The defence ministry recently announced new directions to enhance functioning of the two joint commands of the Indian armed forces, the Andaman and Nicobar Command (ANC) and the Strategic Forces Command (SFC). These commands comprise of personnel from the three services who till now operated under their respective service rules and under directions of their respective service Headquarters (HQs), while […]
The rifle for a soldier is an extension of his body. It is the weapon on which he must possess maximum trust. Every soldier, irrespective of his nature of duties has a service weapon allocated to him, which is termed his personal weapon. It is this which he fires during peace to build confidence to operate the same in war. […]
Press reports emanating in Pak and western newspapers mention the Bajwa doctrine (credited to the Pak army chief, General Bajwa) now being adopted by the state. It was initially enunciated by the Pak Director General Inter Services Public Relations in a press conference earlier this year. Subsequently, it was highlighted when General Bajwa spoke to select journalists. However, since the […]
There have been differences within the ruling coalition of J and K on the newly proposed surrender policy of the state government. It was blocked by BJP members of the state cabinet after being proposed by Mehbooba Mufti. The J and K government proposed to grant an amount of Rs 6 Lakhs to each surrendered militant along with job schemes. […]
Post the South Korean delegation interacting with Kim Jong Un and his suggesting a direct across the table dialogue with Donald Trump, intensive diplomatic lobbying commenced. The South Korean delegation called on the White House, where as per reports, Trump ambushed them and led them to his office, where in minutes he agreed to meeting Kim Jong Un. This action […]
In a recent seminar on ‘Geo-strategic manifestations in Pakistan and implications for India’ at the Punjab University Chandigarh, army commanders of the Army Training Command (ARTRAC) and Western Command shared their perspectives. The army commander ARTRAC stated, ‘Peace on the border is difficult to achieve at the tactical level alone. Restoring ceasefire requires statesmanship not brinkmanship.’ On the other hand, […]
In an article in the Business Standard yesterday, Abhijit Iyer Mitra commented that while the budget this year has little for modernization, the fault lies with the army. He defended his argument with examples, most of which were misplaced and ill-founded. In fact, the entire piece appeared to be written without any tactical or strategic knowledge, inputs based on incomplete […]
Till recently Indo-Pak diplomatic squabbles were confined to multiple international forums, including the UN and its agencies. It even involved ministers of both countries on the General Assembly (UNGA) platform. One nation rose to blame the other for their poor record of human rights, the other retaliated accusing the first of even worse performance. There has never been an occasion […]
In a recent reply to a question raised by Mr Chandrashekar, a Rajya Sabha MP, on whether the government was considering grant of Non-Functional Upgradation (NFU) for the armed forces, the MoS Defence replied in the negative, stating that the case was sub judice. In the meanwhile, there has been no action on the part of the MoD to even […]
Is China a genuine friend of Pak or is just claims to be. Its actions at the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) meeting prove it is exploiting Pak’s weakness to further its own agenda. During initial discussions of the FATF, China, Saudi Arabia and Turkey withstood US pressure and were standing shoulder to shoulder with Pak, in preventing a US […]