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China has ramped up troops deployment, infra along LAC but so have we — Eastern Army, commander

Eastern Army Commander Lt Gen Manoj Pande says there has been a ‘marginal increase’ in patrolling activities in some areas along the LAC.

Indian Army initiates Tibetology course for its officers amid LAC standoff

As the Army shifts focus from the western borders with Pakistan to the LAC with China, it has initiated a course in Tibetology for its young officers and men to enable them to have a better understanding of Tibetan history, culture, language, and topography. Around 150 soldiers have undergone Tibetology courses that began earlier this year. The Army’s Training Command has identified seven institutes for Tibetology across the country.

J&K administration signs MoU with Dubai govt to develop real estate, industrial parks

J&K administration signed an MoU with the Dubai government for the development of the real estate, industrial parks, super-specialty hospitals, and more.

Deep-rooted Terror Conspiracy Revealed in Dossier of Syed Ali Shah Geelani’s Terminated Grandson

Syed Ali Shah Geelani was a hardcore secessionist who openly advocated the use of violence as means to secede J&K from India and its merger with Pakistan.

Jaishankar takes part in the new quadrilateral-level meeting with the US, Israel, UAE

The four foreign ministers agreed to strengthen strategic partnership, held a closed discussion to draw a strategy to make the quadrilateral cooperative plan a reality.

Indian Navy receives 11th P-8I anti-submarine aircraft from Boeing

The Defence Ministry had first signed a contract for 8 P-8I aircraft in 2009. Later, in 2016, it signed a contract for four additional P-8I aircraft. Navy had received the 9^th P-8I in Nov last year and the 10^th P-8I in July this year. This is the 3^rd aircraft to be delivered under the contract, the defense ministry said.

India reiterates its commitment to UNCITRAL in the field of international trade law

India on Mon (local time) reiterated its commitment to the UN Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL) as the core legal body of the United Nations system in the field of international trade law.

India only G20 nation well on track to achieve Paris agreement goal: Niti Aayog CEO Amitabh Kant

India’s efforts in mainstreaming sustainability and reducing carbon footprint should inspire countries across the world, Niti Aayog CEO Amitabh Kant said on Tue, while pointing out that India is the only G20 nation well on track to achieve the goals mentioned under the Paris Agreement.

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Navy wards off Indian submarine from entering Pakistani waters: ISPR

The Pakistan Navy detected and blocked an Indian submarine from entering Pakistani waters on Oct 16 (last Sat), for the 3^rd time, the Inter-Services Public Relations revealed on Tue. The 1^st attempt was conducted in Aug 2016, while 2^nd in Mar 2019, as per Dawn.

China: CPC official sanctioned for human rights violations to head Tibet’s party unit

Wang’s appointment to the Tibet post would be keenly watched by worldwide rights groups, as well as New Delhi, given the continuing border tensions along the LAC in eastern Ladakh.

China tested nurses during simulated night landing exercise: Report

China had recently sent a record number of planes 56 warplanes into Taiwan’s airspace as the country scrambled its fighters and activated the missile systems. Amid tensions with Taiwan, reports say the Chinese army trained nurses as part of its war simulation exercise. The People’s Liberation Army (PLA) reportedly trained 300 nurses as part of the military drill involving an exercise to take an island. The exercise was part of a nighttime combat drill at sea with nurses as part of the medical rescue plan.

The US is concerned about the use of hypersonic weapons amid denial by China

A purported hypersonic missile test by China is causing hypertension in Washington with alarm bells ringing about Beijing surging ahead of the US not just in economic clout but also in terms of “stolen” technological prowess. (see Last Newsletter)

Zalmay Khalilzad steps down as US envoy to Afghanistan in wake of chaotic withdrawal, Thomas West to take over

According to Politico, Khalilzad stated in his resignation letter that “the political agreement between the Afghan govt and the Taliban did not go as planned.” This chapter of Afghanistan has been most brutal and disastrous for humanity. Surrendering Afghanistan to Taliban terrorists and abandoning innocents.

Afghanistan: Price of Goods Rise, Value of Afghani Falls

As the price of goods increase in bazaars, Kabul residents are concerned about the weakening of the Afghani against the dollar.

Kazakhstan Sends 4,000 Tons of Flour to Aid Afghan People-TOLONews

The country will reportedly send 42 more containers of flour to Afghanistan in the future.

China has ramped up troops deployment, infra along LAC but so have we — Eastern Army, commander

China has deployed a high number of reserve troops along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in the Eastern Command since tensions broke out with India last year, and it has also ramped up integrated military exercises, the Eastern Army Commander Lt Gen Manoj said Tue, who underlined that India too has built up its capacity and all contingency plans are in place.

Addressing the media in Arunachal Pradesh’s Rupa there are enough troops in the region to deal with any developing situation, however, the dual (military and civil) use of new border villages created by China is a concern and this has been taken into operational planning.

• He said that while there has been a “marginal increase” in patrolling activities in some areas along the LAC, there has “not been any noticeable change” if one takes the entire Eastern Command into the picture.
• “…from the view of the Eastern Command specifically, our focus has been on preparedness and our ability to respond and react to any contingency is on the higher side,” he said.
• Lt Gen Pande said a large number of emergency procurement has been done to beef up the operational requirements and the focus is on harnessing niche technology and its integration with the troops on the ground.
• Lt Gen Pande further said that while the Eastern Command has increased its presence in certain vulnerable areas, there has not been any significant increase in troop levels.
• Explaining the Chinese actions, he said that in terms of infrastructure, they are looking at a strategic infrastructure and that is too close to the LAC.
• The Commander added that in terms of capability development, the Indian Army was also engaged in capacity building to effectively counter the Chinese threat, and India is reviewing existing border agreements and management mechanisms at the LAC

Increase in the number of border defense groups: Talking about the activities of the PLA, Lt Gen Pande said that there are 3-4 issues.

• “There has been some increase in the level of activity (by China) in an annual training exercise in-depth areas,” he said.
• He said both India and China were beefing up the infrastructure and both are trying to build up along the LAC.
• He said with Chinese infrastructure at the LAC at several places completed, “there is an increase in the number of border defense groups”.
• He also said that in Asafila in the eastern part of Arunachal Pradesh, Indian troops have noticed some infra development close to the LAC in terms of habitat.

Talking about the Indian response, he said the Eastern Command has taken several steps.

• Enhancing our surveillance, up to in-depth areas, by synergizing all surveillance equipment, from strategic like a satellite to tactical.
• we have an adequate number of forces in each sector to deal with any contingency.
• In certain areas where our deployment was thin, we have strengthened but largely there has not been a major increase in the number of troops deployed at LAC, he said.
• The Eastern Command is also looking at maximizing technology for intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance.

Have both defensive and aggressive posture: Noting that along the entire LAC — a significant portion of it lies in the Eastern Command — there are several areas or points where “soldiers between both sides interact, as per schedule or by chance”, a euphemism for face-offs.

“… We have a robust SOPs and mechanism which helps resolve the issue,” he said, adding that the role of junior officers and commanders is very important because they are the ones who should develop mutual understanding with the commanders of the other side.

• Lt Gen Pande said that there are areas like Nakula where Indian and PLA troops do come face to face but there are standard drills agreed upon to resolve the issue.
• Asked about the posture of the Army along the LAC, Lt Gen Pande said during normal times, it is for maintenance of peace and tranquility.
• On the issue of Doklam in Bhutan, which saw an intense standoff in 2017, he said that both India and China are fully aware of each other’s sensitivity.
• “In terms of troop level, there has not been any major increase and infrastructure remains as it was earlier,” he said.

Indian Army guns down 6 LeT terrorists in Rajouri jungles, fire-fight on

HT-The Indian Army has gunned down six terrorists belonging to Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) in the ongoing encounter in the thick jungles of the Rajouri sector with efforts to neutralize the remaining three to four Islamic jihadists by the 16 Corps troops.

After the Indian Army lost 9 men in engaging the terrorists in Rajouri jungles, Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) Gen Bipin Rawat visited the area on Oct 16^th to hold discussions with the local commanders handling the ongoing counter-terrorism operations.

It is understood that the Indian Army commanders were told to wait or tire out the terrorists in deliberate operations rather than proactively engaging them on their terms.

“Casualties to our troops have occurred due to the advantage the terrorists took by operating in buddy pairs of two. This allowed them to continuously change position and engage a larger body of troops, resulting in casualties,” said an Indian Army commander.

According to South Block as many as 9-10, LeT terrorists infiltrated from Pakistan towards the jungles between Rajouri-Poonch district borders in the past 2-3 months.

• While many infiltration bids were foiled on the LoC and along the fence, the Pak terrorists were buoyed with their success in Afghanistan, the terror surge was anticipated by the agencies.
• While the Indian troops were raring in “josh” to get the terrorists, on-the-spot instructions were issued to establish a cordon around the area.
• The change in tactics was – left to the terrorists to move to get replenishments from the nearby villages for survival and thus expose themselves as targets.

Although it is a matter of time when the Indian Army counter-terrorist troops eliminate the remaining terrorists, the overabundance of weapons and devices left by the US troops in Afghanistan will raise the level of violence in Kashmir.

• The Pakistani deep state is also overflowing with confidence as they were the real force behind the Taliban occupation of Afghanistan.
• For them, the new agenda is the Islamization of J&K with Pak terrorists taking on the Indian Army on LoC and their local proxies targeting non-Muslims to ensure that the Valley is turned into a Muslim ghetto.

TheHindu: ‘New terror outfit’ claims responsibility for Poonch attack

Video on social media says the group attacked Army patrol, killing 9 soldiers: “A new terrorist group” on Mon released an 8-minute video about the ongoing encounter in J&K’s Poonch region along the Line of Control (LoC), in which 9 soldiers have been killed so far.

In the video, the group calling itself the PAFF (People’s Anti Fascists Front) has claimed responsibility for the attack.

Republic: The Indian Army sources on Tue have slammed the propaganda and misinformation surrounding the situation.

• According to Army sources, the name of a soldier, which is being shared as killed is alive and serving, pointing out a report in a ‘national daily’ which carried the story.
• The misinformation is also being peddled on social media by the terrorist organization named ‘People’s Anti-Fascists Front’, an offshoot of Pakistan-based LeT.
• On Oct 12, around midnight (01 am) the terrorist organization claimed that it carried out an attack, and hours later they released another, an aforementioned video claiming that an Indian Army soldier had been killed.

Indian Army Chief General MM Naravane visits J&K: Meanwhile, Indian Army Chief Gen MM Naravane on Tue reviewed the situation in J&K amid his 2-day visit.

• This comes at a time of increased terrorist attacks and targeted killings in the valley.
• In addition, the Chief’s visit also gains significance as forces have stepped up their ante against terrorists in Poonch where anti-terrorist operations are underway.

Republic (sources)- the Army Chief will visit Jammu where he will be briefed by top cmdrs including GOC, White Knight Corps, Lt Gen MV Suchindra Kumar.

• As of now, COAS General MM Naravane is reviewing the situation along the LoC in the Poonch and Rajouri sectors.
• Moreover, Army Chief is being briefed by the commanders on the ground about the present situation and ongoing counter-infiltration operations.
• He also undertook a first-hand assessment of the prevailing situation in the valley.

Deep-rooted Terror Conspiracy Revealed in Dossier of Syed Ali Shah Geelani’s Terminated Grandson

CNN-News18: Anees ul Islam, (Research Officer in Sher-i-Kashmir International Convention Center, SKICC, Jammu and Kashmir Tourism Department, since 2016) was sacked over the weekend.

• Keeping the family’s secessionist background aside, his role in the 2016 violent protests and agitation in Kashmir (Burhan Wani agitation), which had claimed over 100 lives.
• CNN-News18 has done substantial research over a lengthy dossier on Anees and the activities of the Geelani family over the years.
• The 2016 agitation had been the creation of Jamaat-e-Islami and the All Parties Hurriyat Conference, an amalgamation of secessionists, with the objective to the secession of J&K from the Union of India and its merger with Pakistan

Anees’s father Altaf Ahmad Shah and maternal grandfather Syed Ali Shah Geelani were the chief proponents of this anti-India cartel, as evidenced by the tears sheds on the death of later by Pak establishment and State media.

“In simplistic terms, Anees and his family have always been at the forefront of anti-India activities in the Kashmir valley. Many of the violent protests in Kashmir that have led to hundreds of killings have been carried out at the behest of the family”, CNN-News18 has claimed.

Dossier on Geelani Family’s Terror Conspiracy

• At least three close family members of Anees have been actively involved in secessionism and terrorism.
• Altaf Ahmad Shah (Father) was among the first founder members of Islami Jamat-e-Tulba (IJT) J&K, the student wing ofJamat-e-Islami, and remained its Nazim-e-Zilla (district president) Srinagar.
• Aneesbecame one of the executive members of Tehreek-i-Hurriyat led by his father-in-law Syed Ali Shah Geelani, over time
• Anees’s father Altaf Ahmed Shah is presently lodged in the Tihar Jail in a terror funding case charge-sheeted by the National Investigation Agency (NIA).
• Jamat-e-Islami (JeI) had patronized (Hizbul Mujahideen, HM, a globally designated terror group) and assured fomenting and sustaining terrorism in the valley, for seceding J&K from India, through HM.
• Although “The Resistance Front (TRF, an off-shoot of the Lashkar-e-Toiba, LeT)”, which claimed the responsibility for the current violence in the valley, however, any valley-based groups largely depend on the JeI and the HM for their local logistics, which use coercion and fear as means to gain local support.

Syed Ali Shah Geelani, head of Tehreek-e-Hurriyat (G; TeH-G) was a hardcore secessionist who openly advocated the use of violence as means to secede J&K from India and its merger with Pakistan.

• Geelani (over 100 FIRs across J&K for hate speeches) remained the face of violent Kashmiri separatism till the ISI sidelined him after the abrogation of Art. 370.
• He had advocated violence and protests, delivered provocative speeches against the establishment, calling for a boycott of elections to the democratic institutions, besides glamorizing terrorism.

Turkey Terror Propaganda Connection: “Ruwa Shah, real sister of Anees, who is a journalist by profession is the multimedia heir of the separatist family,” as per the accessed dossier.

• “She writes for various international journals and also hosts the ‘Ruwa Shah Show’ broadcasted by South Africa based ‘Salaam Media’.
• “Through her show, Ruwa propagates false narratives against the Indian Govt based on factually incorrect data.”

Outlook: Shah, (in Jan 2020) who has alleged the Indian govt of committing atrocities against Kashmiris on many occasions in the past through her addresses in various events abroad as well as on social networking sites like Facebook and Twitter, will this time organize a show, which she claimed, have an “exclusive and in-depth conversations”.

• “Brought up in Kashmir under the largesse of establishment and protection of state forces, Ruwa Shah has shifted base to Turkey from where she spearheads the anti-India narrative,” it stated.
• It may be pertinent to mention that a large number of anti-India Kashmiri activists have found shelter in Turkey since 2015, and Turkey has become the new epicenter of the narrative war against India.
• Ruwa Shah played the victim card all this while, as her brother continued state patronage with full benefits of a govt job in India.
• Shah uses her media and social media skills through gullible platforms to spread the ideologies of her father and grandfather.

Why No Action By Intelligence Agencies? It is difficult to believe that a family with such strong secessionist antecedents and proven culpability in incidents of violence could so easily place themselves in govt positions without the active support from within the system.

News18: (sources) Anees before his appointment, with a team of his “anti-India friends“, used to facilitate the operations of drones in and around Srinagar city to shoot law and order incidents and other events that could be used as content for anti-India propaganda by ISI.

• Also, the case of issuance of Anees’s passport was “not recommended” by the state intelligence apparatus (CID) in 2008.
• However, taking advantage of the gaps and weaknesses in the system, Anees succeeded in his maneuvers and secured a passport on the orders of the High Court of J&K.

Expulsion from the SKICC

Even his appointment as SKICC, straightaway to a Gazette grade was a matter of suspicion, was a deal to bring down violence during Burhan Wani’s agitation between the then state dispensation and the TeH responsible for orchestrating and leading the violence.

• Geelani, being the head of the Tehrik, was believed to have entered into a Quid pro Quo with the then dispensation.
• It is not a matter of coincidence that soon after Anees return from Pakistan, within weeks, he was appointed to a permanent public position which can be said highly irregular and flouted norms.

Investigative agencies have found that it was a premeditated decision to give the public employment to Anees is evident from several facts including that there was no urgency of filling in the post which was lying vacant since 2005 and no merit list, an absolute must in any selection proceeding, whatsoever, was prepared.

• SKICC is the most prestigious convention and conferencing facility of the J&K govt which is used for very high-level meetings and conferences.
• Only very recently the President of India preside over the convocation ceremony of the University of Kashmir at SKICC.
• Can the responsibility of such an important government establishment be handed over to a person who has been deeply embedded in anti-India activities with Pakistan’s ISI?

J&K administration signs MoU with Dubai govt to develop real estate, industrial parks

Jammu and Kashmir administration signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Dubai government for the development of real estate, industrial parks, super-specialty hospitals, etc.

Talking about the significance of the MoU, Minister for Commerce and Industry Piyush Goyal said that with the signing of the MoU with the Dubai govt, the world has started to recognize the pace with which J&K is traversing on the development bandwagon, which homework has completed during Goyal’s Dubai visit for Dubai Expo 2020, from Oct 1-3.

• The Center hopes that the MoU will prove to be a milestone after which the investment will pour in from around the globe, ushering in a big developmental push.
• Apart from bringing much-needed investment to J&K, the MoU also promises to help India gain greater support of UAE, which has a strong presence in the comity of Islamic nations, as well as counter Pakistan’s propaganda on Kashmir.
• The MoU follows after the govt announced the recent industrial package of Rs 28,400 crore for the Union Territory.
• J&K, Lt Governor Manoj Sinha said that this agreement will help the Union Territory to scale new heights in industrialization and sustainable growth.

GOYAL’S VISIT TO J&K: In an attempt to underline that the recent attacks on civilians in J&K have not deterred the govt’s developmental plans, to signal that the development of the UT remains a top priority.

The Union minister inspected stalls put up by various departments, including animal husbandry, district industries, ICDS, social welfare, horticulture, sheep husbandry, handloom, and handicrafts department.

• He emphasized promoting products that can add up to the export potential of the UT.
• He gave directions to the district administration to extend all possible support to the local entrepreneurs and artisans for increasing productivity.
• The minister also distributed kits among newly born female infants (the ‘Beti Bachao Beti Padhao’ scheme), and grants distributed under the ‘Ladli Beti’ scheme.
• Goyal distributed sanction letters among beneficiaries for the purchase of milk vans, and tricycles were also distributed among specially-abled persons.
• He directed the district admin to work out plans for homestay tourism in Pahalgam that will both boost the local economy and add to the tourist potential of Pahalgam.

Goyal also met a delegation of industrialists from the valley, who apprised the minister of issues being faced by the industry and bottlenecks in the export of Kashmiri shawls.

Jaishankar takes part in the new quadrilateral-level meeting with the US, Israel, UAE

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar has held a virtual conference with his counterparts from the US, Israel, and the UAE, agreeing to utilize complementary capabilities to fulfill overlapping interests and strengthen the strategic partnership at a quadrilateral level.

Jaishankar, who is currently on a 5-day visit to Israel, was accompanied by the home nation’s Foreign Minister, Yair Lapid, during the quadrilateral-level meeting on Mon, while US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and UAE Foreign Minister Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan participated virtually.

Blinken described Israel, the UAE, and India as 3 of “our most strategic partners”.

He said by “bringing friends together in new ways, we are making these partnerships even greater than the sum of their parts”.

And given so many overlapping interests — energy, climate, trade, regional security — this seems like a really interesting and good idea to try and use this new format and very complementary capabilities in very many areas to just see many more things get done. That’s the idea,” Blinken said.

• Lapid, who is also Israel’s Alternate PM, noted that “one of the things we are looking for is synergy, and that is what we will try and create after this meeting.”
• The Lapid felt that the key to achieving what they were aiming at was quickly moving from govt-to-govt to business-to-business.
• He emphasized the need for this quadrilateral grouping to quickly put adequate mechanisms in place to translate efforts into real businesses around the globe.
• UAE’s Al Nahyan thanked Blinken and Lapid for graciously “proposing the idea” of creating this kind of forum to boost cooperation.
• Talking about India, the UAE minister said, “Minister Jaishankar is an old friend, I could say, but also India and UAE have such a strong and diverse relationship.”

Touching upon bureaucratic hurdles that often slow down such initiatives, Al Nahyan suggested businesses should be surprised by opportunities, and then it should be observed how the trading community responds, in terms of putting a robust plan forward.

• Jaishankar, in his brief comment, said, “The three of you are among the closest relationships we have, if not the closest”.
• He agreed with Blinken that this kind of forum could work much better than 3 different bilateral engagements.
• Jaishankar cited the fight against COVID-19 at a difficult time as an example of the benefits of such cooperative mechanisms where bilateral ties tend to fail.
• Later, the four foreign ministers entered a closed discussion to draw a strategy to make this quadrilateral cooperative plan a reality.

Reports have indicated a new quad post the Abraham accords being inked last year.

• In Aug 2020, Israel, the UAE, and the US signed Abraham Accords, which helped Israel and the UAE normalize their ties.
• India had welcomed the agreement, saying it “has always supported peace and stability in West Asia which is our extended neighborhood.”
• India and Israel elevated bilateral relations to a strategic partnership during the historic visit of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to Israel in July 2017.

Since then, the relationship between the two countries has focused on expanding knowledge-based partnership, which includes collaboration in innovation and research, including boosting the ‘Make in India’ initiative.—PTI

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China: CPC official sanctioned for human rights violations to head Tibet’s party unit

Wang’s appointment to the Tibet post would be keenly watched by worldwide rights groups, as well as New Delhi, given the continuing border tensions along the Line of Actual Control, (LAC) in eastern Ladakh.

Wang Junzheng, a senior official sanctioned by the US, the UK, the EU, and Canada for his participation in alleged human rights violations in China’s far western Xinjiang region has been promoted to the top post in Tibet.

Wang 58, was the deputy secretary of the CPC committee of the Xinjiang Uighur Autonomous Region (XUAR) and the Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps, was promoted to Communist Party leader of the Tibet autonomous territory on Tue, according to Chinese official media. 

• The incumbent Communist Party secretary of the Tibet Autonomous Region (TAR), 65-year-old Wu Yingjie, who took office in 2016, was not immediately apparent, but he has most certainly retired. 
• Wang’s elevation demonstrates Beijing’s rejection of the West’s reaction to its actions in Xinjiang, as well as its rising interest in the pool of officials who have been held up as examples of competence in places with significant ethnic minority populations. 
• Wang will succeed Wu Yingjie in Tibet when he retires at the age of 65 in 2 months.
• Wang’s elevation was among a slew of regional head appointments announced on Tue, as Beijing steps up preparations for the 20^th party congress, a 5-year power transfer, set to take place next fall.