US, Russia and China have urged India, Pakistan for restraint. AFP

Ajay Banerjee

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, October 2

With major global powers like the US, Russia and China urging India and Pakistan to resolve disputes and reduce tensions, the chances of escalation to the latest war-type hysteria are receding.In India, the calculation is that barring the usual firing across the Line of Control (LoC), matters will not escalate. But the guard is up as Pakistan could try a new tactic to counter the Indian Army’s cross-LoC strike on terror camps on September 29.(Follow The Tribune on Facebook; and Twitter @thetribunechd)Though it may be too early to think of a dialogue, going by recent incidents, tensions have defused slowly. Almost a year after the Operation Parakaram (December 2001 to October 2002), Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee had taken a call on opening a dialogue with Pakistan. The ceasefire along the LoC in November 2003 had been agreed upon. The composite dialogue had carried on ‘well’ for the next five years till the Mumbai terror attacks in November 2008. After the Mumbai attacks, it took several months for the first official engagement.As of now, Beijing has favoured direct bilateral talks between India and Pakistan to iron out the wrinkles. China holds an economic interest in both countries. It has a US $46 billion investment in the China-Pakistan economic corridor (CPEC) that connects its Xinjiang province (north of Kashmir) with Gawadar port in the Arabian Sea. This is road, rail and petroleum pipeline connection. With India, China has bilateral annual trade of nearly US $80 billion with India being a major market for China’s exports.“As for the tension between Pakistan and India, recently Chinese side has been in communication with both sides through different channels,” Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Geng Shuang told a media briefing in Beijing last week.New Delhi and Beijing had conducted pre-planned counter-terrorism and security dialogue and it happened after the September 18 terror attack on an Indian military establishment at Uri in northern Kashmir.Air Vice Marshall Kapil Kak (retd), a former fighter pilot who fought two wars with Pakistan, says, “While being prepared in every way to respond potently to any reaction from Pakistan Army, we need to rework our arithmetic to initiate talks at the NSA level to begin with for restoration of a semblance of normality in bilateral relations.”Air Vice Marshal Kak, who has been a powerful voice among New Delhi’s think-tanks and track-II diplomacy circles,  cites the example of  Vajpayee and his initiative to argue: “Such an initiative would be a true indicator of India’s maturation as a great power in the making”.The US, on its part, has asked Pakistan to close all terrorist safe havens and target all militant groups, including those that target neighbouring countries. India made a pitch at the UN for isolating nations that nurture, peddle and export terror.  Russia has also supported the US and called upon both Pakistan and India to show restraint and resolve all the outstanding issues through peaceful means. 

GUWAHATI: A father-son officer duo has achieved a rare feat in the Indian Air Force – flying a helicopter together.

HT PHOTOAir Vice-Marshal Manvendra Singh (right) and his son Flight Lieutenant Siddharth Singh after the flight.

Air Vice-Marshal Manavendra Singh and son Flight Lieutenant Siddharth Singh flew an Mi-17 V5 together during an air fest at the advanced landing ground near Meghalaya’s capital, Shillong, on Saturday.

“This is possibly not the first time that a father-son duo has flown an IAF aircraft together, but such cases are rare,” defence spokesperson, Group Captain Amit Mahajan told HT from Shillong. Manavendra Singh, the senior officer in-charge of administration at the Upper Shillong-headquartered Eastern Air Command, has 6,700 hours of flying to his credit. Siddharth Singh was commissioned in 2011 in the helicopter stream.

Shamsher Singh Bisht, president of the Personnel Below Officers Rank Purva Sainik Welfare Association, demands facilities in Dehradun on Friday. Tribune photo: Abhyudaya Kotnala

Tribune News Service

Dehradun, September 30

Shamsher Singh Bisht, president of the Personnel Below Officers Rank Purva Sainik Welfare Association (PBOR), today said the Union Government should approve monetary and non-monetary benefits to retired honorary captains, and lieutenants like commissioned officers of Indian defence forces. The government should immediately draft a blueprint in this regard.Bisht, while addressing mediapersons here, said association members had submitted memorandums to state and Union governments, but to no avail. The President of India grants honorary commission to PBOR considering their 28 to 34 years of service. Honorary officers were not treated equally in hospitals and were deprived of other monetary and non-monetary perks. He demanded that honorary officers should be deployed in the Soldiers’ Welfare Board in the state. RD Shahi, UD Joshi, Ramesh Rawat and SS Bisht were present.

The firing is still on. Tribune file photo

Jammu, October 1

Violating the ceasefire again, Pakistani troops on Saturday targeted Indian posts and civilian areas with mortar bombs and heavy machine guns along the LoC in Jammu and Kashmir’s Akhnoor tehsil.There was no loss of life or injury to anyone in the firing, which started at 3.30 am and ended at 6 am.Indian troops guarding the border retaliated effectively, defence sources said.“There was heavy shelling of mortar bombs, RPGs and heavy machine guns and small arms firing on forward positions along the LoC in Pallanwala sector and Chamb area of Akhnoor tehsil on Saturday,” sources said.Police said the Pakistani troops targeted Badoo and Chanoo hamlets. “Villagers residing along the LoC were evacuated and shifted to safer places,” a police official said.

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As some border residents were returning to take care of their cattle and homes along the border, Pakistan troops tried to target them by heavy firing, they said.Some houses were hit by bullets from Pakistan in Badoo village, police said.This is the fifth violation of the 2004 ceasefire by Pakistani troops along LoC in J&K in the past four days.Pakistan has stepped up cross-border firing after the surgical strikes on September 29 by the India Army to destroy terror launch pads in Pakistan-occupied-Kashmir.On Friday, Pakistani troops had restored to small arms firing along LoC in Pallanwala, Chaprial and Samnam areas of Akhnoor sector of Jammu district during the night, Jammu Deputy Commissioner Simrandeep Singh said. PTI

Simran Sodhi

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, September 28

In a big blow to Pakistan and to its image, Afghanistan, Bhutan and Bangladesh today joined India and conveyed their decision to pull out of the SAARC summit scheduled for November in Islamabad.For Pakistan, the major concern is likely to be the fact that all four countries have cited terrorism as the main cause for pulling out of the summit. Sri Lanka has joined the chorus and said the summit would not be possible without India’s participation.

Edit:SAARC summit boycott

According to sources, in its message to Nepal, which holds the chair of SAARC, Afghanistan said because of the increased level of violence as a result of imposed terrorism on Afghanistan, its  President was fully engaged, and would not be able to attend the summit.Bangladesh, which has made its anger with Pakistan very evident, has also conveyed to Nepal that “the growing interference in the internal affairs of Bangladesh by one country has created an environment which is not conducive to the successful hosting of the 19th SAARC Summit”. Dhaka also said that the decision to pull out of the summit was entirely their own and not influenced by India’s decision to boycott the summit.

Bhutan followed suit.

This diplomatic isolation of Pakistan follows India’s decision late last night to pull out of the summit. Unfazed, Pakistan, in the meantime, said it would go ahead with holding of the SAARC summit. This is at variance with the SAARC charter that states that even if one member of the eight-member grouping does not attend, the summit stands cancelled or postponed.Reasons given for not attending summit in Nov Afghanistan: Increased level of violence and fighting as a result of imposed terrorism on Afghanistan, President of Afghanistan Mohammad Ashraf Ghani as the Commander-in-Chief will be fully engaged, and will not be able to attend the summitBangladesh: The growing interference in the internal affairs of Bangladesh by one country has created an environment which is not conducive to the successful hosting of the 19th SAARC Summit in Islamabad in November  Bhutan: Unable to attend the summit due to escalation of terrorism in the region

HE BENCH QUESTIONED WHY AN INDIVIDUAL HAD TO APPROACH COURT FOR RELIEF WHEN APEX COURT HAS ALREADY SETTLED THE MATTER

CHANDIGARH: The Chandigarh bench of the Armed Forces Tribunal (AFT) has come down heavily on defence authorities for not amending a policy to grant disability element to pre-2006 prematurely retired officers, junior commissioned officers and other ranks, who are otherwise eligible, as the same is admitted to post-2006 prematurely retired personnel.

Taking a suo motu cognisance of the case, the AFT bench headed by justice Surinder Singh Thakur questioned why an individual had to approach the court for relief when the apex court has already settled the matter.

The Supreme Court had pronounced its decision in the case of Mahavir Singh Narwal on January 4, 2008, and the administrative decision to grant disability element to personnel below officer’s rank (PBOR), proceedings on premature retirement was taken on January 2010 after two years, but it was limited to only those who file court cases. The AFT said it was against the ratio of ‘Mahavir Singh Narwal’ decided by the apex court.

“Moreover, an administrative decision cannot replace or place any limitation on a court order, which in this case has been done by introducing the clause relief to be given only to those who file court cases. This too is not being complied with by the respondents (defence authorities),” said the judgment.

It added: “If each ministry resorts to such action, there will be chaos and the sanctity and supremacy of the apex court provided by the constitution would be questioned by those who do not have the power to do so creating an analogous condition and the rule of law would be the casualty, which should not happen in a democratic set up like India.”

The bench observed that from 2012 to 2015, the file remained with the defence ministry. “During this period of 40 months, why was the matter nor raised to the level of the raksha mantri (defence minister)?… It is incomprehensible that to implement a Supreme Court decision, the file moves within the same ministry for 40 months and the issue is not raised to the level of the minister concerned, in this case the hon’ble raksha mantri.”

The AFT commented: “Armed forces veterans in the twilight of their lives, cannot be made to wait indefinitely and illegally for their benefits under the pretext of procedure and inter-departmental consultation… This attitude is not acceptable and the department of ESW (ex-servicemen) has to change its attitude with respect to processing of veteran’s cases, which in this case are based on the judgment of the Supreme Court.”

The bench directed the Secretary, ministry of defence, to issue instructions to all concerned not to raise any objection for denying the relief to the eligible person by quoting the nonexistent clause. “In case they would do so, they shall be liable for contempt and cost, which shall be recoverable from the individual who illegally denies the legitimate dues by quoting a non-existent clause of the policy. These instructions shall also be put in the public domain with instructions for affected personnel to apply for such relief to the competent authority instead of directly approaching the courts/ AFTs,” the bench observed.

Ajay Banerjee

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, September 19

An initial internal assessment by the Northern Command identified five core lapses that could have led to the terrorist attack.Top sources confirmed that killing of 18 personnel was not possible without lapses in following the standard operating procedures at locations close to the Line of Control.Firstly, militants crossed the double barbed wire fence, supposed to be patrolled 24×7. Secondly, they breached the perimeter fencing of the military camp.Thirdly, soldiers who were part of an advance party of the 6 Bihar Regiment were not staying inside a built-up area which was available, but putting up in tents in the open.Fourthly, the tents were too close to the fuel dump of the Uri brigade. Fifthly, ample men were not on guard duty or only a few had weapons in ready-to-fire mode.The Army assessment accepted that the initial burst usually had some casualties. But, it was inexplicable to lose 14 men when tents caught fire after grenades were lobbed.Of the 18 deaths, 14 occurred due to fire in the tents. Those who escaped the fire were gunned down.It was being suspected that the terrorists hid inside the military camp for a few hours before launching the attack and were aware of the personnel putting up in tents.”Having seen the Army closely, I feel, it needs to be analysed as to what happened there…It needs to be investigated how the incident took place and what were the lacunas… from the Army’s side, alertness is required. The Kashmir situation needs to be thought about. Action has to be taken without getting influenced by emotions, anger. It has to be taken coolly and with proper planning.” V K Singh, Union Minister and former Army Chief “One has to accept that the situation today is worse than what was during the Congress regime. At a time when pro-Pakistan sloganeering is on in Jammu and Kashmir and Pakistan flags are being hoisted there, the Centre should dissolve the state government and impose ‘martial law’ there as President’s (Governor’s) rule wouldn’t suffice.” Shiv Sena in “Saamana” Editorial

Sons of Havildar Ravi Paul who was martyred in Sunday”s terrorist attack at Uri Army camp, at their native village, Sarwa in Samba on Monday. PTI

Samba (J&K), September 19Ten-year-old Vansh, the eldest of the two sons of Havildar Ravi Paul Salotra, is aware that his father was martyred in the Uri terror attack but that has only strengthened his resolve to don the olive greens to serve the nation and avenge the killing.Ravi Paul of 10 Dogra Regiment was one of the 18 brave soldiers who lost their lives while fighting the four terrorists who attacked the Army Brigade Headquarters in Uri sector of Baramulla district yesterday.

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He had served the army for 23 years.Besides Vansh, 42-year-old Ravi Paul is survived by his wife Geeta Rani and another son Sudansheesh (7) and 80-year old mother.Because of Ravi Paul’s death, a pall of gloom has descended on his native Sarwa village in Ramgarh sub-sector of Samba district.“My father used to call early in the morning. Yesterday, he called us and we spoke in length on various issues. He asked me to concentrate on my studies so that I could fulfil his dream of becoming a doctor in the Indian Army,” said Vansh, a class 6th student.When asked whether he was aware of what tragedy has befallen on the family, Vansh, carrying two plastic tricolours, said his father laid down his life for the sanctity of the national flag.”Yes I know that my father laid down his life for the Tricolour and I will fulfil his dream of becoming a doctor in the Army so as to avenge the killing of my father,” he said.Ravi Paul’s two brothers have also served in the Army.In this sleepy Sarwa village of over 120 families, there are many who have donned the olive green uniform at one stage of their life.“Majority of the people in our village are either serving in the Army or have served at one stage of their life. Out of six brothers, my three brothers were in Army and Ravi Paul was the youngest to join the Army,” said Joginder Lal Salotra, elder brother of Ravi Paul.He described Ravi Paul as a very jolly and friendly person who used to mingle with everybody in the village.“Whenever he used to come on leave, people used to meet him as he always narrated the stories about his tenure in the Army,” Lal said.He said Ravi Paul used to make sure that he calls his family every day.Mohan Lal Salotra, another brother of the martyred soldier, said he has not only lost a younger brother but a friend who used to share every secret of life with him.“I also served in the Army and after retirement I joined Defence Security Corps (DSE) and I am currently posted in Ludhiana. Though I was elder to Ravi, we were like good friends who used to talk each other daily.”September 17 was the last time we spoke and yesterday when I tried to call him, the line could not go through. Later in the afternoon, somebody called me to inform that my brother has made the supreme sacrifice for the nation,” Mohan Lal said.He said his brother wanted both of his sons to become doctors and join the Indian Army to serve the nation, “Now it is our duty to make sure that the dream of our brother is fulfilled.”Since the news of the martyrdom of Ravi Paul spread, thousands of villagers and relatives started pouring in to the house of the martyr soldier to express their solidarity with the bereaved family. — PTI