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Sun, 022 Oct, 2016
Parrik
kar waarns Paak of more pu
unishm
ment
Deffence minisster Manohaar Parrikar on
o Saturdayy threatened Pakistan with
w
a “befittting reply again”
a
if it
conntinues to spponsor terrorrism, the touugh talk com
ming a day after
a
the US
S bluntly tolld Islamabadd to stop its
rheetoric on nukking India.
Parrrikar’s warnning came tw
wo days after New Delhi said Indiaan forces caarried out suurgical strikees on terror
lauunch pads accross the Line of Contrrol — the de
d facto bordder betweenn the two coountries in Jammu
J
and
Kasshmir. The Indian
I
strikee was in respponse to a militant
m
attacck on an arm
my camp at Uri
U that left 18 soldiers
deaad.
Pakkistan has no
n idea whatt happened because its condition iss like that of
o an “anaessthetised pattient” postsurrgery, who has
h no idea what
w has happpened, the minister
m
saidd at Pauri in Uttarakhandd. Islamabadd has denied
New
w Delhi’s cllaims about conducting
c
s
surgical
strikkes in Pakisttan-occupiedd Kashmir.
M Narendra Modi
M
met President Prannab Mukherjee and is understood to have briefedd him about the surgical
PM
striikes.
Acccording to TV
T reports, Parrikar
P
gavee an analogyy of Lord Rama, the prottagonist in thhe epic Ramayana, who
won Lanka andd gave it to Vibhishana.
V
“W
We did the saame in Bang
gladesh. We do not want to harm anyyone, but if someone
s
harrms us, a beffitting reply
willl be given…
…Lord Hanu
uman did nott know of hiis powers beefore going to
t Lanka, I made
m
our arrmed forces
reaalise their pow
wer,” he was quoted as saying.
s
Inddia was instrrumental in the bifurcatiion of Pakisstan and creation of Banngladesh in 1971. Parrikkar’s tough
talkk against Pakkistan comees when New
w Delhi’s dipplomatic enccirclement of
o Pakistan seems
s
to be paying off.
Thee internationnal commun
nity, includinng Pakistann’s traditionaal allies, has maintained a studied silence on
Inddia’s surgicall strikes, wh
hile underscooring the neeed to act agaiinst terrorism
m, indirectlyy bracketing Pakistan.
In a blunt messsage delivereed publicly on
o Friday, thhe United States told thee Pakistani government to “exercise
resttraint” regarrding the usee of nuclear weapons,
w
or the talk aboout it.
“I would just say nuclearr-capable staates have a very clear responsibility to exerccise restraintt regarding
nucclear weaponns and misssile capabilities,” US sttate departm
ment spokesm
man Mark Toner
T
said at
a the daily
brieefing in respponse to a qu
uestion, abouut “some of the
t rhetoric from
f
the Pakkistani goverrnment”.
“Annd that’s myy message publicly and that’s certaainly our meessage directtly to the Paakistani authhorities,” he
addded.
On Monday, Pakistan’s
P
deefence minisster Khawajaa Asif had threatened too “destroy Inndia” in thee event of a
warr.
We have not made
m
an ato
omic device to display in a showcasse. If such a situation arrises we will use it and
“W
elim
minate Indiaa,” he told a TV channel, raising alarm
a
in cappitals aroundd the world already woorried about
Pakkistan’s nucllear arsenal falling
f
into the
t hands off terrorists.
On Saturday, Inndian army chief
c
Generaal Dalbir Sinngh also reviiewed militaary preparednness at the northern and
wesstern borderrs. He visited
d the Udham
mpur-based Northern
N
Coommand andd interacted with the speecial forces
men who destrooyed seven terror
t
launchh pads in PoK
K, killing at least 35 terrrorists and thheir handlerss.
t take stockk of the arm
my’s readinesss along the
He later visitedd the Chandiimandir-baseed Western Command to
Punnjab border.
1
Sun, 022 Oct, 2016
Arm
my chieef revieews forrces’ readineess
Arm
my Chief Dalbir Singh on Saturdayy visited thee Northern and
a Western Commandss on Saturdaay to assess
opeerational readiness.
At the Udham
mpur headquaarters of thee Northern Command, “The Armyy chief interaacted with troops
t
who
parrticipated in the surgical strike operaation and connveyed his appreciation
a
and best wisshes to them
m,” an Army
stattement said.
“Thhe Army hass to be on a very high level of alertt and vigil. It
I has to rem
main prepareed for any evventuality,”
saidd Lt. Gen. D.S. Hoodaa, GOC-in-C
C of the Noorthern Com
mmand, who briefed thee Army chieef. Lt. Gen
Hooda, who alsso visited the Kashmir Valley,
V
compplimented 155 Corps for the
t “high deggree of profe
fessionalism
in the
t planningg and executiion of surgiccal strikes aloong the LoC
C.”
Souurces said thhe Army hass been askedd to fortify positions
p
on the LoC andd the internaational bordeer to thwart
anyy reprisal byy Pakistan. In
n a reflectioon of worry in the Armyy because off the ongoinng civilian unnrest in the
Vallley, Lt. Genn. Hooda urrged people “to ensure calm
c
and peaace in these sensitive tim
mes and streengthen the
Government annd security agencies
a
in meeting
m
the challenges
c
em
manating froom across thhe borders.”
Sun, 022 Oct, 2016
A
Army
Chief visits Wester
W
rn, Northern
n Comm
mand HQs
H
Chaandigarh/Jam
mmu, Octob
ber 1 Chief of Army Staff
S
Gen Dalbir
D
Singh Suhag todaay visited thhe Western
Com
mmand headdquarters at Chandimanndir and wass briefed onn operationall aspects pertaining to the
t western
theatre by the General
G
Offiicer Commannding-in-Chhief Lt Gen Surinder
S
Singgh. The Arm
my Chief alsoo interacted
mmanders andd exhorted them
t
to conttinue maintaaining the higghest level of
o vigil and
witth senior forrmation com
alerrtness on thee border. Hee arrived herre from Udhhampur afterr visiting thee Northern Command
C
heeadquarters
to assess
a
the Army’s
A
operaational prepaaredness. Noorthern Com
mmand chieff Lt Gen DS Hooda brieefed him on
the overall secuurity situatio
on in the coommand theaatre. The Arrmy Chief also
a
interacteed with the troops who
parrticipated in the surgicall strike operration on terrror camps across
a
the LooC and convveyed his “aappreciation
andd best wishess” to them fo
or inflicting significant casualties
c
onn terrorists att their launchhing pads. The
T surgical
striike, considerred as a repriisal for the Uri
U attack, was
w executedd by the Nortthern Comm
mand. — TNS
S
Sun, 022 Oct, 2016
D
Days
after
a
atttack, Uri
U com
mmander sh
hifted
Army probes ‘lapsses’; more heads
h
may rooll
Mohammad
Thee Army has shifted the commanderr of the Uri Brigade whhich was atttacked by foour Jaish-e-M
fidaayeen on Sepptember 18, leaving 19 soldiers
s
deadd and 24 injuured.
Briig K Somashhanker will be
b replaced by
b Colonel GS
G (General Staff) of thee Kilo Forcee, SP Ahlawaat, who was
recently promooted as Brig
gadier, even as an Armyy inquiry is “underway”” to look innto possible lapses that
couuld have led to the attack
k.
2
Thee decision came
c
on a daay when Arrmy Chief General
G
Dalbbir Singh Suuhag was in the state to review the
seccurity situatioon in the waake of heighhtened tensioons along thee Line of Coontrol (LoC)) following the
t surgical
striikes in Pakisstan-occupied Kashmir (PoK).
m
heads may
m roll oncee the inquiryy by the Norrthern Comm
mand is com
mplete. The Uri Brigade
Souurces said more
is very
v
close too the LoC and acts as thee first line off defence.
Souurces said thhe command
der had beenn shifted to “facilitate” an
a impartiall probe, but “will assist the probe.”
Briig Somashannker is camping in Uri annd is busy haanding over the charge to his successor.
0 Dogra Reggiment was in
i the process of movinng out with the
t 6th Battaalion of the
Thee Uri attack came as 10
Bihhar Regimennt replacing it. It is beinng ascertainned if the atttackers knew
w about the replacemennt, which is
alw
ways a closelly guarded seecret.
Theere were inddications thaat “security lapses” may have led to the heaviiest blow too the Army in a single
millitant attack since the eru
uption of inssurgency in the
t Valley. The
T attack iss being investigated by the
t NIA.
Sun, 022 Oct, 2016
Parrrikar:: Pak Still
S in Post-S
Surgerry Anaeesthesiia
Deffence Ministter Manoharr Parrikar onn Saturday coompared Pakkistan’s condition to an “anaesthetissed patient”
afteer a surgery and said likee Hanuman, the Indian Army
A
has reccognised its prowess.
“Paakistan’s conndition afterr the surgicaal strikes is like that off an anaesthhetised patiennt after a suurgery who
doeesn’t know that
t
the surg
gery has alreeady been peerformed onn him. Even two days affter the surgiical strikes,
Pakkistan has noo idea what has
h happened,” Parrikar said.
Inddia loves peaace and doess not believe in unprovokked aggressiion but it woon’t take terrror lying dow
wn, he said,
addding that thee strikes weere also meant to give a message to Pakistann that Indiann troops knew how to
retaaliate. Compparing the Army to Hanuuman, he maade a referennce to the Raamayana in which the monkey
m
god
croossed an oceaan in a singlee stride afterr he was rem
minded aboutt his extraorddinary poweers by Jamwaant.
“Inndian troops were like Haanuman whoo did not quiite know their prowess before
b
the suurgical strikes,” Parrikar
saidd. Congratullating the tro
oops for the precision
p
annd efficacy of
o the strikes, the Ministeer said he grreeted all its
members for thheir extraordinary feat.
“Thhe surgical strikes gavee our forces an idea of what they were
w
capablee of doing. Pakistan is bewildered
folllowing the strikes,
s
not quite knowiing how to react,” Parrrikar said inn his first puublic reactioon after the
striikes.
“Inndian troopss caught Paakistan unaw
wares as ouur commanddos did what they hadd to withouut Pakistani
autthorities getting a wind of
o it,” he saidd addressingg a gatheringg at Peethsainn in Pauri district.
Thee Defence Minister
M
wass addressingg the gathering after unvveiling a staatue of notedd freedom fi
fighter from
Utttarakhand Veeer Chandraa Singh Garhhwali in his ancestral
a
villlage Peethsaain.
Inddia carried out
o surgical strikes on seven
s
terror launch padds across thee LoC on thhe interveninng night of
Sepptember 28 and
a 29, infliccting “signifficant casualties” on terrorists preparring to infiltrrate from PooK.
Sun, 022 Oct, 2016
Pak targets
t
s Indiaan postts, civillian arreas in Akhnooor
Vioolating the ceasefire
c
ag
gain, Pakistaani troops onn Saturday targeted Inddian posts and
a civilian areas with
moortar bombs and
a heavy machine
m
gunss along the LoC
L in Jamm
mu and Kashhmir’s Akhnooor tehsil.
3
Theere was no loss
l
of life or
o injury to anyone
a
in thee firing, whiich started at
a 3.30am annd ended at 6am. Indian
trooops guardingg the border retaliated efffectively, deefence sourcces said.
“Thhere was heeavy shellin
ng of mortarr bombs, RP
PGs and heeavy machinne guns andd small arm
ms firing on
forw
ward positioons along thee LoC in Paallanwala secctor and Chaamb area of Akhnoor tehhsil today,” the sources
saidd.
Pollice said the Pakistani troops targeteed Badoo andd Chanoo haamlets. “Villlagers residiing along thee LoC were
evaacuated and shifted to saafer places,” a police offiicial said.
As some bordeer residents were returnning to take care of theiir cattle and homes alonng the bordeer, Pakistan
trooops tried to target them
m by heavy firing, they said. Somee houses weere hit by buullets from Pakistan in
Baddoo village, police said.
Thiis is the fifthh violation off the 2004 ceeasefire by Pakistani troops along LoC in J&K in the past foour days.
Sun, 022 Oct, 2016
Pak ma
ay treaat soldiier who strayyed as PoW
Eveen as India and
a Pakistan
n exchanged fire across the
t Line of Control
C
in Kaashmir on Saaturday, indications are
thaat Pakistan will
w formally treat capturred Indian sooldier Chanddu Babulal Chavan
C
as a Prisoner
P
of War
W (PoW)
andd accord him
m the treatmeent prescribeed under the Geneva Connvention.
“Thhere are strong indications that he will be treatedd as a PoW by Pakistan,”” a source saaid.
Thiis will deal a blow to th
he hopes off the Indian governmentt and the Arrmy who are working for an early
releease of Chavvan — who hails
h
from Maharashtra
M
— and are inn touch withh Pakistan.
Souurces said Paakistan is viewing Chavvan as an acttive combataant captured after India announced
a
too the world
thaat it had carrried out surrgical strikes in Pakistaan-occupied Kashmir (P
PoK). Whilee the Indiann Army has
alreeady contacted the Pak
kistani Armyy at the DG
GMO-level on
o Chavan’ss case, channces of anyy release of
Chaavan at this stage are bleeak.
Forr one, Pakisttan is yet to officially coonfirm that the
t Indian sooldier is in itts custody despite
d
the Inndian Army
takking up the matter.
m
But the
t game waas given awaay by Pakisttani media on
o Thursday evening whhich flashed
the soldier’s name, his ag
ge, state of origin
o
in Inddia (Maharaashtra) and his father’s name even before the
Inddian Army coonfirmed he had inadverrtently crosseed the LoC.
e
said that
t
Chavan,, a soldier “ffrom the 37 Rashtriya Rifles
R
had innadvertently
Inddian Army soources had earlier
croossed over too the other siide of the LooC” with hiss weapon. Sources had however
h
speecified that Chavan
C
had
notthing to do with
w the Arm
my’s surgicaal strikes on terror launcchpads in PooK. Chavan had apparenntly crossed
the LoC somettime during the day on Thursday
T
in circumstancces shroudedd in mysteryy amid specuulation that
he was
w upset annd disorienteed.
Inddian Army soources had earlier
e
said thhat “such inaadvertent croossing by Arrmy personnnel and civiliians are not
unuusual on eithher side. Theey are returneed through existing
e
mechanisms”.
In times
t
of peaace, if anyon
ne inadvertenntly crosses over, Indiann and Pakistani Army loocal commannders get in
touuch through flag
f meeting
gs at the LoC
C and hand back
b
the peopple. If requirred, the DGM
MOs of the two
t Armies
cann also get in touch. In Occtober 2011,, for examplle, an Indian Army heliccopter with four
f
Army peersonnel on
boaard flew by mistake
m
into PoK and lannded there. Pakistan
P
hannded back the men and helicopter.
h
Thee terrain aloong the LoC
C is mountaiinous and heeavily forestted and it iss entirely poossible that people lose
their way and stray
s
across.
t that can provide a raay of hope too Chavan. Soources indiccated that Chhavan could be released
It is precisely this
by the Pakistannis wheneverr there is an exchange off prisoners inn similar circcumstances.
4
“If a Pakistanni Armyman
n strays acrross the LooC and is captured
c
byy the Indiann Army undder similar
circcumstances, then chancees of Chavann being released will brrighten. As of
o now, indications are that
t
he will
nott be releasedd by the Pakistanis in the current scennario of hosttility,” sourcces said.
“Thhe Pakistaniis realise thaat Chavan cannot providde them witth sensitive informationn as he woulld not have
beeen privy to it by virtuee of his rankk. At best, they can usse the circuumstances off his capture for some
proopaganda. Buut they will jail
j him and use this for a contingenncy some dayy when they may have too get one of
their own Armyy personnel freed by Inddia,” sourcess pointed outt.
Preevious instaances
In July
J
2012, Inndia handed
d back a Pakkistan Army soldier who had sneaked across the LoC allegedly to meet
his girlfriend.
In August
A
20144, Pakistan handed
h
backk an Indian soldier
s
who had been sw
wept away byy the river Chenab
C
into
PoK
K.
In September 2015, Pakisstan handed back an Inndian civiliann woman who
w had straayed across the border
inaadvertently innto PoK.
Sat, 011 Oct, 2016
Preceedents won't Dictatte Actiion, Ind
dia Teells Woorld
By Dipanjaan Roy Chaaudhury
2 key counttries informeed another strike
25
s
not plaanned immeediately but approach off present govt to deal
with
h cross-bordder attacks has
h changedd
Passt precedentss are not bin
nding on thiis governmeent while ressponding to terror attacks from Pakkistan. This
wass a clear-cuut message India put acrross to envooys of 25 coountries, inccluding Chinna, within hours
h
of the
cross-LoC strike on teerrorist launnching pads
in Pakistann-Occu pied Kashmir on Thursday .
Officials familiar
f
witth the detaails of the
briefing toold ET that India also conveyed
c
it
doesn't inttend to carryy out anotheer strike in
the immeediate futuure unless Pakistan
escalates the
t situationn. Foreign Secretary
S
S
Jaishankar stressed on the point thhat this was
a counter-tterror operaation and noot an act of
war.
On the issuue of past prrecedents, offficials told
ET that maany countriees often pulll out details
of past LoC incidents to make thee point that
India's patttern of respponse has usually
u
not
been escallatory .It's in this conntext, New
Delhi madde it clear to the envoys that there's
a change of
o approach in this goverrnment and
precedents are lookked at butt are not
binding.Inddian officiaals did not reject the
diplomatic principle of continuity
t between
governmennts but undeerscored thee point that
there is a definite
d
“channge with conntinuity“.
The MEA also appriseed envoys onn the nature
of the opeeration, makking the poiint that the
5
targget were terrrorists who gathered
g
at launching
l
paads along thee LoC to infi
filtrate into Inndian territoory . Laying
outt its case, thhe Indian sid
de informed envoys thatt last eight weeks
w
had seen
s
nine major terrorist attacks in
Jam
mmu and Kaashmir. Thee envoys weere also brieefed on the situation in Jammu andd Kashmir. They were
infoormed that there had been
b
a state of unrest since
s
July when
w
the Indian securitty forces killled Hizbul
Muujahideen coommander Burhan
B
Wanii. India also underlined the fact thaat it had keppt institutional channels
opeen with Direector Generaal of Militarry Operationns Lt Gen Ranbir
R
Singhh keeping hiis Pakistan counterpart
possted on a reggular basis. And he didd so at the fiirst availablee opportunitty after Thuursday's strikkes.Old ally
Russsia came ouut in India's support a daay after the strikes. “Wee stand for a resolute strruggle againsst terrorism
in all
a its maniffestations. We
W expect thhat the Goveernment of Pakistan
P
to take
t
effectivve measures to curb the
actiivities of terrrorist groups on its territtory,“ Russian foreign ministry
m
saidd in a statemeent issued onn Friday. It,
how
wever, suggeested that thee two partiess engage in a dialogue too resolve “exxisting probllems“.
Sinnce the freshh crisis in Kashmir,
K
Inndia has steppped up conntact and coonversation with severaal countries
including key Gulf
G states, which
w
have close
c
ties with Pakistan.
Sat, 011 Oct, 2016
Sun, 022 Oct, 2016
Arm
my Braaces for Fieryy J&K
K Winteer
It will
w be a “vioolent winter” this year inn Jammu & Kashmir as the Pakistann Army and the ISI are expected
e
to
stepp up levels of violencee as a repriisal for the surgical strrikes by thee Indian Arm
my. While increase in
infiiltration andd firing on
n the Line of Control (LoC) willl be on thhe predictabble lines, thhe Defence
estaablishment is more waary about thhe unpredictaability as thhe Pakistan Army is “ccapable of springing
s
a
surrprise” as it did
d in Kargill in 1999 andd in Mumbaii in 2008.
Thiis assessmennt has been conveyed
c
to the politicaal leadership. The Army will have too fight the chhallenge on
twoo fronts incluuding the Lo
oC and hinteerland in the coming monnths, as per the
t assessmeent.
Infi
filtration andd acts of terrrorism geneerally go doown during winter monnths due to incle
i
ment weather
w
and
inggress routes getting
g
block
ked, thereby, hampering supply liness of militantss from acrosss the LoC.
“Hoowever, the winter mon
nths this yeaar are likely to witness unprecedentted violencee actively spponsored by
Pakkistan. The Army
A
will haave to checkk infiltration as well as neutralise
n
militants in Kaashmir Valleey and other
vullnerable partts of the Statte,” sources said
s here on Saturday.
6
Thoough normalcy is slowly
y returning to
t the Valley after overr two monthss of unrest following
f
thhe killing of
Hizzbul terroristt Burhan Waani, they saidd Pakistan will
w go all ouut to foment trouble
t
withh the help of disgruntled
youuths and terrrorists who are
a openly taaking part in protest ralliees and branddishing weappons, they saaid.
Thee assessmennt done post the surgical strikes lastt Thursday and
a the likeely responsess by Pakistaan also said
world opinion will not detter the neighhbouring coountry from fanning striife in Jammu & Kashm
mir as it has
enggaged in thiis activity for
f more thhan 25 yearrs, despite India
I
repeattedly raisingg the issue at various
inteernational foorums includ
ding the UN,, sources saiid. In 2004, Islamabad had
h given a commitment
c
t that it will
nott allow Pakiistani soil to
o be used by
b terrorists to engineerr trouble in India but never
n
honourred it, they
poiinted out.
Whhile the armeed forces aree on full aleert to meet any contingenncy, an all-oout war unleeashed by Paakistan was
unllikely. Insteaad, Pakistan
n will resort to unconventional war through terrrorism and will keep denying
d
any
rolee in it. Keeeping this faact in view, attacks on sensitive innstallations including Defence
D
in Kashmir
K
by
millitants and regular
r
comm
mandos of the
t Pakistan Army in thhe near futurre are not ruuled out, off
fficials said.
Crooss-border raaids to kill In
ndian soldierrs deployed on the LoC are also facttored in, theyy added.
As it is, the higghest-ever in
nfiltration toook place thhis year as compared to last three too four years. While the
figuure for the cuurrent year stood
s
at morre than 75, thhe tally was less than hallf for the passt few years..
Inccidentally, thhe Rawalpin
ndi-based 100 Corps controls terrorrism in Kasshmir valleyy and is noow actively
enggaged in chaalking out th
he strategy to create prroblems in the
t State. Paakistan Arm
my headquarrters is also
bassed in Rawallpindi.
Thee Indian miilitary establishment toook note of mobilisationn of troops by Pakistann across thee LoC and
increased aeriaal sorties by its air forcee after the suurgical strikees, they saidd, adding “W
We are keepiing a watch
andd have also increased surveillance”
s
”. Regular meetings
m
beetween the Armed
A
Forcces brass annd Defence
Minnistry besidees Home Ministry almosst on a daily basis are onn to review thhe evolving scenario.
Alll the formatiions in the northern
n
andd western coommands off the Army covering Kashmir
K
and Punjab are
connstantly revieewing their operational
o
p
preparednes
s and troop strength
s
on the
t LoC has been increaased to fight
a conventional war and ch
heck infiltrattion. Ammunnition storess and fuel deepots have been
b
moved forward in
areas close to thhe LoC to maintain
m
unhiindered logisstical supporrt in case of any eventuaality.
Mooreover, all the
t airbases in the westeern commannd are also inn a state of readiness too thwart any attempt by
Pakkistan to launnch an aerial offensive.
Sun, 022 Oct, 2016
"In
ndia Sends a Sharp
p Signaal, Upss the Stakes"
S
"
Bruuce Riedel, director
d
of the
t Brookinggs Intelligennce Project, former
f
CIA official andd White Houuse advisor,
andd author of Avoiding
A
Arrmageddon: America, Inndia and Pakkistan to thee Brink and Back,
B
speakks about the
Urii terror attackk and the afttermath in ann email interrview with Charmy
C
Hariikrishnan. Eddited excerppts:
PM
M Narendra Modi has said,
s
`India will never forget
f
the Uri
U attack.' What
W
are th
he options beefore him?
Likke his predeccessors, Prim
me Ministerr Modi facess a complex challenge from
f
Pakistaan.The ISI continues
c
to
pattronise num
merous terrorr groups taargeting Inddia. A majoor military operation
o
too destroy thhe terrorist
infrrastructure of
o LeT, JeM,, etc risks waar. War riskss nuclear Arm
mageddon.
Wiith Bangladesh, Bhutan
n and Afghaanistan not attending SAARC
S
Sum
mmit, can th
he region pu
ut pressure
on Pakistan?
A diplomatic
d
c
campaign
to
o isolate Pakkistan will have
h
only lim
mited resultts. India cann rally SAAR
RC but the
UN
NSC is anothher matter. China
C
will protect Pakistan there. Paakistan can probably coount on Gulff support as
welll.
7
Ind
dia has said that it went for surgical strikes allong LoC. How do you see that devvelopment?
Thee surgical military
m
respo
onse on Septtember 29 iss limited andd calibrated. It sends a shharp signal. The Indian
opeeration ups the
t stakes. The
T situation is dangerouus and escalaating. But Inndia can righhtly note thatt the United
Staates has connducted num
merous unilaateral counteer-terrorist operations
o
innside Pakisttan against targets
t
like
Osaama bin Ladden and Mulllah Mansourr. India can cite
c its right to self-defennce.
With the deep state in Pakistan, how tieed are PM Nawaz Shariff's hands?
Thee Pakistani army
a
is not subject
s
to the control of the elected government
g
. Nonethelesss, Modi hass an interest
in talking
t
to Sharif despitee all the heaated rhetoricc. Sharif hass a proven track
t
record of taking stteps to halt
esccalation as hee did in 1999
9.
Wh
hat kind of a strategy should Indiaa adopt in th
he long term
m?
Thee question iss, will this current
c
episoode escalate further? Wiith or withouut outside asssistance, thhe Kashmiri
situuation will get
g worse forr India unless Modi addrresses the leggitimate dem
mands of Kasshmiris. So Modi
M
needs
a Kashmir
K
poliicy that is in
ndependent of
o how he deals
d
with Paakistan. His strong popuularity givess him much
rooom to act.
Hoow will the US weigh in on this?
Thee Obama addministration
n is focused on the deveeloping situuation. It hass its own prroblems, witth Pakistani
suppport for terrrorism in Afghanistan.
A
The US Coongress is increasingly exasperatedd with Pakisstan. Given
Obama's own use
u of dronees and comm
mandos to sttrike inside Pakistan, hee understandds Modi's prroblem. But
Waashington dooes not want the crisis to escalate andd will press for
f restraint..
Sun, 022 Oct, 2016
After the Surgical,, Time for th
he Creaative
Byy TK Arun
The musscular respo
onse to Uri opens up pollitical space for bold sollutions to the Kashmir crisis
Whhat was new
w about the post-Uri
p
surggical strike across
a
the Line
L
of Conttrol was not the strike per
p se -such
striikes have haappened in the
t past -butt the politicaal decision to
t own it upp, which amoounts to a challenge
c
to
Pakkistan: we have violated
d the integritty of the terrrain you conntrol, we darre you to treeat this as ann act of war
andd retaliate. Pakistan
P
hass chosen too deny theree was any provocation
p
that it needs to respoond to with
esccalating overrt action. It maintains
m
thhat India is cooking
c
up fiction,
f
while all it has done
d
is to fire from the
LoC
C. Which is just as well.. India is preepared for a war,
w but doees not want itt.
Thaat does not mean that Pakistan
P
willl not take coovert action. But that has been goinng on in anyy case, and
Inddia would bee prepared fo
or it, includinng a steppedd-up diplomaatic offensivve to reinforcce the gatherring, shared
perrception of thhe global co
ommunity off Pakistan ass a breeding ground for terrorists. It does not heelp Pakistan
thaat the New Jeersey bombeer Ahmad Raahami used to
t make reguular visits to Pakistan.
Inddia's aggressiive stance seerves multiplle purposes. It removes the
t impressiion that Indiaans can onlyy whine and
nott take decisivve action in their own deefence. It scuppers Paki stan's nucleear blackmaiil. These are of national
impportance, wiith no partisaan angle to it.
i It also hellps Prime Minister
M
Nareendra Modi maintain
m
his tough man
imaage. Further,, it pre emptts embarrasssing but vitallly relevant questions onn the kind off security Inndian armed
forcces outpostss have, which
h allowed atttacks such as
a at Pathankkot, Udhamppur and Uri too take place.
Thee move openns up politiccal space for creative poolitics that would
w
beneffit the nationn but is un likely
l
to be
purrsued by thee governmen
nt. The timee is opportunne to abanddon the faileed, militaristt approach inn Kashmir,
witthout the chhange of tack
k being attrributed to weakness.The
w
e governmennt should reedeploy secuurity forces
awaay from civiilian areas and
a towards the border and
a withdraw
w the re vileed Armed Forces (Speciial Powers)
Actt, while takinng a firm lin
ne with separratists tryingg to radicalise ordinary Kashmiri
K
youuth.
8
Thee political leadership sh
hould make it clear thaat it makes a distinctionn between the
t Pakistanni state and
orddinary Pakistanis. Given
n the logic of
o the Sanggh Parivar propaganda that
t
reflexivvely links Paakistanis to
Inddian Muslimss, this meanss easing off on the anti-m
minority proopaganda impplicated in beef
b politics.
c
of both pointts -viz his public
p
addresss at Kozhikkode and hiis appeal to
Whhile Modi seeems to be conscious
parrtymen to seee Muslims as
a our own people -the reest of the Sanngh Parivar has chosen not
n to pay anny heed, by
dessign or otherrwise. The tirrade againstt Pakistani acctors in Bolllywood has not
n invited any
a reproachh from party
leadders.
Thee muscular response
r
to Uri
U should leead to needed assertiveness in the face of a bullyy but should not lead on
to jingoism,
j
ceelebrated by sections of the
t media. Rather,
R
the political
p
spacce it has opeened up shouuld be used
creatively, on both
b
externall and internaal fronts.
Sun, 022 Oct, 2016
A Neew Eraa of Deeterren
nce
By Sreeeram Chau
ulia
Thee declarationn that the In
ndian Army has made suurgical strikkes against jiihadists acrooss the Line of Control
marks a new erra of deterren
nce spearheaaded by Prim
me Minister Narendra
N
M
Modi's
uniquee affinity for risk.
Unlike previouus Indian lead
ders who weere caught inn Hamlet-likke dilemmas after countlless Pakistann-sponsored
outtrages on Inddian soil, Mo
odi has scrippted history by daringly ordering thee Indian millitary to crosss LoC on a
clinnical counterr-terrorism mission
m
and announcing it officially..
Forr decades, Inndia has carrried the embbarrassing tagg of a soft sttate guided by
b a culture of “strategicc restraint“.
Un der Modi, we
w are witn
nessing a diffferent India altogether -one
willingg to call the bluff of its adversaries
andd use force with
w precision to achievee clear and limited goals..
Moodi's risky innternational stratagems
s
o
often
pay offf because hee combines judicious usee of militaryy force with
dipplomatic manoeuvring. Extensive pre-raid
p
prepparations inn internationnal capitals and intergoovernmental
insttitutions beffore a militarry operation is launched provide poliitical cover and
a justificaation for drasstic actions.
Inddia's policy of
o diplomaticc isolation of Pakistan inn recent monnths constituuted the spadde work for the
t surgical
striikes, which have
h
not beeen condemneed at all inteernationally. Modi's quivver of full-sppectrum diploomacy thus
hass soft and haard power. The
T result is a chiselled strategy
s
wheere India darres to do thee unthinkable and reaps
the rewards.
a
of `M
Modi Doctrinee: The Foreiign Policy off India's Prim
me Minister'
Chaaulia is the author
Sat, 011 Oct, 2016
Ho
ow Just 25 In
ndians Avengged Urri
Jusst a 25-mem
mber crack team of Paraa Special Foorce Comm
mandos carrieed out the four-hour-lon
f
ng surgical
striikes within Pakistan-occ
P
cupied Kashhmir (PoK) early
e
on Thuursday killinng an estimaated 50 Statee-sponsored
jehhadis, includiing some Pak
kistan Armyy regulars.
Thee entire opeeration was monitored live at the war room by Prime Minister
M
Naarendra Moddi, Defence
Minnister Manoohar Parrikarr and Nationnal Security Adviser Ajit Doval. Thhe live feed was stream
med through
helmet-mounteed and should
der-mountedd cameras ennabled with Global
G
Posittioning Systeem, the sourrces said.
9
Thee Commandos of the 4 Para
P and 9 Para were divvided into thrree sub-grouups to conduuct the precission strikes.
Thee team crosssed the Linee of Controll (LoC) from
m Balnoi Poost in Poonch Sector andd, after com
mpleting the
opeeration, returrned to a posst in Rajouri Sector, sourrces said.
t
posts across
a
the LoC. Simultaaneously, thrree staging posts
p
across
An artillery fire assault waas made on three
the LoC were critically hit
h by a subb-group of the Speciall Forces. Tw
wo other suub-groups of
o the Para
mmandos hiit four other launch padss, the sourcess said.
Com
Som
me of the terrrorists weree killed by thhe Para Com
mmandos whhile they weere hiding innside makeshhift bunkers
afteer escaping artillery
a
fire by the Arm
my before thee launch of thhe surgical strikes.
s
The entire movem
ment of the
craack team wass also tracked by infraredd drones andd dedicated communicati
c
ion satellitess.
Thee operation was
w supervised by a Lieeutenant-Genneral-rank officer
o
of Uddhampur-bassed units of the Special
Forrces and the crack team was
w led by a Colonel-rannk officer.
Traashing reporrts in Pakisttan about Inndian casualties during the operatioon, Army soources said here that a
member of the team that caarried out thee surgical strikes receiveed a minor innjury duringg exfiltrationn, but it was
nott due to any enemy or terrrorist actionn.
“Onne member of the team involved in the surgicall operation received
r
a minor
m
injury during exfilttration. The
injuury is not onn account of any enemy or
o terrorist action,”
a
an offficial said.
N
Governnment has raaised the barr for future conduct
c
of reelations and
By conducting the surgicall raids, the NDA
peaace talks witth Pakistan, said politicaal pundits addding, whichhever party will be in poower at the Centre will
havve to carry out similar strikes in the
t event off an attack by the jehaadis. Currenntly, the ageenda of the
Government is clear that an
ny attack byy State-sponssored terroriists will be matched
m
by a counter reesponse like
fficial said.
the one carried out on Thurrsday, an Inttelligence off
Pakkistan’s respponses to thee surgical strikes are limiited as it itseelf dubs Kashmir as a disputed territtory and the
Inddian Special Forces havee hit terroristt hideouts annd not Pakisttan Army’s installations.
i
.
Pakkistan-backeed terror gro
oups will alsso not be abble to do muuch in the wake
w
of heigghtened vigill across the
couuntry as all dimensions
d
of
o a retaliatoory action byy Pakistan were
w factoredd in before thhe launch off the strikes,
the official saidd.
obilized its troops conceentrated alonng the Afghhanistan bordder to its froontiers with
Pakkistan has reeportedly mo
Inddia.
Meeanwhile, terrrorist Hafizz Mohammad Saeed’s Jaamat-ud-Daw
wah led dem
monstrations in Lahore and offered
praayers for the jehadis killeed in action on
o Thursdayy.
Sat, 011 Oct, 2016
In
ndia Turns
T
to
t Paraa Speciial Forrces forr Coveert Misssions
By Manu
M
Pubbyy
Thee Indian Arm
rmy has ninee battalions of Special Forces,
F
each
h equipped and
a skilled too execute miissions that
reequire taking
g down targgets across boorders, high
h-speed strikkes in populaated areas
Whhen it comess to stealth -d
during and after
a
a trickyy military operation -India relies on its
i Para Speccial Forces,
a sppecially traiined set of units
u
knownn for carryinng out operaations deep into
i
enemy territory , flushing
fl
out
millitants from the
t hinterlan
nd and prepaared for `onee way ticket' missions.
Thee Indian Arm
my has ninee battalions of
o Special Forces,
F
each equipped annd skilled too execute missions
m
that
reqquire taking down targets across boorders, infilttrating terrorr strongholdds, high-speeed strikes inn populated
areas and deliccate rescue missions.
m
Inn both the Myanmar
M
operations to strike
s
militaant camps annd the PoK
t
of thee Para SF unnits -trained
misssion to conduct surgicaal strikes on terror launcch pads, tighhtly knitted teams
10
oveer years to work
w
in perfect coordinnation and stealth -weree deployed. The units were
w
backed by regular
Arm
my troops who
w provided
d cover fire and
a ensured infiltration, exfiltration route
r
clearannce.
Serrving and reetired officiaals have toldd ET that Paara SF units have routinnely carried out operatioons in PoK
oveer the past feew years, bringing back `trophies' ass proof of avvenging strikkes in some cases. Whatt makes the
SF different is the manner in which trooops are trained to the point
p
of breaaking, a process that alm
most makes
them misfits foor regular Arrmy duty .
“W
We feel we arre a bunch of
o misfits thhat fit well together. Duuring trainingg, the aim iss to basicallyy break the
willl of the solddier. It's only
y when we don't
d
succeedd that it meaans the soldiier has passeed,“ says Lt Gen Vinod
Bhaatia (retd), who
w was thee Colonel off the Regimeent of Paras. All soldierrs have to go through a special six
moonth probatioon, when their mental and
a physicall limits are tested,
t
from
m close combbat training,, endurance
testts to strain thhat bring mo
ost to breakinng point. “Itt is one of thhe toughest phases
p
in woorld where thhe applicant
is exposed
e
to slleep deprivaation, humiliaation, exhauustion, mentaal and physiccal torture. The
T attrition rate is very
higgh,“ Hon Maj
ajor Deepak Rao,
R who was commissiioned into thhe Para Regim
ment TA in 2011 told ET.
Moost officials that
t
ET spok
ke with saidd that the equuipment the Special Forrces use needds to be impproved, it is
vasstly superior to what the regular Arm
my uses. Insttead of the Indian
I
made INSAS riflees, Special Forces
F
have
TA
AR 21 Tavor Assault riflees and Israelli sniper riflees, besides thhe US made M4A1 carbines.
SF missions reemain secrett, but it is known
k
that units
u
have been
b
sent for special tassks in Myannmar, J&K,
Maaldives, Sierrra Leone and
d Sri Lanka. The very naature of operrations that SF
S conductss carries huge risks, and
som
metimes takees heavy cassualties. In March
M
20099, the elite 1 Para SF enngaged crackk LeT operaatives in the
Haffruda forestss, killing 17 militants. However,
H
eigght Para SF soldiers
s
diedd in combat, including Major
M
Mohit
Shaarma who leed the troops. The elite of
o the elite, however,
h
enssure that theiir every actioon counts.W
While details
of the PoK strrikes are stilll to emergee, the team that
t
led the Myanmar operations
o
inn June 2015 was given
sevveral gallantrry medals, ev
ven though the
t citations that describbe the action were never officially released.
Lt Col Nectar Sanjebam,
S
who
w was leadding the misssion and waas awarded the
t Kirti Chhakra displayyed unusual
proowess in takiing down th
he sentries at the militannt camps thaat were raideed.Details of the missioon, however
havve remain seecret, much as in the caase of the PooK operations, signifyinng the definning trait of the Special
Forrces stealth and reliabiliity .
Sat, 011 Oct, 2016
M Behind
Man
B
PoK, Myanm
mar Sttrikes Has
H Direct Stake
S
By Manu
M
Pubbyy
Lt Geen Ranbir Siingh Dgmo, Indian Arm
my
Dogra regimen
nt that was attacked byy ultras in Manipur
M
and Uri is heaaded by Lt Gen Singh
wo Indian suurgical strikees -one in Myanmar,
M
lasst year, and
Lt Gen Ranbir Singh, the man who annnounced tw
ds in Pakistaan Occupiedd Kashmir -tto the worldd has been sppecially choosen for the
striike on terrorr launch pad
taskk of planninng Indian Arrmy operatioons due to his
h military acumen.
a
He also has a direct
d
stake in ensuring
thaat the attacks on the Arm
my are avengeed.
In both
b
cases, June 2015 in
i Chandel, Manipur annd Septembeer 18 in Urii, the Army units that came
c
under
attaack were thee Dogras -a regiment too which Lt Gen Ranbir is the Coloonel Commaandant, the senior-most
s
offi
ficer belonginng to the Do
ogras in charrge of troopss welfare.
Thee officer joined the Arm
my in 1980 in the 9 Doogra battalionn but had ann exceptionaal career in New Delhi
oveer the past few
f
years. Given
G
his sppecial planniing acumen and militarry expertise,, the Army has broken
traddition to enssure that he remains
r
DireectorGeneraal of Militaryy Operationss (DGMO), despite beinng approved
to command
c
a Corps
C
level formation.
11
Sevveral officers and person
ns familiar with
w his workk have told ET
E that the special
s
case for Lt Gen Ranbir was
cleaared by the top Indian leadership,
l
w Prime Minister
with
M
Naarendra Moddi too expresssing confiddence in the
offi
ficer.Describbed as a brillliant soldier, the officer had a number of tenuress in militaryy operations directorate,
the very core of
o the Army''s planning and
a action mechanism.
m
I June 20155, when 18 soldiers
In
s
of the
t 6 Dogra
Reggiment weree killed in an
a attack, hee was a Majjor General in the military operatioons directoraate. Yet, he
choosen to tell the
t world that the Ar myy had eng a g ed Myanm
mar based militants
m
at tw
wo locationss, inflicting
heaavy damage. On Thursdaay , the officcer was part of the Cabinnet Committtee on Securiity meeting that
t briefed
the top politicaal leadership
p about the operations. A decision was taken thhere to taskk him for thee short, but
m Punjab, haas studied at
a the Kapurtthala Sainil
shaarp briefing on surgical strikes. Thee officer, whho hails from
Schhool and is known
k
to haave always been
b
a topperr. A friend who
w served with
w him tolld ET that thhe officer is
“veery mature, speaks
s
very little
l
and is incisive
i
and to the point.“
Thee officer hass studied at the
t Royal College
C
of Deefence Studiies in the UK
K and is a graduate
g
of thhe Defence
Serrvices Staff College at Wellington.B
W
Besides num
merous tenurees in Jammuu and Kashm
mir, the officcer has also
servved with UN
N missions in
n Angola and Rwanda.
Sat, 011 Oct, 2016
No Sooldier Dead or Sufffered Major
M
Injuriies: India
By Manu
M
Pubbyy
Army sourcess say only on
ne jawan waas hurt minoorly during exfiltration
e
f
from
PoK
Inddia has clariffied that no soldier
s
was killed
k
or seriiously injureed in the surgical strikes carried out in Pakistan
Occcupied Kashhmir, respo
onding to media
m
reportts from Pakkistan that claimed sevveral casuallties in the
opeerations. Shaaring few deetails of thee operations,, Army sourrces said thaat that only one soldier received a
minnor injury duuring exfiltraation from PoK
P and thatt no own fataalities occurrred during thhe operationn that struck
sevven terror lauunch pads accross the linee of control.
“A few Pakistaani channelss are playingg morpheddooctored videeo clips showing Indiann Army casuualties. It is
clarrified that thhese are fakee and an exam
mple of blacck propagandda,“ officialss said.
Thee Army madde it a point to
t mention that
t the one solider
s
injurred was also hurt during exit and nott due to any
eneemy fire.“O
One memberr of the teaam involvedd in Surgiccal Operatioons receivedd minor injury during
exffiltration. Thhe injury wass not on accoount of any enemy
e
or terrrorist actionn,“ sources said.nIndia has also said
thaat it is trying to retrieve a soldier who crosseed over to the Pakistanni side of thhe Line of Control
C
but
maintained thaat he had nothing to do with the surrgical strikees.“One solddier from 37 RR (Rashtrriya Rifles)
witth weapon has
h inadverteently crossedd over to thee other side of the LoC.Pakistan hass been inform
med by the
DG
GMO on the hotline,“ an
n Indian Arm
my statementt read. The army
a
has maade a case foor the safe reeturn of the
solddier, who haas been iden
ntified as 22-year-old Chhandu Babuulal Chauhann in Pakistanni media repports. “Such
inaadvertent croossing by Army and civilians are nott unusual onn either side..They are retturned throuugh existing
mechanisms,“ the
t Indian Army
A
has statted.
Sun, 022 Oct, 2016
En
nd of In
ndia’s Strateegic Reestraintt: Milees to goo
Yett, it must be
b noted that while Th
hursday’s military
m
opeeration marrks the end
d of an old approach,
theere are man
ny more miles
m
to travvel before a new doctrrine can take shape. India
I
has to build its
ecoonomic cap
pacity and become a far more important
i
player regiionally befo
fore the intternational
com
mmunity caan unhesitattingly reposee faith in itss ability to act
a firmly an
nd responsiibly
12
The debate over possible Indian responses to identifiable terrorist attacks appears to have now reached
inflection point with the Indian Army’s ‘surgical strike’ across the LoC in the early hours of September 29.
Regardless of whether or not such Special Forces’ operations were carried out in the past, the open admission
of last Thursday’s raid on terrorists staging posts inside enemy territory symbolises India’s reversal of the
doctrine of ‘strategic restraint’ and the formal inauguration of an ‘offense-defence’ approach.
The shift had been dictated by circumstances. Over the years, the covert war launched by Pakistan on targets
— both civilian and military — in India had been crying out for a response that went beyond diplomatic
huffing and puffing. Having exploited its strategic geography to the tilt during the West-sponsored war
against the Soviet Union’s misadventure in Afghanistan, Pakistan has, over the years, become quite adept in
getting the best of all possible worlds. It had become a safe haven for the Taliban while, at the same, being a
strategic ally of the US in its war on terror; it had projected itself as a modern Islamic state while, at the same
time, nurturing the most regressive forces of Islamism; and it has feigned friendship with India while
simultaneously sponsoring terror outfits that focussed not merely on Jammu & Kashmir but even the rest of
India. Pakistan has played its nuclear card very effectively, blackmailing the world into thinking that its
ambivalent Islamism was preferable to a formally Islamist nuclear state. This may explain why it has got
away with high-level truancy — the harbouring of Osama bin Laden in Abbotabad, the nuclear bazar run by
the rogue AQ Khan with backing from the state, et al — relatively unscathed.
It is entirely possible that the West’s hesitation over pushing Pakistan too hard was a factor behind India’s
own ‘strategic restraint’, a doctrine interpreted with varying degrees of appeasement by different
practitioners. However, behind the desire to play the role of an elder brother and overlook the loutish conduct
of a younger brother who felt no familial ties, was a misplaced sense of magnanimity. It was this self-image
of loftiness that prevented Indira Gandhi from driving home India’s colossal advantage and securing a
permanent settlement of the Kashmir problem in 1972. It was a similarly misplaced faith in Pakistan’s innate
goodness that led to the then Prime Minister IK Gujral winding down India’s Intelligence networks inside
Pakistan. And it was the fig leaf of even-handedness that, despite the terrorist carnage in Mumbai a few
months before, led to Manmohan Singh retreating an extra mile to accommodate Pakistan’s concerns at the
meeting in Sharm-el-Sheik in July 2009. Nor for that matter did Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s dramatic
visit to Lahore on Christmas Day 2015 produce the requisite goodwill that could overwhelm the accumulated
mass of hatred for India. It would seem that even before the Indian Prime Minister invoked the issue of
Baluchistan in his Independence Day speech this year, strategic restraint as the principle of bilateral relations
with Pakistan was ready for shelving in the archives. The curious thing is that it survived for so long.
Apart from a lobby in the US State Department whose influence has been diminishing over the years, there is
little apparent mood of generosity towards Pakistan in the West. Even if Donald Trump emerges second-best
in November’s US presidential election, the issue of zero tolerance of all countries breeding terror will
influence US foreign policy quite markedly in the future. I have little doubt that the US was somewhere in
the loop in Thursday night’s action across the LoC.
Is there a domestic lobby in India that favours strategic restraint against such a consistently difficult
neighbour as Pakistan? Chief Minister of Jammu & Kashmir Mehbooba Mufti is the only person of
consequence who favours such a policy. But she has her local compulsions. As for the rest, the only people
advocating such an approach are those whose intellectual ancestry can be traced to either opposition to the
Pokhran-II tests in 1998 or a romantic Aman ki Asha approach. Maybe there are also a few who feel that
enduring a little pain is worth the sacrifice, for the sake of preventing a nuclear escalation that Pakistan has
unendingly threatened. But apart from their over-exposure in the English-language media, they count for
little in the arena of public opinion from which foreign policy and strategic approaches cannot be disengaged.
Yet, it must be noted that while Thursday’s military operation marks the end of an old approach, there are
many more miles to travel before a new doctrine can take shape. India has to build its economic capacity and
become a far more important player regionally before the international community can unhesitatingly repose
faith in its ability to act firmly and responsibly. Militarily too, India has to iron out inefficiencies in the entire
defence establishment — from procurement and deployment to recruitment — before we can be certain of
13
managing the blowback from
f
Pakistaan. These are
a tasks that await coompletion. However,
H
what was in
evidence after the Uri attaack was a poolitical will to ensure thhat Pakistanni-sponsoredd depredationns don’t go
unppunished. Evven at the diplomatic
d
l
level,
the Modi
M
Governnment appeaars to have done much more than
earrlier regimess — the actiion on the SAARC
S
sum
mmit and re-opening thee Indus Wateers Treaty being
b
prime
exaamples. The question is: has Pakistaan realised it is dealing with
w a very different
d
disppensation in Delhi? My
belief is that itt has but thaat realisationn may force it into expeerimenting with
w a biggeer dose of addventurism.
Havving taken thhe plunge, India cannot afford to lett its own guaard down. Itt has to keepp Pakistan piinned down
for the foreseeaable future.
Sat, 011 Oct, 2016
Callling Paakistan
n’s Blu
uff
India haas finally du
umped self-h
hurting restrraint
Thee surgical strrike by the Indian
I
Armeed Forces onn terror launcch pads acrooss the Line of Control in
i Pakistanocccupied Kashm
mir (PoK) has
h firmly esstablished tw
wo points. Thhe first is that Prime Miinister Narenndra Modi's
proomise of ‘punishment' to
o the Uri attaackers wasn''t an empty boast
b
— he has walked the talk. Thhe second is
thaat the Indian military hass the capability — contrrary to whatt doubting Thomases,
T
inncluding som
me ‘defence
expperts', had heeld — to con
nduct precisiion attacks in
i enemy terrritory. The late
l night asssault was thee first of its
kinnd officially owned by India sincee independeence. Borderr lines havee been crossed before, outside of
connventional wars,
w
but nott as deep as this time arround. From all accountss, the strike has been a remarkable
succcess.
Thee Indian forrces eliminatted 35-40 teerrorists andd some nine Pakistan Army personnnel. Knowinng the deep
linkks terrorists in Pakistan
n have with the Army there,
t
it shoouldn't surprrise anybodyy that Armyy men were
lurkking in and around
a
the teerrorist campps in PoK. Praise
P
for succcess goes, without
w
doubbt, to our braave soldiers
who undertookk this hazardo
ous mission, driven by the
t desire to inflict costss on an enem
my that is dettermined to
bleed Indian with
w a ‘thousand cuts'. Thhat each of them returneed unharmedd adds to thhe happiness. But credit
alsoo goes to thhe Modi-led NDA Goveernment for shaking offf the passiviist mindset which
w
had exposed
e
the
nattion to ridicuule over the decades. Whether
W
it waas the attackk on Parliam
ment or the 26/11
2
Mumbbai carnage,
Inddia had for soome reason refrained froom retaliatioon — althouggh it had botth the morall and the millitary might
to do
d so. Part of
o the reason
n was self-dooubt: Will we
w succeed? Will
W we be able
a
to garneer international opinion
in our
o favour? Will we be able
a to handdle a counterr-response frrom Pakistann? And part of it was preessure from
welll-wishers and
a friends from
f
the intternational community,
c
who adviseed restraint. Prime Minnister Modi
shrrugged off appprehensionss and ordereed the strike.
Addmittedly, 20016 is not 20
001 or 2008. Unlike in those
t
years, Pakistan is today isolatted both reggionally and
gloobally. The withdrawal
w
of five natioons includinng India from
m the Saarcc summit whhich was to be held in
Islaamabad, the stony silencce which greeted Pakisttani Prime Minister
M
Naw
waz Sharif's raking of thhe Kashmir
issuue at the Unnited Nationss General Asssembly recently, and thhe running out
o of patiennce of countrries like the
US
S which havee assiduously
y funded Paakistan, are evident
e
of thhat isolation.. Islamabad has no takerrs, with the
excception of China.
C
And
d yet, this golden
g
opportunity couuld have eaasily gone waste had the Indian
Government noot acted.
Thee strike is a major embaarrassment for
f Pakistan, and especiaally for its Army
A
chief, General Rahheel Sharif,
who is due to retire shortly.The shockk is such thaat Islamabadd refuses to admit it hass been hit byy an Indian
lim
mited strike inn a territory it holds by force.
f
Noboddy in India and
a elsewherre in the worrld is going to
t be fooled
by this denial. Having takeen such a boold and unpreecedented sttep, India muust now rem
main on alertt to foil any
dessperate respoonse which Pakistan
P
willl surely atteempt. Meanw
while, it must continue to
t pursue otther options
to squeeze
s
Islam
mabad until the rogue naation learns a lesson.
14
Sun, 022 Oct, 2016
T
Terror
from Pak
P isn
n’t just Indiaa’s prooblem
ndia and Paakistan shou
uld act diffeerently so that
t
an atm
mosphere of peace may be generatted. This is
“In
missdirected. India
I
has acted
a
calcullatedly to hit
h at terror camps affter being the
t victim of jihadist
asssaults for deecades...”
com
me a major worry for the
t world on
o two counnts. It has foor long beenn deemed by
b the worldd to be the
heaadquarters, thhe epicentree and the moost pristine university
u
off internationnal terrorism. A new dim
mension has
beeen added to this
t already existing worrry — that thhe politics inn Pakistan is so internallyy unstable, and
a its once
proofessional miilitary so con
ntaminated by
b the militaant extremist outlook — that there could
c
be a reeal threat of
the emergence of a nuclearr suicide bom
mber.
Thee Democratic nominee for the preesidential ellection in thhe United States,
S
Hillarry Clinton, voiced the
appprehension inn February this
t year in the course of
o her campaaign at a funndraiser in Virginia,
V
the New York
Tim
mes has recently reported
d. She said, according too the newspaaper, “We livve in fear thaat they’re gooing to have
a coup, that jihhadis are goiing to take over
o
the govvernment, thhey’re goingg to get acceess to nucleaar weapons,
andd you’ll havee suicide nucclear bomberrs. So, this could
c
not be a more threaatening scennario.”
Thiis was before the Uri terrrorist attackk that Pakistaan still pretennds it had noothing to do with, but Ms
M Clinton’s
lucid articulatioon points to anxieties thaat prevail at the highest levels
l
of Weestern politiccal leadershipp.
Thee Septemberr 18 Uri attaack (the lateest in a strinng of terrorist strikes onn military sttations in thiis country),
Inddia’s “surgiccal strikes” or
o precision hits by com
mmandos onn terrorist laaunch pads just
j
across the
t LoC on
Sepptember 29, and the reck
kless nuclearr venom spew
wed by Pakiistan’s defennce minister Khawaja Assif recently,
begg the questioon: “When will
w the US effectively move
m
to take action againnst Pakistan’s leadershipp, especially
on the military side, at who
ose behest thhe headquarters of the jihhad has beenn nurtured?”
It iss out of line, and wholly
y unrealistic,, to counsel restraint. Thhe implicatioon is that Inddia and Pakistan should
botth act differeently so thatt an atmosphere of peacce may be generated.
g
T
This
is misdiirected. India has acted
calcculatedly annd politically
y to hit at teerror camps after being the victim of
o jihadist asssaults for decades
d
and
oveer an extendeed period off strategic forrbearance.
It iss hard to seee any power — major orr minor — acting
a
with thhe same forttitude. If thee dam of patiience has at
lastt been breacched, those who
w have beeen fatteningg up Pakistann with finanncial and millitary resourrces in spite
of Islamabad’ss duplicitou
us ways annd its procliivity to ignnore its billateral, regioonal and innternational
com
mmitments to
t fight terro
orism, also need
n
to ask themselves
t
s
some
questioons. What grreater prooff of this can
there be than Pakistan
P
Prim
me Minister Nawaz Sharrif extolling,, from the foorum of the UN
U Generall Assembly,
m
terrorisst commandeer of an outffit that is prooscribed by thhe UN and the
t US?
a major
Sat, 011 Oct, 2016
Su
urgicaal strikee robs Pak of anti-IIndia proxy
p
war op
ptions
Terroor Hit On Army,
A
Citiess Now Touggh
Rettaliating to India's
I
crossLoC strike could
c
be a knotty
k
dilemm
ma for Pakisstan. An Urii-type attackk carries the
riskk of serious escalation
e
while
w
a jihadii strike on ciivilians will draw attention to Pakistaan's terror linnks even as
Kasshmir seemss to have falllen off the map.
m
Thoough the possibility of a counterstriike looms laarge on the Indian securiity radar, Paakistan mighht find itself
wreestling with unattractivee choices reesulting from
m a misplacced assessmeent of Indiaa's response to a terror
15
attaack. The deccision to “saanction“ thee attack on the
t Army caamp at Uri and Pakistaan PM Nawaaz Sharif 's
appparent acquiiescence to the
t nation's military's plans
p
seem to
t have been based on an estimatiion that the
prootests in Kashhmir had maade it “ripe“ for an exterrnal push.
nt surpris ingg Pakistan, the
t tables seem to have turned. Usinng one of itss proxies to
With the Modii governmen
targget another Indian
I
militaary camp in Jammu & Kashmir
K
or even
e
elsewhhere is fraughht with the risk
r of such
an act leading to
t full-scale hostilities.
Inddia can no loonger be cou
unted on to take
t
a hit onn the jaw annd remain quuiescent. This will almoost certainly
invvite internatioonal criticism
m, and its isoolation amonng Saarc nattions can harrdly be reasssuring for Paakistan.
On the other hand, a “deniiable“ terrorrist attack onn an Indian city
c presentss a fresh set of problems. Any trail
thaat leads to grooups fostered by Pakistaan will only enhance its image
i
as a teerror factoryy . PM Narenndra Modi's
deccision does raise
r
issues for
f India, as surgical strikes may nott be easy to repeat
r
after every
e
terror attack. The
Pakkistan militaary would work
w
to closee the loophooles along thhe LoC that Indian troopps exploitedd. Pakistan's
com
mplications arise
a
from uncertainty
u
o
over
whetherr to expect a military repprisal. While perils of a cross-LoC
opeeration goingg awry with
h casualties or a `Black Hawk Dow
wn' situation held back his
h predecesssors, Modi
deccided to workk with the prrobabilities offered
o
by thhe Army .
Thee calculus haaving been reset,
r
Pakisttan's leadershhip may stilll find the prressure to acct difficult too resist. But
alm
most any couurse of action is only likely to takke the gazee -and symppathy -of moost nations away from
Kasshmir. Havinng egged on
n stone-pelteers in the Vaalley and gonne the wholee hog at the UN, this is a bitter pill
to swallow.
s
Sat, 011 Oct, 2016
After the strrikes
Inddia avoids in
nternationall blowback
Inddia’s careful buildup and
d Pakistan’s unusual bum
mbling havee helped conntain any intternational fallout
f
from
the Indian Arm
my’s surgicall strikes on terrorist
t
cam
mps in Pakisttan-occupiedd Kashmir (P
PoK). In retrrospect, the
scaaffolding forr containing adverse inteernational reeaction was built brick by
b brick. Prrime Ministeer Narendra
Moodi went agaainst the graain of a worrld summit of 20 econoomically moost powerfull countries to
t point the
fingger at “one country
c
in So
outh Asia” thhat was shelltering terrorrist organisattions. The diiatribe was followed
f
by
a series
s
of gesstures that no
n governmeent had conntemplated earlier
e
such as revokingg a river waater sharing
agrreement, pullling out of a regional summit and a no-holds-bbarred attackk at the UN. The goverrnment then
cam
me out with a calibrated
d response buut withheld video recordings and saatellite imaggery of the operation
o
to
refrresh the celeebratory dom
mestic mood later.
Thee reality is thhat the world
d doesn’t gett shaken by one incidentt of cross-boorder violencce mainly beecause there
is so
s much of gore
g
on a daily basis. Suuch cross-border spats taake place in one part of the
t world orr other such
as Turkish strikes against PKK in Iraaq or Colom
mbia’s cross--border operration in Ecuuador. Whatt the world
doeesn’t want iss the N-word
d to enter thee realm of military
m
calcuulations by both
b
countriies. The US in any case
cannnot openly complain after
a
its striike against Osama bin Laden. Noow what aft
fter the Indiian Army’s
opeeration robbbed Islamabaad of its saangfroid andd the Pakisttan army’s headquarters
h
s in Rawalppindi of its
cocckiness? Pakkistan has beeen on a diplomatic overrdrive ever since
s
Burhann Wani was killed in earrly July and
the Kashmiris took to the streets. Its political
p
maanagers havee been buttoonholing anyy politician who
w would
listten to their side of the sttory on the violence
v
in Kashmir.
K
Wiith a weak ecconomy andd a medium-ssized army,
Pakkistan has survived for three decaddes and survvived the wrath
w
of moore resourcefful Westernn armies by
perrsevering wiith the crafft of sub-coonventional warfare. Thhe evacuatioon of bordeer villages foretells
f
an
om
minous Indiann response iff Pakistan trries to get evven. But if Kashmir
K
rem
mains unpaciffied, the worrld may not
keeep its counseel.
16
Sat, 011 Oct, 2016
Surrgical strikes
s
& afteer
Thee surgical sttrikes by the Indian Arm
my across thee LoC on thee terrorist caamps have created
c
an aw
wareness of
Inddia as a hardd power, un
nafraid to defend
d
its terrain. With retribution as a new paradigm,
p
grround rules
deffining India--Pak ties have changed.. It is not as if it is alll over bar thhe cheering.. In fact thee successful
surrgical strikess across the LoC
L by the Indian
I
Armyy is an event which may be considereed the triggeer for a new
phaase of confroontation between India and Pakistann, possibly characterised by whollyy new strateegies which
willl be tested over time and
a refined. However, for now wee first need to complim
ment the Arm
my and the
pollitical leaderrship for the bold decisioons, apt infoormation hanndling, slick execution and
a effectivee post-event
management.
As one writes, the doubts about the veracity
v
of thhe Army's claims
c
have started gathhering weighht. Specific
queestions are being
b
asked and Pakistaan's experiennced Inter Services
S
Pubblic Relationns (ISPR) is sparing no
effoorts in projeecting that it is all a hoaxx. ISPR has good reasonns to do so. The Pakistann Army Chiief, General
Rahheel Sharif retires
r
in six
x weeks andd the strong man
m cannot be seen to go
g in disgrace. This may well be a
triggger for Rahheel to exten
nd himself in
i office or do somethinng spectacullar before he bows out,, if he does
deccide to go. Whatever
W
ISP
PR is doing is to give thhe Pakistan leadership
l
tim
me to contem
mplate and see
s through
the maze of com
mplexity.
Theere is no reaason for us in
i India to disbelieve
d
ouur Army. Thhose who knnow the LoC
C well will confirm
c
that
unddeclared traans-LoC opeerations havve continueed since maany years, with or wiithout sancttion of the
Government off India. Thiss time it wass necessary for
f the Goveernment to be
b transparennt in its sancction to the
Arm
my as the messaging
m
was
w not miilitary alonee but politicco-strategic. That can't be withoutt a holistic
govvernment invvolvement because
b
the escalation is likely to be
b much higgher than whhen a deniabble surgical
striike is launcched for onlly military retribution.
r
Two to three kilometers ahead of
o the defennses in any
deffensive systeem is consid
dered in milittary terms as
a the area off influence. Tactical com
mmanders arre routinely
arm
med with maximum
m
in
ntelligence on
o topograpphy and layyout of the adversary's defences as
a also the
infoormation aboout the popu
ulation withinn the area off influence.
Thee conduct off a raid is paart of militaryy teaching but
b when the degree of suuccess has too be fool prooof reliance
is placed
p
on Sppecial Forcess (SFs), withh total support of the locaal troops throough whom the launch is
i executed.
Sepptember eachh year is alsso about enhhanced attem
mpts at infiltrration whichh involves cooncentrationn of a larger
quaantum of terrrorists at terrror launch pads.
p
There is a regular flow of inteelligence on this. The poossibility of
the US providinng India useeful informattion gained by
b satellite surveillance
s
is also theree. The credibbility of the
Inddian Army's claims will be finally cemented
c
if there is a credible
c
Pakiistani responnse. Even without
w
that,
Inddia's act of reetribution forr Uri will rem
main well reecognised.
Thee muted inteernational reesponse is noot because of
o credibilityy of claims. It
I is just thaat it is a new
w domain to
trannsparently seee robust Ind
dian action. The world is
i not in a huurry and willl take time to
t understandd the future
dynnamics of poossible escalaation in a zoone which it is fully awarre has nucleaar weapons with
w both siddes.
Whhile all are advising
a
the Indian leaddership on thhe possibilityy of a Pakisstani response it is beinng taken for
graanted that such an action
n will be launnched; a quiid pro quo. From
F
experiience one caan recount thhat the most
likeely action will be by a Border
B
Action Team whiich is a mix of regulars and
a well-traiined terrorists. A single
actiion will not meet the reequirement of
o this respoonse where the
t benchmaark has beenn set much higher.
h
Will
the deep state wish
w to keep
p it deniable or transpareent; the latteer more likelly followingg the loop off escalation.
Acttion against the Indian Army
A
posts on the LoC itself is alw
ways an option for the BATs
B
but thee casualties
they will sufferr in a state of
o high alertt will be higgh. However,, building ovverwhelmingg strength too smother a
smaaller LoC poost is always a feasibilitty and manyy such postss exist withoout much muutual supporrt. To avoid
cassualties on thhemselves BATs
B
are more likely too target patrrols and logiistics partiess by day. Prredictability
17
aboout these is difficult and
d chances of
o the adverssary gainingg surprise arre extremelyy high. If suuch a set of
actiions is launcched as respo
onse we mayy well witneess a phase where
w
the crooss-border exchange of small
s
arms,
moortars and arttillery fire may
m be replacced by moree frequent trans-LoC raids. The channces of escaalation from
succh situations are much hiigher. That confirms
c
thee belief that we can ill affford to go slow
s
in the paradigm
p
of
dipplomacy justt because on
ne element of the militarry option has been playeed. In fact, the
t need for even more
robbust diplomaacy is now felt
f and the same must not be restrricted to Neew Delhi itseelf. This is the time to
unddertake a cam
mpaign with
h high-profile emissariess reaching ouut to importaant capitals of
o the worldd to in bring
to bear
b India's influence
i
in their thinkinng and isolatte Pakistan.
As we wait andd watch the unfolding of
o events oveer the next few
f days andd both sides go into hudddles on the
nexxt response the
t one area which is finnding itself the
t news foccus is the Kaashmir hinterrland. Kashm
miri leaders
havve expressedd their reserrvations aboout the actioons by the Army
A
because an escalaation harms the border
poppulation andd takes the focus
f
away from Kashm
mir's other myriad
m
otherr problems. For the currrent, as the
durrbar prepares to move to
t Jammu thhe LoC andd the border are taking the attentionn away from
m the stone
throowers and the
t curfew. The Army, to its creddit, is conceentrating onn both frontts very defttly, as its
opeerations for moral domiination in Soouth Kashm
mir progress, the sanctityy of the LoC
C is being ensured
e
and
now
w retributionn becomes a new paradiggm.
Sat, 011 Oct, 2016
US slams terrorr, tacitlly back
ks Indiia
Pakkistan is beiing blamed for the esccalation of tensions
t
in the
t Indian subcontinent
s
t. Its coddliing of UNdessignated terrror groups and initiatioon of cross--border attaacks on India are beingg seen by the
t Obama
adm
ministration as the prov
vocation -if not
n the justiification -forr New Delhhi's decision to conduct a onetime,
dem
monstrative, surgical strrike across the
t LoC. Brriefings at thhe White Hoouse and the State Deppartment on
Thuursday left liittle doubt ab
bout which side
s the US is
i on, even as
a it counsellled restraint in the regionn.
“W
We've repeateedly expresssed our conncerns regarrding the daanger that teerrorism poses to the region...We
r
conntinue to urgge actions to
t combat annd delegitim
mise terrorist groups likke LeT and the Haqqanni Network,
JeM
M,“ US statee departmen
nt spokesmann John Kirbyy said whenn asked abouut India's actions. Kirbyy confirmed
thaat US secretaary of state John Kerry had a talk with
w his Inddian counterppart Sushmaa Swaraj, inn which “he
cauutioned againnst any escaalation in tennsions“, whiile reiteratingg his “strongg condemnaation of the Uri
U attack“.
Whhile Islamabaad saw the caution
c
as beeing directedd at India forr its surgical strike, it turrned out that the remark
wass directed at
a Pakistan for
f Uri. Tallking about the attack, Kirby said,, “Obviouslyy , an attacck like that
esccalates tensioons.“
Islaamabad wass also at the receiving end of witthering censsure at the White Houuse. Althouggh Obama's
spookesman Jossh Earnest was
w aware off the surgicaal strike, he chose not too condemn it
i -a task maade easy by
Pakkistan's denial of the opeeration -whille referring at length to US NSA Suusan Rice's phone
p
call too her Indian
couunterpart Ajiit Doval.
A read-out
r
of that
t
phone call
c made it clear that Washington
W
h
holds
Islamaabad responnsible for thee escalating
tennsions, with its
i identical reference too Pakistan's support for UNand US--designated terrorist
t
grouups and the
dem
mand for “acctions to com
mbat and dee-legitimise““ them. Meannwhile, US envoy to Inddia Richard Verma has
rushed back too Delhi from
m Washingtoon on accouunt of the “vvery dynamiic situation““ that has arrisen in the
afteermath of thhe surgical strike.
s
“He's got a big joob... he felt it was pruddent to go back. We suppport that,“
Kirrby said wheen asked abo
out Verma's immediate
i
d
departure
from the US.
UN
N body `did not observee LoC firingg'
Thee UN Militaary Observerr Group in India
I
and Paakistan, taskked with moonitoring thee ceasefire liine, did not
“directly obserrve“ any fiiring along the LoC reelated to thhe surgical strike, UN chief Ban Ki-moon's
spookesperson has
h said. Ban
n is following the situatioon “with greeat concern“,, he added.
18
Ind
dia has set an
a example: S Korea
Souuth Korea Prresident Park Geun-hye has supportted India's action
a
againsst Pakistan-bbased terror camps.
c
She
saidd on Friday that the Ind
dian Army action
a
shouldd be a lessonn for other nations
n
facinng terror threeats. “They
shoould not waitt but act with
h aggressionn,“ Park addeed.
Sat, 011 Oct, 2016
19
Sun, 022 Oct, 2016
Shad
dow waars
Get reaal, get smarrter
By Diinesh Kumaar
The Army's Sept
S
28-29 surgical
s
striikes inside Pakistan mark
m
a wateershed in ou
ur strategy to combat
terrorists and
d their spon
nsors. Not that such strikes had
d never hap
ppened; thiis time, a convincing
c
ressponse was well
w acknow
wledged. Coovert ops arre seldom pu
ublicized an
nd these havve an in-bu
uilt element
of deterrence.
d
Our largerr and more significant
s
s
strategy
woould be a deeper undersstanding of the enemy
and
d an ever-viigilant securrity apparattus.
Alm
most 17 yearrs ago and just six montths after thee Kargil Warr, the Indiann Army on Jaanuary 22, 2000,
2
killed
16 Pakistani sooldiers after over-runninng a Pakistaani post acrooss the Linee of Control (LoC) in thhe Chhamb
secctor. The boddies of five Pakistani
P
solldiers were reportedly
r
d
dragged
backk by Indian troops
t
and laater handed
oveer to the Pakkistani Army
y. This was one of manyy such attackks carried out from timee-to-time byy the Indian
Arm
my consequeent to Islamaabad's continnuing proxy war in Jamm
mu and Kashhmir. The Pakistani Arm
my, too, has
beeen carrying out similarr attacks onn Indian positions afterr crossing the
t LoC aloong with ennjoying the
advvantage of having
h
an army
a
of terrorists to whhom it routiinely outsouurces terror attacks as it
i did most
recently in Uri..
Theese trans-LooC attacks by
b both armiies stopped for a while after the Noovember 2003 ceasefiree came into
effeect along booth the LoC and the Acctual Groundd Position Line
L
(AGPL)) with Pakisstan Occupieed Kashmir
(PooK). But theere have beeen occasions when, evenn during thee current 'ceaasefire', Indiia has been conducting
retaaliatory attaccks across th
he LoC suchh as, for exam
mple, in respponse to the decapitationn of two Indiian soldiers
by the Pakistanni Army in January
J
20113. Indian Army
A
soldierrs are reporteed to have then
t
beheadeed between
fivee and ten Pakkistani soldiiers in responnse.
So what is new
w about the shallow-disstance 'surgiccal' strike caarried out inn the wee hoours of Septtember 29?
One, that New Delhi has offficially ackknowledged what
w the Inddian Army has
h been doinng for many years now.
Seccond, the Arrmy carried out simultaaneously cooordinated suurgical strikees across thee LoC at seeven launch
padds located ovver an arc off 250 km sppread across both the Jam
mmu and the Valley secctors. Third, the attacks
werre directed specifically
s
against terroorists in theeir launch paads rather thhan against the
t Pakistanni Army. In
doiing so, Indiaa has made itt publicly knnown that it has
h the resollve and capaability of croossing the LooC to strike
at terrorists
t
whho Pakistan officially
o
dennies supportiing.
Som
me question
ns
Lasst Thursday's action gives rise to thrree questionns. First and foremost, how
h
qualitatiively and quuantitatively
effeective were the Army's strikes agaainst terrorissts in PoK? The governnment has inndicated it will
w furnish
evidence and some
s
details about the effectiveness
e
s of the strikkes. Until theen, we only have the goovernment's
word for it. Soooner or laterr questions arre bound to rise. Secondd, and most important,
i
w this deterr Islamabad
will
from
m continuinng to supporrt terrorism in Jammu and Kashmiir and otherr parts of thhe country? Third, will
surrgical strikess of high inteensity and quality henceeforth becom
me state policcy to be repeeated as andd when thus
trully marking a paradigm shift
s
in Indiaa's response to
t Pakistan'ss support to terrorism?
t
O will this be
Or,
b a one-off
striike aimed at quelling pub
blic anger ovver the terror attack on an
a Indian Arrmy camp in Uri? Furtheermore, will
thiss action be milked
m
for po
olitical gainss by the rulinng party, esppecially durinng campaignning in the forthcoming
fo
assembly electiions in Uttarr Pradesh andd Punjab?
Succh strikes caannot and must not be an
a end in itseelf. The aim
m of such acttion has to be
b to make itt expensive
for Pakistan to support terrrorists and also
a for the terrorists
t
theemselves if not
n altogetheer stop Islam
mabad from
making terrorissm an instrum
ment of statee policy. Leaave aside ceasing to support terrorists, Pakistan is expected
20
to become more hostile towards India in response to which New Delhi will need to be ever vigilant and
prepared. The Army's limited 'surgical' strike on is so far a reactive measure - a response to the September 18
terror attack in Uri. It was not, truly speaking, a pro-active measure initiated without an immediate
provocation. Besides, a solitary military action of this nature is never enough. For, this cannot be a number
game where the killing of 19 Indian soldiers must be matched by an equal or higher figure after which India
waits for the next terror attack to occur before again responding.
Draw a policy
Rather, New Delhi needs to consider making it a policy to conduct pre-emptive surgical strikes on Pakistani
terror factories on a relentlessly continuous basis in order to truly making it expensive for the terrorists and
its Pakistani patrons. Prevention, rather than cure, is ideally the answer. But for this, Indian intelligence
agencies will need to develop an intelligence gathering network par excellence comprising human
intelligence (HUMINT) and electronic intelligence (ELINT) sources to obtain real time actionable
information; Well-equipped special forces will have to be on permanent stand-by and work in conjunction
with intelligence agencies. The political executive irrespective of the political alliance in power will need to
maintain a steely resolve and keep the nerve to 'go for it' each time.
Both the Indian intelligence and military establishments will need to develop capabilities to overcome
Pakistani measures to prevent such attacks; and India will have to be in a 'state in being', i.e. in a perpetual
state of alertness and preparedness including for setbacks as does happen in this long drawn out game. Only
then would India have truly 'arrived' such as like Israel, which some Indian commentators love to quote.
Dangerous game
The question is whether India has the stomach, resolve and capability for this kind of a response? Then again,
the September 29 strike was across a shallow distance of up to between 2 and 3 km. How deep will India be
prepared to go should Pakistan relocate its launch pads well inside Occupied Jammu and Kashmir? Is India
prepared for an escalation, and to what extent?
Soon after the terror attacks in Mumbai on November 26, 2008, Air Chief Marshal Fali Homi Major told the
government that the Indian Air Force was unable to conduct air strikes on terror camps in Pakistan since they
did not have specific coordinates. In other words, there existed no actionable intelligence despite supposed
reforms in intelligence gathering carried out after the May-July 1999 Kargil War.
Covertly overt?
The Army's trans-LoC action has been greeted with and commented on with much jingoism and chest
thumping by some in India, especially by some sections of the ruling party, as had occurred when India
exploded nuclear devices in May 1998. Covert operations and surgical strikes are more effective when not
publicised. While overt announcements are good for the domestic audience and gives the ruling dispensation
political mileage, it does not serve its true purpose; certainly not at such an early stage.
Ideally, covert operations should strike hard and remain covert. It should be left on officers to refer to it in
passing in their memoirs written well after their retirement. If at all it must be made public by the
government, it is best done when Pakistan's terror factory is sufficiently degraded. Until then maturity lies in
silent but relentless continuous action.
A tool in the box
During the height of militancy in Punjab when Rajiv Gandhi was Prime Minister, the Research and Analysis
Wing (RAW) engaged in a series of covert operations in Pakistan which was partial cause for some dent in
Islamabad's support to terrorism in the state. In 1989 killings by terrorists declined to 1,188 from 1,949 in
1988 only to escalate after the VP Singh government came to power. With RAW's operations then ceasing
and the VP Singh government adopting a 'liberal' outlook, terrorism escalated and in just two years (1990 and
1991), terrorists killed 5,059 people in the state (2,467 in 1990 and 2,591 in 1991). This was equivalent to the
figure of a total 5,070 people killed in the preceding 12 years (1978 to 1989) before terrorism in the Punjab
21
beggan tapering off followin
ng a regime change in New
N Delhi and
a the form
mation of an elected govvernment in
Chaandigarh.
Straategy is the employment of all meanns for an endd. Surgical strikes have to
t be viewedd as a tool inn the box. It
cannnot be the sole instrum
ment. Equallly importantt, the 29th September
S
a
action
must never be a one-off. It
shoould mark thhe beginning
g of pro-acttive measurees to end Paakistan's lonng standing roguish gam
me of using
terrror against India. The journey hass just begunn and Indiaa has a longg way to goo. It is for successive
govvernments inn New Delhii to completee this journeyy.
Sun, 022 Oct, 2016
S
Slowly,
Delhi puts the screews on
n Islam
mabad
Dipplomatic maanoeuvres off the last foortnight gavee an indicatiion of Indiaa's thinking. India first set the ball
rollling by gettiing back at Pakistan
P
oveer its attemppts to globaliise Kashmirr. The agendda was clear,, right from
the top. India would
w
highllight Baluchhistan and thhe atrocities being comm
mitted in the Baluch reegion to get
peoople to focuss on Pakistan
n's human rigghts record.
So whether it was at the United Nattions Humann Rights Coouncil (UNH
HRC) in Geeneva or at the United
Nattions Generaal Assembly
y (UNGA) session
s
in New
N
York, India's diplom
matic course was clear.. While the
rheetoric would be raised, as
a was evident in the speeech delivereed by externnal affairs minister
m
Sushhma Swaraj,
Inddia would stiick to a certtain amountt of restrain. Swaraj's sppeech at the UNGA epiitomised thaat approach.
Whhile she tookk apart Pakistan Prime Minister
M
Naawaz Sharif'ss earlier speeech where he
h alleged Inndian army
com
mmitting atroocities in Jam
mmu and Kaashmir, she nevertheless
n
s maintained a certain deegree of dignnity.
Bacck in the cappital, the PM
M chaired a meet wheree the Indus Water
W
Treatyy of 1960 was
w reviewedd. The very
fact that India reviewed
r
thee treaty was a message too Pakistan thhat this time the agenda and the gam
me would be
diffferent. At thhe end of thatt meeting, thhe decision taken
t
and coonveyed wass simple. Inddia would plaay hard ball
on the waters trreaty. Whilee staying withhin the legall limits of the treaty, it would
w
still sqqueeze Pakisstan.
Theen came the decision to boycott the South Asiann Associatioon for Regionnal Cooperaation (SAAR
RC) Summit
to be
b hosted byy Islamabad in November. While thhe buzz and the whisperss had been doing
d
the rounds of the
Souuth Block foor a while, th
he decision to go ahead with
w the boyycott was stilll a surprise.. But what has
h added to
Inddia's diplomaatic standing
g in as far as
a the boycoott of the Saaarc Summitt goes is thee fact that a number of
Souuth Asian member
m
statees followed suit. Afghannistan, Bhuttan, Bangladdesh and Srri Lanka alsoo spoke up
agaainst the atm
mosphere not being conduucive to holdding the sum
mmit.
As of today, fivve member-n
nations out of
o the eight Saarc membbers have deccided to boyycott the Sum
mmit and in
totaality Pakistaan stands exp
posed and issolated in thhe neighbourrhood. This is definitelyy a thumbs-uup moment
for India's diplomatic com
mmunity. Paakistan finallly bowed to
t the inevittable and has
h now posstponed the
sum
mmit.
Finnally the bigggest announ
ncement cam
me a few days back. Thhe Indian Arrmy proudlyy announced that it had
croossed the Linne of Contro
ol (LoC) annd caused coonsiderable damage
d
to launch pads of terroristss who were
plaanning to attaack India. In
n other wordss, India had finally crosssed the Rubiicon and struuck where it would hurt
the most. Pakisstan's denial was expecteed.
In the
t days andd weeks to come,
c
Indiaa will keep up
u the pressuure. While the
t governm
ment has reacched out to
som
me 25 envoyys based in the capital and explainned India's position and rationale behind condducting the
surrgical strikess, the tension
ns are not gooing to die down
d
easy. By
B conductiing these strrikes, India has
h given it
bacck to Pakistaan in a langu
uage that it beest understannds. But som
me form of retaliation froom the Pakisstani side is
alsoo expected.
22
Sat, 011 Oct, 2016
Terroorism no
n longger a loow-cosst optioon for Pakisttan,
Indiaan coun
nter-sttrikes have
h
broken a psycchologiical
baarrier
Sinnce the Uri attacks
a
a dom
minant them
me in the nattional discouurse was of capability , and whetheer India had
what it took to take the fig
ght to the ennemy . The only
o
thing thhat separatedd the believeers from the others was
faitth. Thursdayy's midnight operations across
a
the LooC settled thhat debate.
Thee strikes didd a lot more, which will hold
h
even iff Pakistan deecides to retaaliate. What can Pakistaan do? They
cann ratchet up border tenssions, maybee hit some Indians
I
eitheer on the LooC or bounddary; they can
c activate
sleeeper cells too launch terrror attacks inn other partss of India; thhey can attaack Indian innterests in Afghanistan.
A
Alll of these woould qualify as terrorism, and play innto the Indiann narrative.
Terrrorism willl no longerr be a low--cost optionn for Pakisttan, thrivingg under a nuclear
n
threeshold. The
com
mplacency thhat accompaanied terror attacks from
m Pakistan juust evaporated Pakistannis were com
mfortable in
the belief that India
I
would be all soundd and fury, while
w
Indianss would fataalistically shaake their heaads at “lack
of options“.
o
Thhat will no lo
onger be the case. Terrorrism will conntinue, there will be attaccks, infiltration, deaths.
Butt Indians havve broken th
hrough a menntal barrier that
t we cannnot impose coosts. That's why
w it was im
mportant to
ackknowledge what
w
was a preemptive
p
c
covert
counterterrorism operation. There
T
was a message thaat had to be
givven to Pakistan, and a meessage for Inndia.
Thee political and diplom
matic scriptiing had to be tightly managed. It was no coincidencce that the
annnouncement by the army
y was managged by MEA
A. The Amerricans were engaged
e
earlly to managee the global
messaging, the new Chinesse ambassador, barely 244 hours old in
i India was invited to a briefing by the foreign
seccretary, counntries that wo
ould swing with
w Pakistaan had been prepped on its increasinng use of terrror for the
passt few montths Indian security forces and civillians have seen
s
almost daily hits.T
The same gooes for TV
talkking heads, which ensu
ured a more uniform vooice unlike after the Myanmar
M
opeeration in 20015, where
deccibel exchanges drowned
d out a succeessful joint operation
o
andd pissed off Naypyidaw needlessly.
Pakkistan too haad to be man
naged. It wass significant that the DG
GMO actuallyy offered sym
mpathies forr the deaths
of the
t Pak solddiers. It's the terrorists wee are after, he
h said. An early
e
phone call
c went to Pakistan juust like after
the Khost strikkes and afteer Abbotabadd, it was im
mportant to reassure Raawalpindi wiith full disclosure, and
minnimise escalation.
Inddia and Pakistan will no
o longer be able
a
to go back
b
to the same
s
stultifyying circle of
o terror andd talks. The
fram
mework for engagemen
nt will be suubstanti velyy redrawn. Even
E
if the tw
wo countriees go back too the table,
Inddia should keep internattional and biilateral pressure on, parrticularly to maintain crredibility. All
A the steps
outtlined this week
w
Indus Waters,
W
cancellation of Saarc, etc must
m be folloowed througgh.India willl take some
pain with curtaailing trade and restrictiing overflighhts, but that''s okay .Andd hey , Saarrc was cryinng out to be
recast if we invvite Afghaniistan and Maaldives for Bimstec
B
in Goa,
G it will bee a step forw
ward.
Verry few noticced Modi ad
dding on “Paashtuns“ in his
h Kerala sppeech. Indiaa's future dipplomacy couuld consider
suppporting Afgghanistan on
n its positionn vis-à-vis thhe Durand Line.
L
If thosse four helicopters to Affghan army
werre the first step,
s
more su
uch steps woould be welccome. The direction
d
of Indian
I
policyy towards Pakistan and
terrrorism shoulld serve as notice
n
to botth Russia annd China. Chhina openly uses Pakisttan as cat's paw
p against
Inddia. It's impoortant that Beijing
B
does not get a freee ride on CPEC.
C
If Russia wants too play seconnd fiddle to
Chiina, that's itss business bu
ut India's seccurity interessts cannot bee hostage to their flirtingg.
Forr years Indiaa has believeed its Pakisttan policy shhould be about helping them climbb back downn from their
preecarious percch. It's wheree they want to be and we
w must recoggnise it. Wee don't need to
t be a part of it. There
23
is nothing
n
that says we haave to save the civilian leadership against
a
the military
m
. Paakistanis cann do it, not
Inddians.
Pakkistan shouldd be primariily a securityy relationshiip, where buuilding defennsive and offfensive capaabilities are
prioorities.Leavee people and
d businesses to build theeir own relattionships witth each otheer. This woulld basically
mean having more
m
sensiblee visa policiees and not taaking knee-jeerk actions against
a
Pakisstani actors and
a artistes.
Sat, 011 Oct, 2016
Coastt Guarrd inteensifiess surveeillancee alongg Gujaarat
c
coast
Thee Indian Cooast Guard (ICG) has intensified
i
v
vigil
on Gujjarat coast in
i a bid to prevent inffiltration of
terrrorists, usingg sea route from
f
Pakistaan. The ICG has increaseed patrollingg along the sea
s line in Gujarat
G
with
havving over 1,6600 km long
g coast line.
“Coonsidering thhe incidents of recent paast wherein the Indian forces
f
foiledd attempts off anti-national elements
to infiltrate, by
b attacking their trainiing camps across in PoK
P
area, thhe overall security forr the shore
estaablishments and fisherm
men have been
b
duly enhanced,”
e
said Ahmeddabad basedd defence PRO
P
Wing
Com
mmander Abbhishek Mattiman.
Acccording to him,
h
the coaast of Gujaraat and the Maritime
M
Zones off the notional IM
MBL betweenn India and
Pakkistan, beingg an area of sensitivity, has
h been thee focus for thhe Maritimee Security Agency since the attacks
at Uri
U base in J&K.
J
Speecial operattion
Thee Coast Guaard Regionaal Headquartters (North West), at Gandhinagar
G
had launcheed special operation
o
in
cooordination with
w
the staakeholders, including the
t
Marine Police andd the State Administraation since
Sepptember 26. “The stakeh
holders havee been requuested to advvise fisherm
men to underrtake group fishing and
avooid fishing close
c
to notiional IMBL// No Fishingg Zone. In addition,
a
thee presence of
o ICG unitss at sea and
pattrolling in seensitive areaas by underttaking forwaard area depployment of assets, bothh ships and aircraft has
beeen effected,”” Mr Matimaan stated in a release.
Insstruction to fishermen
Thee authoritiess have asked the fisherrmen, who are
a often appprehended by the mariine securityy agency of
Pakkistan along the IMBL while
w
on fishhing, have been
b
asked to
t go for grooup fishing and
a use theiir very high
freqquency (VH
HF) communication sets to immediattely inform the
t coastguaard about any suspiciouss activity in
the sea or alongg the coast.
will be suustained till
Thee ICG personnel have sanitized sensitive seaa areas and enhanced surveillance
s
norrmalization of
o situation.
Sat, 011 Oct, 2016
(Online)
IDAS
S, one of
o coun
ntry’s oldest servicces seek
ks chan
nge
off name
The departm
ment serves the three deefence servicces, DRDO, Border Roaads Organisaation and orrdnance
factories. It renders service
s
in areas like finaancial advisee, payments,, accountingg and audit. (PTI)
24
Thee Indian Deffence Accou
unts Service (IDAS), a 270-year-old
2
d service, haas asked the governmennt to change
its name to Deffence Financce Service, keeping
k
in view
v
the channging naturee of the depaartment. “Thhe nature of
funnctioning of the
t departmeent has channged over thee last so manny years. Tim
me has comee to change the
t name of
the department from Defen
nce Accountss Departmennt to Defencee Finance Deepartment.
“W
We have sent the proposaal finally (to the governm
ment) to channge the nam
me of the Deffence Accouunts Service
to Defence
D
Finance Servicee,” Sunil Koohli, Controller General of
o Defence Accounts,
A
saaid. He was speaking at
an event to marrk the 270th
h Defence Accounts Servvice Day whhich was alsoo attended by
b Defence Secretary
S
G
Moohan Kumar..
AS officers are group ‘A’
‘ defence civilian off
fficers. The department serves the three
t
defencce services,
IDA
DR
RDO, Borderr Roads Org
ganisation annd ordnance factories. Itt renders serrvice in areaas like financial advise,
payyments, accoounting and
d audit. It traces
t
its hiistory to 17747, from thhe days of the British East India
Com
mpany, and is one of thee oldest civill services in the country..
Thee IDAS playyed a criticall role in the implementattion of the One
O Rank Onne Pension (OROP).
(
Koohli said the
deppartment haas also sent another prroposal to earmark
e
budget which could be used for caarrying out
diggitilisation annd computerrisation of thhe departmennt in order too implementt pensions inn a better waay. Defence
Seccretary Kum
mar also emp
phasised on the need too undertake complete diigitilisation and
a reduce paperwork.
Kohli said the service has evolved ovver the yearss and the deemand for change
c
of naame was to convey the
y the departm
ment.
“rigght kind of job” done by
Sun, 022 Oct, 2016
Chinaa, Indiia agreee to sttep up cooperration on terrror
Inddia and Chinna reached a consensus on measures to strengthhen cooperattion and joinntly deal wiith growing
seccurity threat in
i South Easst Asia.
Sayying that Chhina is also concerned about the growing
g
prooblem of its Xinjiang province
p
being used as
corrridor to expport insurgen
nts to Syria from
f
Pakistaan, Joint Inteelligence Coommittee chaairman R.N.. Ravi, who
wass in Beijingg on Septem
mber 29 foor a meeting with Chiina, told thiis newspapeer that two high-level
delegations of China would
d be visitingg India next month to woork out a meechanism to strengthen cooperation
c
on security threeats.
i the field of
o bilateral cooperation between
b
the
Desscribing the India-Chinaa dialogue ass a major breeakthrough in
twoo countries Mr
M Ravi, wh
ho had meetting with seccretary-geneeral of the Commission
C
for Politicall and Legal
Afffairs of the Communist
C
Party
P
of Chiina Central Committee
C
W
Wang
Yongqqing, said thhat there wass consensus
bettween India and China that terrorissm is a com
mmon enem
my of the gloobal commuunity and sttrengthened
couunterterrorism
m cooperation between China and India
I
was coonducive to the interests of the peoople of both
couuntries.
Rejjecting repoorts in the media
m
about China bloccking a tribuutary of thee Brahmapuutra river in Tibet, and
incursion by PL
LA in Arunaachal Pradessh, Mr Ravi said that Chhina was alsoo willing to step
s
up com
mmunication
andd cooperationn with India in the field of counter-terrorism, so that the twoo sides couldd work togethher.
Mrr Ravi was of
o the view that China may
m have beeen buildingg some dams in Tibet, but it doesn’t have any
inteention to bloock the Brahamaputra.
He said that tw
wo delegation
ns are visitinng India nexxt month forr a meeting with
w Union home minisster Rajnath
Sinngh.
He also inform
med that Chin
na has also agreed to heelp India in catching thee insurgent leaders
l
of Northeastern
N
stattes using theeir frontier provinces
p
w Myanmaar for shelteer. Mr Ravi was in Chinna for a diaalogue soon
with
afteer the surgical strike of India
I
in Pakiistan occupieed Kashmir.
25
Sat, 011 Oct, 2016
Sat, 011 Oct, 2016
I
India
S
Strikes
s - Raw
walpind
di Movves Terrror Camps from
PoK to Mansheraa, Jhelu
um
By Rahul
R
Tripath
thi
Relocating To
R
T Safe Havvens: Intelliggence reportts suggest a rattled Pakiistani army has provided help to
relocate a dozen terrorrist camps near
n
Muzafffarabad to avvoid casualiity to militan
nts and theirr assets
A dozen
d
terror camps locatted near Muzaffarabad, in
i Pakistanooccupied Kasshmir, were relocated too Manshera,
Nauushera and Jhelum with
h the help of
o the Pakisstan army , according to Indian inttelligence reeports from
acrross the line of control.
Thee Indian Arrmy had desstroyed 7 laaunching paads of terrorr groups onn Thursday, located in Muree and
Raw
walkot in PooK. The deciision to shift
ft the camps from PoK too its territoryy was taken by a rattled Pakistan to
avooid casualty to militants and their asssets.
26
Thee intelligencce reports fu
urther said thhat these cam
mps have more
m
than 5000 militants,, mostly from
m LashkareTaaiba, Jaish-ee-Mohammaad and Hizbbul Mujahiddeen. Amongg them, LeT
T has closee to 300 terrrorists, the
higghest in numbber, in their camps, an official
o
said quoting
q
intellligence re port.
p
Officialls added thatt the reports
werre credible and were put
p together with the help
h
of westtern agenciees.Three succh camps iddentified in
Muuzaffarabad were
w located
d at Pir Channasi, Aksha Maskar
M
and Tabuk, said officials.
Whhile Mansherra in Khyber Paktunkhw
wa province is 50 km frrom Muzaffaarabad, Nausshera and Hajhiaima
H
in
Jheelum in Punnjab provincce are 250 km
k each froom Muzaffarrabad. Counnter-intelligeence sleuths said these
terrror camps start
s
their acctivity at 2.330 am wherre young reecruits are made
m
to unddergo a touggh physical
traiining. Activiities at the caamp end witth `isha ki naamaz' by 10 pm, he addeed.
Theese camps, according
a
to officials, arre assigned specific
s
taskss where trainning manualls are divided into three
phaases. “Basedd on the interrrogation of the capturedd militants inn the past, we
w have founnd that a terrorist before
being brought to a launcch pad undeergoes threee modules -Daura-eTallba (basic training),
t
D
Daura-e-aam
(phhysical trainiing) and Dau
ura-e-khas (aarms trainingg),“ the CI slleuth added.
Sat, 011 Oct, 2016
Pak isolatiion deeepens as
a alliees go siilent on
n strik
kes
Indian Dipllomacy at Work:
W
Cornerred Islamabbad says willl defer SAAR
RC meet
w Delhi: Inndia’s diplo
omatic encirrclement off Pakistan appeared
a
to bear fruit on Friday, with even
New
Islaamabad’s traaditional alliies refusing to take its side over Neew Delhi’ s surgical
s
strikke son militant shelters
acrross the Linee of Control (LoC),
(
their de-facto borrder.
Whhile the Unitted States, a long presennce in Pakisstan’ s corneer, hastened to underline the importtance of its
alliiance with Inndia, others who could previously have
h
been reelied upon too take Islam
mabad’s side, at least in
rheetorical termss, chose to maintain
m
a stuudiously neuutral line.
In South Asia, Pakistan’s isolation deeepened as Afghanistan
A
openly backked Thursdaay’s strikes as
a an act of
“seelf-defence”, and Sri Laanka became the fifth country
c
to pull
p out of the eight-naation Saarc Summit in
Islaamabad, citinng concerns about terrorrism – an unsubtle refereence to Pakisstan.
Butt perhaps Chhina’s markeedly restrainned reaction comes mostt fraught forr its “all-weaather ally”. Neither
N
did
anyy voice of support ring out of thhe Organisaation of Islaamic Countrries that haas traditionaally backed
Islaamabad’s staand on Kashmir.
Russsia, despitee currently conducting
c
military exeercises with Islamabad, joined Souuth Korea too speak out
agaainst terrorism and call on
o Pakistan to
t do more too fight the menace
m
on itss soil.
And in what reeflected grow
wing global impatience with Pakistaan’s self-deffeating standd on fightingg terrorism,
Waashington chhose the mom
ment to focuss on the danggers of such policies in South
S
Asia.
“W
We’ve repeateedly expresssed our conccerns regardiing the dangger that terrorrism poses to
t the regionn and we all
knoow that terroorism in man
ny ways know
ws no bordeer,” said State Departmennt Spokesmaan, John Kirbby.
Thee reply camee to a questio
on on the surrgical strikess that New Delhi
D
said toook out sevenn militant “laaunchpads”
acrross the LoC and inflicted heavy casuualties on militants.
m
Forr that matterr, Washingto
on also used the occasionn to underscoore a new hiigh in ties with
w India, wiith Defence
Seccretary Ashtoon Carter saying their military
m
relatiionship was the “closest it has been ever”.
e
Islaamabad, which deferred
d the Saarc Summit on Friday, wouuld have proobably wantted Beijing to be more
voccal about thee strikes. Butt then again, Pakistan haas denied thoose took placce.
Chiina’s reactioon to the strrikes came tw
wo days after Pakistan dispatched two
t
special envoys on Kashmir
K
to
Beiijing to drum
m up supportt for its posittion.
27
“A s shared neighbour and
a
friend to both India and Paakistan, we are concerrned about continuous
connfrontation and
a tensions between Inndia and Pakkistan,” foreiign ministry spokespersoon Geng Shuuang told a
reggular news brriefing on Frriday.
We call on alll relevant parrties to exerccise restraintt and refrainn from actionns that wouldd escalate tennsion.”
“W
Russsia’s foreiggn ministry also signallled supportt for India’ss stand, sayying Moscow stood for “decisive
struuggle againsst terrorism in all its mannifestations.””
“W
We expect thhat the Goveernment of Pakistan
P
shoould take efffective stepss in order too stop the activities of
terrrorist groupss in the territtory of the coountry,” it saaid in a stateement.
S
Presiddent Park Geun Hye toldd Lok Sabhaa Speaker Suumitra Mahaajan that Souuth Korea stood against
In Seoul,
terrrorism in alll forms. To compound matters
m
for Pakistan,
P
proominent inteernal groups pointedly took India’s
sidee. Baloch nationalist
n
leeaders and activists
a
acrross the woorld have weelcomed thee cross-bordder surgical
striikes and callled for such operations
o
too continue.
Meeanwhile, goover nment sources said Indian forces along the LoC haad stepped up
u vigil to thwart any
retaaliatory attaack. India moved
m
extra troops alonng the LoC ahead of thhe surgical strikes, andd on Friday
depployed the air-borne
a
deefence systeem, AWACS. Sources said leave was being restricted for
f military
perrsonnel. “Thhey are unlikely to sitt quiet,” a governmentt source witth knowledge of Indiaa’s military
preeparedness toold Hindustaan Times, refferring to a possible
p
retaaliation from
m across the LoC.
L
Sat, 011 Oct, 2016
Pak Seends Envoyss to Ch
hina, Poost Strrikes
By Dipanjjanroy Chau
udhury
Desperate Measures: Envoys in Ch
hina on Naw
waz Sharif's instructionss to apprise Beijing on situation
alongg J&K bordeer
Pakkistan has ruushed envoy
ys to its all--weather frieend China hours
h
after surgical
s
strikkes across LoC by the
Inddian Army hooping to enliist Beijing's support in itts confrontattion with Deelhi.
Pakkistan Primee Minister Nawaz
N
Shariff 's special envoys
e
Makhhdum Khusrro Bakhtyar and Alam Dad
D Laleka,
botth MPs arrivved in Beijin
ng on Thursdday. “They are
a visiting China
C
on thee instructions of the Prim
me Minister
to apprise the Chinese go
overnment of
o the deteriiorating situuation in Jam
mmu and Kashmir.
K
Theey met Liu
Zheenmin, vice--minister off Foreign Afffairs. They also held a meeting wiith Cai Wu, Vice Chairrman of the
Forreign Affairss Committeee of the Chiinese Comm
munist Party,,“ accordingg to a released issued tooday by the
Pakkistan goverrnment. It may
m be recalled that Pakiistan had sennt its envoyss to Beijing at the heighht of Kargil
Waar in 1999. China, aheaad of the BR
RICS Summ
mit on Octobber 15-16 inn Goa that will
w be attennded by its
Preesident, has taken a guaarded positioon on the Uri
U terror attaacks and surrgical strikes, asking booth sides to
maintain restraint and enterr into a bilateral dialogue.
However, Beijiing is yet to
o back India''s request foor lifting the veto from UN
U 1267 saanctions com
mmittee that
seeeks to ban JeM chief Mau
ulana Ma soood Azhar. Inndia has blam
med JeM forr the Uri strikes as well.
Meeanwhile, evven as the US
U State Department,
D
post-surgicaal strikes, reiterated
r
caall for direcct Indo-Pak
com
mmunicationn to reduce tension
t
in ann indirect diig at Pakistaan asked it too combat annd delegitimiize terrorist
grooups like LeT
T and the Haaqqani Netw
work, Jaishe-M
Mohammadd echoing Deelhi's sentimeents.
“Ouur message to both sidees has been the
t same, inn terms of enncouraging them
t
to increase commuunication to
deaal with this threat
t
and to
o avoid steps that escalaate the tensioons,“ US State Departm
ment spokespperson John
Kirrby said in thhe daily presss briefing onn Thursday.
28
Sat, 011 Oct, 2016
D
Diplom
matic Outrea
O
ach Beaars Fruit, S Asia
A Backs India
Inddia’s diplomatic outreach
h with interrnational com
mmunity has helped it gain
g
more support
s
bothh within the
Souuth Asian reegion on thee “surgical sttrikes” condducted by Inndian Army on terror lauunching padds along the
Linne of Controll.
A day
d after “cclose neighb
bour” Banglladesh annouunced its suupport for thhe Indian acction, Afghaanistan, Sri
Lannka, Maldivees and South
h Korea backked India, while
w
China and
a United Nations
N
askeed India and Pakistan to
exeercise restraiint.
At the same tim
me, Russia asked Pakisstan to stop the activitiees of terror groups on itts soil. Russsia recently
connducted jointt military ex
xercise with Pakistan,
P
andd its reactionn is seen as a snub to Islamabad.
“W
We are conceerned with th
he aggravatiion lately off the situationn along the Line of Conntrol betweenn India and
Pakkistan. We are
a calling on the partiies not to allow
a
any esscalation of tension andd to settle the
t existing
prooblems by political
p
and diplomatic means throough negotiaations. We stand
s
for deecisive strugggle against
terrrorism in alll its manifestations. We expect that the Governm
ment of Pakkistan shouldd take effectiive steps in
ordder to stop the
t activities of terrorisst groups inn the territorry of the coountry,” saidd the Russiian Foreign
Minnistry in a sttatement on Friday.
Staanding firmlyy behind Neew Delhi, Affghanistan teermed India’’s action as an
a act of sellf-defence which
w
it was
justtified to carrry out if cou
untries providde safe haveens to militannts. He addeed time has come
c
to takee tough and
riskky decisions to free the South
S
Asian region from
m terrorism as
a “patience is
i wearing thhin nowadayys.”
“W
We hope that no one willl allow its teerritory as a safe havenn for terrorists to be used against neeighbouring
couuntries. If terrorist group
ps continue to exist witthout action,, no wonder self-defence against suuch terrorist
grooups will bee in the form
m of action that we saw
w,” Afghaniistan ambassador to Inddia Shaida Abdali
A
said
inddicating towaards Pakistan
n. He addedd there was “no doubt” that some countries
c
haad “the doubble standard
appproach” towaards terrorism
m.
Afgghanistan, liike India, to
oo has beenn a victim of
o Pak sponssored terror acts, whichh is why it along with
Banngladesh, annd Bhutan pu
ulled out froom the SAAR
RC summit to be hostedd by Pakistann in Novembber. “Being
seleective againsst terrorism, and that conntinues to exxist, can makke those whoo are affected to decide whether
w
we
shoould continuue our busineess as usual or whether we should think and reethink on ouur approach to regional
affaairs or the mechanism
m
that
t
we havve, especiallyy SAARC. Afghanistan
A
n, because off the evolving security
situuation that iss very seriou
us, will not be able to atteend,” Abdali said.
Whhile condemnning terrorissm, Lanka onn Friday saidd the prevailling environm
ment in the region
r
is nott conducive
for holding thhe Summit in Islamabaad. “Peace and securitty are essenntial elemennts for the success of
meaningful reggional coopeeration for the
t benefit of the peopple of Southh Asia. As a founding member of
SA
AARC, comm
mitted to regional cooperration, Sri Lanka
L
hopes that the stepps required too ensuring our
o region’s
peaace and secuurity will be taken to create
c
an ennvironment that is condducive for the
t pursuit of regional
coooperation. Srri Lanka con
ndemns terroorism in all itts forms andd manifestatiions, and stresses in this regard, the
neeed to deal wiith the issue of terrorism
m in the regioon in a decisive manner,”” the Lankann Foreign Ministry
M
said
in a statement. Sources in Maldives Goovernment while
w
condem
mning Uri teerror attack said the couuntry stands
witth India in itts fight again
nst terrorism
m. “We want to work cloosely with Inndia on counnter terrorism
m. Maldives
wannts conducivve atmospheere for SAA
ARC Summiit to happenn,” sources said.
s
South Korean Pressident Park
Geuun-hye also backed Indiia’s action aggainst terrorr groups after Lok Sabhaa Speaker Suumitra Mahaajan, who is
on a tour to Seooul, explaineed India’s staand against terrorism
t
annd its Thursdday’s surgicaal strikes.
Meeanwhile, Chhina and UN
N tried to pacify both sides
s
asking India Pak to
t exercise restraint. “A
As a shared
neighbour and friend to both
b
India and
a Pakistann we are cooncerned abbout continuuous confronntation and
29
tennsions betweeen India and Pakistan. We call on all relevantt parties to exercise restraint and reefrain from
actiions that woould escalate tension,” Chhinese Foreiign Ministryy spokesman Geng Sheunng said in Beeijing.
UN
N Secretary-G
General Ban
n Ki-moon’ss spokespersson Stephanne Dujarric said
s
the UN
N is followinng the tense
situuation along the LoC witth concern. “The
“
UN Military Obserrver Group for
f India andd Pakistan, UNMOGIP,
U
is aware
a
of thee ceasefire violations andd right now is liaising with
w the concerned authoorities to obbtain further
infoormation,” Dujarric
D
said
d.
Pakkistan Goverrnment did not allow Inndian diplom
mat to particcipate in Assian Trade Promotion
P
F
Forum
CEO
meet in Lahoree by withho
olding travell permissionn of the Tradde Counselllor of Indiann High Com
mmission in
Islaamabad. Thee 29th ATPF
F CEO meet was held inn Lahore on 24-26 Sept and ITPO haad requestedd the Indian
Higgh Commisssion to deputte an officiaal to the evennt because it
i was not poossible for IT
TPO to sendd an officer
from
m India.
Sun, 022 Oct, 2016
P arrmy sa
Pak
ays it’s unawaare about jaw
wan who
w straayed
acrosss bord
der
Missingg 22-year-olld Chavan had crossed de-facto
d
borrder hours affter India’s surgical striikes
Thee Pakistan Army
A
has in
nformed its Indian
I
countterpart that it is not aw
ware of the whereabouts
w
of Chandu
Chaavan, the solldier who inadvertently strayed acrooss the Line of
o Control, according
a
to a media repport.
Chaavan, a 22-yyear-old sold
dier from thhe 37 Rashtrriya Rifles, had
h mistakeenly crossed the de factoo border in
Kasshmir hours after India’s surgical strrikes on terrrorist bases across
a
the LooC on Thurssday. The Indian Army,
in a communiccationwiththeePakistan Arrmy’s militaary operationns directoratte, asked forr Chavan’s release
r
as it
believes he is inn Pakistani custody,
c
the Dawn dailyy quoted a miilitary source as saying.
h Pakistani military operations direectorate, in its
i re ply, exxpressed ignnorance abouut his whereeabouts, the
T he
repport said. Thhe contact to
ook place att the level of
o “duty offiicers” andthheIndiansidew
wastoldthesooldier “was
being traced”.
my reiterated
d on Saturdaay that Chavan had inadvvertently straayed across the LoC andd was being
Thee Indian Arm
held captive byy the Pakistaan Army. A senior officcial said thee Indian direector generall of militaryy operations
hadd taken up the matter with his Pakistani
P
coounterpart. Under
U
a billateral arranngement, sooldiers who
inaadvertently cross
c
the LoC
C are handeed over to thheir side. “H
However, thee level of tennsions betweeen the two
couuntries, partiicularlyafterttheIndianclaaims about ‘ssurgical strikkes’, precluddes any posssibility of coooperation,”
the Dawn reporrted. Jharkhaand Jawan Dies
D At Line Of Control
j
from Jharkhand died
d
while perfor ming his
h duty alonng the LoC on Friday. Although
A
arm
my officers
A jawan
havve contendedd that Francis Horo diedd during patrrolling, his family
f
is still clueless about
a
the reaason behind
his death. Horoo was a resid
dent of Serenngtoli villagee under Lali panchayat inn Ranchi disstrict. He is survived
s
by
wiffe and two daughters.
d
Ho
oro’s wife has
h appealed to the state governmentt to bear the costs of herr daughters’
upbbringing. HT
TC
Sat, 011 Oct, 2016
Pak
P can
n hit back, warns
w
S
Sharif
In an apparentt warning following
f
Thursday’s surgical strikke by Indiaa across the LoC, Pakiistan Prime
n Friday saiid his counntry was cappable of carrrying out similar
s
surggical strikes
Minnister Nawaaz Sharif on
anyywhere in Inndia.
30
Speeaking in a federal
f
cabin
net meeting, Mr Sharif said
s
that Inddia should noot have allegged Pakistan of backing
Urii attack withhin hours afteer the terror strike withouut any invesstigation or evidence.
e
He called Indiaa’s claim of carrying outt the strike inn early hourrs of Thursday after crosssing mined territory as
falsse and said that
t Pakistan
n was capable of covertlyy landing anyywhere in Inndia and exeecuting a pree- meditated
opeeration.
He said that Paakistan wanteed peace to pursue its deevelopment agenda but every Pakistaani was readdy to defend
his motherland if need be.
o the subThee Pakistani Prime Minister stresseed that Kashhmir was ann unfinishedd agenda off partition of
conntinent. Earllier, foreign affairs adviiser to Pakisstan Prime Minister
M
Sarrtaj Aziz saiid that Indiaa was using
divversionary taactics in a bid
b to distrract attentionn of the intternational community
c
from its brrutalities in
Kasshmir.
He said that Paakistan wou
uld confront India diplom
matically buut “our armeed forces aree also fully prepared to
deffend the counntry”.
Sat, 011 Oct, 2016
SAAR
RC sum
mmit ‘p
postponed in
ndefinittely’
Sri La
anka also oppposes meet;; Afghanistaan suggests new approacch
Blaaming India for derailing the SAAR
RC Summit, Pakistan onn Friday annnounced thatt the summitt scheduled
for November 9 and 10 in Islamabad
I
w now be held
will
h on an allternative daate, even as Sri
S Lanka jooined others
in opposing
o
thee summit un
nder the “preevailing enviironment”. Nepal
N
subseqquently issueed an officiaal statement
seeeking an indeefinite postponement of the summit.
“A new set of dates for ho
olding of thee 19th SAAR
RC Summit at Islamabadd will be annnounced sooon, through
the Chair of SA
AARC (Nep
pal). Accordiingly, we haave conveyedd the same to
t the Primee Minister off Nepal, the
currrent Chair of
o SAARC,”” a press reelease from the office of
o the Spokeesperson of Pakistan’s Ministry
M
of
Forreign Affairss said.
On Friday, Sri Lanka joined India, Afgghanistan, Bhhutan and Baangladesh inn demandingg the summitt should not
be held.
h
“Thhe General Provisions
P
off the SAARC
C Charter reequire that decisions at all
a levels shaall be taken on
o the basis
of unanimity,
u
a this appllies to the coonvening Heeads of Statee or Governm
and
ment of SAA
ARC Member States as
welll,” the Sri Lankan
L
Foreeign Ministryy said in a statement, addding, “Sri Lanka
L
condeemns terrorissm in all its
form
ms and mannifestations, and
a stresses in this regarrd the need to
t deal with the issue off terrorism inn a decisive
manner”.
Countering terrror
Adddressing thee media in Delhi,
D
Afghaan envoy Shhaida M. Abbdali demannded that SA
AARC shoulld focus on
couunter-terror initiatives.
i
“SA
AARC has to
t adopt a neew approachh to ensure security
s
for South Asia.. Our previoous approachh in dealing
witth terrorism did not wo
ork. So Afgghanistan has taken the initiative too not particiipate in the Islamabad
Sum
mmit. We would
w
like to
o reach out (to
( Pakistan)) but busineess as usual cannot contiinue as globbal patience
witth terrorism has
h grown th
hin,” Mr. Abbdali said.
In its
i statemennt seeking an
n alternate date
d
for the Summit,
S
Pakkistan blameed India for “impedimennts” for the
eveent and said,, “The decission by India to derail the
t Summit effectively contradicts Prime
P
Minisster Modi’s
own call to figght against poverty
p
in thhe region. Inndia’s decisioon to abstainn from the Summit
S
on the
t basis of
unffounded assuumptions on
n the Uri inncident is a futile effort to divert thhe attention of the worlld from the
atroocities perpeetrated by India in the Inndian Occupiied Jammu & Kashmir.””
31
Meeanwhile, Miinistry of Ex
xternal Affaiirs spokespeerson Vikas Swarup tweeeted, ‘We note
n
Pakistann’s decision
2 postpone SAA
ARC Summ
mit. They’ve been
b
compellled 2 recognnise the regiional sentimeent against terrorism.’
Sun, 022 Oct, 2016
W
Waitin
g Gam
me: Saaarc - Sttuck between
n comaa and death
d
With the canceellation of th
he South Asiian Associattion of Regional Cooperration (Saarcc) summit sccheduled to
be held in Islam
mabad, a deefining mom
ment in the liife of this 300-year institution may have
h
been reeached. The
firsst Saarc sum
mmit was hossted by Dhakka in Decem
mber 1985. Foollowing thaat, heads of government
g
of member
couuntries were expected to
o meet everyy year. Howeever, in the past
p three deecades, one of three Saaarc summits
hass been canceelled. The prrevious hostt (that is the host of the last summitt held beforee any cancellation) has
stayyed on as Saaarc chair fo
or an extended term. Thee country thhat suffered the
t cancellattion has hadd to miss its
turnn and wait for
f the next cycle.
c
Whilee many of thhe cancellations have been due to Inndia-Pakistann problems,
othher issues — the civil waar in Sri Lankka, a coup inn Pakistan — have also interfered.
i
Havving said thaat, there is a sense that thhis cancellattion of 2016 is not a usual one. Something fundaamental has
chaanged in the dynamic wiithin the subcontinent. From
F
a passivve acceptancce of Saarc’ss irreplaceabble role as a
plaatform for economic
e
in
ntegration and
a
developpmental coooperation in the regionn, the Nareendra Modi
govvernment haas changed In
ndia’s approoach. It has created
c
a subb-regional “fast track” inn the form of
o BBIN —
Banngladesh, Bhhutan, India and Nepal. BBIN is now
w the fulcruum of a new regional pollicy that is autonomous
a
of the
t Saarc traap. Separatelly, the bilateeral relationsship betweenn India and Afghanistan
A
, generally strong
s
since
20001, has just weathered its
i greatest challenge
c
in 15 years. This
T
too willl leave its im
mpact on suuspicions of
Pakkistan and thhe willingnesss, in Kabul and New Delhi, to wastte time on a Saarc that Isslamabad is determined
to reduce
r
to subb-optimal ou
utcomes.
Thee birth of BBIN
B
itself was causedd by Saarc’ss failure in 2014 to connclude a mootor vehiclees and road
connnectivity aggreement. Th
his was due to a Pakistaani veto. It led
l to BBIN
N agreeing too such a mottor vehicles
arraangement too facilitate overland
o
tradde. Separateely India beegan speakinng to BBIN partners abbout energy
proojects and thhe broad asspiration forr a commonn power gridd. In Septem
mber 2016, as part of this BBIN
fram
mework, thee first truck from Dhakaa arrived at the
t Inland Customs
C
Deppot in Patparrganj, east Delhi.
D
It had
travvelled close to 2,000 km
m. Its cargo comprised
c
g
garments
andd textile products for thee British retaailer Marks
& Spencer.
S
Consider the irrony. A free-trade and open-borders
o
s zone that vanished
v
as the
t British leeft in 1947,
leavving behind a legacy off political divvisions, wass now being encouragedd to integratee, at least syymbolically,
by a British clieent.
Thee idea of BB
BIN is ripe for
f expansioon. In Octobber, India hoosts the Brics (Brazil, Ruussia, India,, China and
Souuth Africa) summit in
n Goa. Everry Brics suummit host is allowedd to invite guests from
m its nearneighbourhoodd. India has chosen to innvite its Bim
mstec partneers. Bimstecc (the Bay of
o Bengal Innitiative for
Muulti-Sectoral Technical and Econom
mic Cooperaation) is maade up of Bangladesh,
B
Myanmar, Sri Lanka,
Thaailand, Bhuttan and Nep
pal, besides India. Five of Bimstec’s seven meembers are also
a
founderrs of Saarc.
Bim
mstec has a long history
y, going bacck to the 19990s. It was intended
i
as a bridge bettween Aseann/Southeast
Asiia and Southh Asia. Yet, it has donee less well thhan it may have
h
wantedd to, largelyy because inffrastructure
proojects that caan connect these two grreat regions have been delayed.
d
A renewed Bim
mstec thrust is a natural
corrollary to BB
BIN. Achiev
ving meaninggful results with Bimsteec will also strengthen India
I
in its negotiations
n
witthin the Chinna-incubated
d BCIM (Banngladesh-Chhina-India-M
Myanmar Forrum for Regiional Cooperration).
Chiina is the innfrastructuree provider of Asia todayy and the economy witth the greateest capacity to execute
massive, regionnal and sub-regional connnectivity prrojects. Yet, China’s am
mbitions, packkaged togethher as “One
Bellt, One Roaad” are rarely in sync with
w
India’ss needs — except perhhaps in the intersectionn of BCIM,
Bim
mstec and BB
BIN. Here In
ndia can usee Chinese inffrastructure in a potentiaal win-win, presuming
p
thhat Chinese
behhaviour will be reasonab
ble, aimed att economic gains
g
and not politically hostile. A roobust Indiann ownership
of Bimstec
B
willl only shoree up India’s baseline poosition. Otheer than Pakiistan, only tw
wo Saarc coountries are
32
outtside the ambbit of Bimsttec: Afghaniistan and thee Maldives. India’s engaagement witth them will have to be
bilaateral, thouggh the Maldives and Indiia are part off an Indian Ocean
O
marittime securityy troika withh Sri Lanka.
Thee setback to Pakistan in recent timess has come from
fr
Afghanistan.
Whhen Presidennt Ashraf Ghani
G
was elected
e
to office in 20114, he was regarded ass an American-backed
techhnocrat, thee antidote to
o President Hamid
H
Karzzai who the United Stattes no longeer trusted annd who the
Pakkistanis insissted was too
o close to Inndia. Mr Ghaani began byy studiouslyy ignoring New
N Delhi annd reaching
outt to Islamabad and Beijing. Despitee being a heead of goverrnment, he retreated
r
on protocol byy calling on
Genn. Raheel Shharif, the Paakistan Armyy Chief, at thhe latter’s offfice in Raw
walpindi. Subbsequently the generals
in Pakistan
P
reppeatedly stab
bbed the Ghani regime in
i the back (or even thee front). Partt of the US impatience
witth Pakistan is because th
he Americanns are angry that Islamabbad and its proxy
p
jihadissts have sabootaged their
canndidate in Kaabul. Indeed
d,
Mrr Ghani is noow one of Paakistan’s moost bitter andd most credibble critics. Inn response, the US has urged
u
India
to provide weeapons to and
a
enhancce military cooperationn with Afghhanistan, unnmindful off Pakistani
sennsitivities. All
A this has served
s
to givve India moore diplomattic room in recent days.. It was useful as New
Dellhi planned the counter--terrorism opperation across the Linee of Control. A collateraal victim is Saarc, now
redduced to a suubcontinental version of the League of Nations — in the greey zone betw
ween coma annd death. A
cultural rejectioon of its So
outh Asian iddentity has long
l
been a feature of the
t Pakistanni military annd political
elitte. Today, thhis has been answered
a
byy the rest of South
S
Asia politically
p
reejecting Pakiistan. As succh, Pakistan
findds itself meentally in West
W
Asia — though nott accepted as
a an ethnicc equal or even
e
a reliabble security
parrtner by seveeral major Arab
A
states. Simultaneouusly, almostt by a graduual Finlandissation, it is becoming
b
a
vasssal state of China.
C
Saarcc’s successorr organisatioons will not miss
m it.
Sat, 011 Oct, 2016
U.S
S. defen
nce firrms maay gain
n from
m Pak standofff
Technologyy for aircraft
ft carriers, seecured comm
municationss or missiles can come fr
from U.S. bu
usinesses
An expected inncrease in In
ndia’s defencce spending due to the current
c
standd-off with Pakistan has presented
p
a
“treemendous opportunity” to major U.S.
U compannies includinng Boeing, Lockheed
L
M
Martin
and Raytheon
R
to
exppand their Inndian operattions, accordding to the U.S.-India Business
B
Coouncil (USIB
BC) Presideent Mukesh
Aghi.
“Duue to the cuurrent situatiion, India’s spending in defence and security will
w go up drramatically,”” Mr. Aghi
saidd in an intervview. “ ...thee technologyy on big tickket items willl definitely come
c
from thhe U.S., eithher from the
airccraft carrierss or secured communicattions or from
m the missilee side.” “Thee opportunityy for U.S. coompanies is
trem
mendous,” he
h said. “Wee are trying to
t bring in thhe SMEs intto India because in the U.S.
U the SM
MEs have an
ecoosystem arouund Boeing or Lockheeed Martin orr Raytheon to supply coomponents and technologies. That
ecoosystem has to be built in
n India.”
Traade ties
Thee USIBC is a business advocacy
a
orgganisation working
w
to booost India-US ties. The U.S.-India
U
T
Trade
Policy
Forrum (TPF) iss slated to meet
m next weeek. The TPF
F is the mainn bilateral foorum for ‘disscussion andd resolution
of India-US
I
traade and invesstment issuees.’
Mrr. Aghi said with the go
overnment’ss objective to
t bring in more
m
efficieency in the defence
d
secttor through
privvate compannies, the Tatta group, thee Reliance groups
g
and other
o
Indian firms were forming ventures with
foreeign partners in the secto
or to boost innvestments and
a manufaccturing in Inndia.
In June, the Centre had lib
beralised the defence seector by alloowing foreiggn investmeent beyond 49
4 per cent
val in cases where the coountry gets access
a
to moodern technoology.
throough governnment approv
33
In the
t last two years, the defence
d
sectoor attracted FDI worth only
o
a little over Rs onee crore. Besiides, out of
the $288.5 billiion worth FD
DI into Indiia during Appril 2000-Maarch 2016, FDI
F into deffence was a mere $5.12
milllion (or Rs.225.48 crore), with a rankk of 61 of thee 63 sectors under whichh FDI inflow
w was tabulaated.
Mrr. Aghi said defence
d
min
nister Manohhar Parrikar had
h lauded a USIBC repport on suggeestions to im
mprove ease
of doing defennce business in India, inncluding proposals to maintain
m
transsparency, eliminate corrruption and
exppediting government’s decisions on big
b defence purchases.
He warned thatt a lingering
g ‘Bofors Syndrome’ - or a near freeeze by officiials in procuurement due to fear of a
corrruption tag - could harm
m the Centree at a time off escalating tensions
t
betw
ween India and
a Pakistann. Mr. Aghi
saidd U.S. firmss across secttors did not perceive anny risk to theeir Indian opperations duue to the Inddia-Pakistan
stannd-off as “thhey see matu
urity on the part of Indiaan and U.S. leaderships as well as due
d to talks with China
andd Pakistan too ensure the situation
s
doeesn’t go out of control.”
Sun, 022 Oct, 2016
N
Next
U Preesidentt will have
U.S.
h
too review
w Pakiistan policy
p
As India sign
nals end to reestraint, thee next U.S. President
P
willl have to reeview and resstructure itss relations
with
h the old allyy
Inddia’s new sttrategic posture of ‘offfensive defeence’ may have
h
been an outcomee of exasperration with
Pakkistan, but thhe fact that the
t U.S. shaares that exaasperation with its long-ttime ally could bolster New
N Delhi.
In its
i last year, the Obama administratiion has madee that displeeasure with Pakistan
P
cleaar by cuttingg aid, which
alsoo led to the scrapping
s
off the sale of eight
e
F16 figghter planes as scheduledd.
Thee U.S. Conngress cornered the Obaama adminiistration intoo these deccisions, but the next Prresident —
whether it is Republican
R
Donald
D
Trum
mp or Democcrat Hillary Clinton — will
w have to review and restructure
the country’s relations
r
witth Pakistan. The U.S. policy
p
in Affghanistan annd Pakistan has put thee burden of
resttraint on Inddia so far, but
b with Indiia signallingg an end to that
t
restrainnt, the new U.S
U policy will
w have to
factor in the neew Indian po
olicy rather thhan dictate it, altering thhe correlationn between thhe two.
dent, whetheer it is Donaald Trump or Hillary Clinton, will have
h
to revieew the U.S.
“Thhe next Ameerican Presid
pollicy towards Pakistan, particularly with
w regards to its suppoort for terroriist and extreemist groupss,” said Mr.
Zallmay Khalilzzad, former U.S. Ambaassador to Irraq and Afgghanistan, annd an Afghaan-origin man himself.
“Affter evaluatiing the Obam
ma administration’s tracck record on Pakistan, eiither Clintonn or Trump will almost
cerrtainly concluude that a new
n approachh is necessarry — one thhat includes steps aimedd at containinng negative
Pakkistani behaaviour, witho
out ruling out
o some degree of conntinued engaagement,” saaid Lisa Curtis, Senior
Ressearch Felloow at the co
onservative think
t
tank The
T Heritage Foundatioon. Both agrree that this will mean
sym
mpathy for thhe Indian po
osition. “Theey may diffeer in details but not on broad
b
strateggy. The diffe
ference may
be in degree off sympathy and support,” said Mr. Khalilzad, on
o how the new
n adminisstration mighht view the
w Indian possition.
new
Am
merica’s apprroach towarrds India’s Pakistan
P
policy has beenn hinged onn its own poolicy in Af-P
Pak and the
Midddle East. Stabilising
S
Afghanistan
A
a avoidingg the launchh of another 9/11 type teerrorist attacck from the
and
reggion is the coore objectivee. The dangeer of Islamistt groups gettting their hannds on Pakisstan’s nucleaar arsenal is
Am
merica’s worrst nightmarre at this mooment. “Thee Obama addministrationn has tried to
t use engaggement and
largge amounts of U.S. aid to coax chaanges in Pakkistan’s counnter-terrorism
m policies,” points out Ms. Curtis.
Som
me advisers to Mr. Obam
ma also floaated the idea of a civiliann nuclear deal with Pakiistan, so thatt its nuclear
weaapons could be secured.
Pak
k’s nuclear arsenal - Securing
S
Pakkistan’s nuclear arsenal is
i an agendaa even Ms. Clinton
C
and Mr. Trump
cann agree on. “We will help Pakistan stabilise its polity and build an
a effectivee relationship with the
preedominantly young pop
pulation of this strateggically locatted, nuclear--armed couuntry,” the Democratic
D
34
Plaatform said. The Repub
blican docum
ment makes only a crypptic referencce to “securring Pakistann’s nuclear
arseenal” but thee people who
o worked onn the formulaation said thee specifics were
w not disccussed.
By casually ussing the nucclear threatss, Pakistan has
h touchedd a raw nervve in the U.S.
U U.S. offficials have
respponded furioously and fo
or the same reason, the next Presideent unlikely to “isolate”” Pakistan, because
b
that
may be counteerproductive.. “The U.S. does not waant to cut ties with Pakkistan and tuurn the counttry into the
nexxt North Korrea or Iran,” said Ms. Cuurtis. “The U.S.
U policy since 9/11 towards Pakisstan —engaggement, and
ecoonomic and military asssistance — has not worked. Pakisttani supportt for a terroorist group is
i a serious
chaallenge. To cause
c
Pakisttan to changge its behavviour, the neext Presidentt needs to consider
c
sharrpening the
incentives and also consideer available options,”
o
saiid Mr. Khalilzad.
No risk-free options
o
- Ind
dia’s proactivve move agaainst terrorissm could actually help — or could be used by
the new presideent in his or her attemptss to combat global
g
terrorr.
“Paakistan tolerrates and su
upports terroorist groups on its territtory. These groups, usinng Pakistan as a base,
attaack Afghanistan, US perrsonnel and interests in the region and
a India. Thhe victims of
o Pakistan-bbased terror
havve the right of self-defen
nce. Responnding proactiively by attaacking terrorr targets in Pakistan,
P
as the US did
agaainst Talibann leader Mulllah Mansur and al-Qaidda leader Osaama bin Ladden, has the risk of escallation but it
hass the potentiial benefit of increasing Pakistani inncentive to reconsider
r
itts support foor terrorist groups.
g
But
nott escalating pressure on Pakistan byy striking teerrorist targeets in Pakistan is not wiithout risk. The risk in
succh a case is continued
c
teerror. Afghannistan, Indiaa and the U.S. do not haave risk-free options in confronting
c
Pakkistan sponsoored terror,”” said Mr. Khhalilzad.
Mss. Curtis saidd: “Putting prressure on Pakistan-base
P
ed terrorist groups
g
that target India will
w facilitatee the global
fighht against teerrorism. Ass it stands, Pakistan’s support
s
for groups like the Lashkaar-e-Taiba and
a Jaish-eMuuhammad prrovide an overall
o
condducive envirronment for global terrrorists to opperate inside Pakistan.
Pakkistan must finally recog
gnise that itts failure to crack down on these grroups has coontributed too the global
terrrorism probllem. It is wisshful thinkinng to believee that you caan fan the flaames of Islam
mist extremiist ideology
witthout contam
minating the rest of socieety and fuellling global terrorist movvements.” Mr.
M Trump haas said little
aboout his planss to fight teerrorism andd in fact has declared thhat he wantss to keep it all secret annd take the
eneemy by surprrise.
Butt he has decclared that “radical
“
Islaam” is his enemy
e
numbber one, andd India’s poosture will only
o
be too
pleasing for hiim. For Ms. Clinton, whho sees the world from
m a more nuanced persppective, the new
n
Indian
possition will be a catalyst in the form
mation her Soouth Asia poolicy and coould give her greater levverage with
Pakkistan.
Sun, 022 Oct, 2016
‘US mu
ust turrn screws on Pak’
Expperts say Inddian surgicall strikes insidde PoK weree ‘ carefully measured’
i
Pak Occupied
O
Kaashmir ( PoK
K) against teerrorist plannning to sneakk into India
Thee Indian surggical strike inside
for terrorist acttivities was “carefully
“
m
measured”,
a top Americcan think- tannk said on Friday,
F
addinng the onus
for escalation liies purely on
n Pakistan.
“Thhis Indian response
for Indian
r
waas indeed cooming. Bothh as a signaal to Pakisttan and as reassurance
r
dom
mestic audieences. Modi could not let
l the outraage at Uri goo unanswereed,” Ashley Tellis of thhe Carnegie
Enddowment forr Internation
nal Peace, a top
t Americaan think- tankk said.
“Thhe Indian acction was caarefully measured: strikiing at terroriist launch pads was meant to signaal that India
hass not lost its freedom to retaliate,
r
butt puts the onuus of furtherr escalation on
o Pakistan,” Mr Tellis told
t
PTI.
Ressponding to a question, Mr Tellis said the US will counnsel restraintt, but unlesss the adminnistration is
willling to turn the screws on Pakistann— which iss unlikely— India will be
b guided byy its own innterests, not
35
Am
merican pleass for forbearrance. “I thinnk Pakistan has its handds full right now,
n
it is unlikely to respond to the
Inddian action militarily,
m
butt the larger subs
conventtional war aggainst India will continuue,” Mr Telliis said.
Ricck Rossow from
f
the Cen
nter for Straategic and Innternational Studies ( CSIS)
C
recalleed that the hint
h of such
striikes as a posssible tool last year, whenn the Indian Army initiaated an attackk against miilitants in Myyanmar.
“Inndia has alsoo shown oth
her new toools in its connfrontation with Pakistaan, such as withdrawinng from the
upccoming SAA
ARC summitt, building stronger
s
ties with other South Asiann nations, annd using closser security
tiess with the US
U as a hook
k to press for reduced military
m
coopperation withh Modi could not let thee outrage at
Urii go unansw
wered. The Indian actioon was careefully measuured Ashleyy Tellis Carrnegie Endoowment for
Inteernational Peeace Pakistaan,” he said.
“Thhis will likeely keep Islaamabad on its
i toes, though when employing
e
n
new
tools inn such a struuggle, clear
messaging is keey so both siides know thhe others’ inntentions. Thhis will guardd against unanticipated escalation,”
e
Mrr Rossow said.
Acccording to him,
h
followin
ng a numberr of recent provocations that India has
h linked to Pakistanbassed militant
grooups, the govvernment of Prime Minister Narendrra Modi has employed a different seet of tools too respond to
these incitemennts. “These tools may not
n be altoggether new, but the factt that they have
h
been thhe focus of
Inddia’s responsse to Pakistan
n’s incitemeents marks a different approach,” he said.
Mrr Rossow saiid while the Indian ministry of defeence has statted it does not
n plan addditional strikkes, it is not
cleaar whether the
t current tensions
t
betw
ween India and
a Pakistann will escalaate further. “There
“
is cerrtainly little
exppectation thaat Pakistani militants,
m
unnder varying degrees of control by Pakistan’s
P
m
military,
will be deterred
from
m initiating further attaccks,” he saidd.
Sun, 022 Oct, 2016
Indo-Amerrican military
m
y relattionshiip ‘clossest ever’
Inddia- US milittary relationship is the “closest
“
it haas been ever”” and the tw
wo countries are exercising together
by air, land andd sea for the first time, America’s
A
deefence secrettary Ashton Carter has saaid.
He underlinedd that the two
t
great democracies
d
have donee a strategicc and technnological “hhands hake
”.“A
America’ s regional
r
parrtnerships are growing inn number annd strength. The US-Inddia military relationship
r
is the
t closest itt’s ever been
n. Great natiion, large deemocracy,” Mr
M Carter saaid aboard thhe USS Carl Vinson in
Sann Diego on Thursday.
T
“T
Through ourr strategic haandshake wiith America’s reaching west in our re- balance
andd India reachhing east in what Prime Minister ( Narendra)
N
M
Modi
calls hiis Act East Policy,
P
our two
t
nations
are exercising together
t
by air,
a land, andd sea.”
ogical handsshake betweeen the Unitted States and
a India. The
T US- Inddia defence
“Thhere is also a technolo
techhnology andd trade initiaative grasps hands with Prime Miniister Modi’ss Make in Inndia campaiggn, helping
ourr countries move
m
toward
d more diverrse defence coc developm
ment and coo- productionn of weaponns systems,”
Mrr Carter said.. He said thee US is manaaging “historric change” in
i the Asia-P
Pacific regioon.
Sun, 022 Oct, 2016
U.S. flays Pak.
P
foor threeatenin
ng Indiia with
h nucleear
a
attack
Thee United Staates has conv
veyed to Pakkistan that nuuclear threatts are not accceptable, a senior State Department
D
offi
ficial, who did
d not want to be namedd, said. The message waas conveyedd after Pakisstan’s Defence Minister
36
Khawaja Muhaammad Asiff said twicee in the spaan of a weeek that his country couuld use tactical nuclear
weaapons againsst India.
“W
We made thatt clear to th
hem. Repeateedly,” the official said when
w
askedd whether thee U.S has conveyed
c
to
Pakkistan that no
n nuclear caapable counttry is expectted to threatten anyone with
w the use of nukes. “We haven't
keppt the devicees that we have
h
just as showpiecess. But if ourr safety is thhreatened, we
w will annihhilate them
[Inddia],” Mr. Asif
A had said..
“It is very conccerning, it iss a serious thing,”
t
the U.S
U official said adding that the U.S
S has been urging
u
both
couuntries to “pull back and
d de-escalatee.” “At the same
s
time, we
w have madde it very cleear that whaat happened
in the
t Indian Army
A
base in Uri is an act of cross-boorder terrorissm,” the offiicial added.
Thee U.S is conncerned abou
ut the safetyy of Pakistanni nuclear weapons
w
otheerwise also, the official said. “The
safe
fety of these weapons is always a cooncern for uss. So we aree always moonitoring it, regardless
r
of what they
saidd on this parrticular occasion,” he saiid.
Kerry’s role
Meeanwhile, Staate Departm
ment spokespeerson Mark Toner said the
t U.S Secrretary of Statte John Kerrry is talking
to the
t Indian leadership to
o ensure thaat the situation does nott escalate. “…we’re verry concernedd about the
situuation there.. We don’t want
w
to see it escalate any further. And as parrt of that cooncern, the Secretary
S
is
cerrtainly engagged and talkiing to cIndiaan leadershipp – senior Inndian leaderrship,” Mr. Toner
T
said. Responding
R
to what
w
he term
med as “rheto
oric from the Pakistani Government
G
t and the posssibility of using
u
nukes”” Mr. Toner
saidd: “I would just say nucclear-capablee states havee a very cleaar responsibbility to exerrcise restrainnt regarding
nucclear weaponns and missiile capabilitiies. And thaat’s my messsage publiclly and that’ss certainly our message
direectly to the Pakistani
P
autthorities.”
We understannd that the Pakistani
P
andd Indian miilitaries havee been in coommunicatioon and we believe
b
that
“W
conntinued communication between theem is importtant to reducce tensions. I think we don’t
d
— certtainly don’t
wannt to see anny kind of esscalation andd any — annd certainly any kind off break in thhat communiication. We
havve repeatedlyy and consiistently exprressed our concerns
c
reggarding the danger that cross-bordeer terrorism
posses for the reegion, and th
hat certainlyy includes the recent attaacks – terroriist attacks inn Uri. And we
w continue
to urge
u
actionss to combat and delegittimise, terrorrist groups like
l
Lashkarr-e Tayyiba, Haqqani Network,
N
as
welll as Jaish-e--Mohammad
d,” he said.
Sat, 011 Oct, 2016
US Urges In
ndia, Pak to Avoid Tensions
Folllowing Indiia’s surgical strike againnst terror lauunch pads accross the Linne of Controol and Pakistan’s tough
talkk, the Unitedd States has urged
u
both countries
c
to avoid
a
steps that
t escalate tensions.
In almost
a
identtical commen
nts, both thee White Houuse and the State
S
Departm
ment also maade it clear yet
y again to
Islaamabad that it must tak
ke “effectivee action to combat
c
and de-legitimise” UN-desiggnated terrorist entities
succh as Lashkaar-e-Tayyebaa, Jaish-e-Moohammad annd the Haqqaani Networkk.
“W
We encouragee continued discussions between Inndia and Pakkistan to avooid escalation,” White House
H
Press
Seccretary Josh Earnest told
d reporters and
a referred to Nationall Security Adviser Susann Rice’s teleephone talk
witth her Indiann counterpartt, Ajit Dovall.
Staating that Washington “ccontinues too be concernned by the danger
d
that cross-border
c
r terrorism poses
p
to the
reggion”, Earnesst said: “Thee United Staates fully exppects that Paakistan will take
t
effectivve action to combat
c
and
delegitimize UN
N-designated terrorist inndividuals annd entities.”
U remains firmly com
mmitted to itss partnershipp with Indiaa and to joinnt efforts to
Whhile reiteratinng that the US
com
mbat terrorissm, Earnest said,
s
“We’ree prepared too deepen colllaboration on UN terroriist designatioons. At the
37
sam
me time, wee continue to
t be in cloose contact with Pakisttan, and wee continue to
t value thee important
parrtnership thatt we have fo
ormed with thhem on a rannge of issuess, including security issuues.”
At the State Deepartment, sp
pokesman Joohn Kirby saaid: “Our meessage to botth sides has been the sam
me in terms
of encouraging
e
g them to inccrease comm
munication to
t deal with this threat and
a to avoidd steps that escalate
e
the
tennsions.”
“I’m
m not goingg to get into characterisiing each andd every stepp along the way
w there. But
B obviouslly, what we
wannt to see is increased
i
co
ooperation aggainst what is a very shhared commoon threat forr both counttries, and to
seee steps beingg taken to deaal with it by all sides,” he
h said.
owing the siituation clossely, Kirby said, “We also
a
understaand that the Indian and
Noting that thee US is follo
Pakkistani militaries have been
b
in com
mmunication. We believve that contiinued comm
munication iss obviously
impportant to redduce tension
ns.”
Connfirming US
S Ambassado
or Richard Verma’s
V
retuurn to New Delhi
D
cancellling his offiicial engagem
ments here,
Kirrby said, “M
My understanding is that he believed that it was appropriate
a
f him to goo back…Obbviously it’s
for
a very dynamicc situation, and
a he felt it was prudentt to go back.. And we suppport that.”
Sun, 022 Oct, 2016
Pak''s nukee talk explod
e
des in itts face, US coondem
mns
thrreats as supp
port forr Indiaa swells
Waashington: Pakistan has received yett another puublic smack--down from the United States for itss loose talk
on the use of nuclear
n
weaapons againsst India. Thiis came as Islamabad's
I
efforts to seeek the intervention of
the United Natiions and majjor world poowers in its spat
s with Neew Delhi ran aground.
On Friday, Obaama administration officcials very blluntly disparraged "somee of the rhettoric from thhe Pakistani
govvernment" about
a
the possibility
p
o using nukkes, saying,, "nuclear-ccapable states have a very clear
of
respponsibility to exercise reestraint regarrding nucleaar weapons and
a missile capabilities"
c
.
Thee put-down by State Deepartment sppokesman Mark
M
Toner came in ressponse to quuestions about Pakistan
deffence ministeer Khwaja Asif
A 's remarrks that his country
c
was prepared to use nuclearr weapons aggainst India
andd that (the weapons)
w
"weere not show
wpieces". Assif 's commeents accentuaated Pakistann's slack nucclear policy
thaat has long innvited intern
national censure. The reemarks from
m the state deepartment sppokespersonn follow the
revvelation that US presiden
ntial nomineee Hillary Cllinton was worried
w
abouut Pakistan's nuclear weaapons being
takken over by jihadis throug
gh a coup too give rise too nuclear-arm
med suicide bombers.
b
In course of thhe US dressiing-down too its one-tim
me ally, Toneer also conffirmed Washhington's staand that the
assault on the Uri
U brigade headquarterrs in Kashmiir was an off
ffshoot of thee cross-bordder terrorism
m emanating
from
m Pakistan.
"W
We have conssistently expressed our concerns
c
reggarding the danger
d
that cross-border
c
terrorism pooses for the
reggion, and thaat certainly in
ncludes the terrorist attaacks in Uri,"" Toner saidd, urging Pakkistan to takee actions to
"coombat and deelegitimize" terrorist grooups like Lasshkare-Taibaa, Haqqani Network,
N
andd Jaish-e-Moohammad.
Thee groups aree widely seen
n as state prroxies, nurtuured by weappons and funnds from staate coffers ass part of its
irreegular warfaare against India.
I
Pakisttan's denialissts, includinng its cabineet ministers and top offi
ficials, have
takken to alleginng that Indiaa staged the Uri attack in
i a false flaag operationn to vilify Paakistan, or thhat it is the
work of Kashm
miri separatiists. But thee country's loong and weell-establisheed reputationn as a terrorrist swamp,
b Laden annd dozens off other terroorists, makess this a hardd sell in the
higghlighted by its hosting of Osama bin
gloobal forum.
Pakkistan's attem
mpt through
h the week to
t rouse the UN Securitty Council, the P-5 natiions, and itss purported
alliies to its trouubles with In
ndia met witth no visiblee success at the
t UN. Eveen its much--vaunted allyy China has
38
toldd Pakistan too sort out thee problems peacefully
p
a bilaterallly, even as itt extended thhe "technicaal hold" that
and
balked efforts to
t put JeM chief Masoodd Azhar on a UN terror list.
l
Inddian officialss were pleaseed that there has been noo adverse reaaction to the surgical striike across thhe LoC — a
cauuse Pakistan itself helped by claiminng there was no such raaid. In fact, a flurry of messages
m
froom key US
law
wmakers in the
t wake off the strike indicate
i
New
w Delhi has Congressional support for its efforrt to thwart
Pakkistan-sponsored terrorissm, besides that
t of the Obama
O
adminnistration.
"Urri attack agaainst India was
w horrific. Prayers arre with victims' familiess. I will conntinue to folllow India's
subbsequent couunter terrorissm op closelly," Congresssman Stenyy Hoyer, the Democratic whip in thee US House
of Representati
R
ives tweeted
d on Friday. "Our sympaathy and suppport go out to
t India as thhey work to counter the
terrrorism they faced in thee Uri attack,," said Conggressman Peete Olson froom Texas, thhe vice-chaiir of House
Eneergy and Pow
wer Committtee.
Pakkistan also tied itself in knots by seeking UN
N interventiion on Kashhmir despite openly hoosting UNdessignated terroorists, one of whom, Haafiz Saeed, tw
weeted threaats against Inndia through the week.
Sun, 022 Oct, 2016
U to Pak:
US
P
N-Capa
N
able Sttates Must
M
Exxercisee Restrraint
Thee loose talk by Pakistan
n’s Defence Minister Khhawaja Muhhammad Asif on possiblle use of nukkes if India
werre to threatenn its safety has
h prompted the Unitedd States to teell Islamabadd in categoriccal terms thaat “nuclearcappable States have
h
a very clear responnsibility to exxercise restraint”.
Quuestioned on some of thee recent rhettoric from thhe Pakistanii Governmennt, notably the
t possibiliity of using
nucclear weaponns, State Dep
partment depputy spokespperson Markk Turner toldd reporters on
o Friday, “II would just
sayy nuclear-cappable states have a veryy clear responsibility too exercise reestraint regaarding nucleaar weapons
andd missile cappabilities.”
“Annd that’s my
m message publicly andd that’s certtainly our message
m
direectly to the Pakistani authorities,”
a
Tonner said, whhen asked ab
bout the touggh talk by Pakistan
P
whiich, unlike Inndia, does not
n have a “nno-first use
pollicy” relatingg to nuclear weapons.
w
Thee Pakistani Defence Miinister had boasted
b
in a recent TV interview thhat the counntry had devveloped the
“tacctical devicees” for its prrotection annd not to be kept as “shoowpieces”, reportedly
r
addding: “If our safety is
threeatened, we will annihilaate them.”
Thee State Depaartment com
mment came on a day whhen The New York Tim
mes, citing a leaked audiio, reported
thaat Democratic presidentiaal nominee Hillary
H
Clintton had voicced her concern over saffety of Pakistan’s nukes
in the
t event of a coup and takeover
t
of the
t governm
ment by jihaddists.
“Paakistan is runnning full sp
peed to develop tactical nukes
n
in their continuingg hostility with
w India,” Clinton
C
was
quooted as sayinng at a partty fund-raiseer event in Virginia bacck in Februuary, adding:: “We live in
i fear that
they’re going to have a cou
up, that jihaddists are goiing to take over
o
the goveernment, theey’re going to
t access to
nucclear weapoons, and you
u’ll have suuicide nucleear bomberss. So, this could not be
b a more threatening
sceenario.”
Askked if Washhington had any
a pre-knowledge of thhe Indian suurgical strikee across the Line of Conntrol, Toner
saidd: “No, I doon’t have any
ything for yoou on that, sorry.”
s
Whille the US haas high-levell engagemennt with both
Inddia and Pakisstan, it is forr the governm
ments themselves to say what happenned, he said.
39
Sat, 011 Oct, 2016
C
Chines
e posittion on
n Pak. terrorrism wiill be clearer
c
r next
w
week
Chiina has described itself as
a a “friendlyy neighbour to India andd Pakistan” in
i the wake of
o tensions between
b
the
twoo countries, but
b its equiv
vocation on terrorism
t
willl come to a head at the United
U
Natioons on Mondday.
A ‘technical hold’
h
that Ch
hina put on a move iniitiated by Inndia to desiignate Jaish--e-Mohamm
mad founder
Maazhood Azhaar a terrorist will lapse neext week.
Chiina’s move in the Secu
urity Council was at thee instance off Pakistan, and
a unless it
i positivelyy decides to
exttend the holdd, it expires on
o Monday after
a
a six-m
month periodd.
Chiina can exteend the ‘hold
d’ by three more
m
monthhs, or block the move alltogether. Iff the hold lappses due to
Chiines inactionn, Azhar wiill be designnated a terroorist by the UN. Pakistaan will facee the embarrrassment of
hossting anotherr UN designated terrorisst and face innternational pressure
p
for action againnst him.
Azhhar was amoong the terro
orists releaseed by India following
f
thee hijacking of
o IC-814 in 1999. Indiaa has named
him
m as the masttermind of th
he terrorist attack
a
on Patthankot military base earrly this year.
JeM
M is already is a designaated terroristt organisatioon, though itss leader is a not a UN designated
d
teerrorist. The
exttent that Pakkistan went to
o get a Chinnese hold on designatingg him a terroorist shows how
h
importaant Azhar in
the ISI’s schem
me of things, according too Indian dipllomats.
Alll countries inn the 15-meember Securrity Council barring Chiina, have suppported the move co-spponsored by
the U.S., the U.K.
U
and Fraance. China has earlier also delayeed moves aggainst Pakisttan-based terrror groups
nd Lashkar-ee-Taiba.
succh as Jamaat-ud-Dawa an
Whhen the UNS
SC meets ass al-Qaeda, Taliban
T
and and Islamicc State Sancctions Comm
mittees, it woorks on the
prinnciple of ‘uunanimity and
a
anonym
mity’ – a siingle membber’s opposiition amounnt to a vetto, and the
deliberations annd the votin
ng will remaiin secret. Thhis amounts to allowing a “hidden veto”
v
for eveery member
of the
t Council,, Syed Akbaaruddin, Perm
manent Reprresentative of
o India to thhe UN told an
a open debaate in June,
when the Chineese put the hold.
h
Earrlier this weeek, the issuee figured in the
t phone coonversation between Naational Securrity Adviser Ajit Doval
andd his U.S. coounterpart Su
usan Rice.
A ‘technical
‘
hoold’ Beijing put on Indiia’s move to designate Mazhood
M
Azh
har a terrorrist set to lappse
Sat, 011 Oct, 2016
Ru
ussia too Pak: Contaain Terrrorism
m
Ru
ussia on Friiday said it expected Isslamabad too take "effective" stepss to stop thee activities of
o terrorist
grooups in its territory as
a it voiced concern over "aggraavation" of the situation along th
he Line of
Control betweeen India an
nd Pakistan..
It also
a
asked the
t two neig
ghbours not to allow anny escalationn of tensionn and settle their disputtes through
neggotiations.
In a statement, Russia said it stands forr "decisive sttruggle" agaainst terrorism
m in all its manifestation
m
ns.
"W
We are conceerned with th
he aggravatiion lately off the situatioon along the line of conntrol betweenn India and
Pakkistan.
40
"W
We are callingg on the parrties not to allow
a
any esscalation of tension andd to settle the existing problems by
pollitical and diiplomatic means
m
throughh negotiatioons. We stannd for decisive struggle against terroorism in all
its manifestatio
m
ons.
"W
We expect that the Goveernment of Pakistan
P
shoould take efffective stepss in order too stop the activities
a
of
terrrorist groupss in the territtory of the coountry," the Russian Forreign Ministrry said in a statement.
s
Thee statement came amid heightened tension betw
ween India and
a Pakistann after the Inndian Army carried out
surrgical strikess on seven terror launch pads
p
across the LoC on the
t interveniing night of September 28
2 and 29.
Sat, 011 Oct, 2016
India
a, Pak calm
c
d
down:
C
China
& Russsia
Islaamabad's cloosest ally Ch
hina called upon
u
India and
a Pakistann to exercisee restraint foollowing Inddian Army's
striikes on terror pads across the LoC.
Hoping India and Pakistaan would address
a
theirr problems through diialogue, Chiinese foreiggn ministry
G
Sheun
ng told reporrters in Beijiing, “We caall on relevaant parties too exercise reestraint and
spookesperson Geng
refrrain from actions that wo
ould escalatee tension.“
Chiina refrainedd from tickiing off Pakiistan on thee terror grouups it nurturres, though some amonng them are
knoown to trainn Xinjiang's Uighur miliitants. “As a shared neighbour and friend to booth India annd Pakistan,
we''re concerned about conttinuous conffrontation, teensions betw
ween India annd Pakistan,““ Geng said..
“Chhina has beeen in commu
unication wiith both counntries to enhhance comm
munication annd resolve diifferences,“
he said. China has refused
d to allow UNSC's
U
12677 committee to ban Jaish-eMohamm
med's Masoood Azhar, a
sorre point withh India.
Russsia, whose army is in a first-ever exercise
e
withh Pakistan, called
c
on Isllamabad to “take effectiive steps to
stopp activities of
o terror grou
ups inside thhe country“. The Russiann statement came a day after India said
s it acted
agaainst terror laaunch pads in
i Pakistan.
Sayying Russia stood for “d
decisive struuggle againstt terrorism inn all its mannifestations“, Moscow added to the
voiices asking India and Pak
kistan to de--escalate tensions.
Russsia would normally
n
hav
ve been one of the first to
t stand by India,
I
but itss statement appeared
a
to take a more
eveen-handed appproach.
Com
mmending India's
I
actio
ons against Pakistan-bas
P
sed terroristss, Afghan am
mbassador to
t India Shaaida Abdali
toldd a presser, “If
“ terror gro
oups continuue violence, the
t actions taken
t
(by Inddia) will conntinue.
Sat, 011 Oct, 2016
C
China
calls
c
foor restrraint as
a tensiions sim
mmer
Exppressing conncern over th
he “continuoous confronttation and teensions” betw
ween India and
a Pakistann, China on
Fridday called on both partiees to exercisse restraint annd refrain frrom escalatioon of tensionns.
“Ass a shared neighbour and friend to both Inndia and Paakistan we are concerrned about continuous
connfrontation and
a tensions between Inndia and Pakkistan,” Chinnese foreign ministry spokesman Geeng Sheung
toldd media brieefing here on
n Friday.
“W
We call on alll relevant paarties to exerrcise restrainnt and refrainn from actioons that wouuld escalate tension,”
t
he
saidd replying too a question on Indian suurgical strikkes on the lauunching padds of the terroorists along the Line of
Conntrol.
41
He said Chinaa hopes thaat both partties would properly adddress their differences though diaalogue and
connsultation annd deescalatee tensions ass soon as posssible.
“Siince there haas been tensions between India and Pakistan, China has beeen in commuunication wiith both the
couuntries to exeercise restraiint, enhance communicaation and prooperly resolvve differencees,” he said, adding that
Chiina will conttinue to work
k on the twoo sides for peeace talks.
On Thursday before
b
the news of Indiaa’s surgical strikes brokke out, Mr Geng
G
had saaid China was
w in touch
witth India and Pakistan thrrough differeent channelss to bring dow
wn their tennsions, urgingg them to prroperly deal
witth their differences and work
w
jointly to maintain peace and security of thhe region.
Askked at whatt level Chinaa was in touuch with booth the counttries, Mr Geeng said Chhina maintainns frequent
enggagement at different lev
vels with botth India and Pakistan.
Sat, 011 Oct, 2016
Hilllary feears coup in Pak
P may spaawn suiicide NN
boomberss
Jihaddis Could Taake Over Its Govt: Clintoon
New
w Delhi callling Pakistan
n's nuclear bluff
b
-with Inndian speciaal forces breeaching the LoC
L to neutrralise terror
lauunch pads -- barely mad
de a public ripple
r
in a country
c
that has long evvoked fearfuul scenarios of a South
Asiian Armagedddon. But Pakistan's
P
nuuclear advennturism and domestic vuulnerability are never faar from the
minnd of the Am
merican lead
dership goinng by comm
ments from thhe two princci- ple Presiidential canddidates that
preedate this weeek's action.. After Repuublican nom
minee Donaldd Trump pleedged to seccure Pakistaan's nuclear
arseenal becausee of the cou
untry's chronnic instabilityy, his Demoocratic rival Hillary Clinnton is conceerned about
the spectre of Pakistani
P
nu
uclear suicidde bom bers.. In commennts at a funddraiser in Viirginia reprooduced in a
connservative puublication affter a 50-miinute audio was
w hacked from Demoocratic Partyy computers, Clinton is
heaard worryingg about Pakistan "runninng full speedd to develop tactical nukees in their coontinuing hoostility with
Inddia". Clintonn's remarks came
c
in respponse to a question
q
aboout moderniising the US
S arsenal wiith nucleararm
med cruise missiles,
m
(wh
hich she says he is againnst), but shee goes beyonnd that to reeflect on nucclear issues
worldwide, zerroing in on the vulnerabbility of Pakkistan's weaapons as a major
m
threat. "We live in
i fear that
they're going too have a cou
up, that jihaddists are goinng to take ovver the goveernment, theyy're going too get access
y
have suicide nucclear bombeers. So, this could not be a more threatening
to nuclear weaapons, and you'll
sceenario," she says.
s
Herr remarks seets the stage for further issolation of Islamabad regardless of who
w wins the Novemberr election.
Notwithstandinng the setbacck in the US
S, Pakistan's UN envoy Maleeha
M
Lodhi sought to
t bring to thhe attention
of the
t UNSC president
p
"thee dangerous situation buuilding up ....as a result of
o Indian proovocation". "Pakistan
"
is
shoowing maxim
mum restrain
nt but there are
a limits to our restraintt if India conntinues with provocationns," she told
repporters.
On Friday , eveen as India turned
t
its atttention to thhe regional grouping
g
BIM
MSTEC, whhich is essentially Saarc
nistan plus Myanmar,
M
P
Pakistani
anaalysts were gushing
g
about support from
f
China,
minnus Pakistann and Afghan
Russsia, Saudi Arabia,
A
Turk
key , and Inndonesia, whhich they couunt as their new allies. But
B not one among the
fivee countries has
h shown th
he slightest hint
h of backing Islamabaad in its face-off with Inddia.
Truump accusedd of embargo
o breach
A new
n report has
h said Donald Trump sought
s
to invvest in Cuba in the late 1990s, raisingg the possibility that he
vioolated US law
w. According
g to a Newsw
week report,, Trump Hottel executivees visited thee island in 19998 to meet
witth officials thhere about doing
d
businesss. His firm reportedly spent over $668,000 on thhe trip.
42
Under a five-ddecades-old trade embarrgo US citizzens are bannned from spending anny funds on the island.
IAN
NS
Waatch ‘sex tape’ of diva baacking Hillarry: Don
In a clash that took
t
the pressidential conntest into thee gutter, Donnald Trump on
o Friday urrged voters too check out
an alleged “sexx tape” of fo
ormer Miss Universe Alicia
A
Machaado, who baccks Hillary Clinton, proovoking the
Dem
mocrat to firre back that he is “unhinnged”. Trum
mp accused Clinton
C
of helping her get
g US citizeenship so as
to exploit herr during th
heir presidenntial debatee this weekk. Machadoo says Trump called her “Miss
Housekeeping””, apparently
y because shee is Latina. AFP
A
Sun, 022 Oct, 2016
K
Kerry’s
s meet with Syrian
S
s reveaals frustratioon with
h U.S.
policcy movves
U.S. Seccretary of State
S
John Kerry
K
was cleearly exasperated, not leeast at his ow
wn governm
ment.
Over and over,, he complained that his diplomatic efforts on Syyria had nott been backeed by a serious threat of
S. military force. He bemoaned
b
R
Russia’s
conntinued bom
mbing of ciivilians, its seeming diisregard of
U.S
inteernational laaw, and his in
nability to sttop it.
Butt then Mr. Kerry
K
did so
omething thaat astonishedd the Syriann civilians att the table: He
H suggesteed that they
parrticipate in elections
e
witth President Bashar Al-A
Assad, five years
y
after President
P
Barack Obamaa demanded
thaat the Syrian leader at thee heart of thee war step doown.
Extternal interrvention?
“Soo you think the only so
olution is forr somebodyy to come inn and get ridd of Assad??” Mr. Kerryy asked the
grooup, accordinng to a recorrding of the meeting obttained by Thhe New Yorkk Times . “W
Who’s that gooing to be?”
he asked. “Whho’s going to
o do that?” A woman inn the group responded bluntly.
b
“Thhree years aggo, I would
sayy: you,” the woman,
w
Marrcell Shehwaaro, told Kerrry. “But righht now, I donn’t know.”
Thee meeting, which
w
took place on thhe sidelines of the UN
N General Assembly
A
in New York last week,
proovides a searring glimpse into Mr. Keerry’s frustraation with the Syrian crissis — and thhe depths of despair and
angger Syrians who
w oppose their governnment feel abbout Americca’s inabilityy, or unwillinngness, to ennd the war.
Mrr. Kerry’s fruustrations an
nd dissent within
w
the Obbama adminnistration havve hardly beeen a secret.. But in the
recorded conveersation, Mrr. Kerry lam
mented being outmanoeuuvred by the Russians, expressed
e
disagreement
witth some of Mr.
M Obama’ss policy decisions and saaid Congress would neveer agree to usse force.
“I think
t
you’ree looking att three people, four peoople in the administratio
a
on who havee all arguedd for use of
forcce, and I losst the argumeent,” Mr. Keerry told the group. Refeerring to cheemical weapoons, he addeed, “I’m the
guyy who stoodd up and ann
nounced, ‘W
We’re going to attack Assad
A
becausse of the weeapons,’ andd then, you
knoow, things evvolved.”
In the
t meeting,, Mr. Kerry veered
v
betw
ween voicing sympathy for
fo the Syrianns’ frustratioon with U.S.. policy and
tryiing to justifyy that policy
y. But as the recording shhowed, he has also beenn unable to sell Syrian oppponents of
Mrr. Assad, likee the ones in that room, on
o a policy he
h does not wholehearted
w
dly believe in.
i
Thee conversatioon took placce days after a brief ceasefire, spearhheaded by Mr.
M Kerry, cruumbled. At the
t meeting
lastt week, Mr.. Kerry tried
d to explainn that the United
U
Statess had no legal justificaation for attacking Mr.
Asssad’s governnment, whereeas Russia had
h been inviited in by the governmennt.
43
“Thhe problem is
i the Russiaans don’t caare about intternational laaw, and we do,” he saidd. Several off the Syrian
parrticipants saiid after-ward
d that they had
h left the meeting
m
dem
moralised, coonvinced thatt no further help would
com
me from the Obama adm
ministration.
At one point, Mr.
M Kerry ex
xplained in stark
s
terms the
t distinctioons that the United
U
Statees was makinng between
com
mbatants, whhich have up
pset the Syrian opposition. The Uniited States wants
w
the rebbels to help it fight the
Islaamic State annd al-Qaeda because, as he put it, “bboth have baasically declaared war on us.”
u
Butt Washingtoon will not join
j
the sam
me rebels in fighting Heezbollah, thee Lebanese Shia
S
militia allied with
Asssad, even thhough the Un
nited States lists Hezboollah as a terrrorist groupp like the others. “Hezbbollah,” Mr.
Kerrry explained, “is not plo
otting againsst us.” — Neew York Tim
mes News Seervice
Sat, 011 Oct, 2016
‘Chin
na can’t pick,, choosse prin
nciples to ben
nefit froom’
Chiina cannot “pick
“
and cho
oose” princiiples it wantss to benefit from
f
and thoose it preferss to try to unndercut, US
Deffence Secrettary Ashton Carter has said, amid flexing
f
of muscles
m
by Beijing
B
in thee disputed South
S
China
Seaa.
Noting that thee US has “sserious conccerns” over China’s recent actions, including in the seas, Carter said
m
to app
ply to everyy nation “eqqually”. “Thee United Staates still hass serious conncerns with
prinnciples are meant
som
me of China’’s recent actiions on the seas,
s
in cybeerspace, and elsewhere,” he said.
Sun, 022 Oct, 2016
US, South Korea's
K
s anti-m
missilee system
m will promp
pt a
'ccounterr attacck': Ch
hinese media
m
I July, Seou
In
ul agreed wiith Washinggton to deplooy the US TH
HAAD anti--missile systeem to protecct against
any North
h Korean th
hreats.
Beiijing: The United
U
Statess and South Korea are destined
d
to "pay
"
the price" for theirr decision too deploy an
advvanced missiile defence system
s
that will inevitabbly prompt a "counter attack",
a
Chinna's top new
wspaper said
on Saturday.
Tennsion on the Korean pen
ninsula has been
b
high thiis year, beginning with North
N
Koreaa's fourth nucclear test in
Jannuary, whichh was follow
wed by a saatellite launcch, a string of tests of various misssiles, and itts fifth and
larggest nuclear test last mon
nth.
In July,
J
South Korea agreeed with the United
U
Statees to deploy the US Terrminal High Altitude Arrea Defence
(TH
HAAD) anti--missile systtem to protecct against anny North Korrean threats.
Souuth Korea aims to deploy
y the system
m on a golf coourse, a defeence ministryy official saiid on Friday.
Butt the plan haas angered China,
C
whichh worries thaat THAAD's powerful raadar would compromise its security
andd do nothingg to lower tem
mperatures on
o the Koreaan peninsula..
In a commentaary, the rulin
ng Communnist Party's official
o
Peopple's Daily said China's opposition to
t THAAD
would never chhange as it was
w a serious threat to thee regional strrategic securrity balance..
"Liike any otheer country, China
C
can neeither be vaggue nor indiifferent on security
s
mattters that afffect its core
inteerests," the newspaper
n
said
s
in the commentary,
c
, published under the peen name "Zhong Shengg", meaning
"Vooice of Chinna", often useed to give viiews on foreign policy.
44
Thee United Staates and Sou
uth Korea haave to wake up to the facct that the Korean peninnsula is no pllace to take
riskks, it added.
"If the United States
S
and So
outh Korea harm
h
the straategic securiity interests of countries in the regioon including
Chiina, then theey are destin
ned to pay thhe price for this
t and receeive a propeer counter atttack," the paaper added,
witthout elaboraating.
Chiina has repeeatedly prom
mised to takee specific steeps to responnd since the THAAD deecision was announced,
butt has given no
n details abo
out what it may
m do.
t Defence Ministry saiid China "m
means what itt says" on coonsidering coountermeasuures against
On Thursday, the
TH
HAAD.
Thee United Sttates and So
outh Korea have said THAAD doees not threaaten China's security or target any
couuntry other thhan North Korea.
K
Chiina is Northh Korea's mo
ost important diplomaticc and econom
mic partner, but Beijing has been innfuriated by
its nuclear
n
and missile testss and has siggned up for strong
s
Unitedd Nations saanctions agaiinst North Korea.
K
However, Chinna has contin
nued to call for talks to resolve the North Korean issue andd said sanctiions are not
the ultimate sollution.
Sat, 011 Oct, 2016
S. Korea
K
picks new
n sitte for missile
m
es
p
golf course
c
in So
outh Korea’ss southeast has
h been chosen as the neew site for an
a advanced US missile
A private
deffense system
m to be deplloyed by thhe end of neext year to protect
p
agaiinst North Korean
K
threaats, Seoul’s
Deffense Ministtry said Frid
day. South Korean
K
militaary officials in
i July origiinally pickedd a nearby arrtillery base
in the
t rural farm
ming town of
o Seongju ass the site for the Terminaal High-Altittude Area Defense,
D
or THAAD.
T
Butt Seongju residents fierrcely protessted the plann, expressinng concern over
o
potentiial health haazards they
believe the sysstem’s poweerful radar might
m
cause. The golf coourse ownedd by South Korea’s
K
Lottte business
grooup is also within
w
Seong
gju, but locatted farther from
f
the tow
wn’s main residential areeas. Howeveer, residents
of Gimcheon
G
ciity, which bo
orders the coourse, have protested
p
thee expected move.
m
Thee new site was
w selected after a monnth-long insppection and was
w approveed by the defense ministters of both
the United Stattes and South
h Korea, Seooul’s Defensse Ministry said
s in a stattement. A miinistry note provided
p
to
law
wmakers desccribed the go
olf course ass ideal .
Sat, 011 Oct, 2016
Afterr 12 years, Roosetta spaceccraft bound
b
for com
met
t
tomb
Eurrope’s Rosettta spacecrafft was headiing on Fridaay for a misssion-ending crash into thhe comet it has stalked
for two years, a dramatic co
onclusion too a 12-year odyssey
o
to deemystify ourr Solar Systeem’s origins..
Sennt by groundd controllers on a leisureely, 14-hour freefall, the space pioneeer was engaaged in a lastt-gasp spurt
of science-gath
s
hering on thee 19-kilomettre journey to
t its icy com
met tomb. The
T moment of impact will
w be 1038
GM
MT, give or take
t
two min
nutes, the Euuropean Spaace Agency said
s after overnight measurements allowed it to
narrrow down the
t expected
d time of death. Confirm
mation will arrive
a
40 minutes later, the time it takes for a
message to travvel between
n Rosetta annd Earth, whhen the spaccecraft’s signnal fades froom ground controllers’
c
com
mputer screeens.
45
‘Gooing accord
ding to plan’’
“Evverything is going according to plan,” project sccientist Matt Taylor said hours beforee the impendding end.
Thee craft has been
b
sending
g back closee-up shots off Comet 67P
P/Churyumov-Gerasimennko, and “w
we’re seeing
som
me really nicce images,” he
h said. “Wee just wait foor the end noow.”
Rossetta was also meant to sniff the coomet’s gassyy coma, or halo,
h
from clloser than evver before, measure
m
its
tem
mperature annd gravity, an
nd peer into mysterious pits dottingg the landscaape for hints as to what the comet's
inteerior might look
l
like. Rosetta was commanded
c
on Thursdayy night to exxit comet orrbit and joinn long-spent
robbot lander Phhilae on 67P for a journeey around thee Sun.
With the comeet zipping th
hrough spacee at a speed of over 14 kilometres per second, it was proggrammed to
make a “controolled impact”” at human walking
w
speeed, about 90 cm per secoond. Scientissts expect it will
w bounce
andd tumble about before settling
s
— but
b Rosetta’’s exact fatee will never be known as it was innstructed to
swiitch off on fiirst impact.T
The comet chhaser was neever designedd to land.
“Yoou can see some
s
of the flight
f
controol team, the people
p
who work here inn mission coontrol, are beginning to
gett more emotiional because they can seee the end,” Mr. Taylor said. — AFP
P
Sat, 011 Oct, 2016
New
N species of
o Pikaa discovvered
Mammal’ss discovery in
i Sikkim was made by Bengaluru--based NCBS
S team
Sciientists claim
m to have disscovered a new
n species of Pika, a mammal
m
beloonging to thee rabbit and hare
h family
( Laagomorpha ), in the Himalayas
H
i Sikkim. After six years of research, a team of innternational
in
collaborators, led
l by scienttists from Beengaluru’s National
N
Cenntre for Bioloogical Sciencces (NCBS) announced
the discovery.
The team puublished theiir findings inn the JournaalMolecular
P
Phylogeneti
cs and Evoluution in September. "Discovering a
n
new
mamm
mal in 2016 from
f
a hotsppot like the Himalayas
p
proves
that we
w need to conduct
c
mucch more reseearch in the
r
region,”
saiid NCBS scientist
s
andd first authhor Nishma
Dahal, who hails from Sikkim.
S
D
Distinct
tisssues
The team coollected fecal pellets andd tissue sampples of what
tthey expecteed to be thee Asian Pikaa and found them to be
“quite distinnct from all other
o
speciess”.
“We neededd internatioonal collabooration to confirm the
tisssue samples were differeent from all existing
e
speccies,” Ms. Dahal added.
Pikkas are membbers of the rabbit
r
familyy and live in the mountaiins or in tem
mperate regioons. The com
mmon name
"pikka" is used for any mem
mber of the Ochotonidaae family. Acccording to Ms. Dahal, Pikas do noot hibernate
unllike other maammalian sp
pecies inhabiiting such coold climates.
"Piikas are a keeystone speccies and ecossystem enginneers, and sttudying theiir evolution can shed moore light on
the Himalayan ecosystem,"" said Uma Ramakrishn
R
an, whose laaboratory at NCBS led the
t study. Although the
animal looks siimilar to the Moupin Pikka, geneticallly it is comppletely differrent. "There are specific differences
which are not visible
v
in phy
ysical observvation and only
o
on closeer study. Butt genetically it is very diffferent, and
we are proposinng to elevatee the sub-speecies to a diffferent species," said Mss. Dalal.
46
Ecoological nich
he
Thee discoveryy points to the need for
f more reesearch on Himalayan ecology annd the impportance of
inteernational coollaboration in validatingg new researrch. The reseearch began as a study of
o the impactt of climate
chaange on the Himalayan biota. “Backk when NCB
BS got fundding from thhe Department of Biotecchnology in
20110, research on the Ameerican pika was makingg news. Few
w lower elevation populaations were reported to
havve gone extinnct and that was corroboorated to inccreased tempperature in thhose regions,” said Ms. Dahal.
D
This
ledd the team to study the Asian
A
pika .
Ressearchers frrom the Zoological Muuseum of Moscow
M
Staate Universiity, Moscow
w, Russia; Institute
I
of
Zooology, Chineese Academy
y of Sciencees, Beijing, China;
C
Stanfford Universsity, Stanfordd, USA, colllaborated in
the research.
Sun, 022 Oct, 2016
India
a to pussh for funds at clim
mate taalks
Will seet up a pavillion to show
wcase Gandh
hiji’s ‘low caarbon lifestyyle’
A day
d before India
I
ratifies the Paris climate agreeement, Envvironment Minister
M
Aniil Dave conffirmed at a
preess briefing that there was
w no link between Inddia ratifyingg the deal and
a its mem
mbership to the
t Nuclear
Supppliers Grouup (NSG) an
nd emphasised that India would pussh for financce and technnology from
m developed
couuntries at thee forthcomin
ng talks in Morocco.
M
“Thhere is no connection
c
between
b
rattification annd membershhip [of the Nuclear Suupplier Grouup]. Before
ratiifying the deeal we wanteed to have wide
w consultaation and thaat when the deal
d was exeecuted, thinggs should be
cleaar from India’s view,” he
h said. “Thaat was cleareed and now we
w have signned it.”
PM
M Narendra Modi
M
announ
nced in Kozhikode on September
S
255 that India would
w
ratifyy the Paris cllimate deal.
Thee ratificationn document will
w be subm
mitted Sundaay evening (IIST) at the offices
o
of thee UN Secretaary-General
by Syed Akbaruddin, Indiia’s Permaneent Represeentative to thhe UN, o hiis representaative said ennvironment
minnistry officiaals.
It is still unclear what led India to draamatically alter its posittion from mere
m
weeks ago.
a
NITI Aayog
A
ViceChaairman, Arvvind Panagarriya had, at the
t G20 sum
mmit in Chinna last monthh, said that India
I
“wasn’t ready” in
term
ms of the doomestic actio
ons that werre required to
t ratify or at
a least comm
mit to ratify [the Paris deal]
d
within
20116.”
Aftter India’s bid to enter the
t NSG was rebuffed by
b China at Seoul
S
in Junne, the Minisstry of Exterrnal Affairs
hadd said, “An early positiive decision by the NSG would haave allowed us to movee forward on the Paris
Agreement.”
Tecchnology transfer
Mrr. Dave said at the forthccoming clim
mate talks in Morocco inn November,, India woulld stress mosst on trying
to operationalis
o
se the $100 billion corppus — calledd the Green Climate Fuund — that has
h been com
mmitted by
devveloped counntries to aid
d policy, proojects and teechnology trransfer to buuffer againstt the impactt of climate
chaange. Only a fraction of it
i has been pledged
p
so faar.
Inddia will alsoo set up a ‘pavilion’ att the climatee talks in Morocco
M
to showcase Gandhiji’s
G
‘llow carbon
lifeestyle.’ Indiaa would pussh, Mr. Davee said in a statement,
s
fo developedd countries to make good on their
for
prioor commitm
ments on finance and teechnology. “So
“ far we have
h
got onnly $ 2 milliion of the $10
$ million
com
mmitted thiss year,” he said. “Harddly any mooney has com
me and thaat’s going too be the foocus of our
neggotiations.”
Thee funds willl help nation
ns work on fulfilling
f
theeir Intended Nationally Determinedd Contributioons (INDC)
which aim to reduce
r
carbon emissionns through a host of solutions. Mr.. Dave said that India has
h already
47
com
mpleted 12 per
p cent of all
a pre-2020 Intended Naational Deterrmined Conttributions (IN
NDC), or thhe road map
by which it willl make good
d on its comm
mitments to reduce carbon emissionns.
As part of its IN
NDC plans, India had prromised to bring
b
down its
i emissionss intensity, or
o emissionss per unit of
the GDP, by at least 33 perr cent by the year 2030 as
a compared to 2005 leveels.
Sat, 011 Oct, 2016
N
Neem
plant
p
m heelp treaat prosstate caancer
may
Oraal administrration of a bioactive compound
c
f
from
neem — a medicinal plantt native to the Indian
subbcontinent — may signiificantly supppress devellopment of prostate
p
canncer, a new study
s
led byy an Indian
origgin scientistt has claimeed. Consum
mption of niimbolide, a bioactive teerpenoid coompound deerived from
Azaadirachta inddica or moree commonlyy known as the
t neem plaant over 12 weeks show
ws reduction of prostate
tum
mour size by up to 70 perr cent and deecrease in tuumour metastasis by up to
t 50 per cennt, researcherrs said.
Proostate cancerr is one of th
he most comm
monly diagnnosed cancerrs worldwidee, said reseaarchers led byy Associate
Proofessor Gautam Sethi fro
om the Natioonal University of Singappore (NUS)..
However, curreently availab
ble therapiess for metasttatic prostatee cancer are only margiinally effectiive. Hence,
there is a need for more nov
vel treatmennt alternativees and optionns.
“Allthough the diverse antti-cancer efffects of nim
mbolide havee been repoorted in diffferent cancer types, its
pottential effects on prostaate cancer initiation
i
annd progressiion have noot been dem
monstrated inn scientific
studdies,” said Sethi.
S
Sat, 011 Oct, 2016
Satellitee attaccks cou
uld spaark global dissaster
Thee world is dangerously
d
unprepared
u
for a globall disaster spaarked by cybber attacks on
o space inffrastructure,
expperts have warned.
w
Auth
horities are not doing nearly
n
enouggh to stop sppace assets being
b
hackeed and used
maliciously, acccording to a warning from securiity experts. The conseqquences of such a hackk could be
disaastrous — anything frrom damagee to trade and
a
financiaal services to
t terroristss taking oveer strategic
weaapons.
Muuch of the world’s
w
infrasstructure is dependent
d
o space macchinery — almost
on
a
everyy important business or
techhnology on the ground is poweredd by space assets.
a
And while goverrnments havve done a grreat deal in
loooking to secuure those technologies onn Earth, theyy could easilly be threateened from sppace. Those weaknesses
w
couuld be exploiited by peop
ple and groupps includingg states, crim
minal syndicaates, terroristts and hackeers to create
a potential globbal catastrop
phe on Earth,, according to
t a new report from Chaatham House.
Thee think tankk suggested that authorities should commit to a “radical reeview” of cyyber securitty in space.
Theere’s currenttly no globaal organisatioon looking at
a the issue and the situuation may advance
a
so quickly
q
that
govvernments soon
s
won’t be able too do anythinng about itt, argued Dr
D Patricia Lewis,
L
direcctor of the
inteernational seecurity depaartment at Chatham
C
Hoouse, and heer co-authorr David Livvingstone, an associate
felllow at the innstitute.
Thaat is becausee space is qu
uickly becom
ming somewhhere that isn’t dominatedd just by a feew privilegedd countries.
Instead, it is beecoming a domain
d
“ruleed by market forces”, annd this is likkely to intenssify in futurre. As such,
the authors feaar that isolateed governments could do
d little abouut any speciific cyber threat, and thaat countries
muust work togeether to respond to them.
48
Thaat shouldn’t be done by regulation, which can tend
t
to be sllow, the authhors said. Innstead the world should
devvelop a flexiible new cy
yber securityy regime thaat can allow space comppanies to woork togetherr across the
world and stop attacks on infrastructuree.
Thee authors saiid that they hoped the required changges would be made by th
he space ind
dustry itselff.
“Thhe space inddustry is ren
nowned as a forward-thiinking, markket-leading community
c
a it needss to address
and
cybber security urgently,” said Livingsttone. “What we need is an internatioonal commuunity of the willing
w
that
would be taskeed with deveeloping induustry-led stanndards in orrder to devellop pace andd agility in response
r
to
the growing cyyber threat in
n space.”
me of that work
w
was alrready being done, with space agenciies looking seriously at
Pattricia Lewis said that som
advvanced proteections for sp
pace infrastruucture.
“Thhe fact that countries such as Chinna are prepaared to try completely
c
a quantum
new approaaches such as
enttanglement, and the European Galileeo space navvigational network
n
has introduced new
n securityy measures,
shoows the capaacity and dettermination of
o the space industry to counter the cyber securiity challengees all of our
couuntries face,”” she said.
Sat, 011 Oct, 2016
Gooogle to
t set up
u dataa centrre in In
ndia byy 20177
Inddia's public cloud
c
servicees market is projected
p
to grow 30.4 per
p cent to reeach $1.26 billion in 20116
Gooogle will seet up its firstt India data centre in Muumbai by 20017, hoping to take on global
g
incum
mbents such
as Microsoft annd Amazon, who have a presence in the country, and alllow local customers
c
too host their
appplications onn the internett.
Google controlls a majority
y market shaare in India in search, email
e
and onn smartphonnes through is Android
opeerating systeem. It also haas a significcant presencee in offeringg enterprise applications
a
such as maiil and other
servvices, but lags behind Microsoft
M
andd Amazon inn its cloud buusiness.
Am
mazon has thhree data ceentres, one each in Muumbai, Delhhi and Chennnai, with over
o
75,000 customers,
including taxii hailing ap
pp Ola, Taata Motors and televvision netwoork NDTV, on its cloud.
c
Last
yeaar, Microsoft
ft set up threee data centrees in India offfering its Azzure cloud too local custoomers.
Google, which already hossts applicatioons of its Inddian custom
mers such as Wipro, Ashhok Leyland,, Smartshift
by Mahindra & Mahindra, Dainik Bhaaskar Group and INshorrts.com on itts global clooud platform
m, expects a
Inddia presence to service lo
ocal customeers faster. Gooogle calls itt data centre Cloud Regiion.
"Byy expandingg to new regiions, we deliver higher performance
p
e to customeers. In fact, our
o recent exxpansion in
Oreegon resulteed in up to 80 per cennt improvem
ment in latenncy for custtomers," saidd Brian Steevens, vicepreesident, Googgle Cloud, in
n a statemennt.
Google Cloud Platform takes the innfrastructuree, machine learning and
a
networkking servicees used to
pow
wer Google services and
d makes theem availablee to businessses and developers to build
b
high performance
appplications annd data analy
ysis at a low cost. As Inddia's start-up community continues too grow, Clouud Platform
proovides the fuull stack of seervices to buuild, test andd deploy their applicationns, the firm said.
s
In addition
a
to its
i focus on Indian custtomers, Googgle is continnuing to builld its partneer ecosystem
m to support
cusstomers as they move to the cloud. In India, Google
G
alreaady has deepp partnershipps with a multitude
m
of
borrn-in-the-clooud partners including Seearce Co-Sourcing, Clouud Cover, PoowerUp Clouud and MediiaAgility as
welll as global partners lik
ke Wipro, TC
CS, Tech Mahindra,
M
Pw
wC and Coggnizant. Thee opening off the Cloud
Reggion opens up newer op
pportunities for several new cloud partners whho will beneefit from buuilding their
servvices on Gooogle Cloud, the firm saidd.
49
Sat, 011 Oct, 2016
Comet chaseer getss final comma
c
ands too end its
i mission
Eurrope's pioneering spaceccraft Rosettaa headed for a suicide crrash on Fridaay with the comet
c
it has stalked for
twoo years, nearring the end of an audaciious quest too unravel thee Solar Systeem's mysteriees.
Sennt by groundd controllers on a leisureely , 14-hourr freefall, Roosetta launchhed into a lasstgasp spurt of sciencegatthering on thhe 19-kilomeetre journey to its icy coomet tomb. “Next
“
stop #67P!“
#
the European
E
Spaace Agency
(ES
SA) tweetedd, using a shortened verssion of Com
met 67PChurryumov-Geraasimenko's full
f name. Itt confirmed
thaat the commaand for Roseetta to exit thhe galactic wanderer's
w
o
orbit
was recceived at 20551 GMT on Thursday ,
at a distance off 720 million
n kilometres (450 millionn miles) from
m Earth.
Thee craft was programmed
d to terminaate its 12-year space odyyssey at aboout 1040 GM
MT on Fridaay , joining
lonngspent robott lander Phillae on the coomet for a neever-ending journey
j
arouund the Sun..
“W
We're all veryy excited,“ seetta project scientist
s
Mattt Taylor saidd at the misssion control centre in Daarmstadt.
Rossetta's sciencce instrumen
nts were prim
med to snifff the comet'ss gassy coma, or halo, measure
m
its temperature
t
andd gravity, annd take pictu
ures from closer than evver before. “In
“ the final descent, wee will get innto a region
thaat we have never
n
sampleed before. We've
W
never been below
w two kilomeetres, and thhat region iss where the
com
ma, the comeet atmospherre, becomes alive, it's whhere it goes from being an
a ice to a gas,“ said Tayylor.
With the comet zipping thrrough space at a speed of
o over 4 killometres perr second, Roosetta was prrogrammed
m
a “coontrolled imp
pact“ at hum
man walkingg speed, aboout 90 mann walking sppeed, about 90 cm (35
to make
inches) per secoond.
Connfirmation of
o the missio
on's end is exxpected in Darmstadt
D
arround 1120 GMT
G
when Rosetta's siggnal, which
takkes 40 minutees to travel, vanishes froom ground coontrollers' coomputer screeens.
“It's mixed em
motions,“ Tay
ylor said of the impendding end. Whhile it will all
a be over for
f mission controllers,
b analysing
g the inform
mation gleaneed for “yearrs if not decades“ to com
me. Rosetta and lander
scieentists will be
proobe Philae traavelled moree than six billion kilomeetres over 10 years to reaach 67P in Aug
A 2014.
Sat, 011 Oct, 2016
Warrming to
t breaach 2°C
C limitt by 20050
Gloobal averagee temperaturre could risee to two deggrees Cel siius above thhe norm -thee point at which
w
many
scieentists believve climate ch
hange will become
b
danggerous -as eaarly as 2050, a group of experts
e
has warned.
w
In a report callled “The Trruth About Climate Chhange“, they said many people seem
med to thinkk of global
n
heating up “much faster“
f
than
warrming as “abbstract, distaant and evenn controverssial“. But thee planet is now
antticipated, saiid Professorr Sir Robertt Watson, a former chair of the Inttergovernmeental Panel on Climate
Chaange and onne of the auth
hors of the reeport. If theiir analysis is correct, the majority off people alivee today will
expperience whaat it is like to
t live on a dangerouslyy overheatedd planet. At the
t Paris cliimate summ
mit last year,
world leaders agreed to trry to limit global
g
warm
ming to 1.5 degrees celssius above pre-industria
p
al levels as
c
targeet may not bee safe enouggh. But in thee same year the level of
posssible, amid concerns thee 2 degrees celsius
warrming reached 1 degree celsius afterr a 0.15 degrree celsius riise in just thrree years.
Drooughts, floods, wildfires and storm
ms are all seet to increasse as the woorld warms, threateningg crops and
cauusing the exttinction of sp
pecies. The new
n report warned
w
the 1.5
1 degrees celsius
c
targeet had “almoost certainly
alreeady been missed“.Even
m
n if all the pledges
p
to cuut emissions are fulfilledd, the averagge temperatuure is set to
reaach that levell in the early
y 2030s and then
t
2 degreees celsius byy 2050, theyy said.
50
Thee report saidd an extra 0.5
0 degree ceelsius of waarming was expected to take place because of greenhouse
gasses that havee been emittted due to thhe slow respponse of the ocean and atmosphere.
a
The experts called for
draastic changess to the way the world prroduces and uses energyy with a swittch to electric cars amonng steps that
shoould be takenn quickly.
Sun, 022 Oct, 2016
Ind
dia to Focus
F
o Gan
on
ndhian
n Lifesstyle att Cop22
Ahead of Indiaa’s ratificatio
on of the hiistoric Paris Climate Chhange accordd on Gandhhi Jayanti, Ennvironment
Minnister Anil Madhav Daave on Satuurday said thhe country will propaggate its view
ws based onn Gandhian
lifeestyle in thee forthcomin
ng Conferennce of Partiees (CoP) 22 on climatee change schheduled at Morocco
M
in
November. He stressed on
n setting up an action rooadmap for 2016-2020 for
f raising ambition
a
andd achieving
pree-2020 goals.
At the same time, Dave asserted
a
that there was no
n link betw
ween India’ss bid for Nuuclear Supplliers Group
(NS
SG) memberrship and th
he ratificationn. He stresseed that theree was no preessure on thee Governmeent and said
earrlier statemennts given by leaders at various
v
forum
ms were “in their
t
own caapacity”.
Speeaking to meedia, Dave noted
n
that Paaris Agreemeent is for posst-2020 periood. “But presently we arre operating
undder the pre-22020 action framework. The develooped countries should, thhus, ratify thhe second coommitment
perriod of the Kyoto
K
Proto
ocol,” he saiid. India willl play a proo-active rolee in protectiing the interrests of the
devveloping natiions under, “Enhancing
“
Ambition annd promoting action betw
ween 2016 and
a 2020.”
Sim
multaneouslyy, India willl also insist on a roadd map for developed
d
c
countries
onn the issue of finance,
techhnology andd capacity-bu
uilding suppport before and
a after 20220. He assertted that $10.3 billion coommitted to
the Green Clim
mate Fund does
d
not maatch the enormous finannce and techhnology requuirements inndicated by
devveloping couuntries in theeir Intended Nationally
N
D
Determined
C
Contribution
ns (INDCs).
Acccording to him,
h
the new
w Technologgy Frameworrk under thee Paris Agreeement shoulld help remoove barriers
agaainst technollogy access and
a provide finance for meeting
m
highher technoloogical costs.
Furrther, India being
b
highly
y vulnerable to the impaccts of climatte change will “further the
t cause of adaptation,
loss and damagge”. The firsst review of the loss andd damage meechanism at CoP 22 is an
a opportunitty for India
to ensure
e
that thhis mechanism providess tangible andd concrete solutions, he said.
He added the most
m
importtant of thesee will be to ensure
e
that there
t
are toools to address adaptationn, financial
riskk managemeent and finan
nce needs forr dealing witth extreme and
a slow onsset events.
Thee power of choices maade by comm
mon man inn day-to-dayy life, includding his dieet, mode of travel, our
purrchases, our ways of lifee has tremenddous potentiial to impactt the globe, he
h said. “Hence, each off our choice
couunts. India has
h made a commitment
c
t in its INDC
C, on sustaiinable lifestyyles and willl continue to
t push this
ageenda forwardd in Morocco,” he affirm
med, saying India will sppecifically showcase succh ways of life
l through
its pavilions
p
puut up on the occasion
o
.
Sun, 022 Oct, 2016
Mo
oD notiifies reevised pensioon ratees
Chaandigarh: Thhe Ministry of Defence (MoD)
(
has issued
i
a notiification for the grant off revised pennsion, based
on the recomm
mendations of the Sevventh Centraal Pay Com
mmission, too retired arm
med forces personnel.
Acccording to thhe orders isssued on Fridaay, the goveernment has granted a fittment of 2.577 on the pennsion drawn
51
by pensioners as on December 31, 2015, which includes configuration of one rank, one pension (OROP)
drawn on the said date. Two options have been given to calculate the new pension. However, the rates of
disability pension have been drastically reduced as the “slab system” which was prevalent prior to the Sixth
Pay Commission has been adopted again. Consequently, defence disability pensioners are now at a
disadvantage as compared to civil disability pensioners. TNS
52