Tribune News Service
New Delhi, July 10

The government today banned Sikhs for Justice (SFJ),  a US-based group that supports the cause of Khalistan, for its other anti-national activities. A senior official in the Ministry of Home Affairs said the decision to ban the outfit under Section 3(1) of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act,1967, was taken at a Cabinet meeting chaired by PM Narendra Modi.

Noting that SFJ’s primary objective was to establish an “independent and sovereign country” in Punjab,  the official said, a strong warning had been sent to “fringe groups operating from foreign soils that India will not tolerate secessionist activities, whether carried out in India or abroad” and would take strong action against such entities.

He also said the ban decision was taken after wide consultations with “all major representative bodies of the Sikh community” and was “largely driven” by the report the Centre had received from the Punjab Government”. The National Investigation Agency (NIA), Punjab Police and Uttarakhand Police have registered 12 cases against SFJ actvists in India and made 39 arrests. “Their presence is minor in India. However, there is potential of mischief and, hence, the decision,” the official said.

“Once the organisation is banned, the NIA can take up the issue with its counterparts across the world for further action,” he said, adding: “SFJ from time to time has been making numerous attempts to instigate Sikh soldiers and Sikh security personnel against the Union of India.”

UK-based SFJ activist Paramjit Singh Pamma was seen during the Cricket World Cup match at Edgbaston advocating the cause of Khalistan before he was evicted. Pamma, say agencies, is member of a Khalistan terror group. “The banned outfit has openly been espousing the cause of Khalistan and has started an online secessionist campaign, the so-called ‘Sikh Referendum 2020’ on the social media,” the MHA official said.

Move comes weeks after DGP threatened

Chandigarh: Weeks after SFJ threatened Punjab DGP Dinkar Gupta, India on Wednesday banned the outfit. Besides Punjab, cases of sedition and terror activities have been filed against it in UP and MP. Earlier, the UK had suspended/blocked SFJ’s Twitter handle and other social media accounts on India’s insistence. Punjab CM Capt Amarinder Singh had at a meeting with Home Minister Amit Shah apprised him of the SFJ designs which had issued video threats to Punjab Police officials, asking them to “stop harassing” SFJ activists or else their relatives living abroad would be targeted. The Punjab CM said the outfit deserved to be banned as a terror organisation. AAP too supported the ban. SFJ had shared a poster on the social media last week, urging pro-Khalistan Sikhs to boo Indian Team during the World Cup semifinal. — Jupinder Singh

Step in right direction

First step towards protecting the nation from anti-India and secessionist designs of ISI-backed organisation. — Capt Amarinder Singh, CM

Centre bans pro-Khalistan group SFJ, Capt hails move

The beautiful rendition features several actors including Amitabh Bachchan, Salman Khan, Vicky Kaushal among others.

A series of events are being organised to commemorate India’s victory in Kargil War twenty years ago on 26 July. Chief of the Army Staff General Bipin Rawat on Friday released a tribute song on Kargil to honour, salute and pay homage to the Kargil martyrs and war veterans.

The song, released at a grand ceremony at Manekshaw Centre in Delhi, has been composed by eminent Hindi lyricist Sammer Anjaan and sung by Shatadru Kabir. The music has been composed by Raju Singh. The beautiful rendition features several actors including Amitabh Bachchan, Salman Khan, Vicky Kaushal among others.

Operation Vijay involved major operations to evict Pakistani intruders from Indian territory on the icy heights of Dras, Kargil, Batalik and Turtuk and bears witness to the courage, valour and sacrifice of the soldiers of the Indian armed forces. The 20th anniversary celebrations are aimed at ‘Remembering their sacrifice’, ‘Rejoicing in their victory’ and ‘Renewing the pledge’ to go beyond the call of duty when called upon.

Also on Saturday, to commemorate the victory in the Battle of Tololing during the Kargil War, a trekking expedition to Tololing Top was undertaken by the 2 Rajputana Rifles (RAJRIF) to honour and celebrate the victory achieved amidst harsh terrain and weather conditions.

The objective of the trek during these celebrations was to evoke the spirit of patriotism and pay homage to the gallant soldiers of the Kargil War, an official statement said.

Live TV

Should the present standoff between America and Iran spill over into a conflict, it will have a far-reaching consequence: not only will it lead to further destabilising the Middle East, but will also have wider ramifications, besides being disastrous for the world economy.

 
Treaty withdrawal effect: The US has imposed harsh trade sanctions on Iran.

Lt Gen Harwant Singh (Retd)
Former Deputy Chief of Army staff

The Middle East has been in a state of turmoil for decades. Yet another and the more serious of these now appears to be around the corner. The shooting down of American Drone RQ-4 Global Hawk by an Iranian missile has brought the two countries closer to a flashpoint. In fact, an airstrike in response to the downing of the drone was ordered but was cancelled by Trump, minutes before takeoff by American bombers. So, the situation is fluid and unpredictable. It was not clear whether the targeting of the drone was done at the tactical level or on orders from the highest level.

Iran had embarked on the path to developing nuclear weapons and at some point Israel was planning to bomb the nuclear facilities of that country. However, during the Bush and Obama administrations, Israel was repeatedly talked down from adopting this course. It was obvious that if Iran retaliated, that would have sucked in American military forces into the conflict. However, both Israel and the US did carry out complex cyber attacks on Iranian facilities to buy time and delay Iranian moves to develop a nuclear weapon.

 Eventually, the US under Barak Obama and five other countries, ie Britain, France, Germany, Russia and China, in 2015 drew a treaty with Iran that it will not enrich uranium to weapon grade. In addition, the deal laid down that Iran can stockpile no more than 300 kg of the so-called low-enriched uranium, a fraction of what it previously hoarded. To remain under this limit, Iran shipped low enriched uranium out of the country. In addition, there are some other restrictions relating to the enrichment of uranium and advance centrifuge. This restriction is valid till 2030. Though, some call this date far too soon. 

Trump, during his first 15 months in office, had Lt Gen HR McMasteras  national security adviser, Rex W Tillerson as Secretary of State and Jim Mattis as Secretary of Defence and they all were of the view that the President should expand the deal rather than reject it. However, soon after Tillerson and McMaster were moved out, Trump declared this Obama-era treaty as the ‘worst deal ever and a disaster.’

Consequently, America withdrew from this treaty, while the other five countries and Iran did not follow this line. However, Iran is believed to have announced that it will not abide by the treaty. Since the withdrawal from this treaty, America has been imposing increasingly harsh trade sanctions, which, in turn, have been crippling the Iranian economy. 

These sanctions affect India, too, because much of its oil and at cheaper rates is obtained from Iran. Large numbers of international flights which fly over the Gulf have since been cancelled.

Earlier, four oil tankers navigating the Gulf of Oman, near the Fujairan port, were attacked. But the recent attack on two tankers — Kokuka Courageous of Japan and Front Altair of Norway — almost crippled these tankers and the crew abandoned the ships.

An American video of a small boat filled with sailors by the side of one of the stricken tankers has been taken as proof of Iranian hand in this attack. In addition, the mine used to damage one of the tankers is believed to be of Iranian origin. Though, the German Foreign Minister has said that this video is not enough proof of Iranian culpability in these incidents. Iran’s Foreign Minister Javad Zarif has tweeted that America has accused Iran without a shred of evidence.

Yet, some experts are of the view that Iraq is seeking ways to strike America while maintaining just enough ambiguity to avoid a direct military confrontation.

Harassing tankers in the Gulf punishes the United States by raising the price of oil and gives Iran a collateral benefit of increasing its revenue from the sale of lesser quantity of oil being sold due to the sanctions.

At the American end, the public is a bit cynical about presidents and intelligence after George W Bush’s invasion of Iraq based on false accusations of weapons of mass destruction and Barak Obama’s accusation of Syria gassing its own people.

Even before these two incidents of attack on oil tankers, Trump had ordered the move of an aircraft carrier group into this area. Subsequently, he moved some more troops.

It may be argued why  the United States is getting involved in this emerging hostile scene when neither of the ships belongs to the US. But America has been committed since World War II to ensure safe export of petroleum products from the Persian Gulf. Subsequently, during the First Gulf War in 1990, the United States reinforced that commitment with a military build-up in the region.

The world’s third of crude oil supplies and nearly a fifth of natural gas pass through the Gulf of Oman, Strait of Hormuz and Persian Gulf.

While the ever-increasing sanctions are crippling the Iranian economy, they are merely hardening the stance of that country. Iran is threatening that it would stockpile more dangerous — nuclear fuel — and exceed the 300-kg limit and would follow through with its threat to enrich uranium to higher levels.

Equally, the Revolutionary Guard Corps of Iran, which is allied with hardline politicians and wields an important military and economic clout in Iran, has been at odds with the more pragmatic political leadership. And, it is determined to safeguard its own interests by threatening the oil transport on which the world’s economy depends. The Revolutionary Guard views that this standoff with America will benefit it in the coming elections by striking at President Hassan Rouhani as well.

At the same time, Iran does understand that a conflict with the United States could be very damaging, but Iran’s point is that if it cannot export its oil and safeguard its economy, then no Gulf country will be allowed to do so.

At the American end, both Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and John R Bolton are pushing for an ever-increasing tightening of pressure on Iran. At the recent meetings held in the Oval Office, the common view was that America needs to respond to the attack on its drone which was flying over international waters and not over Iranian-controlled waters, as claimed by Iran.

The fact is that Iran has been backing allied militias in Iraq, Syria, Yemen and even the government’s opponents in Bahrain. This is the other issue which has been provoking American reaction. All this is taking the two countries closer to a flashpoint.

Should the present standoff between America and Iran spill over into a conflict, it will have a far-reaching consequence: not only will it lead to further destabilising the Middle East, but it will also have wider ramifications, besides being disastrous for the world economy.

However, the ever-unpredictable Trump may any time soon change his stance for the better. Though, Trump seems to view that this conflict might imperil his chances for a second run on the presidency.

In fact, even after pulling out of the nuclear treaty with Iran, he has called upon that country to abide by the treaty. This flip-flop by Trump keeps everyone in suspense. Some perceive it as madness, while some others view it as shrewd moves.

ibune News Service
Palwal/Faridabad, June 21

The mortal remains of Flight Lieutenants Ashish Tanwar (27) and Rajesh Thapa (28), who were among 13 Air Force officers on board AN-32 aircraft that crashed in Arunachal Pradesh earlier this month, were cremated with full state honours at their native places on Friday.

Tanwar belonged to Palwal’s Deegot village, while Thapa’s family lives in Faridabad.

The bodies of the two Flight Lieutenants, who were pronounced dead on June 13, were brought to their homes in the afternoon.

Residents of Deegot village raised “Ashish Tanwar amar rahe” slogans as the body reached the village around 2 pm. The coffin carrying the body wrapped in Tricolour, was accompanied by Air Force officers and Tanwar’s wife Sandhya, who is a radar officer in the Air Force.

Hundreds of villagers gathered at the cremation ground to pay homage. Union Minister of State for Social Justice and Empowerment Krishan Pal Gurjar, Deputy Commissioner Yashpal Yadav and Air Force Group Captain SK Chauhan were among those who laid wreaths to pay tributes to the late officer.

Tanwar’s father Radhey Lal lit the pyre.

In Faridabad, Air Commodore AK Grover led the team that brought Thapa’s body home. Thapa’s family hails from Uttarakhand, but they have been living in Sector 23 here for the past several years. He is survived by his parents, a sister and a brother.

Gurjar and legislators Mool Chand Sharma and Seema Trikha paid tributes by laying wreaths on the body. A gun salute was fired in Thapa’s honour.

Minister pays tributes 

• Residents of Deegot village raised “Ashish Tanwar amar rahe” slogans as the body reached the village around 2 pm
• The coffin carrying the body wrapped in Tricolour, was accompanied by Air Force officers and Tanwar’s wife Sandhya, who is a radar officer in the Air Force
• In Faridabad, Air Commodore AK Grover led the team that brought Rajesh Thapa’s body home
• Union Minister Krishan Pal Gurjar and MLAs Mool Chand Sharma and Seema Trikha laid wreaths on the body

The Chairman of Chiefs of Staff Committee is tasked with ensuring synergy among the three services and evolve common strategy to deal with external security challenges facing the country

New Delhi: Air Chief Marshal B S Dhanoa on Wednesday received the baton of Chairman of Chiefs of Staff Committee from outgoing Navy Chief Admiral Sunil Lanba who retires on Friday.

The Chiefs of Staff Committee comprises chiefs of the Army, the Navy and the Air Force and the senior most member is appointed its chairperson.

“Air Chief Marshal Birender Singh Dhanoa will be the Chairman COSC with effect from May 31 consequent to relinquishment of charge by Admiral Sunil Lanba upon superannuation,” a defence ministry spokesperson said.

The Chairman of Chiefs of Staff Committee is tasked with ensuring synergy among the three services and evolve common strategy to deal with external security challenges facing the country. Air Chief Marshal Dhanoa is a Kargil war veteran and top rated fighter pilot with over 3,000 hours of flying experience.

An alumnus of Rashtriya Indian Military College and the National Defence Academy, he was commissioned in the flying branch of Indian Air Force in June 1978.

The Air Chief Marshal has primarily flown the MiG-21 aircraft with flying experience across the entire spectrum of fighter aircraft of the IAF.

During the Kargil war in 1999, he was the Commanding Officer of a frontline ground attack fighter squadron.

He has led many coveted operational and staff assignments that include command of a frontline fighter base and director of the fighter operations and war planning at Western Air Command.

He was the Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief of South Western Air Command and has also been the Vice Chief of the Air Staff.

Amritsar, May 5

The Akal Takht has taken note of the alleged discrimination meted out to Sikh youth hailing from hilly areas at the time of recruitment in the Army. It has sought intervention of the SGPC into the matter.

Akal Takht’s acting Jathedar Giani Harpreet Singh said turbaned Sikhs living in the foothills of Hoshiarpur, Mukerian, Tanda and Ropar had been subjected to discrimination in terms of relaxation in height criteria during recruitment in the defence services.

“We have received complaints that Sikhs who support turbans have not been given a special certificate of height relaxation by the authorities. Also, the certificate used to be issued under the name of ‘Dogra certificate’, which has now been changed to ‘Hindu Dogra certificate’. This is also objectionable. This discrimination needs urgent attention and the SGPC has been directed to carry out a probe and take action,” he said.

Meanwhile, Haryana Jannayak Janata Party’s state president and former MLA Nishan Singh appeared before the Akal Takht to seek an apology. He had equated the Dera Sirsa cult with Guru Gobind Singh in a video clip that went viral recently. Since he has submitted a written apology, he has been directed to hold ‘Akhand Path’ for atonement. —TNS

Although the lesser beneficiary, India has never deprived Pakistan of its share of water under the Indus Waters Treaty, even when there is ample evidence to suggest that the neighbour continues to waste the precious resource. The persistent use of antiquated agricultural techniques in Pakistan has led to excessive loss of water

Lt Gen PK Grover (retd)
Former State Information Commissioner, Punjab

WATER is perhaps the most coveted resource in the world today. With a burgeoning world population and consistently increasing demand, it is also becoming a highly scarce resource, especially in the developing countries. Its misuse, overuse or wastage is a matter of global concern.

After Independence, the Indus Waters Treaty was negotiated at Pakistan’s insistence to allay the fear of water insecurity in the lower riparian state. The treaty was signed with the World Bank as facilitator on September 19, 1960.

The spirit of the treaty, as stated in the preamble, included three essential parameters — optimum utilisation of all available water in the Indus basin; to maintain goodwill and friendship; and to cooperate in future for further exploitation — which were also to be taken into consideration while approving loans to Pakistan for replacement and developmental works.

For the past over 58 years, Pakistan has been the beneficiary of 80 per cent of the water available in the Indus basin. Pakistan had also received financial assistance in creating/developing the best canal and irrigation system in the world. This amount included £62 million paid by India.

Water is becoming an existential issue for Pakistan. As per a recent report, the United Nations has estimated that Pakistan’s water supply has dropped from about 5,000 cubic metres per person in the 1950s to about 1,000 cubic metres. It is expected to fall below 700 cubic metres (international marker for water scarcity) by 2025. Pakistan is the third most water-stressed country in the world.

Pakistan has been attributing its water scarcity to Indian action of constructing hydroelectric power projects on the western rivers, a situation that would jeopardise economic growth and prove to be a health hazard for Pakistan. Broadly, the problems may be attributed to Pakistan having drawn limited benefit of India’s benevolence, despite the fact that it has been receiving more than its authorised share. As per the treaty, Pakistan was to receive 136 MAF (million acre feet) of water annually, but as per a recent report it is getting about 154 MAF.

The treaty was signed with undivided Pakistan to provide requisite food security. Thus, the interests of erstwhile East Pakistan were also part of this agreement. Even though India has a separate treaty with Bangladesh, Pakistan continues to get more than its authorised share of water under fundamentally changed circumstances and with no justification for declining per capita water availability.

It can be inferred that optimal utilisation of water has been overlooked. This is most evident in the case of inefficient use of water for irrigation by Pakistan as almost 80 per cent of the water is used for low-value agricultural production. Moreover, for an irrigated agricultural area of 36 million acres, out of an average 104 MAF of river flows diverted for canal irrigation, a considerable amount of water is lost in conveyance and in its field applications. Water loss in field applications is due to lack of coordination between agriculture and irrigation departments. Incidentally, Pakistan is also permitting about 39.4 MAF of fresh water, worth approximately $25 billion, to flow into the Arabian Sea annually as it does not have enough reservoirs or dams to store water. Views regarding mismanagement of water have been expressed on the floor of Pakistan’s Senate on a number of occasions.

The treaty had been worked out on the assumption of 75 per cent cropping intensity. However, Pakistan has crossed 160 per cent in 2018, resulting in utilising about 95 per cent of the available water for agriculture alone. Further, the continued use of traditional and antiquated agricultural techniques has also led to the non-judicious use and excessive loss of water. As a result, the yield per hectare of cereal crops continues to be consistently low even when the most fertile lands are available in the interfluves (doabs) of the rivers.

Another vital use of the waters is for hydroelectric power generation, but here too Pakistan has lagged in optimal and judicious utilisation. Globally, most countries generate 80 per cent of their power requirements from their installed infrastructure, but Pakistan’s generation capacity only meets 65 per cent of the needs due to old plants, poor maintenance and circular debt. As per the World Energy Council Report 2016, Pakistan has an installed capacity of 6,481 MW of hydropower from all plants on the Indus, Jhelum, Chenab and Kabul rivers. The overall power deficiency of about 3,000 MW is made up by importing power from Iran, Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan.

There is great reduction (about 33 per cent) in the storage capacity at the facilities developed at Tarbela, Mangala and Chasma for 17.79 MAF. This is primarily on account of excessive sedimentation. Pakistan has water storage capacity just for 30 days (indicating a paltry 150 cubic metres per person) against the minimum requirement of 120 days, while most of the developed countries have one-two years’ water storage capability.

It is apparent that this situation is now being exploited by Pakistan by approaching various world forums. India has all along adhered to the provisions of the treaty in letter and spirit. Although the lesser beneficiary, India has never deprived Pakistan of its share of water under the treaty, even when there is ample evidence to suggest that Pakistan continues to waste it, which can be stopped by being sensitive to the need of achieving optimum level of utilising this fast-depleting resource through improved infrastructure, better management and awareness. The question remains: should Pakistan be allowed to continue wasting the Indus waters and converting a renewable resource into a non-renewable one?

Ishfaq Tantry & Majid Jahangir
Tribune News Service
Srinagar, April 8

A day after civilian movement on the 270-km Baramulla-Srinagar-Udhampur National Highway was barred to secure the safe passage of security forces’ convoys, the Army and other forces’ convoys continued to ply on the highway in Kashmir today, prompting the people to question the logic behind the bi-weekly ban.

Former Chief Minister Omar Abdullah posted a video of convoys plying on Monday despite two days being reserved specifically for their passage on the highway, which serves as a lifeline.

“If it is safe for SF convoys to move on Monday without closing the highway to civilian traffic, why is it not safe on Wednesdays and Sundays?

Nothing proves the mindlessness of the order more than the Army movement on ‘unsafe’ days. This road is part of the highway by the way,” he said in one of the tweets.

Throughout Monday, the Army convoys were seen plying along the Baramulla-Qazigund stretch, raising questions as the government had on April 3  notified Sunday and Wednesday for forces’ movement every week, restricting civilian traffic movement on the highway on these two designated days.  

An Army official who wished not to be named said that the ban was imposed not based on the inputs of Army, as Army requires to ply convoys on all days.

Besides, sources in police also alluded to this fact that plying convoys on exclusive days without civilian traffic on highway would make them (convoys) more prone to attacks by militants.

In fact, during the 2016 unrest following Burhan Wani’s killing,  the Army used to ply convoys during night hours, but the militants had attacked one such convoy in Baramulla, in which two personnel and a police driver was killed. Later, the Army decided to ply convoys during day time.

Apart from the Army, CRPF and BSF convoys also plied along the highway today. “The Army will ply their vehicles all the days except Friday,” a defence official said.