Told troops to kill enemy, not wait to get martyred: Parrikar | Sanjha Morcha website basically designed to facilitate veterans to read defence related print media news , reproduced from various National/Regional /International Newspapers and Magazines and Videos related to welfare of defence personnel. click link below to open website.

Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar and Chief of Naval Staff Admiral Sunil Lanba during the commissioning ceremony of INS Chennai in Mumbai on Monday. PTI

Panaji/Mumbai, November 21

Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar has said the armed forces in Kashmir had complete power to shoot at those wielding guns, instead of waiting for the terrorists to open fire and “getting martyred”.“When I took over as the Defence Minister, the first thing I told them (soldiers) that if you see machine gun or pistol in anyone’s hand, don’t expect that he has come to say hello to you. Before you get martyred, you should eliminate him,” Parrikar said at Vasco in Goa last evening.“In Kashmir, our Army is fighting with terrorists. The Congress government had given them directions that till they (terrorists) don’t fire at you, don’t retaliate,” he said, claiming that the morale of the Army had gone up since Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led government came to power.Speaking to mediapersons after commissioning new warship INS Chennai in Mumbai, he said the recent surgical strikes had put forth the message that the government would not be aggressive, but “will also not take things lying down”.He said the cross-border tension would ease if Pakistan stopped ceasefire violations. “Surgical strike has given a message that Indian Government will not be aggressive but will also not take things lying down,” Parrikar said. Responding to questions on the Army’s action against terror camps and the recent rise in ceasefire violations across the border, Parrikar said if the ‘timetable’ of such violations was observed, there was always some political angle to them. — PTIBlocking regional initiatives cannot go on: Foreign Secretary on Pakistan’s actions New Delhi: Sending out a clear message to Pakistan, India on Monday asked it to desist from “blocking every possible initiative” under SAARC, cautioning such a hugely damaging approach will force countries of the region to look for other options like BIMSTEC to boost regional cooperation. Without naming Pakistan, Foreign Secretary S Jaishankar said some basic standards of regional cooperation had to apply as he noted its opposition to major initiatives like those aimed at improving regional connectivity had frustrated a majority of the member countries. PTIPakistan army chief Gen Raheel Sharif to retire on Nov 29, kicks off farewell tour Islamabad/Lahore: Ending speculation that he might get an extension, Pakistan’s powerful army chief General Raheel Sharif today kicked off his farewell visits to various army units before his retirement on November 29. “The COAS (Chief of Army Staff) kicks off his farewell visits beginning from Lahore on Monday,” military spokesman Lt Gen Asim Saleem Bajwa said. Bajwa said General Raheel met troops and addressed a “huge gathering of soldiers of army and Rangers at (Lahore) Garrison.” General Raheel said accomplishment of peace and stability was no ordinary task. PTI

Commissions INS Chennai

Parrikar on Monday commissioned INS Chennai—third indigenously designed guided missile destroyer
Built in Mumbai, the ship marks end of Project 15A to build such destroyers in Kolkata class
With an overall length of 164 metres and displacement of 7,500 tonne, it’s one of the largest destroyers in Navy
The ship is armed with supersonic surface-to-surface BrahMos missiles and Barak-8 long range surface-to-air missiles