having said that, I wish to ask you, once the war was over, did you visit the parents or the widow of the Sapper who got killed on 8 Dec 1971, during the war? No. Why? Was it not your duty to do so? After the war, did you visit your soldiers who were wounded on night 7/8 Dec and on 8 Dec 1971; and, were undergoing treatment in various Military Hospitals? No. Why? Was it not your duty to do so? Please ponder’. Having said thus, my dear CAESAR lapsed into unconsciousness once again, only to pass away next morning. I miss my lovable CAESAR.

5. I now come to the favour which I wish to seek.

6. I shall be obliged if you could please let me know the name & address of the Sapper of 182 ECC (268 ER) who died on 8 Dec 1971 and the names & addresses of soldiers of 182 ECC (268 ER) who were injured on night 7/8 Dec and on 8 Dec during the 1971 War. I know nearly forty years have lapsed since the 1971 War. Yet, as a mark of ‘atonement’ or ‘praayashchit’, I wish to go & pay my respects to the parents and the widow of the Sapper of my coy who died during the 1971 War; and also visit the soldiers of my coy, who were injured during the 1971 War. That way, I would have repaid my debt of gratitude to CAESAR.

7. I now pray that may CAESAR’s soul rest in peace.

Regards,

Col Shaitan Singh Rajan of Jingergacha

Bangalore, 9449043770

31 Aug 2011

2011-09-05T18:57:00.000+05:30

Can’t ignore DoB in Class X certificate: Army to ministry

New Delhi, September 4The embarrassing controversy over the Chief of the Army Staff General VK Singh’s two different dates of birth, followed by an unprecedented “statutory complaint” by the General under the Army Act, went through another twist on Sunday when the Army Headquarters went on record to say that the “matriculation certificate of the Army Chief cannot be ignored”.
General Singh’s claim, on which hinges the date of his retirement and appointment of his successor, has already been turned down by the Defence Ministry. Sunday’s development, therefore, signalled the beginning of an uglier public spat. The development does not augur well for the image of the forces or the ministry.
In what is the first public response on the issue, Army’s Additional Director General (Public Information) said. “The value of a matriculation certificate can’t be wished away.” He also went on to blame the Military Secretary branch of the Army HQ of not matching its records with the Adjutant General’s branch.
The Army Chief has two sets of date of birth in the records. The Military Secretary (MS) branch shows it to be May 10, 1950, whereas the Adjutant General’s (AG) branch shows it to be May 10, 1951. Strangely, the Military Secretary’s branch has itself been ignoring the very same matriculation certificate. The ADG (PI) says, “The custodian of records, at the Army Headquarters, is the AG’s branch and the MS branch has no jurisdictional authority on the issue as per regulations for the Army and the charter given to each branch.”
The two DoB’s have a 45-year-old history. The General, when he joined the NDA as a schoolboy, had mentioned his DoB as May 1950 in his signed application that is maintained by the MS branch.
The ADG (PI) said the Defence Ministry has arrived at its decision on the issue on the basis of what it was told by the MS branch which has no jurisdiction on such issues. In a response to queries, he said the “confusion has occurred because the AG’s branch has not been consulted”. This was further compounded “because the MS branch did not correct its records from those maintained by the AG, despite the AG branch writing to the MS, in earlier years”.

‘India, Pakistan reached deal on Kashmir’

New Delhi, September 4
India and Pakistan had reached a “back-channel” agreement on the Kashmir issue during the tenure of Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh had told a visiting US Congressional team.
According to secret US embassy cables released by WikiLeaks, Manmohan Singh told the Congressional delegation in April 2009 that India and Pakistan had made great progress prior to February 2007, when Musharraf ran into trouble.
“We had reached an understanding in back channels,” he had told the delegation.
The cable was sent by US Charge d’Affairs Peter Burleigh to his bosses in the US State Department on April 21, 2009.
Manmohan Singh told the delegation that Musharraf had agreed to a non-territorial solution to Kashmir that included freedom of movement and trade, the cable said. —PTI

India, B’desh moving closerForging a model for South Asian relationsby Maharajakrishna Rasgotra & Joyeeta Bhattacharjee

IT is a cardinal principle of good neighbourly relations that, differences notwithstanding, each neighbour should respect the other’s interests and refrain, in particular, from actions which may cause security-related concerns to the other. In today’s globalised world, in particular, honesty and candour, trust and transparency are the sine qua non of good international relations.

It was precisely the trespass of these principles by Dhaka’s BNP governments that had soured India-Bangladesh relations for years. Begum Khaleda Zia, leader of the BNP, as Prime Minister of Bangladesh was in un-abashed denial of ULFA’s safe havens in her country from where they were launching terrorist attacks in Indian territory. Pakistan’s ISI was also operating to infiltrate arms and terrorists into India from Bangladesh. Naturally, during Begum Zia’s rule Bangladesh-India relations sank to their nadir, and bilateral problems which could have been settled years earlier remained unresolved, causing much avoidable bitterness and mistrust between the two neighbours.

India-Bangladesh relations have undergone a sea-change since Sheikh Hasina Wajid’s accession to power in Dhaka in 2009. The catalyst of this salutary change was her statesman-like act to arrest and hand over to India the leaders of ULFA — “chairman” Aurobindo Rajkhowa along with key figures like Raju Baruah, Sasha Choudhury and Chitraban Hazarika. Out on bail in India, these gentlemen are now engaged in unconditional talks with the Union government. Antu Chaudang and Pradeep Chetia, Saurav and some other cadres were pushed back by Bangladeshi security forces from the border at Dawki. Anup Chetia is under detention and will in all probability be handed over to India. ULFA’s “commander-in-chief”, Paresh Barua, is still at large and may have escaped to China, Pakistan or Myanmar. The message has gone out that Sheikh Hasina’s government will not allow Bangladesh territory to be used for anti-India activities.

Prime Minister Hasina took this transformational action as a matter of policy, well before her state visit to India in January 2010 and without bargaining for a quid pro quo from India. The action electrified New Delhi and invoked in our authorities a sense of obligation as well as responsibility to act likewise to settle, to Dhaka’s satisfaction, long festering issues of sharing waters of common rivers, border management, dispute over a short stretch of the boundary, transfer of enclaves, the glaring trade imbalance and the maritime boundary dispute.

The 52-paragraph Joint Communique signed during Prime Minister Hasina’s state visit in January 2010 has become the basis of a new, vastly improved and truly good neighbourly relationship between the two countries. Full implementation of the provisions of the communique will make Bangladesh-India relations a model for South-Asian relations. Even more importantly, Bangladesh, which lies at the strategic centre of two large regions of South Asia, and ASEAN will become a vibrant and prosperous hub of cultural, commercial and economic interaction between these regions with growing economies and a population of around 2 billion. It passes understanding that India’s two major neighbours — Pakistan and Bangladesh — should have for so long allowed forfeiture of the enormous advantages of their geostrategic locations to unwarranted and unprofitable hostility towards India.

While Sheikh Hasina has been steadfastly implementing her part of the understandings reached in January 2010 despite the BNP’s vociferous hostility, there have been complaints, in Bangladesh and in India, about the comparative lack of the requisite sense of urgency on India’s part in doing its bit to implement the Joint Communique. However, in a recent visit to Bangladesh, we learnt that in intensive negotiations between the two sides at the level of ministers and senior officials in recent months, substantial progress has, in fact, been achieved in reaching agreed positions on a number of major issues, and agreements are likely to be signed during Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s forthcoming visit to Dhaka.

We also found that the visit is awaited with much expectation, hope and enthusiasm. There is a palpable change in the public perception of India and because of this even the BNP, known for its traditional reservations in relation to India, has softened its stand: the party declared recently that it would not oppose deals with India if these are beneficial for the country. This is an additional reason for India, now, to go out of its way to show genuine interest in Bangladesh and resolve long-pending issues to the satisfaction of our smaller neighbour without pressing demands which might rile the Opposition — the BNP, for example, continues to oppose grant of transit facilities from mainland India to the country’s Northeast. In inherently complex neighborhood negotiations, local sensitivities have to be borne in mind, and this mostly has to be on the part of the larger neighbour.

The ticklish issue of sharing the waters of the Teesta and Feni rivers, considered unsolvable till now, appears to have been sorted out. We believe agreements are also likely to be signed on transfers of enclaves inhabited by nationals of one country in the territory of the other, on the 2.4 km disputed land boundary and on cooperative border management to avoid killings of trespassers. Some further reduction in the negative list of items for trade and enhancement of the textiles quota is also on the cards, which in our view is not enough. Pakistan is a separate case, but with the rest of our South Asian neighbours we should be aiming at what Prime Minister Vajpayee had proposed a decade earlier for South Asia — “open borders and single market”. We strongly recommend elimination of the negative list, removal of all customs and tariff barriers to allow free flow of goods and services between the two countries.

Fiftyfour rivers flow down from India into Bangladesh where they play a dominant role in the socio-economic life of the people. Bangladesh is bound to be impacted by the harnessing of these waters in upstream India. The needs and well-being of human beings on both sides of the border are involved. Therefore, a joint permanent machinery should be established to constantly watch the utilisation of these waters on both sides of the border and ensure equitable sharing and timely prevention of disputes.

The opposition BNP, led by Begum Zia, has made a political issue of transit facilities for India across Bangladesh territory, regardless of the fact that India has granted transit across its territory separating Nepal and Bangladesh. This is a hangover from the past and it would be impolitic to press our request on the Hasina government at this stage. As confidence and the habit of cooperation grow, and public perception of India improves further, Bangladeshis will see the benefits of exploiting the advantage of their country’s geographic location not only as a bridge between India and its Northeast but also as a vital (and profitable) meeting ground between South Asia and South-East Asia.

Finally, we recommend that during his visit to Dhaka Prime Minister Manmohan Singh should, as a gesture of goodwill and friendship, unilaterally offer to convert half of the $1 billion soft loan given to Bangladesh earlier into a grant and make the rest interest-free.n

Mr Rasgotra, a former Foreign Secretary of India, is the President of the Observer Research Foundation, where Dr Bhattacharjee is an Associate Fellow.

2011-09-04T09:20:00.000+05:30

ULFA signs peace pact with Central, state govtsAssures that there will be no more violence

New Delhi, September 3

In its effort to bring lasting peace in Assam, the government today signed an agreement with the banned ULFA to end violence in the troubled northeastern state and set the ball rolling for peace talks.The Suspension of Operation (SoO) pact, signed by the representatives of Central and Assam governments and ULFA, will ensure that the outfit will not carry out any subversive activities till finding a political solution to the vexed insurgency problem while the security forces will also not take any action against the ULFA cadres."We had a very good round of talks. The SoO agreement was signed. The first round spells out the road to political dialogue. It is the harbinger of future talks," Joint Secretary (Northeast) in the Ministry of Home Affairs Shambhu Singh told reporters here.The SoO pact will continue during the political talks and till a final agreement is signed.The meeting deliberated in detail on various aspects of the ground rules of the SoO and how to maintain peace in Assam.Members of the rebel group — numbering around 600 — will be put in special camps which will be called as 'nabanirman kendras'.Asked whether ULFA cadres will surrender all arms and ammunition, the outfit's 'foreign secretary' Sashadhar Choudhury shot back saying, "why should we? This is not a final agreement.""This is a gentleman's agreement. We will see how the parleys go forward," Choudhury said.Last month, ULFA had submitted to the Centre its 'charter of demands' which sought amendment in the Constitution for finding "meaningful" ways to protect the rights and identity of the indigenous people of Assam.
The group also demanded change of rules and law and said a solution to their demands was not possible under the provisions of the existing Constitution.The other demands of the ULFA include discussion on grounds for "ULFA's struggle and their genuineness", status report on missing ULFA leaders and cadres -- numbering around 50 -- including those missing since 2005 when the Bhutan government conducted an offensive against the outfit and other socio-economic issues. Those who signed today's SoO agreement include Joint Secretary Singh, Assam Home Commissioner Jishnu Baruah, ULFA's Choudhury, 'finance secretary' Chitrabon Hazarika, and 'deputy commander-in-chief' Raju Baruah.This was ULFA's first formal peace talks with the government in its 32-year-old history. So far, only preliminary talks between the ULFA and Centre's interlocutor P C Haldar have been held in Guwahati.ULFA's elusive 'commander-in-chief' Paresh Baruah is still opposed to any dialogue with the government

Maj-Gen Waraich honours gallantry award winners Tribune News Service

Jammu, September 3
Maj-Gen TPS Waraich, General Officer Commanding (GOC) of the Tiger Division, felicitated gallantry award winners here today. At a special felicitation ceremony, Maj-Gen Waraich welcomed the gallant and meritorious soldiers, who were awarded commendations and gallantry awards on August 15.
The soldiers of the Tiger Division were awarded two Sena Medals, four Chief of the Army Staff Commendations, one Vice-Chief of the Army Staff Commendation, 10 General Officer Commanding in-Chief Commendations on Independence Day.
The JCOs of the Tiger Division had been decorated with the ranks of 10 honorary captains and 27 honorary lieutenants.
While interacting with the officers and the jawans, Maj-Gen Waraich said such awards motivated other soldiers to emulate the gallant deeds of the award winners

Army builds community centre for villagers Tribune News Service

Jammu, September 3
The Army, as part of its social commitment, has dedicated a community centre to the residents of remote Jaran Wali Gali village in Mendhar tehsil of Poonch district. Ranjeet Singh, SDM, Mendhar, inaugurated the community centre yesterday.
The community centre has been constructed under the Border Area Development Programme (BADP) by the Rashtriya Rifles (RR). The function was attended by a large number of villagers and officers of the civil administration, including Aniruddh, BDO, Surankote, Deepak Dubey, BDO, Mandi, KL Bangotra, secretary of the Gandhi Seva Centre, Mendhar, and Mohammad Nazir, sarpanch, Jaran Wali Gali village.
Residents of Jaran Wali Gali village had approached the nearby Rashtriya Rifles Battalion with a request for the construction of a community centre where they could hold meetings, religious ceremonies and social gatherings. To help the people of this remote border village the construction of the community centre was undertaken by the Headquarters Romeo Force.
Applauding the Army’s initiative, the SDM said, “The Rashtriya Rifles is playing a vital role in cementing the bonds of communal harmony in the border areas.” He asked the villagers to ensure the proper maintenance of the community centre.
Aniruddh, BDO, Surankote, appreciated the efforts of the Rashtriya Rifles, which, besides fighting anti-national elements, also contributed to developmental activities. He also appealed to the residents of Jaran Wali Gali village to extend cooperation to the RR for welfare and development activities in their areas.

Chenab Gunners provide computers to school Tribune News Service

Jammu, September 3
The Chenab Gunners, under the aegis of the Crossed Swords Division, presented computers, along with accessories, peripherals and educational CDs, to students of Government Girls High School, Jourian, a remote area in the Akhnoor subdivision, yesterday.
The Commanding Officer of the Chenab Gunners presented the computers and the accessories to the principal.
Later during thanksgiving, the principal thanked the Chenab Gunners for the gesture.

Rawat’s public meeting a huge draw in Haldwani Manages to garner support of ex-servicemenRajeev Khanna

Nainital, September 3
Having showed his strength in Srinagar (Garhwal) on August 27, the convener of the Uttarakhand Raksha Morcha (URM), Lt-Gen TPS Rawat (retd), came up with yet another impressive show of strength during a public meeting in Haldwani on Friday.
For the former Lok Sabha member who has recently been ousted by the BJP, this was his first show of strength in the Kumaon region and response that he got was overwhelming, much to the “discomfort” of the BJP. Rawat has been able to garner support of ex-servicemen, a core constituency of the BJP.
The URM’s meeting on Friday was marked with Rawat lambasting the state government on the issue of corruption. He said his outfit had ability to offer a viable political alternative to the two mainstream political parties, the Congress and the BJP.
The meeting was attended by people from all walks of life with ex-servicemen dominating those present. Observers said if the URM decided to contest the forthcoming poll, it would be causing a major dent to the poll prospects of the BJP which had always taken ex-servicemen to be its core voter base. It is evident that ex-servicemen are unhappy over the “treatment” meted out to both Rawat and former Chief Minister BC Khanduri by Chief Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank, who has “sidelined” them.
Khanduri has also expressed unhappiness with the functioning of the Nishank government and there have been rumours at repeated intervals of his leaving the party. The presence of ex-servicemen at the helm of affairs in the state has always worked to the advantage for the BJP when it comes to wooing the electorate in the category of ex-servicemen. The presence of Khanduri as the CM and Rawat as one of the Lok Sabha members has helped the BJP in the past. Ex-servicemen feel that the party does give them due representation in the parliamentary democracy. However, there are smaller parties in the state that have been accusing the BJP of promoting “Bonapartism” by fielding former defence officers in the poll.
The ex-servicemen constitute a major part of the electorate and over the past two decades, they have constituted a major part of the BJP’s voter share. Even serving defence personnel have played a role in the BJP’s electoral success in the state. Votes cast by them through the postal ballot had played the decisive role in Rawat’s victory in the Pauri byelections in 2007.
There are at least 1 lakh ex-servicemen voters in Almora and Pithoragarh, more than 1.25 lakh in the Pauri Lok Sabha constituency, over 50,000 in the Tehri constituency and more than 50,000 in Udham Singh Nagar and adjoining areas. The number of such voters is well spread in other parts of the state as well.

2011-09-03T20:41:00.000+05:30

SC directs Army to reinstate 11 women officers R Sedhuraman
Legal Correspondent

“The women officers have worked for 14 years and there is no allegation against them. Also, the Air Force has complied with the high court order,” the Bench noted during the arguments. It also pointed out that the officers were working on the administrative side of the Army.Counsel Meenakshi Lekhi, who argued for the women officers, said it was unfortunate that the Army had allowed all women officers to continue even after 14 years, except the 11 who had filed the petition in the HC.The 11 officers are Lieut-Cols Ashu Yadav, Sangeeta Sardana, Reenu Khanna and Monica Mishra and Majors Sandhya Yadav, Renu Nautiyal, NVN Rao, Anupama Munshi, Prema Pandit, Seema Singh and Rita Taneja. Two of them had been released after the HC verdict, while others had completed 14 years before the judgment.The apex court Bench today pointed out that since it had not stayed the operation of the HC verdict so far, the Army was bound to comply with the HC order. The Bench, however, clarified that their continuance in service would be subject to the outcome of the case arising from Army’s appeal.New Delhi, September 2The Supreme Court today directed the Army to reinstate the 11 short-service commissioned (SSC) women officers who had approached the Delhi High Court demanding permanent commission (PC) for them on the completion of 14 years of service.A Bench comprising Justices JM Panchal and HL Gokhale passed an order asking the Army to take the officers back with effect from September 12.Non-implementation of the HC order was having a frustrating and demoralising effect on the women officers, besides denying them their fundamental right to livelihood. Some of the officers were single women who had to take care of their children and parents.On March 12, 2010, the HC had delivered a verdict, directing the Army to grant permanent commission to the women officers within two months. Instead of complying with the HC order, the Army challenged the verdict in the SC.The HC had noted that the horizon of women’s participation was expanding in different walks of life and as such encouraging them to have a larger participation in more areas of operation, both under the SSC and the PC, would be in tune with the trend.

Militant killed, 3 jawans hurt in Handwara gunfight

Tribune News Service & PTI

One militant was killed and three Army jawans were injured in an encounter in the Zachaldara forest area of Handwara in Kupwara district today, a defence spokesman told The Tribune.While there were two ceasefire violations between Tuesday and Thursday in the Keran sector, four other violations had taken place in the Keran and Machhil sectors since yesterday. Meanwhile, the Army increased vigil along the LoC as intelligence reports suggested that a large number of militants were waiting to infiltrate into the Kashmir Valley ahead of winter, official sources said.An Indian JCO and three Pakistani soldiers were killed in the first major violation of ceasefire in the Valley this year when troops from the two sides traded heavy gunfire.The encounter took place in Wudar Watsar in Zachaldara, Handwara, early today after the Army launched a search operation in the area.He said search operations were in progress till reports last came in. The defence spokesman said there had been several ceasefire violations by the Pakistan army in the Machhil and Keran sectors of Kupwara district since Tuesday.“The areas have been calm since morning and there were no other reports of ceasefire violation after the early morning incident,” the defence spokesman said. The ceasefire violations had taken place in the high mountain areas, and according to the sources, such incidents take place to provide cover to the infiltrators.The violation took place in the key Keran sector in north Kashmir, which is the major ingress route of militants from across the border and took place on the heels of a big infiltration bid from adjacent Gurez sector. Several top commanders of LeT and JeM have been eliminated during encounters with security forces this year.
Srinagar, September 2 Amid stepped up attempts of infiltration from across the LoC during the recent weeks, there have been at least six ceasefire violations by the Pakistan army in the Keran and Machhil sectors of north Kashmir during the past two days.

LeT engaged in commando training inside Pak

In the complaint submitted before a federal US court in Virginia yesterday, the FBI said this is reflected in the communication of Jubair Ahmad, a Pakistani national on legal permanent residency in the US who was arrested on charges of providing material support to Lashkar-e-Taiba.LeT is engaged in imparting commando training to its recruits, including teenagers, at its terror camps inside Pakistan, besides being involved in their religious indoctrination, according to an FBI complaint.The FBI said a review of immigration records indicated that Jubair was born in Sialkot and resided in Pakistan until the age of 19.According to admissions he made during a number of communications analysed by the FBI, he received indoctrination and training from LeT while he lived in Pakistan."These communications demonstrate that, as a teenager, in or about 2004, Jubair attended an LeT training course known as 'Dora Suffa' where he received instruction in religious dogma and proselytising," the complaint said.Thereafter, Jubair attended LeT's basic training camp known as 'Dora A'ama', where he received additional religious indoctrination, physical conditioning and weapons instruction.For example, when describing his training at Dora A'ama, Jubair stated in one of the communications that recruits "listen to lectures, offer your prayers, exercise, study guns, fire them" and added that "where I got training from they do the commando training there now," the FBI said.Subsequent to attending Dora A'ama, Jubair reported for the next stage of LeT training -- the commando course known as Dora Khasa."He spent only a week at that course, however, because an instructor at the training camp told Jubair that he was too young, that he needed to continue his studies, and then he could return to complete Dora Khasa," said the complaint signed by FBI Special Agent, Daudshah S Andish.The FBI said Jubair was given visa by the State Department on October 16, 2006 based on the fact that his father was related to a US citizen. He along with his father, mother and two younger brothers entered the US on February 19, 2007.According to the compliant, the FBI started an investigation after it received information that Jubair might be connected with the LeT.Investigations by FBI have revealed that Jubair provided material support to LeT by producing and posting LeT propaganda video glorifying violent video.

2011-09-02T09:30:00.000+05:30

(तस्वीर: कश्मीर में नियंत्रण रेखा पर तैनात भारतीय जवान, फाइल फोटो)

An India-China naval ‘encounter’ on high seas

The unidentified Chinese warship demanded that the INS Airavat, an amphibious assault vessel, identify itself and explain its presence in international waters shortly after it completed a scheduled port call in Vietnam, five people familiar with the incident told the Financial Times.A Chinese warship confronted an Indian navy vessel shortly after it left Vietnamese waters in late July, in the first such reported encounter between the two navies in the South China Sea.“Any navy in the world has full freedom to transit through these waters or high seas,” said one Indian official familiar with the encounter. “For any country to proclaim ownership or question the right to passage by any other nation is unacceptable.”Spokesman Vishnu Prakash said Airavat was contacted by a caller who said he was the ‘Chinese Navy’, and ‘you are entering Chinese waters’. No ship or aircraft was visible; Airavat kept to its course.

सीमा पार से फायरिंग में जेसीओ शहीद, भारत का करारा जवाब- तीन पाकिस्‍तानी फौजी ढेर

श्रीनगर. पाकिस्‍तान अपनी नापाक हरकतों से बाज नहीं आ रहा है। उसने फिर संघर्षविराम का उल्‍लंघन किया है। इसमें भारतीय सेना का एक जेसीओ शहीद हो गया। भारत ने भी जबरदस्‍त जवाबी कार्रवाई कर पाकिस्‍तान के तीन फौजियों को ढेर कर दिया है। पाकिस्‍तानी सेना ने तीन दिन में तीसरी बार संघर्षविराम का उल्‍लंघन किया है। उत्‍तर कश्‍मीर के कुपवाड़ा के केरन सेक्‍टर में पाकिस्‍तान की ओर से हुई फायरिंग का भारत ने भी जोरदार जवाब दिया, जिसमें उसके तीन फौजी मारे गए। पाकिस्तान ने केरन सेक्टर में दो बार युद्ध विराम का उल्लंघन किया। गोलीबारी के बीच भारतीय जवानों ने घुसपैठ की कोशिश नाकाम कर दी। सेना के प्रवक्ता लेफ्टिनेंट कर्नल जेएस बरार के मुताबिक, 'कश्मीर के केरन सेक्टर में बुधवार को रात 8 बजे के बाद से दो बार सीमा पार से गोलीबारी की गई। पहली बार 8 बजे शुरू हुई गोलीबारी 50 मिनट तक चली। इसके बाद आज सुबह 11 बजे से सीमापार से गोलीबारी शुरू हुई, जो आखिरी रिपोर्ट मिलने तक जारी थी।'
इस गोलीबारी में शहीद हुए जेसीओ का नाम नायब सूबेदार गुरदयाल सिंह है। आधिकारिक सूत्रों के मुताबिक पाकिस्तानी सैनिकों ने सहेली पोस्ट से शालापथरी पोस्ट पर गोलीबारी शुरू कर दी, इसमें एक सैनिक ज़ख़्मी हो गया। पाकिस्तानी सैनिकों ने भारतीय ठिकानों को निशाना बनाने के लिए मोर्टार और भारी हथियारों का इस्तेमाल किया। भारतीय जवानों ने इसका मुंहतोड़ जवाब दिया। युद्धविराम का उल्लंघन तब हुआ जब भारतीय सैनिकों ने ईद के मौके पर इसी इलाके में घुसपैठ की कोशिश नाकाम कर दी। सूत्रों के मुताबिक पाकिस्तान की तरफ से हुई गोलीबारी का मकसद आतंकवादियों को भारत की सीमा में प्रवेश कराना था।
दूसरी तरफ, पाकिस्तानी सेना के प्रवक्ता मेजर जनरल अतहर अब्बास ने वहां की मीडिया को जानकारी दी है कि गोलीबारी में तीन पाकिस्तानी सैनिक मारे गए हैं। अतहर का दावा है कि भारतीय सैनिकों ने गोलीबारी की शुरुआत की। अब्बास का कहना है कि पाकिस्तानी सैनिक अपने पोस्ट की तरफ बढ़ रहे थे, लेकिन मौसम खराब होने की वजह से वे नीलम घाटी में खो गए। अब्बास के मुताबिक भारतीय कमांडर के साथ एक बैठक की जाएगी और युद्धविराम के उल्लंघन का मुद्दा उठाया जाएगा। पाकिस्तानी सेना के दावे पर प्रतिक्रिया जाहिर करते हुए बरार ने कहा, 'भारतीय सेना की तरफ से युद्धविराम का उल्लंघन नहीं हुआ है।'

समुद्र में चीन ने दिखाई दादागीरी: भारतीय जहाज को जबरन रोका, की पूछताछनई दिल्ली. चीन की भारत विरोधी हरकतें थमने का नाम नहीं ले रही हैं। ताज़ा मामले में खुलासा हुआ है कि इस साल जुलाई में भारतीय नौसेना के आईएनएस ऐरावत को चीन ने रोका था। ब्रिटिश अखबार फाइनेंशियल टाइम्स के मुताबिक वियतनाम के नजदीक दक्षिण चीन के समंदर में चीनी नौसेना के जंगी जहाज ने आईएनएस ऐरावत को जबर्दस्ती रोककर जहाज पर सवार क्रू से उनकी पहचान और दक्षिण चीन के समुद्र में उनकी मौजूदगी की वजह पूछी थी। अखबार के मुताबिक इस घटना के गवाह पांच लोगों का कहना है कि भारतीय जंगी जहाज आईएनएस ऐरावत ने वियतनाम के नजदीक समुद्र में पोर्ट कॉल पूरी ही की थी, इतने में चीनी नौसेना ने आकर जबर्दस्ती पूछताछ की। हालांकि, भारतीय नौसेना ने इस खबर का खंडन किया है।
चीन अपने आसपास के देशों वियतनाम और फिलीपींस के समुद्र में आक्रामक रवैया अपनाए हुए। इस साल चीन द्वारा अकड़ दिखाते हुए समुद्र में जबर्दस्ती करने, दूसरे देशों के नौसेनाओं को धमकाने के कई मामले सामने आए हैं। भारतीय नौसेना के साथ पूछताछ करने का मामला इसी सिलसिले की ताज़ा कड़ी है।
चीन का दावा है कि चीन के दक्षिण में मौजूद समुद्र उसके अधिकार क्षेत्र में आता है। अंतरराष्ट्रीय व्यापार का अहम रास्ता चीन के दक्षिण में मौजूद समुद्र से गुजरता है। यह इलाका पेट्रोलियम पदार्थों से भरा हुआ माना जाता है। लेकिन चीन के इस दावे को वियतनाम, फिलीपींस, ताइवान, ब्रुनेई और मलेशिया जैसे देश ऐतराज जाहिर करते रहे हैं। जुलाई के दूसरे पखवारे में आईएनएनस ऐरावत दक्षिण-मध्य वियतनाम और हैफॉन्ग के उत्तरी बंदरगाह की यात्रा पर गया था। वियतनाम के विदेश मंत्रालय की तरफ से इस मुद्दे पर कोई बयान नहीं आया है। वहीं, अमेरिका की विदेश मंत्री हिलेरी क्लिंटन ने चीन की समंदर में धमकी देने की हरकत की आलोचना की है।
गौरतलब है कि चीन के जहाज भारत के पूर्व में मौजूद समुद्र में घूमते रहते हैं। चीन श्रीलंका और बांग्लादेश को बंदरगाह बनाने के लिए सहयोग देने के नाम पर हिंद महासागर में सक्रिय है। हाल ही में हिंद महासागर में जासूसी करते हुए चीन के एक जहाज का भारतीय नौसेना ने पीछा भी किया था। चीन मछली पकड़ने की आड़ में जहाज पर प्रयोगशालाएं बनाकर भारत के नजदीक मौजूद समुद्र के आंकड़े जुटाता है और उसका विश्लेषण करता है।
आपकी राय
क्या भारत को अब चीन की तरफ से बढ़ रहे खतरे से निपटने की तैयारी शुरू कर देनी चाहिए? क्या भारत को सैन्य तैयारी के साथ-साथ अंतरराष्ट्रीय मंचों पर भी इस मुद्दे को उठाकर जनमत तैयार करना चाहिए? भारत को चीन से कितना खतरा है? इन मुद्दों पर अपनी राय जाहिर करें।

Lt Generals move AFT against Defence Secretary Seek criminal contempt proceedings against him for defying Tribunal orders

2011-09-01T11:15:00.000+05:30

Lt Generals move AFT against Defence Secretary Seek criminal contempt proceedings against him for defying Tribunal orders

New Delhi, August 31
Two serving Lieutenant Generals have approached the Armed Forces Tribunal (AFT) seeking criminal contempt proceedings against the Defence Secretary, accusing him of “open defiance” of the Tribunal's orders.
In the order passed on June 2, the Tribunal had asked the government to keep one vacancy each of Corps Commander vacant for the two officers but the respondents did not do so, said S S Pandey, counsel for the two officers.
In their pleas, Lt Generals J S Bajwa and P G Kamath have urged the AFT for initiating “appropriate criminal contempt proceedings against the named contemners as well as their subordinate officers who are responsible for open defiance of order dated June 2 passed by the Tribunal.”
In the petitions, the officers have asked the Tribunal to “safeguard the dignity, efficacy and the authority of the Tribunal, and to give a clear message to the respondents/ contemners for such open defiance of the order by challenging the authority of this Tribunal.” This alleged act “needs to be viewed seriously,” they pleaded.
Bajwa and Kamath had filed a case before the Tribunal for being appointed as Corps Commanders, for which they were cleared by an Army selection board but were not given the charge as they did not have the required residual three years of service.
The two officers have named Defence Secretary Shashikant Sharma as the main respondent in the case.
The officers had contended that three other Lt General-rank officers, including Lt Gen Chetinder Singh, N K Singh and present 15 Corps Commander Lt Gen S A Hasnain, also did not have three years of residual service but were given Corps Commander appointments by the government.
Bajwa is at present the Chief of Staff at the Kolkata-based Eastern Command and Kamath is holding the same office at the Central Command in Lucknow. — PTI
INDIAN EXPRESS

Lt Generals seek contempt proceedings against Defence Secy

In their pleas, Lt Generals J S Bajwa and P G Kamath have urged the AFT for initiating "appropriate criminal contempt proceedings against the named contemnors as well as their subordinate officers who are responsible for open defiance of order dated June 2 passed by the Tribunal."Two serving Lieutenant Generals have approached the Armed Forces Tribunal (AFT) seeking criminal contempt proceedings against the Defence Secretary, accusing him of "open defiance" of the Tribunal's orders.This alleged act "needs to be viewed seriously," they pleaded.Thetwo officers have named Defence Secretary Shashikant Sharma as the main respondent in the case.In the petitions, the officers have asked the Tribunal to "safeguard the dignity, efficacy and the authority of the Tribunal, and to give a clear message to the respondents/contemnors for such open defiance of the order by challenging the authority of this Tribunal."Bajwa and Kamath had filed a case before the Tribunal for being appointed as Corps Commanders, for which they were cleared by an Army selection board but were not given the charge as they did not have the required residual three years of service.Bajwa is at present the Chief of Staff at the Kolkata-based Eastern Command and Kamath is holding the same office at the Central Command in Lucknow.The officers had contended that three other Lt Gen-rank officers including Lt Gen Chetinder Singh, N K Singh and present 15 Corps Commander Lt Gen S A Hasnain also did not have three years residual service but were given Corps Commander appointments by the government.In the order passed on June 2, the Tribunal had asked the government to keep one vacancy each of Corps Commander vacant for the two officers but the respondents did not do so, S S Pandey, counsel for the two officers, said.

Lt Gens seek contempt proceedings against Defence Secy
New Delhi, Aug 31, (PTI):
Two serving Lieutenant Generals have approached the Armed Forces Tribunal (AFT) seeking criminal contempt proceedings against the Defence Secretary, accusing him of ''open defiance'' of the Tribunal's orders.
In their pleas, Lt Generals J S Bajwa and P G Kamath have urged the AFT for initiating "appropriate criminal contempt proceedings against the named contemnors as well as their subordinate officers who are responsible for open defiance of order dated June 2 passed by the Tribunal."In the order passed on June 2, the Tribunal had asked the government to keep one vacancy each of Corps Commander vacant for the two officers but the respondents did not do so, S S Pandey, counsel for the two officers, told PTI here.In the petitions, the officers have asked the Tribunal to "safeguard the dignity, efficacy and the authority of the Tribunal, and to give a clear message to the respondents/ contemnors for such open defiance of the order by challenging the authority of this Tribunal."This alleged act "needs to be viewed seriously," they pleaded.The two officers have named Defence Secretary Shashikant Sharma as the main respondent in the case.Bajwa and Kamath had filed a case before the Tribunal for being appointed as Corps Commanders, for which they were cleared by an Army selection board but were not given the charge as they did not have the required residual three years of service.The officers had contended that three other Lt Gen-rank officers including Lt Gen Chetinder Singh, N K Singh and present 15 Corps Commander Lt Gen S A Hasnain also did not have three years residual service but were given Corps Commander appointments by the government.Bajwa is at present the Chief of Staff at the Kolkata- based Eastern Command and Kamath is holding the same office at the Central Command in Lucknow.

Lt-Gen SA Hasnain A Tribune photograph

‘Army using thermal imaging, airborne surveillance devices to check infiltration’

Lt-Gen SA Hasnain, an alumnus of Sherwood College and St Stephen’s College, New Delhi, passed out of the Indian Military Academy (IMA), Dehradun, and was commissioned into the Garhwal Rifles in June, 1974. He had several tenures in Kashmir before taking over as the General-Officer-Commanding of the Srinagar-based 15 Corps in December last year. He is also the Security Adviser to Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah. Lt-Gen Hasnain spoke to Ehsan Fazili in Srinagar. (Excerpts from the interview)
How would you describe the security situation in the Valley this year?
Since 1989, the situation has been dynamic. It has shown an improvement at times, followed by setbacks. In 2003-04, the construction of the Line of Control (LoC) fence was a landmark event. Infiltration was checked considerably.
Nearly 12 top militants have been killed in operations this year. This has led to further disorganisation of the militant groups. Hence, we should expect renewed and intense infiltration attempts, especially by their leadership. The overground network of the militants and the terrorist infrastructure for training and infiltration remain intact. The intent and capability, in terms of the number of militants waiting to infiltrate, also remain. Policemen and civilians, suspected to be informers, are being targeted to retain fear among the people. Thus, the situation can at best be described as one of a deceptive calm.
You have been claiming that there are now fewer local militants left in the Valley; to whom do you attribute the success?
The Army is the largest body among the security forces and to it goes much of the credit. Yet, the success is equally attributable to intelligence agencies, the police, the CRPF, the BSF, the civil administration and most importantly, the people.
I think the Jammu and Kashmir police needs a special mention. Its officers and men have been performing marvellously in the most challenging circumstances. Militancy thrives on popular support. When popular support wanes, militants are like fish out of water. People are getting tired of violence. Efforts of the civil administration to reach out to the people have reduced support to the militants.
Would the Army be able to achieve the target of ‘zero infiltration’ this year ?
Let me clarify that the number of attempts at infiltration has not reduced. All the infiltration attempts do not end in a firefight as they are thwarted at different stages. There have been a large number of attempts this year as well. We use the term “zero infiltration” as the stated aim of our strategy. But it is very difficult to achieve the target as long as the forces on the other side of the border are effectively aiding infiltration attempts.
Some areas on the LoC have very difficult terrain. Our deployment on the LoC is not uniform. Hence, the militants can always exploit such areas during night or in bad weather when the visibility is extremely low. But you will find that we have managed to check this to a large extent. With more militants being eliminated than those infiltrating, the “mathematics of terror” is in our favour.
What has contributed to the reduction in infiltration?
The first is that we must acknowledge the stamina and resilience of our officers and men. The second is the Anti-Infiltration Obstacle System (AIOS), which has given us a line to focus upon, that delays the movement of infiltrators and in the process, many of them get killed. The third is the introduction of modern technology like thermal-imaging devices, which are very useful at night. We have unattended ground sensors, which are left at different places. There are also long-range surveillance devices and even airborne surveillance devices.
What about the training camps across the border and the number of trained militants waiting to sneak into India?
All around Jammu and Kashmir, there are approximately 42 training camps and there has been no effort in the last few years to reduce the number of such camps. There are different sets of figures on the number of terrorists maintained by different agencies. These camps are noticeable, particularly in the areas opposite Kupwara in the Neelam valley and opposite the Uri and Machal-Gurez sectors.
Which are the active militant groups and what about foreign militants?
The main militant group is the Lashkar-e-Toiba. We have also been countering the Jaish-e-Mohammad since 2000. A large number of Al-Badr militants are in camps in occupied Kashmir (PoK). But the local militant group, Hizbul Mujahideen, has been marginalised. In north Kashmir, the dominant group is the Lashkar-e-Toiba and the south Kashmir areas have largely been the traditional stronghold of the Hizbul Mujahideen.
There are more local militants in south Kashmir and more foreign militants in north Kashmir in the areas like Sopore and Rajwar. The Hizbul Mujahideen, though having a reduced strength, is still capable of effective operations and gearing up for a possible resurgence. We do not rule out anything.
Are they still receiving public support ?
The participation of a large number of locals in funeral prayers for militants killed during operations shows there is latent support for them. At the same time, there is no reduction in the overground sympathisers’ network, even as there is a reduction in militancy. The overground network of militants assists in finances, hideouts, the transportation of weapons etc. It provides the organisational strength to the militants. The militants cannot do without their (public) support. This network is very much there, sustained through sympathy or fear.
Do you find your “heart is my weapon” doctrine producing any result on the ground ?
That is for the people to say. I think it is working because soft power works more than hard power in situations where the people are yearning for peace and development. Moreover, the people feel that the Army and all other security forces are making serious efforts to reach out to them.
You being a Muslim and your ability to communicate in fluent Urdu must have helped you connect with the people ?
I carry the best values of the nation and I am a secular individual with a multi-cultural and multi-religious education. It is for the people to see whether I am genuine or not. My frequent tenures in Kashmir have helped me in developing Urdu skills. I do think this is appreciated and I am happy about it.
The Kashmir Premier League (KPL) was your idea ... do you intend to make the KPL a regular feature ?
I love cricket, which is also a national passion. We were told that Kashmir once had a very good cricket team at the national level and that there is still tremendous talent in the Valley. Due to 22 years of the turmoil, the youth perhaps did not get enough opportunities. The KPL, therefore, was meant to showcase talent. Happily, it has given rise to a number of small tournaments. You declared the current year as the “Year of Awam” and the “Zero Human Rights Violation Year”.
How successful have you been so far?
I did declare this as a goal. If I achieve anything near that aim, I will consider it a major achievement. I have a large force here and we are deployed in all kinds of areas, villages, towns and on the roads. There can be an odd aberration. I promise, if an aberration occurs and it is proved, I will be the first person to take the maximum action against the guilty. I do not want fingers being pointed at the Army and accusations being made against soldiers. We have educated our men a lot. They are fully conscious of their responsibilities. However, I am also conscious that the presence of the Army in a large number in the outlying areas makes it vulnerable.

Army Chief refuses to bury row over his age, files complaint

2011-08-30T18:22:00.001+05:30

nArmy Chief refuses to bury row over his age,
files complaintWants Defence Minister to re-examine case;
ministry has to file reply within 90 daysAjay Banerjee/TNS

DoB ISSUE The development comes a month after the government declared that the year of Army Chief’s birth was 1950 and not 1951 as he had claimedn In his 500-page complaint, General Singh has asked Defence Minister AK Antony to take a decision on his date of birth purely on the basis of merit and available evidencen The controversy on VK Singh’s age surfaced in 2008 when he was considered for appointment as the Eastern Army Commander.

New Delhi, August 29
Showing his unwillingness to give up on the age issue, Army Chief General VK Singh has filed a statutory complaint with Defence Minister AK Antony seeking a re-examination in the matter.
The development comes a month after the government declared that the year of his birth was 1950 and not 1951 as he had claimed.
In a first by an Army Chief, Gen Singh on Friday filed a 500-page complaint with the Defence Minister, asking him to take a decision on his date of birth purely on the basis of merit and available evidence. In his complaint, Gen Singh has annexed all the previous correspondences with the ministry on this issue.
However, Minister of State for Defence MM Pallam Raju, while talking to reporters today, said: “Where is the controversy? The ministry has looked into the issue and has given an opinion. I think the view taken by the ministry is known.”
As per Army rules, the reply to the complaint must be filed within 90 days of it being received by the minister's office. Meanwhile, Defence Minister AK Antony refused to comment on the issue.
The Defence Ministry had on July 22, decided to fix Gen Singh’s date of birth as May 10, 1950 on the basis of opinions given by the Attorney General and the Law Ministry. The controversy on VK Singh’s age surfaced in 2008 when he was considered for appointment as the Eastern Army Commander. The Adjutant General's (AG) branch - the official record-keeper for salary and pension - has been following 1951 as Singh’s DoB, while the Military Secretary branch, which looks after promotions and postings, shows it as 1950. VK Singh is slated to retire on June 1, 2012, but if the other date of birth is accepted, he may remain in office for another ten months.
Sources in the ministry indicated that the entire controversy over the Gen Singh’s age has started affecting the image of the Army.
Last week, the Prime Minister refused to accept a memorandum from a group of MPs, who wanted his intervention in the matter. The PM told the delegation, who wanted the government to re-examine the Defence Ministry's decision, that the Army was a professional organisation and politicians should not get involved in the affairs of the

2011-06-16T05:43:00.000+05:30

India and Pakistan have failed to agree on the modalities for the demilitarisation of Siachen Glacier, at the 12th Defence Secretary level talks in Delhi recently. Our politicians and diplomats should not lose on the negotiating table the hard won gains of the armed forces that give India near total tactical and strategic dominance over Pakistani forces in that sector
SIACHEN: FROZEN DISENGAGEMENTMaj Gen Raj Mehta (Retd)

THE 12th round of talks with Pakistan on the Siachen issue is over and should be set aside with panache and poetic flourish. Unlike T.S. Eliot’s protagonist, we have this time around, not stooped to folly in the unremitting waste land of India-Pakistan relationships. Instead we have politely agreed to disagree; accepting the Pakistani non-paper laconically; emphasising that our positions held on the Saltoro Ridge be accepted and plotted on maps as a prelude to their vacation, as well as firmly rejecting the brazen Pakistani suggestion that China be co-opted, being a concerned party.

Indian troops train at the Siachen Battle School prior to induction in to the battle zone. Based upon intelligence inputs that Pakistan was planning to occupy Siachen, the Indian army moved into the glacier in 1984 and with continuous deployment since then, built up a number of permanent posts and helipads on what is known as the world’s highest battlefield

The key to understanding the Siachen conundrum lies in a clinical understanding of its terrain and layout and its geo-strategic significance for the protagonists.
The 76 km long Siachen Glacier is sourced at Indira Col (5,753m) in the eastern Karakorams. It is sandwiched between the Saltoro Ridge to its west, and the main Karakoram Range to its east. The Pakistani positions are west of the Saltoro Ridge and have no direct observation of the glacier. The only way they can access it is by crossing the Saltoro Ridge through five passes: Sia La (7,300m), Bilafond La (6,160m), Gyong La (5,640m), Yarma La (6,100m) and Chulung La (5,800m), all held by India. The key Bilafond La (Pass of the Butterflies) is on the ancient Silk Route linking undivided India and China. Domination of these strategic passes is a key to the control of the surrounding areas. The glacier, at its snout (3,620m), converts into the Nubra River.The average annual snowfall on the Saltoro is 10 mts, with temperatures ranging from minus 30 to minus 80 degrees centigrade. The important terrain deduction is that the 110 km long Actual Ground Position Line (AGPL), which the Indian Army occupies on the Saltoro Ridge, is reachable only after a vertical climb and then a suicidal frontal assault. India thus holds the commanding heights while Pakistan is at a severe military disadvantage.

Operation Meghdoot

For tracking how this military feat was achieved, one has to go back in time. Finding in Alpine climbing circles that Pakistan was claiming the area, Col Narendra “Bull” Kumar volunteered and was permitted to lead a fact-finding mission. Post his path-breaking expedition in 1978 (he trekked along the Siachen from snout to source and climbed the Sia Kangri) and confirmation of Pakistani presence, Army HQ was alerted. With clinching evidence of Pakistani Special Services Group (SSG) presence detected by India’s Ladakh Scouts in 1983, the Army launched Operation Meghdoot on April 13, 1984, inducting 4 Kumaon by using the knowledge base provided by Col Kumar. IAF helicopters dropped the doughty Kumaonis at Bilafond La. Simultaneously, 4 Kumaon secured the two major passes — the Sia La and Gyong La — on foot, establishing posts that put India in command of Siachen Glacier. Today the Siachen Battalion HQ at 4,880m is named Kumar Base in honour of Col Kumar.India, since 1984, has lost 720 soldiers, with 60 per cent falling to General Glacier. Many more have been evacuated due to the effects of serving in super high altitude. In cost terms, analysts estimate that it costs India Rs 1,200 to 1,500 crore annually to maintain its 7,000-plus manpower in the Siachen area. Our strategic interests and national pride demand that we accept this cost.

The Battle for Quaid Post

How desperately Pakistan tried to occupy the Saltoro Ridge as a mandatory prelude to capture of the Siachen Glacier is evident in their bold, surreptitious 1986 occupation by a JCO-led SSG team, of a dominating feature south of Bilafond La. The Pakistanis justifiably called it Quaid Post and the Indians, the Left Shoulder. This post, protected by a 1,500 foot high vertical foot snow wall, overlooked most Indian posts. On April 18, 1987, withering machinegun fire from it mowed down five soldiers of 5 Bihar located at the air-maintained Sonam Post. Amar, Ashok and U-Cut posts, all helicopter maintained, also became untenable. Capturing Quaid thus became very critical for the Indian Army.

Pakistani occupation of Siachen would be near impossible to evict, given their easier access to Saltoro from POK. Also, if we pull out, Pakistan would be able to have access to Aksai Chin. The reality is that complete withdrawal of the army and air force will not be possible. Indian military establishments in that area are important is not only from the strategic point of view, but are also the lifeline for civilians

The relieving battalion, 8 J&K LI, undertook this challenge. On May 29, the Commanding Officer, Col A.P. Rai, sent a ten-man patrol under 2/Lt Rajiv Pande to fix ropes for ascending Quaid. Unfortunately, the activity of rope fixing was detected and most of the patrol including Rajiv was shot. A specially selected task force of two officers, four JCO’s and 58 men under Maj (later Brig) Varinder Singh was created to capture Quaid and huge air effort expended to bring this force to area Saddle, 1000 metres away. Maj Varinder launched Operation Rajiv on June 23 and after masterminding three days and nights of superhuman effort, without food and water, constant shelling and losses of men, he located the ropes laid by Pande. Nearing the top, he launched Naib Subedar Bana Singh, the last of his four braveheart JCO’s to finish the capture of the depleted Quaid Post. Starting at 12.11 PM, on June 26, Bana and his four men finished off the job by 2 PM, shooting the last two defendants dead and launching the Indian Tricolor at 21,153 feet. Maj Varinder, though seriously wounded, followed and took charge. Quaid became Bana Post, with Bana being awarded the Param Vir Chakra.

What do India & Pak want?

Tim McGirk and Aravind Adiga in a May 4, 2005 article in Time magazine (War at the top of the world) correctly write that while India wants Pakistan to authenticate the AGPL both on the maps as well as on the ground, the latter insists on maintaining the pre—1972 troop position as agreed in the Simla Agreement. That way, say the Indians, if Pakistan does try to seize the Indian positions after a withdrawal, it would attract international condemnation. Analysts feel that Siachen should be linked to the Kashmir solution and that India demand a quid pro quo on Kashmir. The realist school opines that in case of a Pakistani occupation of Siachen, they would be near impossible to evict the, given their easier access to Saltoro from Pakistan Occupied Kashmir. An equally valid argument is that in case we pull out, Pakistan would be able to have access to Aksai Chin.
Finally, the reality is that complete withdrawal of the Army and the IAF will not be possible. Thoise (not a real name but an acronym: Transit Holding Of Indian Soldiers Establishment) is a military airfield and small village in Shyok Valley. It enables a quick inflow of men and material from the Indian mainland to Siachen. “Its importance is not only from the strategic point of view, but also as a lifeline to the civilians,” says the IAF. They are right.
Pakistan, on its part, shies away from AGPL validation, ostensibly because that would “legitimise” India’s “intrusion” into Siachen. They insist that India has broken the 1972 Shimla covenant, both arguments being contrived. Pakistan’s “China card” opines that the northern part of the glacier abuts the Shaksham valley which is under Chinese control. Hence the need to have Beijing on board. The reality is that Shaksham valley, a 5,800 sq km area located just north of the Karakoram Pass, was part of the state of Jammu and Kashmir and was illegally ceded by Pakistan to China in 1959. The Tribune editorial (The Siachen question: Playing China Card won’t help Pakistan, June 2, 2011) that Pakistan invariably brings up China when driven to a wall is spot on. The Indian positions on the Saltoro overlook Shaksgam Valley, and given the recent frenetic Sino-Pak collusion in this area, there is no reason for us to give up this strategic advantage. The specious argument that demilitarization is needed to stop global warming – the glacier is receding 10.5m annually – does not amuse India as her strategic considerations override global warming.Siachen is not, as Tim McGirk and Aravind Adiga have written, the “low-hanging fruit” of the India-Pakistan peace process, in that it is easier to resolve than Kashmir. India and Pakistan must, on the contrary, see its resolution as a break from their current “trust deficit” relationship, and use its resolution for further peace-making. The ball is clearly in Pakistan’s court.

Instability in N-PakistanImplications for India’s securityby Harsh V. Pant

A government unable to control large parts of its territory, a military in disarray, loss of control over nuclear assets, radical Islamists bent on acquiring weapons of mass destruction – it is the stuff of nightmares.

And Pakistan’s current turmoil is causing jitters around the world precisely because the nightmarish scenario evoked above might just come to pass as Pakistani security establishment’s dalliance with radical Islamist groups drags the nation to the brink of collapse. Recent days have witnessed major attacks on key Pakistani military and intelligence facilities by the Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), a group that for the past several years has fought an increasingly brutal war in the heart of Pakistan. A handful of militants who attacked the Pakistani naval base PNS Mehran in Karachi on May 22 have also underlined the enormity of the security challenge that violent Islamists pose to Pakistan and the whole region.

For long, the US and the West have viewed nuclear weapons in South Asia with dread because of the possibility that a conventional war between India and Pakistan might escalate into a nuclear one. Former US President Bill Clinton called the Kashmir conflict “the most dangerous flashpoint on earth” precisely because of this fear of a nuclear holocaust in the Indian subcontinent.

Indian and Pakistani officials, on the other hand, have continued to argue that just as the threat of mutual assured destruction resulted in a “hot peace” between the US and the former Soviet Union during the Cold War, nuclear weapons in South Asia will also have a stabilising impact. They point out the fact that despite several provocations, India and Pakistan have behaved “rationally” during various crises by keeping their conflicts limited and avoiding escalation.
But since September 11, 2001, the nature of problem for the West has changed insofar as the threat is now more of Pakistan’s nuclear arsenal being used against the West by radical Islamists if they can lay their hands on it.

The present turmoil in Pakistan has once again raised concerns about the safety, security and command and control of its nuclear stockpile. Though the Pakistan government continues to dismiss media reports that its nuclear weapons are in danger of falling into the “wrong hands” as “inspired,” and stressed that Pakistan provided the highest level of institutionalised protection to its strategic assets, the credibility of such claims remains open to question.
Instituted in 2000, Pakistan’s nuclear command and control arrangements are centered on the National Command Authority, which comprises the Employment Control Committee, the Development Control Committee and the Strategic Plans Division. Only a small group of military officials apparently have access to the country’s nuclear assets.
However, these command and control arrangements continue to be beset with some fundamental vulnerabilities that underline the reluctance of the Pakistani military to cede control over the nation’s nuclear assets to civilian leaders.
It is instructive to note that of all the major nuclear states in the world, Pakistan is the only country where the nuclear button is in the hands of the military. Moreover, senior civilian and military officials responsible for these weapons have a problematic track record in maintaining close control over them. A.Q. Khan was the head of the Pakistani nuclear programme (and a veritable national hero) but was instrumental in making Pakistan the centre of the biggest nuclear proliferation network by leaking technology to states far and wide, including Iran, North Korea and Libya. Pakistani nuclear scientists have even travelled to Afghanistan at the behest of Osama bin Laden.
While its is true that the Pakistani military remains very professional and perhaps the only cohesive force in the country today, it has also become deeply demoralised, reflected in the large number of soldiers preferring to surrender to the militants rather than fight. There are growing signs of fraying loyalties in the Pakistan Army, underlining the danger to its cohesiveness.

The growing “Islamisation” of the younger generation of Pakistani military officers is well-recorded. Given the close links between the Pakistani military and intelligence services and the militant groups fighting in Kashmir and the Taliban, it is not far-fetched to assume that there is a real danger of elements within Pakistan’s military-intelligence complex colluding with radical Islamist groups.
Pakistan has accepted US help since 9/11 in designing its system of controls for its nuclear arsenal and the prevention of theft. The US has reportedly spent about $100 million in helping Pakistan secure its nuclear arsenal, and some reports have suggested that Pakistan has also received technical assistance from the US.
Throughout the Cold War years, it was viewed as politically prudent in the West and especially in the US to ignore Pakistan’s drive towards nuclear acquisition, as Pakistan was seen as an important ally of the West in countering the Soviet Union in Afghanistan and elsewhere.
Nuclear proliferation has never been a first order priority for the US when it comes to Pakistan. Now the chickens are coming home to roost, as the Pakistani military seems unable and unwilling to take on the Islamist forces gathering momentum on Pakistani territory on the one hand; while on the other, the nation’s nuclear weapons seem within the reach of the extremist forces.
The US has suggested that there are contingency plans in place to deal with the possibility of Pakistan’s nuclear weapons falling into the hands of militant groups, but it remains far from clear as to what exactly the US would be able to do if such an eventuality arises. Meanwhile, India needs to be aware of the potentially catastrophic implications of the collapse of governing authority in Pakistan. A boost to fundamentalist forces in India’s neighbourhood will have serious consequences for the utility of nuclear deterrence in the subcontinent. Irrespective of India’s other problems with Pakistan, Indian decision-makers had little doubt so far in trusting that their Pakistani counterparts would take rational decisions insofar as the use of nuclear weapons was concerned. That assumption might soon need revisiting if the present trends in Pakistan continue for much longer.

The present turmoil in Pakistan and all its attendant consequences in the nuclear realm point to the long-term costs of short-sighted policies — the politics of proliferation — followed by the West in countering proliferation.n
The writer teaches at King’s College, London.

2011-06-16T05:42:00.000+05:30

Air bases being fortified to prevent attacks

Bangalore, June 15

India is fortifying its air bases to prevent any attack by terrorists, IAF Chief PV Naik said today. “The terror attack on the Pakistan Navy base on May 22 was a wake-up call. In light of the incident, we are taking measures to improve security at all air bases across the country on top priority,” Naik said.The IAF has 60 operational air bases across the country, with 170,000 personnel and 1,600 fighter aircraft of different types. “Prior to the Karachi incident, we started a security audit and instituted measures to strengthen security in and around our air bases. Security will be stepped up based on threat perception. For instance, the threat level at Yelahanka base in Bangalore and Bidar base in north Karnataka may be higher compared to Hakimpet base in Hyderabad. Each base will make its own appreciation and appraisal,” Naik said and added that security of the Western sector bases, particularly Kashmir was topmost priority for the IAF.“After the assessment, we seek the government approval for purchasing the security equipment and installing at the bases. The exercise also involves training and creating public awareness, which can help us in being vigilant and respond quickly whenever and wherever a threat emanates,” Naik said.Naik said the IAF was prepared to thwart any nefarious design and threat arising from the enemies of the state and fully capable of facing any challenge. “We remain committed and prepared to thwart any nefarious designs and threats arising from the enemies of the state. As an emerging strategic aerospace force, we are fully capable of facing any challenge,” he said.

Swiss firm bags IAF order for trainer aircraft

Bangalore, June 15

The IAF’s s search for a propeller-driven basic trainer aircraft seems nearing its end with the Swiss Pilatus emerging as the frontrunner in the race.In February last year, the IAF had issued a Request for Proposal (RFP) for the acquisition of 75 basic trainer aircraft for the Indian Air Force (IAF). The procurement of 75 trainer aircraft is part of the government’s go-ahead to the IAF for the acquisition of 181 basic trainers.

Global giants, including Embraer with their Tucano, Pilatus with their PC-7 and PC-9, Raytheon with the T-6 Texan aircraft, Finmeccanica with their M-311 aircraft, Grob Aircraft Company with the G-120TP aircraft, EADS PZL with PZL-130-TC-11 Orik aircraft and Korea Aerospace Industries with the KT-1 aircraft were in the fray for the order.

Army to modernise all field workshops

Chandigarh, June 15

To meet the challenges of keeping its war-fighting equipment functional and effective under field conditions in the 21st Century, the Army is undertaking a massive project to modernise its workshops across its hierarchical establishment.The project involves refurbishment of all workshops established at the brigade, division and corps level. According to sources, the purpose of the project is catering to the requirements of maintaining technologically advanced equipment with a 25-year perspective.With 13 corps, 37 divisions, including three armoured and two artillery, and a number of independent brigades, the quantum of the project could cover over 230 workshops spread across the length and breath of the country, including those located in the high-altitude and remote areas.Run by the Corps and Electronics and Mechanical Engineers (EME), these workshops are meant for routine maintenance and front-line servicing of weapons, vehicles, tanks, artillery guns, radars, computers and electronic items, as well as carrying out major repair and limited overhaul of certain equipment.Depending upon the level and type of workshop, their manpower varies between 90 to 400 officers, technicians and support staff. Day-to-day repairs and minor defect rectifications are carried out at the unit level itself.Upgrade would include re-designing the layout of the workshop and its sections, installation of the state-of-the-art customised machines and paraphernalia for repair and overhaul of systems, sub-systems and components, electronic testing and calibrating gadgets, automation of processes, along with efficient material handling, storage and effective communication, safety and security systems.The Army has also invited participation from the private sector to prepare detailed project reports for each category of workshop. Approved reports would form the basis of modernisation of workshops in the respective category. There are six categories falling in the purview of this project.The EME, the Army’s technical wing responsible for repair, inspection recovery, modification, trials, limited design, development and manufacturing and defect investigation, had also initiated a project to modernise its base repair workshops. There are eight base repair workshops that are engaged in technical work, major overhaul and modification of equipment that is beyond the scope of the Army’s field echelons.

!!!***Ex.SERVICEMEN JOINT ACTION FRONT***!!!

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Air Force: Where's the question of us denying Mausam permission?

शाहिदा बनेंगी पाक की पहली थ्री-स्टार महिला सेनाधिकारी

LeT engaged in commando training inside Pak

(तस्वीर: कश्मीर में नियंत्रण रेखा पर तैनात भारतीय जवान, फाइल फोटो)

An India-China naval ‘encounter’ on high seas

सीमा पार से फायरिंग में जेसीओ शहीद, भारत का करारा जवाब- तीन पाकिस्‍तानी फौजी ढेर

Lt Generals move AFT against Defence Secretary Seek criminal contempt proceedings against him for defying Tribunal orders

Lt Generals seek contempt proceedings against Defence Secy

Army Chief refuses to bury row over his age, files complaint

!!!Ex.SERVICEMEN JOINT ACTION FRONT!!!