Current Events :
Our Correspondent
Jammu, October 12
Lt Gen Harsha Gupta took the command of the elite White Knight Corps from Lt Gen Paramjit Singh Sangha on Saturday.
He exhorted all ranks to continue working with zeal and enthusiasm and always be combat ready to thwart the nefarious designs of the enemy and inimical forces.
Before relinquishing the command, Lt Gen Sangha laid a wreath at Ashwamedh Shaurya Sthal on the premises of the Nagrota military station to pay tributes to martyrs.
New Delhi, September 29
A delay in government sanction of additional funds of Rs 800 crore for the CRPF has prompted the paramilitary force to order stopping the ration money allowance (RMA) for its troops this month, a senior official said on Sunday.
The Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF), meanwhile, denied reports that jawans have “run out” of ration money due to this reason and said the allowance for September will be paid shortly.
The allowance is given to jawans and non-gazetted officers of the force for their daily meals and is included in their monthly salaries.
The CRPF said the issue occurred as the RMA for the 3.25 lakh-strong force was revised recently by the government.
“On account of the revision of the ration money allowance made by the MHA (Ministry of Home Affairs) on July 12, Rs 22,194 per head ration money (in arrears) was paid to around 2 lakh CRPF personnel in July,” the force said in a statement.
This amount, it said, is more than six times the monthly ration allowance of jawans and other non-gazetted rank officers.
“Process for payment of ration money (about Rs 3,600) for this month is in progress and it will he paid shortly and hence the contention that jawans have run out of ration money is incorrect, baseless and preposterous and there is no crisis whatsoever,” it said.
The CRPF, according to a communication issued to its formations early this month, has sought sanction of ‘reserve funds’ worth Rs 800 crore from the Union Home Ministry to pay the revised RMA to its troops.
The force has made at least three communications to the ministry in the past.
It said the RMA will be provided to troops in receipt of the additional budget from the ministry. — PTI
Azhar Qadri
Tribune News Service
Srinagar, September 27
The ongoing Internet shutdown has affected the working of the state government as the administration ordered cancellation of three more online bids due to lack of response.
The online bids were cancelled by the state government’s Town Drainage Division, the Department of Hospital Engineering and by the Executive Engineer, Mechanical, SKIMS Hospital.
In a public notification, the Town Drainage Division said it cancelled an e-tender as it could not be uploaded on the website “due to non-availability of Internet service”.
In another notification issued by the office of the Executive Engineer, Mechanical, the online tender seeking to provide medical gas facility to the operation theatre of Vet Lab at SKIMS Hospital has been cancelled. It said the bid was cancelled due to “poor response”.
In a third such public notification within a day, the state government’s Department of Hospital Engineering said it has cancelled an online tender for augmentation of 630 KVA transformer by 1 MVA transformer with 800 KVA servo stabiliser and other allied works at SKIMS MCH Bemina.
The cancellation of the online bids has come in the wake of the ongoing Internet clampdown in the state which came into effect on midnight of August 4, hours ahead of the abrogation of Article 370.
The Taliban are once again looking upon themselves as a political force in Afghanistan. Recently, they were quick to issue a statement on Kashmir that there is no link with the situation in Afghanistan. It implies that the designs of the Taliban in Afghanistan and the militancy in Kashmir are not inter-related.
Lt Gen NPS Hira (Retd)
Former Deputy Chief of Army Staff
The breakdown of US-Taliban talks has generated some relief in India. However, a deeper analysis would show that it may be prudent to not draw much solace from it. It is important to see the reasons for the US having come to the table and pushing the talks this far. Despite the amount of war effort applied by the US over the years, the Taliban have been constantly expanding their footprint. The US is no more in a position to defeat Taliban. On the other hand, in a marked departure from the past, the Taliban has shown greater willingness to talk. The swap of three kidnapped Indian engineers by the Taliban is a pointer towards enhanced receptivity and sensitivity to the human and international angle to the conflict in India’s context.
The understanding of a common citizen in India about Afghanistan dynamics is limited. Similar is the case with our understanding of the Taliban. The main reason for the anti-Taliban opinion in India has been that it is a militant organisation and Pakistan’s proxy. Both are true. The Taliban are labelled by the western media as a total rogue militant organisation, though this issue needs a deeper study. Following the Soviets’ exit from Afghanistan in 1988, there was a civil war. The Taliban were born out of this milieu in 1994. It was the brutality of Mujahideen commanders of yesteryear which forced Afghan people to seek peace under this new militia. So, Mullah Omar’s prime purpose to raise the Taliban was indeed not so evil. It was essentially a Pashtun set-up and the glue of the motivation of his militia as well as its acceptability to the traditional Afghan society came from the fundamentalist religious ideology of Sharia laws. As a result, the Taliban did commit some heinous crimes, particularly against women. While in power between 1996 and 2001, the Taliban were seen to be on a learning curve. They did initiate a slow process of moderation of the Sharia practices. Given the traditional Muslim society they were ruling, they could not have gone overboard with it.
Following their defeat in the US invasion in 2001, Taliban have come roaring back. They have once again gained substantial military as well as political space in Afghanistan. In the areas under their control, Taliban have again initiated some steps towards moderation. They have allowed girls’ education in schools as well as teaching of modern sciences, as long as there is a minimum religious content in the school curriculum.
A deeper analysis of the Taliban-Al Qaeda relationship in Afghanistan before 9/11 reveals an intriguing equation. They did not share all ideological agendas. Osama was a fugitive who needed a safe sanctuary in Afghanistan. Taliban are not a trans-national jihadi organisation. They were not in favour of Osama continuing his hostility against the US, but Mullah Omar had to tolerate it in return for financial help from Osama to run his government and military help in fighting the Northern Alliance. However, after 9/11, Taliban were not in a position to hand over Osama to the US because it would have annoyed the Muslim constituency that they represented.
Back on the scene, Taliban are once again looking upon themselves as a political force in Afghanistan. Recently, Taliban were quick to issue a statement on Kashmir that there is no link with the situation in Afghanistan. It implies that the designs of Taliban in Afghanistan and the militancy in Kashmir are not inter-related. This statement could not have pleased Pakistan. Such signals from Taliban should not be ignored for the reason of suspicion alone. Pakistan has a lot of leverage on Taliban, but Taliban are fairly independent, and growing bigger by the day.
The existing Afghan government draws legitimacy from the fact that it is an elected body. Democracy in Afghanistan is in a nascent stage. In the Afghan Parliament elections last year, 43 of the 421 districts had no registered voters. Another eight districts which had a few registered voters, polled no votes. The population of 3.7 crore has only 96 lakh registered voters. Barely 20 lakh have voted in the presidential election on September 28, 2019. There are already reports of low voter turnout seen but high voting reported in some areas. Whatever be the outcome, the election results are unlikely to put pressure on Taliban. They now have a large cadre strength. In addition to Pashtuns, Taliban have also recruited Taziks, Hazaras, Uzbeks and have already earned a fair amount of political space.
The status of Taliban in Afghanistan is on the cusp of a change. Russia, China, Iran and the US have been quick to read the changing situation and made amends with Taliban. For India to particularly neutralise Pakistan’s designs in Afghanistan, Pashtuns are a more potent potential asset than any other Afghan tribe. The Pashtun tribe has never been subservient to Pakistan. When Taliban was in power from 1996 to 2001, Taliban did not recognise the Durand Line.
Even if Taliban get to power, Pakistan is unlikely to have the best of relations with Afghanistan for long. Our rapprochement with Taliban is likely to hit the Pakistan establishment where it will hurt them the most.
Besides domestic political issues, Trump, a Wharton business school graduate, would not like to keep putting money in a loss-making deal. After the declaration of thr breakdown of the US-Taliban negotiations, Trump said that the US may leave Afghanistan without any settlement. While the US is unlikely to do so, there is a need to read in between the lines. Other than Taliban, a hurdle for Trump in the negotiations was the stance of the Afghan government. There is a serious zone of conflict between what Ghani wants out of the deal and what Trump may actually be able to bargain for Ghani. As long as Taliban promise no attacks on the US from the Afghan soil and some facesaving formula for the US exit, Trump would be happy to exit.
Irrespective of the course that the Afghanistan conflict may take, Taliban are likely to have a substantial role in the future Afghan power set-up. Prudence demands that India start preparing for all contingencies. India needs to be a pro-active player in talks with Taliban, rather than being happy with the observer status. Despite US pressures in the past, India has resisted sending troops to Afghanistan, which is a plus point for India in the eyes of Taliban. Taliban would also be looking at India for financial help.
The recent breakdown in the US-Taliban talks should not lull India into complacency. India needs to widen its options before it may be too late.
Tribune News Service
Chandigarh, September 24
The Chandigarh Bench of the Armed Forces Tribunal (AFT) disposed nearly 250 cases in two marathon sessions on September 23 and 24 by constituting a special Bench in view of the acute shortage of adjudicating members.
Most of the cases disposed off pertained to pensionary benefits of disabled soldiers. Justice Virender Singh, Chairperson, AFT, who is also a former Chief Justice of Jharkhand High Court, sat with Vice Admiral AG Thapliyal for two days at Chandigarh to clear matters relating to the disabled soldiers and other retirees, some of them in their 80s and 90s.
The Bench directed the government to release disability benefits to disabled veterans whose claims had been rejected administratively by the authorities.
Many of the affected soldiers were veterans of various wars and military operations.
The Supreme Court in a plethora of decisions had asked the Central government to grant disability pensions to soldiers incurring diseases, while in service reminding that the rules are beneficent and liberal in nature and soldiers cannot be asked to prove service-connection of their disabilities since the same is a presumption under law.
Most Benches of the Armed Forces Tribunal in the country are virtually non-functional with just three Judicial Members being available out of the total sanctioned strength of seventeen.
These three Members will also retire by December 2019.
The Chandigarh Bench has the heaviest workload and pendency.
Justice Mohammad Tahir of the Chandigarh Bench has also been travelling to other Benches where no judicial member is available for disposing pending cases.
Tribune News Service
New Delhi, October 6
Alarmed by the recent arms drop cases in Punjab from across the border, the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) has asked border guarding forces, particularly the Border Security Force (BSF), patrolling the International Border with Pakistan, to explore all technological possibilities to have anti-drone capabilities.
MHA officials said the instructions in this regard was given to the chiefs of the border guarding forces during a security review meeting, which was chaired by Union Home Minister Amit Shah.
The direction was given to them in the backdrop of alleged use of heavy-duty drones by Pakistan to drop weapons into India for terrorists, the officials said, adding that chiefs of the border guarding forces had been asked to spend more time in the field with their units rather than in the headquarters in Delhi. According to officials, the Director Generals (DGs) of
Border Security Force, Indo-Tibetan Border Police, Sashastra Seema Bal and Assam Rifles have been given a time limit to come out with a plan with required technological inputs to prevent Punjab arms drop like incidents.
As intended the plan will also include for the forces to identify weak areas both geographically and in terms of capabilities and have been asked to build on them phase wise to make the borders full proof. A senior official said, the chiefs of the forces, who attended the review meeting, were told that the minister would again review the progress made on the directions given.
Shah had on Friday directed the border guarding forces to identify issues affecting the security of the forward locations and submit detailed action plans to resolve them.
Chandigarh, September 22
Groups based in Pakistan reportedly used a drone to drop weapons inside the Indian territory near Khalra village in Tarn Taran district earlier this month, violating Indian air space. The arms were believed to be meant for terrorists in Punjab or Kashmir, Punjab DGP Dinkar Gupta told The Tribune. He said it was the first incident of its kind.
The police had last week arrested 10 persons in Tarn Taran following a mysterious blast. The DGP said the drone incident coincided with the busting of a terror module with the arrest of four persons affiliated with the now revived Khalistan Zindabad Force (KZF) which was backed by a Pakistan and Germany-based terror organisation. Five AK-47 rifles, pistols, satellite phones and hand grenades were seized from the module members.
After initial investigations revealed that drones were being used to deliver weapons and communication hardware from across the border, the Punjab CM approached the Centre, asking that directions be issued to the IAF and BSF for counter-measures to thwart any threat from drones to the border state.
DGP Gupta said weapons were suspected to have been delivered across the border via drones by the ISI and the state-sponsored jihadi and Khalistani outfits under its command. The infiltration seemed to have been aimed at scaling terrorism and militancy in J&K, Punjab and the Indian hinterland.
Gupta said the busted module was backed by Pakistan-based KZF chief Ranjeet Singh alias Neeta and his Germany-based associate Gurmeet Singh alias Bagga alias Doctor. With the help of local sleeper cells, they had picked and radicalised locals and arranged funds and sophisticated weapons from across the border.
The arrested were identified as Balwant Singh alias Baba alias Nihang, Akashdeep Singh alias Akash Randhawa, Harbhajan Singh and Balbir Singh. Both Akashdeep and Baba Balwant Singh have a criminal record. The DGP said Maan Singh, now lodged in the Amritsar jail, at the behest of his handler Bagga had recruited Akashdeep Singh, when they were together in jail. Consignment recipient Baba was a Babbar Khalsa International (BKI) member, earlier arrested under the UAPA and Arms Act. Importantly, the Jammu police too had claimed some weeaks ago that three terrorists in Jammu had received a consignment of weapons from Punjab. The Punjab Police had confirmed the claim.
New Delhi, October 6
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh will on Tuesday perform ‘Shastra Puja’ (worship of weapons) on the occasion of Dussehra after receiving the first of 36 Rafale jets in the French port city of Bordeaux, officials said.
After performing puja, he will take a sortie in the aircraft, they said.
Singh has been performing ‘Shastra Puja’ for last several years, including during his tenure as the Union Home Minister in the previous NDA government.
The defence minister will leave for Paris on a three-day visit on Monday, primarily to receive the first Rafale fighter jet on Tuesday—the foundation day of the Indian Air Force as well as the day when Dussehra will be celebrated.
Singh will perform ‘Shastra Puja’ after receiving the first Rafale fighter jet at Merignac suburb of Bordeaux on Tuesday. After performing puja, he will take a sortie in the aircraft, the officials said.
Before leaving for Bordeaux on the morning of Tuesday, Singh will meet French President Emmanuel Macron in Paris and is expected to discuss issues relating to defence and security ties between the two countries.
The ceremony to hand over the Rafale jet will take place at a facility of Dassault Aviation, the makers of the aircraft, in Merignac of Bordeaux, which is at a distance of around 590 km from Paris.
Though Singh will receive the first of the 36 Rafale jets on Tuesday, the first batch of four aircraft will come to India only by May next year.
“The defence minister will participate in the Rafale handing over ceremony at Merignac along with French Minister of Armed Forces Florence Parly. He will also perform the Shastra puja on the auspicious occasion of Vijayadashami and fly a sortie in the Rafale fighter aircraft,” Defence Ministry Spokesperson Bharat Bhusan Babu said.
Later Singh will hold the annual defence dialogue with Parly during which both sides will explore ways to further deepen defence and security ties.
On October 9, Singh will address the CEOs of leading French defence firms during which he is likely to urge them to participate in the “Make in India” in defence sector in India, Babu said.
Singh is also likely to invite them to the DefExpo to be held in Lucknow from February 5 to 8 next year.
Defence and security ties between India and France were on an upswing in the last few years.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited France in August during which both sides resolved to further enhance the already close defence ties.
Sources said a high-level team of the Indian Air Force is already in France to coordinate with the French officials on the handing over ceremony.
India had signed an inter-governmental agreement with France in September 2016 for procurement of 36 Rafale fighter jets at a cost of around Rs 59,000 crore.
The aircraft is capable of carrying a range of potent weapons and missiles.
The IAF has already completed preparations, including readying required infrastructure and training of pilots, to welcome the fighter aircraft.
The sources said the first squadron of the aircraft will be deployed at Ambala air force station, considered one of the most strategically located bases of the IAF. The Indo-Pak border is around 220 km from there.
The second squadron of Rafale will be stationed at Hasimara base in West Bengal.
A number of IAF teams have already visited France to help Dassault Aviation incorporate India-specific enhancements on-board the fighter aircraft.
The Rafale jets will come with various India-specific modifications, including Israeli helmet-mounted displays, radar warning receivers, low band jammers, 10-hour flight data recording, infra-red search and tracking systems among others. — PTI
Very few are aware that the Indian Army follows a principle akin to corporate social responsibility (CSR). It is done all over the areas of responsibility where it is deployed operationally.
That is true for the Northeast and J&K where it has experienced varying levels of insurgency like conditions, also termed terrorism or proxy hybrid war.
During the height of the Punjab insurgency in the 80s and early 90s, my unit ensured that we did our bit for the local people in the vicinity of the deployment area. The usual favourite was construction of playing fields for educational institutions to get the youth to play; we even provided sports items from meagre funds that were available.
Also, it was broadly understood that army units had the energy, organisational capability, positive thinking and goodwill to do something for the local people.
This principle of winning hearts and minds (WHAM) through created opportunities of fraternisation and deployment of some resources came from the experience of the British Army, which used this extensively during the Malaya campaign.
The rationale for it was simple. In low-intensity conflict situations or asymmetric warfare, it’s the local populations which suffer the maximum because neither can normal lives be led nor proper governance be brought to bear.
The Army targets the insurgent or terrorist but invariably and unintentionally the population gets affected with respect to its normal routine of life, self-esteem and dignity when homes have to be repeatedly searched or movement curbed.
All this gets the population against the Army. Hence the need to make up for these privations and also assist in some aspects of development, which has been lost due to the inability of the civilian administrators to reach the remote areas or even nearer ones due to persistent threats.
In 1997, a landmark decision was taken to launch a scheme called Operation Sadbhavna. The government provided a higher quantum of funds than before with which meaningful welfare could be organised for the affected population.
Four broad areas were selected for initial focus—education, medical aid, small-scale infrastructure and national integration. More domains were added later, including woman empowerment. In J&K the Army set up 43 Goodwill schools; they play a crucial role in providing quality education to the affected population.Through the medical aid schemes, medicines were provided for the conduct of medical camps in remote areas. Local doctors along with those of the Army attended to patients under the security provided by the Army.
It is to the Army’s credit that as part of small-scale infrastructure the first provisions for toilets for female children were made in government schools, under Sadbhavna.
Excursions for children, women, elders and other categories from time to time were organised to other parts of India to showcase progress and let the people aspire for the same in their areas through pursuit of peace.
Unfortunately, Sadbhavna is still tied down by too many bureaucratic procedures of accountability making it an unpopular pursuit for Army units who had to do both, fight the terrorist and look after the welfare of the population to prevent it from supporting the terrorist. Most units did not take this as a part of their professional responsibility, which by doctrine it is.
The success of Sadbhavna was essentially at the tactical level, except a few projects such as the Kashmir Premier League cricket tournament which helped stage 390 matches in three months and helped stave off a lot of street turbulence in 2011.
People who are unaware of the essence of counter-terror operations are today questioning the worth of Sadbhavna, not realising that it never had any strategic goals, only tactical ones to help the Army’s units conduct what is generically also called military civic action (MCA) and is an essential part of such ops conducted as part of asymmetric warfare.
The need is actually felt of taking MCA to a strategic level but be executed by many other agencies of the government in what is often referred to as ‘all of government approach’ to become one of the major prongs of countering hybrid conflict.
This will also enable outreach and engagement by the government in the manner done by the Army. Townhall kind of interactions with the population in different parts of the state with government officials willing to listen more than speak, even as medical and veterinary camps are conducted at the same site.
Post-August 5, 2019, there are quarters which feel that nothing needs to be done for the welfare of a population in Kashmir which has responded only through stone-throwing at our forces and support to terrorists.
This attitude is devoid of rationale and smacks of a lack of understanding of the larger social issues in a hybrid conflict zone. Stamina and will to persist are a must among the forces and the government servants if we have to effectively fight Pakistan’s proxy conflict in Kashmir. This is all a game of patience.
If Pakistan has the stamina to keep us engaged in a long war by a thousand cuts, it is absolutely incumbent that we must display the stamina to stem that offensive whether it takes a year, 10 years or 50.
So while the government of India effectively proceeds to unravel and dismantle the ecosystem of devious networks through its correctly perceived strategy, it must simultaneously continue to work on WHAM at a strategic level. The Army must never think of giving up on Sadbhavna which has helped maintain balance in its relationship with the people. Not for nothing is the population the centre of gravity of an asymmetric warfare campaign; always has been and will always remain so.
