THE TALE OF TSD or TECHNICAL SERVICES DIVISION

THE TALE OF TSD or Technical Services Division - the tragic tale of Col Hunny Bakshi and the betrayal of capable officers as also the Nation, by those within (from a posting in Quora)

What could have stopped a Pulwama like attack? India did have the capability, but that capability was dismantled. 

This is purportedly the story of the top-secret military intelligence unit of Indian army, TSD (Technical Support Division) and how it was sabotaged by UPA-II govt, hand in gloves with indian media, much to the relief of Pakistani establishment and ISI. And how they ruined the life of some of the finest men in uniform in the process. 

A movie named Aiyaari was based on this unit but it was fictional account, much adulterated, loosing the real account. Truth is indeed stranger than fiction.

THE FORMATION OF TSD

After 26/11 attacks, Indian military realized the failure and inefficiency of existing Indian intelligence units i.e. RAW and IB to be an effective counter against the increasing terror threats from Pakistan. They realized that these organizations have become too large and unwieldy. ISI and Pakistani establishment has successfully infiltrated them at various levels through sustained efforts for years.

After 26/11 attack, the then NSA, M.K Narayanan, met heads of all spy and security agencies individually to find out if they had the capability to attack home bases of terror groups in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir. None had. So Narayanan asked military intelligence to raise a team which has the capability to fight back the enemy. To answer them in the language they understand.

Hence, DGMI(Director-General of Military Intelligence) decided to form a top secret, covert military intelligence unit, with some of the finest, very efficient, incorruptible military intelligence officers with highest level of integrity and willingness to sacrifice everything for their country. 

Lt Gen R.K. Loomba, then DGMI, approached the new chief, General V.K. Singh, saying that he could raise and train a Special Ops team. Singh gave his go-ahead and so TSD was formed.

Loomba then handpicked one of his finest spies, Colonel Hunny Bakshi, to raise and train the unit. Bakshi is among the few officers who joined the DGMI directly from the Indian Military Academy. While serving in J&K he risked his life to save a Brigadier who was ambushed by terrorists. In 2006, he went for his intelligence training to Israel. After training, Mossad's supposed to have offered him a blank cheque to stay permanently and work for them. Apparently, he has turned out to possess exceptional ability to gather intelligence and displaying outstanding spying skills. But he turned down the offer and returned to India after training.

A FEW GOOD MEN

In 2010, TSD was formed with Colonel Hunny Bakshi as its commanding officer, 5 other officers of his choice and 32 other subordinates.

Bakshi’s first pick was Lt Col Vinay B. aka Birdie, who had served in the RAW. He was Bakshi’s point man against terrorist groups in the northeast and Jammu and Kashmir.

Lt Col Sarvesh D. was the second man to be picked. The veteran skydiver with 3,000 jumps under his belt commanded an Army company during the Kargil war. Later, he was part of a special action group of the National Security Guard. During a counter-terrorist operation in Sopore, Jammu and Kashmir, Sarvesh sensed that his men were in danger and barged into a house where Afghan terrorists were holed up. He killed them all and saved his men.

No 3 was Lt Col Alfred B., a seasoned negotiator. While serving with 28 Assam Rifles, he created assets in the dreaded United Liberation Front of Assam (ULFA). These assets were later used to persuade the ULFA leadership to come to a truce with the Army, which ensured peace in Assam for quite a while..

Lt Col Zir was the fourth. Known for his wide network among terror groups in the northeast, Zir had brought about the cease-fire deal with the Dima Halim Daogah ultras of Assam. He had played a key role in the arrest of some DHD leaders. Zir gathered crucial intelligence on arms trafficking into India from Myanmar and helped intercept consignments.

Bakshi’s best pick, perhaps, was Lt Col Anurag aka Naughty. Diabetic and overweight, he looked quite unlike an Army spy. Many laughed when Bakshi picked him. But, they soon found that he could walk for miles through the hilly Jammu and Kashmir terrain with a walking stick for support. A master in cultivating assets among the terrorist groups, he was the one who helped the Army identify the real troublemakers during the stone-pelting protests in Kashmir in the summer of 2010 and putting down the unrest.

THE ACHIEVEMENTS

The going was good for a short while. The intelligence inputs provided by unit helped a great deal in putting down 2010 Kashmir unrest. Many covert operations were done by the team, including ones in the northeast and in Pakistan. Especially highlighted was one in an Inter-Services Intelligence office in Faisalabad, Pakistan. 

For the first time in past 20 years, Pakistani military and intelligence were on their back foot. They had put in a great deal of efforts to infiltrate all major institutions in India including RAW but here was a unit about which they were totally in dark and it was giving ISI sleepless nights. They were clueless about its operational procedure and feared from it far more than RAW.

“The unit was working very efficiently. It was an asset for the Army and the country,” said Loomba, about the TSD. It reportedly conducted 8 covert operations in neighboring countries with 100 percent success rate. 

But it was not only ISI which was troubled. More troubled from TSD were the corrupt elites of Lutyens Delhi. Some of them did Hawala transactions with ISI and passed on crucial information to it. Many politicians were on payroll of Dawood Ibrahim and narcotics mafia. And all of them feared exposure.

THE WORMS IN THE WOODWORK

During the tenure of VK Singh as army chief, Retd. Lt Gen Tejinder Singh was an arms dealer who tried to offer a bribe of 14 crores to General VK Singh for clearing a tranche of "sub-standard" Tatra trucks for the force. As trucks were of poor quality, overpriced and had issues of underperformance, VK Singh refused to sanction the deal and stalled procurement order approved by his predecessor. So as to make VK Singh fall in line, Tejinder Singh decided to blackmail him. Being an ex-army man himself, he used his connections to fetch details about TSD. He bribed a clerk of TSD named Shyam Das to get classified information from him about TSD. He threatened VK Singh to leak information about TSD to media. 

TSD has purchased off-air mobile interception equipment from a Singapore-based company in November 2010 to monitor phone conversations. When VK Singh refused to budge, Tejinder leaked information to media about TSD and rumours started spreading about TSD using the mobile interceptor to snoop on phone conversations of then defence minister A.K. Antony and other defence ministry officials. Many powerful elites of Lutyens were rattled due to this information. All their dirty secrets were under threat of exposure. Although Lt. Tejinder Singh was arrested later on by the CBI on bribe charges, but the damage to TSD was already done by then.

THE ROT WITHIN

TSD unit during its snooping realized how deep the rot goes in Indian establishment. It found out that it goes right up to the very top during UPA II rule. Many ministers in UPA II felt insecure about TSD operations so they decided to use the army hierarchy to shut down the TSD. Some senior army officers easily became a party to political manoeuvring despite adverse impact on army capability and national security because TSD was also challenging orthodox military hierarchy. While ordinary military intelligence had to follow procedures and wait a long time to get funds released, TSD was directly reporting to the army chief VK Singh, having no intermediaries. There was no paucity of funds for TSD. It made many in the top brass of military jealous of TSD and its officers having direct access to the chief.

Till VK Singh remained army chief, he shielded TSD from all pressures within the army and from outside political pressure. But after his retirement in 2012, TSD and its officers were left on their own without any support. 

Soon an inquiry was conducted by Lt Gen Vinod Bhatia who was the then Director General Military Operations (DGMO) on the directions of defence minister A.K. Antony, at Army Headquarters. The inquiry stated that the TSD had claimed to have carried out at least eight covert operations in a foreign country. It had also paid money from secret service funds to try and enrol the secessionist chief in a province of a neighbouring country. There were also allegations of unaccounted diversion of funds for various illegal purposes although they were based much on unsubstantiated rumours.

Under political pressure, the new army chief Bikram Singh suspended all its operations and virtually disbanded it. Files related to TSD were burnt and all sophisticated surveillance equipment worth crores were destroyed. TSD was thus disbanded. The internal enemies of India dealt a heavy blow to the country’s security. But the ordeal of TSD officers was only getting started, they were yet to pay the price of serving their motherland.

THE WITCH HUNT

Officers and troops of the TSD have since been subjected to several inquiries, but nothing unlawful has been established to date. As no charges held water, the officers were shunted out to nondescript jobs. The ill-treatment of these officers was never-ending.

The leader of the team, Bakshi, is with a unit in Ladakh, where his job is to count snow-jackets and shoes being stocked for the winter. Despite being close to the Chinese border the super spy has no role in monitoring activities of Chinese troops. Shattered by the hostility shown to him by colleagues and seniors, Bakshi underwent psychiatric treatment in a Delhi hospital. 

His wife told the defence ministry and the prime minister Modi that he has developed suicidal tendencies. His son, an engineering student in a college outside Delhi, fears payback from those his father took on, while in the TSD. His wife admitted that he has been subjected to “extreme humiliation, indignity and fear by the hands of the top-most hierarchy of the country’s Army”.

All top guns of the TSD are in Bakshi’s predicament. 

Birdie is with the Military Engineering Services in Shillong, where he oversees plumbers and masons who maintain the official quarters of Air Force officers. 

Sarvesh, the skydiver, maintains land records of a small formation in Jharkhand. 

Alfred used to manage a poly-clinic in Deolali in Maharashtra. After his father, a retired Major, wrote to the Army that his son was threatening to kill himself, Alfred was posted closer to home—as a National Cadet Corps officer in Rajasthan. 

Zir is at a poly-clinic in Karnataka, clearing medical bills of retired officers and jawans. 

Naughty, too, is with a medical facility in Madhya Pradesh. 

More than the humiliation of these postings, the officers are tormented by the strain on their families. Two are facing divorce proceedings, with their wives alleging prolonged years of separation. 

THE VICTIMS AND AFTERMATH

 As a DGMI officer stated:

“Covert capability is supposed to be covert and there is always the factor of deniability. But, if our own people start documenting the deeds of intelligence officers and start feeding it to the media, then we are destroying our present and future assets.” 

Needless to say that after TSD was disbanded, the terror activities against India surged again. 

- India suffered Pathankot and Uri attacks in succession.

- Protests in Kashmir have risen to an all-time high level.

- Pulwama was a direct result of Intelligence failure along with increased radicalisation of Kashmiri youth. 

India has a country has been rendered weak and exposed to external threats, all due to vested political interests and corrupt nexus of UPA ministers, officials, media presstitutes etc.

NOTE : Finally, in March 2018, all charges against Col Hunny Bakshi were dropped by military court, but not before causing irreparable damage to the all TSD officers’ morale and their lives. Thus a brilliant unit was scrapped, and its officers continue to live their life in misery and ignominy, as a punishment for serving their nation with all their hearts and souls and India was once again left exposed for its enemies to attack.

https://www.quora.com/What-can-the-government-of-India-do-to-avoid-another-incident-like-the-Pulwama-attack-upon-the-Indian-soldiers

कर्नल दिनेश पठानिया समेत सभी 5 सैनिको की उम्रकैद की सजा ख़त्म: सरीन लखविंदर मोदी सरकार में मिली जमानत, ये अबतक की सबसे बड़ी खबर है

 साथियों,
मोदी सरकार ने ऐसा काम कर दिखाया है जिसकी
जितनी तारीफ की जाये उतनी कम है,
ये अबतक का सबसे बड़ा राष्ट्रवादी कार्य है, अगर आप कर्नल पठानिया समेत 5 सैनिको का किस्सा नहीं जानते तो आपको बता दें की 2010 में कर्नल दिनेश पठानिया जम्मू कश्मीर के माछिल में तैनात थे,
2010 में आये दिन कश्मीरी मुस्लिम पत्थरबाजी कर सैनिको को घायल कर देते थे, उस ज़माने में न पैलेट गन की छूट थी, और न ही सैनिको को किसी भी प्रकार की कार्यवाही करने की इज़ाज़त थी,
रोज रोज सैनिक घायल होकर अपना इलाज करवाते थे, इसी के बाद 2010 में कर्नल पठानिया ने पत्थरबाज आतंकियों के खिलाफ कार्यवाही करने का आदेश दे दिया और उनकी टीम ने 3 पत्थरबाज आतंकियों को ढेर कर दिया,
2010 में सोनिया-मनमोहन की सरकार थी,
फ़ौरन रक्षामंत्रालय ने आर्मी कोर्ट से कर्नल पठानिया समेत 5 सैनिको का कोर्ट मार्शल करते हुए उम्रकैद की सजा सुना दी,
अब 2017 में मोदी सरकार के दौरान आर्मी कोर्ट ने रक्षामंत्रालय के सिफारिश पर कर्नल पठानिया समेत सभी 5 सैनिको को जमानत दे दी, और उनकी उम्रकैद की सजा भी ख़त्म कर दी,
7 सालों से कर्नल पठानिया और उनके साथी जेल में सड़
रहे थे, वो भी आतंकियों के खिलाफ कार्यवाही के लिए
मोदी सरकार ने 2015 से ही क़ानूनी कार्यवाही शुरू कर दी थी और
अब तमाम क़ानूनी कार्यवाई ख़त्म हुई और कर्नल पठानिया समेत सभी 5 सैनिको की उम्रकैद की सजा ख़त्म और सभी को जमानत दे दी गयी।



जय हिंद

INSIDE STORY OF INDIA'S STRIKE INSIDE PAKISTAN

*INSIDE STORY OF INDIA'S STRIKE INSIDE PAKISTAN*

It was a coincidence, but a propitious one. Two days after a suicide bomber had driven his explosive-laden Maruti Eeco into a trooper convoy at Pulwama, killing 40 CRPF constables and escorts, the Indian Air Force had its scheduled annual firepower demonstration, Vayu Shakti, on February 16. There, in the Pokhran range where the exercise takes place every spring, several Mirages, MiG-27s and Jaguars emptied their precision bombs and ground-strike munitions in front of hundreds of news cameras, secret recoding devices and even satellite eyes of the big powers. Not more than five men on the grandstand of the VIPs knew that a few of the aircraft were actually rehearsing the strikes that they would deliver in real enemy territory exactly a week later.

A day before the exercise, Air Chief Marshal B.S. Dhanoa had driven up the Raisina Hill from his Vayu Bhawan office and given a presentation to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, National Security Adviser Ajit Doval and some of their closest security aides. There he had reiterated what several other chiefs before him had told their prime ministers—that the IAF had the capability to deliver precision strikes on terror camps in Pakistan as also occupied Kashmir.

But there was a difference this time. On earlier occasions when air strikes had been thought of, the targets had been close to the Line of Control, mostly in occupied Kashmir. This time, however, an overcautious Pakistan had emptied out all the terror training camps and launchpads near the LoC, and moved them into the sovereign territory of Pakistan. Hitting those could provoke the enemy into retaliating in kind, Dhanoa is said to have warned. Would the political leadership be willing to risk an escalation?

 _Plan of action: Prime Minister Modi addresses a Cabinet Committee on Security meeting on February 26_

It was that risk that had held back several governments earlier from hitting the truant neighbour with military force—after the attack on Parliament, after the attack in Mumbai, after the attacks in Pathankot, Uri and several other places. But this time, the mood had changed.

All the same, as the chief was about to leave, the prime minister is said to have added a clause of caution—strike at the terror camp, but ensure that there will be no collateral damage on any military installation or civilian life and property.

As the senior air staff at Vayu Bhawan scrambled to assess the situation, they found that it would be no easy task. For Pakistan is a country dotted with military installations, and most terror training camps were close to, or even attached to military stations. The strikes would have to be pin-precise.

Meanwhile, the chiefs and their staff officers had received inputs from the R&AW and IB, whose heads Anil Dhasmana and Rajiv Jain were also present at the meeting. One target that would yield politico-military dividend was the Bahawalpur headquarters of Masood Azhar, the head of the Jaish-e-Mohammad that had perpetrated the Pulwama and several other attacks on India.

 _High alert: Prime Minister Imran Khan addresses a meeting of Pakistan’s National Security Committee_

But Bahawalpur was soon ruled out for several reasons, the foremost being that it was well-guarded by the Pakistani army and air defence. Moreover, the clutter of talk from India about Bahawalpur had made Pakistan virtually “over-guard” their precious asset. Meanwhile, the National Technical Research Organisation had supplied satellite pictures and data about 30 terror-training locations, including the ones at Jalalabad, Balakot, Khalid bin Wahid, Jungal Mangal, Abbottabad and Tarbela, all of which were reporting heightened activity, perhaps due to the arrival of the trainers and recruits from the camps in PoK. Loki:

“Such missions are the result of great coordination among all the agencies,” pointed out Alok Joshi, former NTRO chief who was part of the planning for the 2016 surgical strikes.

The choice was soon made—the strike would be on the Syed Ahmed Shaheed training camp in Balakot, not the Balakot in Poonch near the line of control, but the little town of Balakot in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa on the sovereign territory of Pakistan. The outskirts of the town had hosted one of the oldest terror training camps of Pakistan which, some say, dated back to the days when President Zia-ul-Haq arranged training for the Afghan mujahideen to wage war against the Soviet military in the 1980s. The facility had since been given over to Hizbul Mujahideen and in recent years to Jaish-e-Mohammad. “There are several such terror camps inside Pakistan and these details have been shared with the Pakistan government time and again,” former home secretary G.K. Pillai told THE WEEK. “However, no action has been taken to dismantle the terror infrastructure on its soil. Balakot is one such facility that has been used by multiple terror organisations.”

The hilltop facility by the Kunhar river offered a sprawling campus, where recruits were imparted the advanced Daura-e-Khaas training in weapons, explosives and field tactics, tactics for attacking security convoys, planting and making improvised explosive devices, preparations for suicide bombing, rigging vehicles for suicide attacks and survival tactics in high altitude and under extreme stress. Masood had been known to visit the place to give inspirational lectures, and he had entrusted the administration of the camp to his brother-in-law Yusuf Azhar,; alias Ustad Ghauri, who is suspected to have masterminded the Pulwama attack. “Balakot was used for battle inoculation,” said the intelligence dossiers presented to the prime minister.

The snoops also had copies of dossiers kept by the Pakistan Punjab government on 42 Jaish-e-Mohammad instructors, all of who had trained, and some of whom were training fresh recruits at Balakot, complete with their phone numbers, names of parents, and home addresses in Bahawalpur, Multan, Rawalpindi, Faisalabad, Attock, Sahiwal, Muzaffarabad, Rajanpur and Mianwali. They also told the prime minister that Masood Azhar himself had been at the Balakot facility on February 5, which was Kashmir Solidarity Day. His earlier visit had been in October when he had offered a prayer for acceptance of the “martyrdom” of his 18-year-old nephew Usman (son of his elder brother Ibrahim Azhar), who had been gunned down by security forces in Tral in Kashmir. Azhar had urged Kashmiris to follow in the footsteps of Usman. Adil Ahmad Dar, the Pulwama fidayeen bomber, is said to have been inspired by that speech, which was circulated on social media. And Yusuf Azhar, who had been trained at Balakot, was training more youngsters there. All this made Balakot the perfect target.

 _Lethal weapons: a train loaded with army trucks and artillery guns parked at a railway station on the outskirts of jammu | Reuters_

Balakot was finally zeroed in on, but the prime minister still had a word of caution—no collateral damage to civilian or military lives or assets, please.

Thus, it was with the weight of the Balakot mission in mind that Dhanoa flew to Pohkran the next day. When media men quizzed him there, he would only say that the IAF was ever prepared to deliver “appropriate response” as assigned by India’s political leadership. Two days later, on February 18, Dhanoa was again summoned to the prime minister’s office, where he received the final go-ahead. The same evening, Dhanoa’s office called the No 7 squadron in Gwalior, and assigned it the task.

By then, the IAF had done the complete operational planning with Air Marshal Hari Kumar, chief of the Delhi-based Western Command, and Air Marshal Rajesh Kumar, head of the Allahabad-based Central Command.  ..Loki:

Central Command because the Gwalior squadron came under it, and western command because it would have to provide all the support, such as escorts, air defence cover, early warning and even mid-air refuelling from the huge Ilyushin-78 tankers.

But why Mirages, and that too all the way from Gwalior? Why not the equally advanced MiG-29 from Adampur, dedicated ground attack MiG-27 from Bathinda, deep-strike Jaguars from Ambala or the workhorse MiG-Biz from Pathankot or elsewhere? Several factors went into the selection of the strike aircraft, the route of ingress and even the logistics. “For carrying out such operations, first of all is the target selection, which is vital. You must have something to strike because we do not risk so many aircraft, crew and prestige on something which is just a hilltop,” explained retired Air Vice Marshal Manmohan Bahadur. “Once you decide on the target, then comes types of aircraft and weapons. Planning like routing, assets, have to go along like AWACS, flight refueller and others.”

 Hitting the targets in pakistan could provoke the enemy into retaliating in kind, air marshal B.S. Dhanoa is said to have warned. Hitting the targets in pakistan could provoke the enemy into retaliating in kind, air marshal B.S. Dhanoa is said to have warned.

The reasons for choosing the Mirages were several. For one, Mirages were equipped with laser-guiding pods and more modern electronic warfare suits that could jam Pakistani air defences. They have fly-by-wire flight control system which freed the pilot to focus on releasing the weapon; have Sextant VE-130 HUD, which displays data related to flight control, navigation, target engagement, and weapon firing. They also have Thales RDY 2 radar, aiding the pilot to engage any enemy plane from long distance. The pilots are also equipped with display inside their helmet, enabling them to see radar data without looking at the cockpit display. This means a pilot can direct weapons by merely pointing their head instead of manoeuvering the entire jet in the direction of the target. Their SPICE (Smart Precise Impact Cost Effective guidance kit)-2000 kits, mounted on a standard 2000-pound Mk 84 unguided bomb, were the smartest munition to hit soft targets on the ground without inflicting collateral damage.

The other available aircraft were MiG-Biz, MiG-29 and Jaguars. Though recently upgraded, MiG-Biz is essentially a short-range jet, more suited to dogfights with enemy planes than for ground attack. MiG-29s are longer-range and immensely powerful, but more suited in an interceptor role for establishing air superiority. Jaguars are deep-strike jets, but with limited capability for dogfight in case the enemy scrambles. The Mirages, recently upgraded and armed with MICA air-to-air missiles, can engage targets at beyond visual ranges and also at close ranges—one missile for two jobs.

The choice of Gwalior as the launch base was also ideal. For one, Gwalior indeed is the home base of the Mirage squadrons. Secondly, from there they could take off and climb high while in Indian airspace, and then swoop down to treetop level to evade enemy radars as they approached Pakistani airspace. They could strike at the target from stand-off positions, before climbing to higher altitudes to scoot. “This is called hi-lo-lo-hi mode of strike,” said an air officer. “You take off high so as to save fuel and gain speed, ingress into enemy territory low so as to evade enemy radars, strike from low altitude, and then climb up to egress fast. Any squadron from closer to the border would have been picked up by the enemy as soon as they took off. Therefore, the strike had to take off from deep inside India.”

The squadron, No 7, was also battle-hardened.

  Loki:

Known as Battle Axes, they had seen action in Operation Cactus in November 1988 in the Maldives, and then in Kargil where Wing Commander Sandeep Chhabra earned a Yudh Seva Medal and Wing Commander (now marshal and commanding-in-chief of eastern command) R. Nambiar the Vayu Sena Medal.

Squadron 7 had a week to practise. And that whole week the MiGs from the border bases, and even heavy Sukhois from deeper-inland bases, flew up on hundreds of combat air patrol missions near the border and LoC, creating clutters on Pakistani radars.

They did the same in the early hours of February 26, too. Sukhois from Halwara and even deep-inland bases like Bareilly roared around in the western command’s airspace, executing forward sweeps. Behind that air cover, two Ilyushin-78 tanker planes flew up from Agra to air-fuel the Mirages, in case any jet got thirsty mid-air. And two early warning planes from Bathinda roamed around looking deep into Pakistani airspace and giving realtime information to the Mirages about enemy fighter activity.

At 2am on February 26, when the enemy skies were clear during the graveyard shift, 12 of the Mirages, armed with laser-pods, SPICE-2000 and Crystal Maze Mark2 air-to-ground missiles, and fire-and-forget medium-range (90km) Popeye missiles flew up high into the central Indian skies and then swooped down as they approached the Pakistani airspace. There they split into three groups heading north, west and south. “This is done with two purposes,” said an Air Force officer. “One is to avoid presenting a cluster of targets to the enemy, the other is to strike at the enemy from several directions. We call it multi-directional saturation strike. By using the technique of ‘masking by hills’, our fighters were able to beat the Pakistan air defence radars. Two decoys were also used to distract Pakistan air force. A Heron unmanned aerial vehicle was also up in the air for monitoring and assessment of the target.”

Intelligence reports earlier had said that the camps at Jabba Top in Balakot, Chakothi and on the suburbs of Muzaffarabad housed 200 to 300 JeM cadre, trainers and leaders. ‪From 3.42am the Mirages pounded the three targets—all within a radius of 10km—for nearly eight minutes. The jets fired 12 Spice 2000 precision-guided bombs and two Popeye air-to-ground missiles with the explosive weight over 1,000kg.

The Pakistan air force, taken by surprise, did scramble their F-16s, but by then the Mirages had climbed, disregarding the radars, and raced back. “Pakistan’s lack of strategic depth helped us,” said an officer. “The targets were just about 65km from Indian airspace. The ingress by our strike [fighters] took longer because they took circuitous routs and also flew low to evade enemy radars. But the egress was quick. They flew back straight, and also at high altitude.” By ‪4.30am all the fighters were back in Gwalior after carrying IAF’s first cross-border strike since 1971.

The next morning, as Indian air defence radars, linked to Spyder missile batteries and Akash air defence missiles, scanned the horizons and the border base MiGs patrolled the skies, Indian Foreign Secretary Vijay Gokhale announced to the media: 

“In an intelligence-led operation in the early hours of Tuesday, India struck the biggest training camp of JeM in Balakot. In this operation, a very large number of JeM terrorists, trainers, senior commanders and groups of jihadis who were being trained for fidayeen action were eliminated. This facility at Balakot was headed by Maulana Yousuf Azhar alias Ustad Ghouri, [who is] the brother-in-law of Masood Azhar.”

Pakistan, however, denied any casualties, and said that its jets had fought off the Indian ones, which had dropped the payload in haste. Bashir Wali, the former head of Pakistan Intelligence Bureau, even denied the presence of any terror camps in Balakot. “It is war hysteria created by India for its elections. I have been to those areas. It has been snowing there. 

https://www.theweek.in/theweek/cover/2019/03/02/stealthy-skydivers.html

Loki:

There would be a maximum of five or six houses in the entire area. Indian jets only offloaded the bomb while quickly returning to their Indian base,” he said. “India has started the wrong game and Pakistan will react two times to any provocation.”

And, it did. Soon, the tactical picture began to change. Protesting violently, Pakistan scrambled their air force, which conducted several menacing combat patrols close to the international border and the Line of Control in Jammu and Kashmir. In what is now suspected a clever trap to lure Indian fighters, a pack of F-16, JF-17 and Mirage-5 streamed across the Line of Control ‪around 10am into the Noushera, Bimbargali and Krishna Ghat sectors of Rajouri and Poonch districts. The Mirage-5 tried to bomb the Indian Army’s 25 Division headquarters, and an ammunition and logistics depot close to the brigade headquarters in Poonch.

The IAF immediately scrambled a combat air patrol from Awantipora base close to Srinagar. Five MiG-Biz chased the four F-16s that turned back, with two MiGs in hot pursuit, but one, flown by Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman, was hit and downed. Much like the capture of Wing Commander Nachiketa during the Kargil war, he was immediately mobbed, but quickly captured by the Pakistani ground forces.

As the Pakistan military posted videos of Varthaman being quizzed, India was pressing upon Pakistan to treat him by the Geneva Conventions, which demanded that a prisoner of war be not tortured or coerced into revealing more than bare details about himself, his unit and his mission.

The external affairs ministry summoned the Pakistan acting high commissioner in Delhi, and “strongly objected to Pakistan’s vulgar display of an injured personnel of the Indian Air Force in violation of all norms of international humanitarian law”.

India also ruled out Pakistan’s call for a dialogue, and said there would be “no deal” on the pilot’s release.

The following day, on February 28, hours after the US reportedly called for immediate steps towards de-escalation, Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan announced in Parliament that they would release Varthaman as “a gesture of peace”. He said he wanted de-escalation. The question is: Will he get it?

https://www.theweek.in/theweek/cover/2019/03/02/stealthy-skydivers.html

*As per report of a Swedish newspaper, Wing Commander Abhinandan just didn’t return like that.*

The Pakistanis spent the entire night of 27th February in blackout and in horror.

After the F 16 was shot down, America was  angry, but it had to defend Pakistan from India’s anger and the Indian pilot who was in their custody.

*India had kept the Bramhos in launch position for a much bigger and devastating action.The plan was to destroy the entire Air Force of Pakistan, which the USA came to know.*

*America immediately informed Pakistan not to harm the pilot in their custody, else it will be difficult to control India and India being their friendly Nation in case of war they would lock the engines of all the F 16 Pakistan were having.*

*Afraid of this likely action, Bajwa himself ran to the UAE for help. US had conversations with Saudi Arabia, China and Russia.*

*UAE requested India to wait for a night, and scolded Pakistan over their act. It adviced them to refrain.*

*Russia and USA told Pakistan to release the detained pilot unharmed and that too without any condition.*

*But can Pakistan understand the seriousness of the message? Then it’s not Pakistan. Inspite of all these things they went to China to give direct link to their (China’s) satellite - navigating over Indian territory from the skies, to which China instantly refused.* ( Here the diplomacy of Modi Govt came to play. A day earlier Sushma Swaraj had a meeting with Chinese authorities in China, and secondly China had lost faith in Pakistan as they can misuse the F16 to strike the Indian installations, then they can even misuse these satellite links if they provide them) 

*Even then Bajwa ran to Turkey for any assistance, which Turkey turned down immediately. Instead, it advised them to release the pilot.*

Here satellites of all the big countries were watching what step India will now take.

From February 24 to February 28 at night, all big Pakistani Army officers were staying in the bunkers installed in their respective houses.

*Pakistan had no other alternative but to release the pilot without any condition.*

*Pakistan was helpless and was made untenable by Modi.*

Aaam Aadmi Late Shri Manohar Parrikar

How Manohar Parrikar Walked the Talk with His Simplicity and Dedication

Dr Anupam Saraph
18 March 2019 2

It was sometime in 2001. At a gathering hosted by Gomantak, the leading newspaper in Goa, I was explaining to someone the 100 year scenarios of urbanisation of Goa. These scenarios were the result of the Goa 2101 model that I had built. I had no idea someone was eavesdropping on the conversation, perhaps because of my passionate expression, or else because it was just more than a bit crazy to talk about 100 years in future when no one talked of even 100 days. Least of all did I know, that that someone was the then chief minister of Goa, Manohar Parrikar. 

Later I learnt that Manoharbhai had discovered that I was the same person who had conducted a study and had refused to modify the findings to support an infrastructure project for multi-level parking at Junta house in Panjim being proposed by Infrastructure Leasing and Financial Services Ltd (IL&FS) and Goa State Infrastructure Development Corp Ltd (GSIDC).

A week later I got a call from the chief minister’s office saying that the chief minister would like to talk to me. A few seconds later Manoharbhai was on the line. Without beating around the bush he said the Goa government had an infotech corporation and he wanted to appoint a vice chairman to put it on track. He wanted me to accept the position. I asked what it would mean.

He said we would discuss when we met, he just wanted my assent. The next day it was notified that I would be the vice chairman of the corporation. 

After about two months, Mr Parrikar realised that my inputs had provided him with the ability to save more than 25% of the government’s expenditure on e-governance and also with a plan to create employment for over 10,000 IT engineers. He recognised that this value-add to the taxpayers had come without any compensation for my time and effort as the Company Act did not provide for compensating non-executive directors except by way of a small sitting fee, which was generally never paid. He recognised that the value of my contributions was beyond the corporation to advising the government on governance and IT.

He initiated the procedure to appoint me as an adviser on governance and IT amidst much opposition from the bureaucracy. It took a whole year before he succeeded, I still remember him being apologetic as he sought my advice even though I had not been compensated by the government for this extraordinarily long time.

He followed the practice of reading every relevant paper in every file that passed his desk. He had to ensure none of the taxpayer’s money was being wasted or stolen. So invariably, his schedule would overshoot. He used to call me to brief him at 7pm, but I usually had to wait till he finished his files for all the departments.

Sometimes he would take an hour in between to diligently coach his son, who was then in class XII. So invariably it would be well past 9pm when he would finally have time for our appointment.

Even as he was multitasking he not only observed but acknowledged that I had spent most of the time reading, not just sitting around. I still remember his humility when he would ask me to explain what e-governance is and how it can help the state. 

Often our conversations would run close to midnight. Usually he would have let his driver go home long before that. I lived in Alto de Porvorim, half way between Mapusa, where he lived in his family house, and Altino the official residence where he operated from in Panjim. He would often request if I could drop him home.

Sometimes if we had unfinished conversations he would request me to come to his family home at 7am. His sister-in-law would open the door and go to get milk from the milk stall while Manoharbhai would get up from the divan in the living room and ask me to wait. 

Manoharbhai initiated many path breaking initiatives in e-governance, way before the rest of the world even thought about it. He encouraged my initiative to invite every department head to articulate the mission of their departments and use IT to enable the mission instead of merely automating procedures.  He ensured I would have the best bureaucrat as my IT secretary to ensure procedures would not block the innovations that would put the state’s governance ahead. 

He supported the move to consolidate government IT initiatives so that citizens would not be asked to provide information and certificates that the government itself had issued to the citizens. He supported the initiatives to explore building a cooperative of IT engineers along with the engineering colleges and the IT industry. 

In order to promote an IT culture and provide opportunities to Goan youth, he launched a program to give every higher secondary student a free personal computer (PC). We ensured every student had access to not only Microsoft Office but also visual studio and later even Linux machines with open source technologies.

He wanted to create educational content servers that could deliver educational content to students and we even explored innovative technologies including transmitting information over power lines in order to overcome the last mile reach to students in villages.

The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) policies on leased line access disadvantaged IT companies in Goa over Mumbai and Pune. With Manoharbhai’s help, I could reach out to the then IT minister Arun Shourie. With his help and that of the then TRAI chairman, Pradeep Baijal, we accomplished parity with other cities. Against all odds, with Manoharbhai’s support, we signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) for Zenta and then Wipro to set up 10,000 seater centres in Goa. 

Goa was chosen as the best governed small state by the Planning Commission and in an independent survey by India Today.

Sometimes I travelled with Manoharbhai to Delhi or Mumbai for meetings. Once he arrived at the Mumbai airport in an auto rickshaw. The security could not believe he was the chief minister of Goa. Once we travelled back from Mumbai by the early morning flight. Manoharbhai carried his own bag and refused to let anyone else carry it for him. 

When we landed in Goa in the early hours, he asked if we could inspect the construction underway for the international film festival before going home. He thought he could get to see if the contractor was delivering as promised if he made an early morning round before everyone turned up.

Once he drove his new car late at night over the Mandovi Bridge to his home in Mapusa. The constable on duty at the bridge did not recognise him and stopped him to check his licence. Even after seeing his licence the constable told him his car had a temporary registration and he should have a permanent one before driving it around. Manoharbhai nodded without identifying himself and went home. The next day he found out who was on duty and promoted him for doing his job well.

Once Manoharbhai wanted me to entertain a guest he was unable to meet. He asked me to give him the bill so it could be reimbursed. The guest had ordered beverage. I had no idea that beverage could not be reimbursed. 

Without even mentioning my ignorance Manoharbhai paid from his own pocket so that I would not be out of pocket.  

Goa had hosted a conference of TIE International where hundreds of IT entrepreneurs and venture capitalists gathered. Manoharbhai had to address them before dinner. In his speech Manoharbhai narrated a story from Chandamama about a king who lost everything when he lost his character as he pursued wealth and power. He urged the importance of character over wealth.

Manoharbhai tested everyone and every decision against the yardstick of character, integrity and conflict of interest. He would explain whenever people asked for compensation in multiple roles why compensation can only come from one role. He emphasised and expected high standards of everyone holding public office.

Months after his coalition government lost power amid defections, I left Goa to join my family in the US. Manoharbhai was now the leader of the opposition.

Whenever I visited Goa, he would take me out to lunch. On one such occasion, I had floated the idea that he should set up a school to create leaders in every sector.

I explained that leaders should be people who recognise and act in public interest.

Leaders should commit themselves to the lifetimes of children born today, not merely from election to election in partisan and private interests. I had touched a raw nerve. He had tears in his eyes. He said that was indeed the need of the hour and had wished he could implement the idea. It was not the only time I saw him disillusioned with politics.

On another such occasion he shared his frustrations with politics. He wanted to renounce politics. It was perhaps his disillusionment with the lack of true leaders that kept him from doing so.

I happened to visit Goa when the Panjim government was preparing proposals for the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM) projects. He took me to a meeting to have me explain why the JNNURM approach was wrong.

Manoharbhai rarely spoke in public about his disgust of politicians, their methods and hunger for power. Sometimes, in a rare moment, he would express sadness at the helplessness to change the vicious cycle of greed for power and money. His eyes always lit up when he talked about education. He felt that was the only way we would be able to transform society. 

Later when I returned to Pune we saw less of each other. When Manoharbhai became the defence minister he used to visit Pune often. Once I had requested him to address my students to tell them about the importance of character in governance. He spent over an hour chatting informally with my students. He preferred to answer questions, not sermonise. He said action should speak more than his words. 

It is unlikely that it is a coincidence that he later ceased to be the defence minister and returned to where he felt he could walk with his conscience. He has left behind for his followers his dream of using education to create leaders and a better society.

 Manoharbhai could not rest till he made a difference. He was a karma yogi. It is no accident that he worked till his last breath. 

He has left an example of simplicity, dedication and walking the talk that will for long be the standard to distinguish leaders from politicians who represent partisan interests. May he find peace in leaving behind his actions as an example for others.

(Dr Anupam Saraph is a Professor, Future Designer, former governance and IT advisor to Goa’s former Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar and the Global Agenda Councils of the World Economic Forum. He has designed delivery channels and ID schemes for good governance in his previous roles.)

Threatening Calls to Col Mukul Dev; Punjab Police Comes Into Action

March 17, 2019

Fauji Reporter

Punjab Police came into action, when Col Mukul Dev, who is leading petitioner in ongoing NFU for military case in honorable supreme court, received threatening calls from unknown number.

On receiving such calls at around 1130 am on 17 Mar 2019, Col Mukul Dev twitted from his handle:

“@Warrior_Mukul
5 hours ago
Threatening calls are being made to me from ‘Unknown’ number (as reflected on my mobile screen) asking me to not to follow what I am doing. Whosoever is making such calls, I challenge, if you have guts, come in open and have a face to face bout. Why hide?”

This tweet triggered a wave of anguish on social media, wherein many persons and military veterans came ion his support demanding immediate police action and protection to life of Col Mukul Dev. Capt Amrinder Singh, CM of Punjab was tagged in many tweets.

Please note that Col Mukul Dev is main petitioner in a case pending in Supreme Court against decision of Govt of India of not giving NFU to military personals, whereas same has been given to civil & CAPF officers. The case is first of its kind in India since independence, where serving officers have challenged decision of Govt of India in court alleging discrimination and neglect of military personals.

On matter being reported, Punjab Police is taking action and investigations are on to find out criminals behind such threatening calls.

Till the timing of writing this report, immediate outcome of investigations are not known which is likely to take some time. However military families are worried over safety of Col Mukul Dev and his family and are demanding proper protection. The matter has also been reported to army authorities.