Fake Encounters haunt the Army

Army forcing us to withdraw case against Gen Bikram Singh: NGO
Harinder Baweja, Hindustan Times
Srinagar, October 05, 2012
The army has been accused of putting pressure on the civil society in Kashmir to withdraw a PIL against its chief, General Bikram Singh.
YES Kashmir, an NGO, had approached the Jammu and Kashmir high court in October last year to raise the issue of an encounter that occurred in Janglat Mandi, Anantnag, in March 2001.
In the clash, Singh — then a brigadier posted in the Valley — suffered gunshot wounds while two army officials lost their lives.
According to the police, an alleged militant dressed as a beggar had approached Singh and opened fire. In the battle that ensued, the militant was killed.
The PIL, however, questions the police theory. A family had come forward in October 2011, claiming that it was their son Abdullah Bhat, an innocent bystander, who had been killed.
The timing of the PIL was questioned in military circles, with many seeing it as an attempt to narrow down Singh’s chances of becoming the army chief.
Soon after Singh took over as the chief of army staff, NGO head Khurshid Ahmed Mir approached the court once again and — in a sworn affidavit — claimed that the force was pressurising him.
Mir has now alleged in the affidavit that “officers of Sector–1 RR are pressurising me to help them withdraw the case by influencing relatives and the counsel for the petitioners… Since the case has turned out to be a high-profile one, I feel insecure in the hands of the army. They are repeatedly putting pressure on me, and can harm me and my family.”
The police had then closed the case, saying the beggar was actually Mateen Chacha — a Pakistan-trained Hizbul Mujahideen terrorist.
They are now refusing to produce a photograph of the ‘beggar’ or identify his grave, demands that the family has made through the PIL.
The board of officers inquiring into the funding of the controversial intelligence unit, constituted by former army chief Gen VK Singh, is now probing possible links between the ‘snoop unit’ and the NGO.
The inquiry notwithstanding, the petition can be embarrassing for the chief as well as the government, particularly if the court orders an investigation into the ‘fake encounter.’ The army declined to comment on the grounds that the inquiry was still on.
>Army forcing us to withdraw case against Gen Bikram Singh: NGO Comment: Fake Encounters and Gallantry Awards was a sure sign of Career Success for many Senior Officers. This short cut was fine tuned by AHQ from 1995 to 2007. When busted the reactions are for a cover up by all means... The AHQ CoI is waste of time. The Army is not designed for IS duties or Anti Insurgency ops. The designed role is only COMBAT- defensive and offensive.

Bikram Singh to be the next Army Chief

Yahoo! India News – Sat 3 Mar, 2012
New Delhi: The government on Saturday named Eastern Army commander Lt Gen Bikram Singh as the next Indian Army Chief.
The announcement comes after months of the row over the date of birth of incumbent Gen VK Singh.
Lt Gen Bikram Singh currently heads the Army's eastern command and will take the top post on May 31 when Gen VK Singh will be retiring from service.
A press release issued by the ministry of defence says:
Lt Gen Bikram Singh will be the next Chief of Army Staff
New Delhi: Phalguna 13, 1933
Friday, March 03, 2012
The Eastern Army Commander, Lt Gen Bikram Singh, PVSM,UYSM,AVSM,SM,VSM,ADC has been designated as the next Chief of Army Staff, in the rank of General, with effect from the afternoon of 31 May 2012. He will succeed the present COAS, General VK Singh, PVSM,AVSM,YSM,ADC, who retires from the service on 31 May 2012.
Lt Gen Bikram Singh was commissioned into the Sikh Light Infantry Regiment on 31 March 1972.
During his long and distinguished career, spanning nearly 40 years, he has served in a variety of Command and Staff appointments. He has commanded a Corps in the Northern Command. The General had served as Deputy Force Command of a multi-nation UN Peace Keeping Mission in Congo. He had also served as UN Observer in Nicaragua and El Salvador during the early 90s.
Lt Gen Bikram Singh has studied with distinction at the Defence Services Staff College, the Army War College and the US Army War College, Pennsylvania. He has also done M.Phil in Defence Management from the Indore University.
He is married to Mrs Surjeet Kaur, housewife and the couple have two sons.
Bikram Singh to be the next Army Chief
Related Reading
Army Chief V. K. Singh congratulates Lt Gen Bikram Singh on succession

Congo, Pakistan, and the Indian Army Chief imbroglio

Congo, Pakistan, and the Indian Army Chief imbroglio
Sandhya Jain
09 Jan 2012
The scandalous conduct of some Indian members of the UN Peacekeeping Mission in Congo, under the command of the then Major General Bikram Singh, may translate into major embarrassment for India at various international forums if the government abides by a covert ‘line of succession’ hinted by the Attorney General in his rather vacuous ‘opinion’ on the matter.
Islamabad (with helpful nudges from Beijing and other capitals reworking their ‘interests’ in the Asia-Pacific region) can be expected to exploit all propaganda about human rights violations in India – particularly in Jammu and Kashmir – to the hilt.
New Delhi should, in the circumstances, consider if the J&K Government’s decision to demand and continue to push for withdrawal of the Armed Forces Special Powers Act from the State has been externally inspired by forces hoping to take advantage of Indian discomfort in the human rights arena.
Pertinent in connection with the ‘line of succession’ school of thought is the fact that the next in the line of succession, Lt Gen Bikram Singh, has a Pakistani daughter-in-law. While the lady may now be a naturalized Indian citizen (like Congress president Sonia Gandhi), the fact remains that Lt Gen Bikram Singh has had Pakistani relatives at critical phases of his service, and will continue to have Pakistani relatives at the peak of his career and beyond. This is not to cast any aspersions on the highly respected soldier, but it would be an understatement to say that the issue is causing grave concern in many quarters.
The Centre would in fact do well to review its whimsical policy on the matter of officers of the diplomatic and military services having foreign wives/spouses. In an era when the intelligence agencies of major nations are actively pursuing their strategic goals, the presence of foreign spouses entrenched in establishments where they have official duties is most undesirable.
As for Congo, it is a blot on the Indian Army’s glorious tradition of valour and gallantry in foreign lands, especially in UN Peacekeeping Missions. In 2007-08, the UN complained of the 6 Sikh Battalion fathering children with “distinctive Indian features,” which were reportedly confirmed by DNA tests conducted by UN in Durla, Congo. The allegations of misconduct cover 12 officers and 39 jawans, who reportedly paid minor girls in North Kivu for sex. The Congolese government further alleged that some Indian peacekeepers, instead of helping to protect civilians from violent militias, fraternized with rebel Tutsi general Laurent Nkunda.
The matter now rests with an army court of inquiry (CoI) in Meerut, which will share its findings with the UN as per rules. Army sources say a separate inquiry is going on against the unit’s commanding officer for failure to maintain discipline.
Chronicle of a Date of Birth: click here
Read More
UN: Tackle Wrongdoing by Peacekeepers

Tailpiece
How was Gold and Ivory Smuggled? Through diplomatic bags and cipher couriers? In connivance with unscrupulous MoD bureaucrats and Army Brass- earlier 2 chiefs are accountable? The enquiries will make a scapegoat of a few down the rung "Jawans". The real culprits who smuggled and made illegal money will go Scot free! The Commanding Officer and senior Commanders- The so called UN Peace Keepers must be brought to book. A committee comprising a Brigadier and two Colonels had been tasked to investigate 6th Sikh Battalion. UN has reported involvement of Indian contingents in sexual abuse not only in Congo but also in Sudan, Liberia, Ethiopia, and Sierra Leone. Other than that, Indian soldiers have been involved in smuggling of narcotics and weapons. What is the outcome of the enquiry?

Stability in Pakistan good for India, Afghanistan

Violence and instability in Afghanistan are at a peak, up by 500 per cent since the end of Operation Enduring Freedom in 2001. President George Bush is right in saying that Afghanistan had changed - for better or worse - in eight years. This month, the Taliban used a 13-year-old boy to trigger a suicide attack in Helmand province and demolished five US/ISAF logistics convoys in one week inside Pakistan, marking a new low in security on both sides of the the Durand Line.

It is now clear that Pakistan and Afghanistan are together the epicentre of terrorism. Also described as the incubator of extremism, Pakistan’s clinical reference as an “international migraine” is equally apt. The Mumbai carnage is a direct offshoot of this collective instability sparking yet another India-Pakistan crisis, the seventh since 1984 and the second after the attack on Parliament in 2001.

It is no accident that the eastward path of the suicide bomber has left its trail from Iraq to Afghanistan to Pakistan stopping short of the Radcliffe Line and India. Only an integrated regional approach can end the periodic turmoil and convulsions rooted in the crucible of violence to our west. Any number of conferences on Afghanistan and Pakistan have recognised this central fact: that without treating Pakistan, the region will continue to suffer from bouts of epilepsy.

Pakistan created the Taliban and the jihadis - they openly admit now - to achieve strategic depth in Afghanistan and Kashmir. After 9/11 and the war in Afghanistan, Islamabad’s strategic focus shifted from the east to the west of the country, according to some, India no longer being enemy No 1. Unfortunately, jihadis and co have turned inwards, creating a two-and-a-half-front situation for Pakistan for which they had not bargained. Worse, the Pakistan Army and its unguided missile, the ISI, are unwilling and unable to disown these groups. The spillover of instability stemming from the insurgencies along both sides of the Durand Line and their ripples in the hinterland flow into India also.

The multiple wars against foreign occupation in Afghanistan, numerous tribal and inter-gang conflicts, sectarian wars and counter-insurgency operations against the Taliban and Al Qaeda and other shades of Taliban in Pakistan are confined to the border lands crisscrossing the diminishing Durand Line. The writ of neither state runs there. It is the survival of the fittest. Any black and white characterisation of the conflicts is an oversimplification of the complex situation. The Army is involved in selective operations like in Bajaur, but elsewhere it is paramilitaries and local Lashkars who are fighting. No Great Game has succeeded here - neither for the British nor the Soviets nor evern Pakistanis; the same is true about the US-led NATO forces. Historian Olaf Caroe had rightly observed: “all wars in Afghanistan start after they have ended”.

The Taliban are fast closing in on Kabul. Already this year, there have been 129 suicide attacks, some using multiple bombers. Air-strikes have caused more than 400 civilian deaths and Western troop casualties are the highest during the last two years. With a new US President and Military Commander, a grand new strategy is expected for the region. The buzzword is “surge” --- not just military but political and economic too. An additional 30,000 US troops, dialogue with the “reconcilable” Taliban and converting the Durand Line into an economic gateway are elements of a regional strategy which seeks an honourable exit, preserving the gains.

The key to any strategy on Afghanistan is Pakistan, given the Al-Qaeda and Taliban sanctuaries on its territory in FATA, the NWFP and Baluchistan and the logistics lifeline for the US/ ISAF from Karachi straddling these areas to Afghanistan. After the recent pounding of the convoys Americans are considering alternative routes for supplies from the north and west through Central Asia. Feeding Pakistan’s insecurity is Indian investment and intelligence activities in Afghanistan. Pakistan’s assurance to secure the supply lines is as half-hearted as its commitment to fight Al-Qaeda and the Taliban.

Barring sketchy counter-insurgency operations in Baluchistan and the Northern Areas in the past, the Pakistan Army, trained to fight the Indian Army, has little appetite or expertise to fight unconventional operations. It says it has lost 1200 soldiers in recent battles on the western border in Bajaur and other tribal areas. After the Red Mosque fiasco last year, a demoralised Army has become the target for Pakistan’s Taliban and its other denominations. It does not realise that Pakistan faces an existential threat from Al-Qaeda and the Taliban. It is in a Catch-22 situation: in spite of the government accepting the ownership of the war on terror, people in the western frontier areas believe it is the spillover of the US war in Afghanistan that the Army is fighting. Making matters worse, the jihadis have infiltrated Karachi, Lahore and Islamabad.

For better compliance from Pakistan, the incoming US regime is toying with inducements on Kashmir, Afghanistan and aid tied to performance. Kashmir is a red herring, as even after it is resolved the Kashmiri jihadis will remain unconsummated. Pakistan’s real concerns are the settlement of the Durand Line, a friendly regime in Kabul, access to Central Asia and India’s role in Afghanistan. The question Americans are asking is: can India be restrained in Pakistan’s perceived backyard? Delhi feels it is engaged in legitimate intelligence and diplomatic activity.

Pakistan is the source of terrorist violence in both Afghanistan and India. It is Pakistan, not India, that has to be restrained in Afghanistan. The Kabul attack on the Indian Embassy was masterminded by the ISI. Pakistan is facing a huge backlash from the jihadis it nurtured. Now, after the Mumbai carnage, there is international condemnation, including a UN fiat to ban terrorist groups like the Jamaat-ud-Dawa. Jihadi heat has been unleashed through 68 suicide attacks in Pakistan this year, half of which were in the NWFP with violence bordering Peshawar. Limitations of a weak civilian government with notional control over the Army, and still less over the ISI, are no secret. The Army decides the policy on India, Afghanistan and nuclear assets.

Restoring democracy is key to stability but only when the Army decides to step under civilian control. Together with the ISI it is using a combination of lashkars and peace deals to fight the Taliban. Till it gets its combat act together and launches full throated counter-insurgency operations against Al-Qaeda and the Taliban instead of attacks involving aircraft and artillery, which the Indian Army has almost never used, it will never get from the US the approval rating it seeks.

It may be the ultimate indignity for the Pakistan Army that New Delhi could offer to help it train and launch counter-insurgency operations. The two armies have worked and fought together on several UN peacekeeping missions in Africa; so why not in Afghanistan? At present Pakistan has 18 brigades meant for the east operating along the Durand Line. Pakistan should feel free to move more troops to quell the violence on the western borders. Even after the Mumbai tragedy, India can reassure Pakistan that it will not fish in troubled waters. Stability in Pakistan is key to stability in Afghanistan and India. The threat to all three is not from one another but from terrorism. As far as possible, keep the US out of this.

Maj Gen Ashok K Mehta (Retd)
Terrorism a common threat

1965 Indo Pak war as viewed by Pakistan Brig Shauket Quadir
Pakistan went into Operation Gibralter without any preliminary preparations and undertook a guerrilla operation inside Indian Held Kashmir with a large number of regular soldiers, some SSG elements and a smattering of irregulars, expecting to be welcomed by the local population and raise them up in arms against the Indian government. They were destined to be rudely disillusioned. Far from rising up in arms, the local population denied any support and, in many instances handed over the infiltrators to Indian troops. An act for which they should not be held to blame in any way, since by then they were reconciled to staying within the Indian union and Pakistan had made no preparations for such a venture. It was to take another twenty four years for them to rise indigenously against the Indian union. Gibralter soon became a disaster.
Full article: The War of 1965: This Indo-Pak war was a comedy of errors by Brig Shauket Qadir

Tackle Wrongdoing by UN Peacekeepers

Human Rights Watch: Extracts of Letter to Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon from Kenneth Roth, Executive Director and Steve Crawshaw, UN Advocacy Director

Allegations against Pakistani Peacekeepers

Human Rights Watch first brought detailed information of gold-smuggling by Pakistani peacekeepers to the attention of UN officials in Ituri, eastern Congo, in December 2005. This information led to the launch of an Office of Internal Oversight Services (OIOS) investigation with which Human Rights Watch cooperated closely. More than a year after the investigation began the report was still not completed. Only after a May 2007 BBC report publicly highlighted the allegations, said that the report was blocked, and quoted a UN official as saying there was “a plan to bury [the report],” did OIOS conclude its delayed investigation. In July 2007 the OIOS report (since made publicly available by the US government) found only that a single Pakistani officer failed to prevent peacekeepers under his authority from providing support and security to persons involved in illegal gold trafficking.

Human Rights Watch was baffled by these findings, which seriously downplayed the extent of the problems. According to our research, a ring of Congolese army officers, Kenyan traders, and Pakistani peacekeepers was involved in smuggling millions of dollars of gold from Ituri. The available evidence suggested that the assistance provided by Pakistani peacekeepers went well beyond one individual, a finding confirmed by the BBC in its own investigation.

Allegations against Indian Peacekeepers

The failure of OIOS thoroughly to investigate and promote accountability of peacekeepers involved in illegal behavior is not unique to the allegations against the Pakistani peacekeepers. Human Rights Watch has received information of allegations that some Indian peacekeepers in Congo have engaged in illegal transactions with armed groups in North Kivu, eastern Congo, including the Forces Démocratiques de Libération du Rwanda (FDLR), some of whose leaders participated in the Rwandan genocide in 1994.

A preliminary OIOS assessment report from February 2008 seen by Human Rights Watch lists 44 allegations of misconduct and alleged illegal behavior by Indian peacekeeping troops in North Kivu from late 2005 to October 2007. The report says it found some evidence on at least 10 of the allegations. The report notes: “Some of the allegations are so serious and the potential consequences of taking no action so grave, that they should not be left unexamined.”

The allegations include weapons trading with the FDLR, informing armed groups of possible UN military operations, the smuggling of natural resources including gold and ivory, the unlawful detention of Congolese citizens, and the illicit use of equipment and resources belonging to MONUC, the UN peacekeeping force in Congo. The report concludes that further investigations are necessary since “it seems inevitable that [the allegations] will become the subject of scrutiny by the international media” and that such “exposure has the real potential to damage the reputation of the Indian military, MONUC and the United Nations.”
Full Text of Letter: UN: Tackle Wrongdoing by Peacekeepers

Tailpiece
How is Gold and Ivory Smuggled? Through diplomatic bags and cipher courier? In connivance with unscrupulous MoD bureaucrats and Army Brass? The enquiries will make a scapegoat of a few down the rung "Jawans". The real culprits who smuggled and made illegal money will go Scot free!

Indian Peacekeepers become smugglers and abusers

New Delhi, August 12: After a series of charges ranging from gold smuggling to illegal detention of local citizens to making statements in support of rebel groups, Indian peacekeepers in Congo have been accused of child abuse by an internal UN investigation.

While Indian Blue Helmets have been charged for a series of aberrations in Congo over the past year, this is by far the most serious allegation against Indian peacekeepers anywhere in the world.

In July, a Colonel posted at the mission was brought under investigation for making statements in support of a rebel group. The UN had initiated an internal inquiry against Colonel Chand Saroha for expressing sympathy for the National Congress for the Defence of the People (CNDP) at a public function in April.

As reported by The Indian Express, a UN investigation had also found that Indian peacekeepers in Congo illegally detained, physically assaulted and “sexually propositioned” a local gold trader who had allegedly sold them counterfeit gold dust.

The three Army personnel identified as “JCO Deepak Singh Nayal , Sergeant Suresh Pandurang Bodhak and Lt Col Talum Duby” were also found guilty by an Army court of inquiry earlier this year.

The Indian contingent has been charged with a series of allegations, like gun running and having connections with local militia, that have all been dismissed as a “malicious media campaign” by the Army.
India probes UN sex charges in Congo
Indian Army to join UN probe on Congo gold smuggling
After smuggling, child abuse is Indian shame in Congo

Indiscipline: The formation commanders and Commanding Officers are squarely responsible for such debased activity of the Indian Army. The Jawans are the finest warriors in the world. The Career Opportunists (COs) are not commanding troops but are concerned about their next promotion based on pleasing the bosses sitting in AHQ. This requires thorough investigation to mitigate the name and honour of our Jawans. The Commanding Officers so responsible need to be punished in an exemplary manner.

Message from Chief of Army Staff

On the occasion of Army Day, I convey my greetings and best wishes to all ranks of the Army, ex-servicemen, civilians and families.

The Indian Army has passed through yet another significant year that has added glory to its magnificent past. This has been possible due to your high standard of professionalism, sense of selfless service, bravery and commitment towards the organisation. The year gone by abounds with your bravery and unwavering sense of duty. You epitomize secularism, national integration and harmony.

I compliment all those deployed along our vast borders for their colossal contribution in improving the proxy war and internal security situation. I would also like to compliment our Officers, JCOs and men who are keeping peace in several countries of the world as part of United Nations Peace Keeping Force. In performance of our duty we have earned the gratitude, respect and appreciation of our countrymen.

There will be many challenges ahead in the year to come. I am sure we shall surmount these too with the same zeal, gusto and confidence, that has been the hallmark of our great Army. Our efforts to upgrade the Army and make it technologically uptodate are beginning to bear fruit. Once completed these will go a long way towards making our Army stronger, vibrant and dynamic.

On this occasion, I call upon all ranks to rededicate themselves to the service of our motherland.

May God be with you in all your endeavours.

JAI HIND

DEEPAK KAPOOR
General

New Delhi, 15 Jan 2008