[sacw] IPARMW No.20 (13/14 August 00)

Harsh Kapoor aiindex@mnet.fr
Sun, 13 Aug 2000 02:21:14 +0200


zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz
INDIA PAKISTAN ARMS RACE
&
MILITARISATION WATCH #20
(13/14 August 2000)

zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

[information & news for peace activists on Arms sales to the region,
defence budget figures, acquisitions & updgrades of weapons systems,
development and deployment of new weapons, implications of militarisation;
the developments on the Nuclearisation front and the doings of the
'intelligence' agencies. Bringing this information to wide public knowledge
is our goal here. No to secretive & exclusive control of this information
by technocrats, planners who plot national security hidden from public
scrutiny.
Please help us in the information gathering work for wide public
dissemination in South Asia.
Send Information via e-mail for IPARMW series to: aiindex@m... for
inclusion in the Emailings.]

The complete IPARMW archive is available at:
http://www.egroups.com/group/IPARMW

=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=
=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D

TOP SECRET HAMOODUR RAHMAN COMMISSION REPORT IS NOW AVAILABLE !!
(This was never made available in Pakistan.)
This Commission of Inquiry was appointed by the President of
Pakistan in December 1971 to inquire into and find out "the
circumstances in which the Commander, Eastern command,
surrendered and the members of the Armed Forces of Pakistan
under his command laid down their arms and a ceasefire was
ordered along the borders of West Pakistan and India and along
the ceasefire line in the State of Jammu and Kashmir." After
having examined 213 witnesses the Hamoodur Rahman Commission
submitted its report in July 1972.

528K long Full text of the Hamoodur Rehman commision report is available,
any one wanting a copy should send a message to <aiindex@m...>.
In a few days the full text would also be posted on the IPARMW site .]
------------------------------------------------------------------
I.

27 July 2000
Jane's Defence Weekly

India and Russia close to a deal over T-90 MBTs

RAHUL BEDI JDW Correspondent
New Delhi

The final round of talks for 310 Russian T-90 main battle tanks (MBTs) is
under way in New Delhi to conclude what Indian Defence Minister George
Fernandes said was a "small matter of price" in a deal worth over Rs30
billion ($674 million).

Official sources in India said the price negotiation committee (PNC) headed
by Lt Gen Shamsher S Mehta, Deputy Chief of Army Staff Planning and Systems=
,
will make a concerted bid to drive down prices from $2.12 million per tank
to around $2 million.

Negotiations are for the purchase of 100 T-90s and another 210 in dismantle=
d
form for local assembly to initially arm six or seven armoured regiments.

The PNC will also finalise the transfer of technology to locally build the
T-90 at the Heavy Vehicles Factory at Avadi, southern India. Officials said
the deal will be finalised before Russian President Vladimir Putin visits
Delhi in October and all 310 MBTs are likely to arrive in India by 2003 or
2004.

Negotiations for the T-90 were adjourned in mid-May following some 70 PNC
meetings in which the two sides were unable to agree on the final price.

The Russians were reportedly demanding $120,000 more per MBT or over $37.2
million on the entire deal, an amount India refused to pay.

Fernandes' June visit to Moscow broke the deadlock and led to statements
that the T-90 deal was imminent. "Both parties are inextricably tied to the
T-90 deal," armoured officers said.

India is also finalising negotiations with Dassault Aviation for 10 upgrade=
d
Mirage 2000H air defence aircraft, and has opened discussions for the
purchase of 18 Mirage 2000D strike aircraft to form part of the Indian Air
Force's (IAF's) minimum nuclear deterrent (Jane's Defence Weekly 1 Septembe=
r
1999). French avionics and weapons systems are also to be integrated into
the IAF's 40 Sukhoi Su-30 multirole fighters.

France is also expected to assist India in the construction of the
32,000-tonne air-defence ship (ADS), which was cleared for construction
along with two indigenously-designed Project 75 conventionally-powered
submarines under the Indian Navy's (IN's) 30-year submarine construction
plan (JDW 9 June 1999).

Following the recent visit of an Indian military delegation to France, led
by defence secretary T R Prasad, defence officials in New Delhi said that
"the decks have been cleared to re-open the line to build additional
medium-range attack submarines with French help".

Official sources said the IN had sought French involvement in developing it=
s
underwater launched missile capability because local programmes are still a=
t
a developmental stage.

The two Project 75 submarines to be built at Mazagon Dockyard, western
India, are indigenously modified versions of the navy's four HDW Type 1500
diesel-electric submarines and will have tube-launched missile capability.

--------

II.

Jane's Defense Weekly
August 2, 2000

India's M46 upgrade

Rahul Bedi

India has now signed a contract with Soltam of Israel to upgrade 180 130mm
M46 field guns to 155mm/39-calibre and 155mm/45-calibre confiuration at a
reported cost of about Rs2.07 billion (US$48.13m). India acquired around 75=
0
M46 guns from the former Soviet Union in the early-1980s at around Rs700,00=
0
each.

Under the initial contract, which took nearly seven years of evaluation,
trials and extended negotiations, the field guns will be upgraded in Israel=
.
In a follow-on contract, still to be signed, Soltam will provide kits to
Ordnance Factory Board factories at Kanpur and Jabalpur in eastern and
central India to further retrofit 220-250 guns.

Local industry and army officials have criticised the Indian Ministry of
Defence for not testing similar upgrade packages reportedly available in
Yugoslavia and Slovakia. During trials at Pokhran, western India, in
1997-98, one M46 field gun upgraded by Soltam to 155mm/45-calibre was
test-fired using extended range base-bleed ammunition out to a range of
39km.

The guns will be used to equip around 25 artillery regiments for deployment
in static formations to provide covering fire to advancing infantry and
armoured columns. They will replace obsolete equipment, such as the Second
World War-vintage 25pdr field gun and 75mm Pack Howitzers.

---------

III.

Defence Systems Daily
3 August 2000
(at http://defence-data.com)

Indian Air Force Jaguars get new mission computers

Defence Systems Daily
4 August 2000

Indian Coastguard orders six Griffon hovercraft

-----------

IV.

Rediff on the Net
5 August 2000

MiG-21 crashes in Delhi, pilot killed

Josy Joseph in New Delhi

A young Indian Air Force pilot was killed Saturday when his MiG-21
fighter jet, which was brought to Delhi for a recent exhibition to mark
the anniversary of victory in Kargil, crashed during take off and fell
in pieces by the 3-wing runway, which is specially reserved for VVIPs.

There couldn't have been a worse reminder of the state of affairs in the
Indian Air Force, whose air safety record is among the worst in the
world. In the past three years, it has lost almost 60 aircraft, a
majority of them being the 1960s vintage MiG-21s from Russia.

According to air force sources, Flight Lieutenant S Shukla taxied on
Palam technical area's runway a couple of minutes after 13.00 hours. He
was to take the fighter back to the 21 Squadron at Ambala.

Within seconds of the take off, the fighter nose-dived into the grass by
the runway. Flt Lt Shukla couldn't attain the required height probably
because of engine failure.

He died on the spot and his body was moved to the Base Hospital in Delhi
Cantonment.

Ironically, the ill-fated MiG-21 was exhibited at the lawns of India
Gate as part of the massive exhibition to mark one year of Operation
Vijay.

IAF sources refused to comment.

First manufactured in 1959, the MiG-21 is a single-seat multi-role
fighter, which can fly a maximum range of 1,100 kilometers.

Air force officials say the high rate of accidents is due to the lack of
advance jet trainers, inadequate maintenance and inefficient technical
upgradation of the fighters. A massive project to upgrade the avionics
and technical capabilities of MiG-21s is yet to take off. Upgradation of
two prototypes have been completed in Russia, but the improvements are
yet to be carried out here. According to the contract, the rest of the
MiG-21s are to be upgraded in India, at the Hindustan Aeronautics
Limited.

Most of the MiG-21s are flown by young pilots just out of Air Force
Academy.

In the last one decade, the IAF has lost over 85 pilots in air crashes,
which sources admit is one of the worst records anywhere in the world.

Almost two decades back, an expert committee had recommended that the
government buy AJTs to train pilots on transition from vintage Kiran
aircraft to fighters like MiGs. Though the government accepted the
recommendation, and after several foreign visits by bureaucrats,
politicians and other delegations, the AJTs are nowhere in sight.

The criminal negligence continues, as politicians continue to bargain
and debate the price to be paid for the AJTs. There have been reports
recently that the IAF has decided to buy AJTs from Britian.

AJTs, highly sophisticated jets on which pilots can be trained in stage
III, are a must with every modern air force.

A report of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Defence last year
had pointed out the immediate need for an AJT, while pulling up the
government for delaying the purchase.

Another reason behind the crash could be bad upkeep of the fighters. IAF
is not completely satisfied with the HAL, as it is an external agency
over "which we have little control."

Another reason could be a bird hit, because of which in 1996, the IAF
withdrew its fighter squadron from Hindon, near Delhi. The IAF had
identified 10 of its airfields as very prone to bird hits.

The last independent audit of IAF's flight safety, conducted by the
Comptroller and Auditor General of India in 1997, examined the nature of
187 accidents and 2729 incidents involving the IAF aircraft between
April 1991 and March 1997. It pointed out that though the "overall
accidents per 10,000 flying hours registered a decline, the accident
rate of fighter aircraft, particulary MiG-21 variants continue to be
high". IAF lost 147 aircraft and 63 pilots during 1991-97.

The report said, "The training equipment viz flight simulators,
computer-based training equipment and other modern training aids are
either not operational or have not been acquired. The execution measures
for minimising the bird menace in and around airfields is also
languishing."

---------

V.

The Hindu
6 August 2000
News Update

Indo-French joint Naval war games next week

Paris, Aug. 6. (PTI) : India's State-of-the-art warship INS Mysore is to
participate in a major joint exercise with French Naval vessels next
week, official sources said here.

The warship, which can operate under nuclear, chemical and biological
attack, will carry out the exercises with French ships off Djibouti,
official sources said.

The 6700-tonne indigenously built destroyer will arrive at Toulon on
August 13 on a goodwill port call and would leave on 16th for the 6th
Indo-French joint naval exercises.

The exercises are aimed at strengthening ties between the two countries,
enhancing service-to-service level cooperation and ensuring better
coordination at a global level in peacekeeping, disaster management and
operations against maritime piracy, sources said.

An advanced naval exercise between the two countries was held in
February this year in the Arabian Sea when four French Navy ships
including Foch, the conventional aircraft carrier, and destroyers
Duquesne and Tourville participated in the exercises with Indian
warships.

INS Mysore, built at the Mazagon Docks Ltd in Mumbai, was commissioned
in June 1999 and recently took part in the International Naval Review
2000 in New York as part of the Independence Day celebrations in the US.

The destroyer, which has a formidable 5000-mile range, is capable of
performing anti-ship, anti-air and anti-submarine roles. It comprises 16
Russian Uran surface-to-surface missiles, battery of surface-to-air
missiles, a 100-mm gun, torpedoes and anti- submarine rockets.

---------

VI.

India Network News Digest - August 4-6, 2000

IAF moots special fund to help R&D in small scale units

Hyderabad, Aug. 5: The Indian Air Force has recommended to the Central
government the setting up of a separate fund to finance research and
development projects of small scale industries who are suppliers of the
IAF.

The IAF expects a favourable decision which would be a boost to the SSI
sector, Air Vice-Marshal G K Kwatra, Assistant Chief of Air Staff
(Maintenance Plans), said here on Saturday.Addressing a business meet
organised by CII, Air Vice-Marshal Kwatra said the IAF was pursuing an
aggressive indigenisation process of its spare parts and services
requirements.

The IAF vendor base has gone up from 200 a few years ago to 800 now and
the number of items sought from local industries has increased to
8,000. The IAF wants these numbers to grow so that the Indian industry can
grow while the IAF would be assured of supply even in a war situation, he
said.

The IAF had earlier depended totally on import for spare parts and
services. We want to bring down this level of dependence on foreign
countries. The prohibitive cost of import is also a factor, he said,
adding the local products, which match IAFs requirements, can be
manufactured at much cheaper costs.

At present, supply to the IAF is a Rs 2,000 crore business, which is about
30 per cent of the total requirements, the Air Vice-Marshal said.Air
Vice-Marshal Kwatra said the IAF and the CII would hold a two-day joint
national exposition of IAF-industry joint venture programme on
indigenisation on September 7 and 8 in New Delhi.

He said the objective of the seminar was to achieve self-reliance through
indigenisation and critical sourcing needs of spares.Principal Secretary
to Andhra Pradesh government (Industries) Shiela Bhide, who also spoke on
the occasion, asked the SSI units to assure quality and reliability while
dealing with th defence forces. Some of the suppliers who attended the
meeting complained that the defence forces preferred foreign suppliers and
PSUs instead of small enterprises.

The services who pay foreign companies huge amounts in foreign currency
showed no favour to Indian entreprenurers who would supply the same
material at much cheaper costs, a defence supplier said. When it comes to
Indian companies, the defence services try and negotiate the price whereas
they have no qualms in paying foreigners exorbitant prices, he said.

---------

VII.

Defense News
August 14, 2000
Pg. 1

Israel Puts Brakes On New Phalcon Deals With India

By Barbara Opall-Rome and Simon Saradzhyan, Defense News Correspondents

TEL AVIV - Israel is throwing cold water on India's plan to install the
Phalcon aerial early warning radar on Russian A-50
aircraft until it gets a clear signal from Washington about whether the
radar could be exported to the subcontinent.

"Until we have a green light from Washington - preferably in the form of a
memorandum of understanding - we're not
going to authorize any new contracts with India," an Israeli Ministry of
Defense official told Defense News.

Israel's reluctance to negotiate any new deals involving the Phalcon flows
from the stinging defeat it suffered in July when the
U.S. government strong-armed officials here not to sell the Phalcon system
to China.

Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak informed U.S. President Bill Clinton July
12 of his decision to terminate the $250 million
contract between Lod-based Israel Aircraft Industries (IAI) Ltd., maker of
the Phalcon, and the Chinese government. The
1996 contract contained options for at least three additional aircraft, for
a package valued at $1 billion.

But India's pursuit of the Phalcon - and radar alternatives - continues
unabated.

A delegation of Indian defense officials is scheduled to arrive in Moscow
this month or the next round of negotiations to
purchase five Russian A-50 aircraft and possibly a Russian-made early
warning radar system as a backup solution. The A-50
is a variant of the Ilyushin Il-76 aircraft.

During their visit, the Indian officials will meet with officials from
Russia's main arms export agency, Moscow-based
Rosvoorouzhenie, and the designer of the Russian radar, the Moscow
Scientific Research Institute of Instrument Engineering
(MRIIE), an official at the latter told Defense News.

Rosvoorouzhenie spokesman Ivan Skrylnik refused Aug. 1 to comment on the
current status of talks with Indian officials.
Russia sent one A-50 aircraft to India in September for two months of
trials. The plane tracked the Indian Air Force's Su-30
fighters and commanded an exercise based on an air assault of an enemy
warship, the MRIIE official said.

The MRIIE official said the Indian delegation will review with Russian
officials whether to procure or lease the A-50s and
possibly the radars, adding that the next round of bilateral talks likely
will take place during Russian President Vladimir
Putin's visit to India in October.

He said a delegation of Indian Defence Ministry officials visited Russia
earlier this year to express their interest in buying the
five A-50s - twinned either with his company's early warning radar or the
Phalcon system. However, a senior Indian
Defence Ministry official told Defense News that the Air Force prefers the
Phalcon for the aircraft, adding that the radar and
avionics would cost some $250 million. Officials from the service and
India's Defence Research Development Organisation
came here in May to inspect avionics and radar systems.

The Russian defense industry executive said he expects the United States
will not try to block any sale to India of A-50s fitted
with Phalcons as it did regarding China.

"I don't see anything in Indian-U.S. relations similar to the Taiwan issue
that could prompt Americans to block this deal," he
said.

U.S. State Department officials refused Aug. 4 to comment on the issue.But
Israeli government and defense industry officials
here disagreed with the Russian's assessment, saying they require
clarification from Washington before entering into any type
of contractual agreement with Russia or India with regard to the Phalcon
program.

They said both IAI and the Israeli Ministry of Defense are loath to risk
their credibility again on the international market
should Washington elect to veto a Phalcon sale to India as it did with
Israel's sale to China. They note that India is high on
Washington's list of 27 so-called countries of concern, with whom Washingto=
n
continues to demand prior consultation and
coordination regarding future Israeli military sales.

IAI spokesman Doron Suslik said the company would not comment on potential
sales to India or any other country with
regard to IAI's terminated Phalcon contract with the Chinese.

But an Israeli industry official here said that until IAI receives new
guidance from the Israeli Ministry of Defense, all
discussions with potential customers remain preliminary and noncommittal. H=
e
noted that IAI was willing in the past to serve
as subcontractor to Russian firms on Indian military modernization programs=
,
specifically upgrade of Indian Air Force
MiG-21 fighters. However, despite years of discussions and negotiations,
India did not select IAI to participate in the
program.

"Everything now is up in the air, and we're going to need time to assess th=
e
impact of the cancellation of our China deal," the
Israeli industry official told Defense News. Meanwhile, he said, IAI hopes
the Ministry of Defense can come to an
understanding with Washington on the issue of technology transfer.

A Ministry of Defense official said discussions will continue between
Israeli and U.S. officials regarding Israeli technology
transfers to destinations deemed of concern to Washington. "Israel has
requested clarification on Washington, in the context of
the overall bilateral relationship, on this critical issue," the official
said.

"In the coming months, we expect to have a clearer indication of where we
are heading. Hopefully by then, India will have a
better sense of what they require and the Russians can determine whether or
not they care to propose continued cooperation
with regard to the A-50 platform," the official said.

A U.S. defense analyst said Aug. 4 that key Israeli officials were to arriv=
e
in Washington the week of Aug. 7 to confer with
Defense and State Department colleagues regarding a number of issues on the
U.S.-Israeli defense agenda, and that the
Phalcon likely would surface as a subject of talks.

Staff Writers Amy Svitak and Brooks Tigner in Washington, and Correspondent=
s
Vivek Raghuvanshi in New Delhi and
Simon Saradzhyan in Moscow, contributed to this report.

----------

VIII.

http://defence-data.com/current/page8053.htm

India's Hawk deal with BAE SYSTEMS looks closer

8 August 2000

It appears that the Indian Air Force will commit to the planned purchase of
up to 45 Hawk advanced jet trainers from BAE SYSTEMS, at a cost of
approximately 18 billion rupees, sooner rather than later as a result of
recent crashes of MiG 21 aircraft piloted by airmen just out of training.
The Indian Government has been deliberating over the deal for a number of
years, vacillating between the Hawk and the French Alpha jet, but its hand
has been forced by the latest in a series of 55 Mig 21 crashes, in which 21
pilots have died, in the past three years.
Indian Defence Minister George Fernandes, interviewed on television
yesterday said "All technical and other aspects of the advanced jet trainer
purchase have been gone into and negotiations on prices should be finalised
soon."
He was reacting to strong press criticism of the lack of effective training
for pilots transitioning from old training aircraft to the ageing but still
potent MiG 21s. He said that all of the Soviet era jets were carefully
maintained and the pilots received the appropriate training. He pointed out
that the MiG 21 fleet was the largest in the IAF and therefore would
experience more mishaps on average.
However, IAF officers privately admitted that the MiG 21 was a difficult
aircraft to fly and it was essential that conversion training was carried
out on a suitable aircraft.
Another stumbling block in negotiations with the British company has been
the Indian Government's insistence that no restrictions on use be put on th=
e
aircraft by the British Government and that future upgrades would not be th=
e
subject of embargoes, such as followed India's testing of a nuclear weapon
last year.

----------

IX.

IAF lost 27 aircraft in mishaps during 1999-2000

New Delhi,Wednesday, August 09, 2000: Indian Air Force lost as many as
27 aircraft in accidents during 1999/2000, Defence Minister George
Fernandes said today.=20=20=20

This was against a loss of 23 aircraft in accidents during
1998/99 and 17 aircraft in 1997/98, the minister said in a written reply in
the Rajya Sabha.
Thirty-four pilots died in these accidents, Fernandes said adding a
maximum of 38 MIG-21 aircraft have been lost in these accidents.
(PTI)
16:18 IST

---------

X.

The Indian Express
10 August 2000

India To Sell Military Hardware to Sri Lanka

Report by Gaurav C. Sawant

NEW DELHI, AUG 9: India has decided to sell military hardware to Sri Lanka.
Negotiations are on now to clinch the deal for an offshore patrol vessel fo=
r
the Sri Lankan navy.

The Navy has earmarked an offshore patrol vessel (OPV) INS [Indian Navy
Ship] Sharda, made at Hindustan Shipyard Limited, Vishakhapatanam, for sale
to the island nation, sources in the Ministry of Defence (MoD) told The
Indian Express.

The OPV is for the Sri Lankan navy to effectively patrol its coast and
mainly try and prevent the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) from
bringing in arms and ammunition. The Sri Lankan navy will also be getting
weapon systems like surface-to-surface guns fitted in the OPV from India,
sources said.

India had purchased the OPVs from South Korea in the late 80s and early 90s=
.
They had been named INS Subhadra, Sukanya and Suvarna. Subsequently HDL
began manufacturing the OPVs and the new ones were christened Sharda,
Sujata, Saryu and Savitri. The OPVs are fast crafts fitted with guns and ar=
e
maneuverable. They are fitted with special sights and devices for effective
patrolling of the waters even at night, an official at the naval
headquarters said.

"An OPV is not a warship. It is an auxiliary support system. It is like a
support ship and can carry troops, food and water supplies. It is good for
patrolling and for troop induction. Presently she (the OPV) is being
retro-fitted to suit the needs of the Sri Lankan navy," he added.

MoD officials refused to be drawn into a controversy about certain sections
within the country opposed to the sale of military hardware to Sri Lanka an=
d
said it was "beneficial for the government financially and marked a quantum
jump in the growth of the defence industry in the country".

"This means that the Indian defence industry and especially the ship
building industry has acquired international stature and manufacture ships
which have a demand even in the international market," an official said.

Though there is fear of the "deal being opposed" by vested interests within
the country, officials see this as a "great leap forward", in achieving the
navy's aim of being a regional super power. "Negotiations are on at a very
crucial stage and it would be wrong to say that India is fishing in trouble=
d
Sri Lankan waters. When we buy ships and aircraft from Britain, France or
Russia they are not fishing in our troubled waters. Similarly we are just
making a defence deal," he added.

But even within the Navy, there are those who are opposed to the "deal".
Some naval officials feel that India has a large coastline and not adequate
ships to patrol its coasts. Secondly, the "turnaround time" needed to send
ships back into the waters after servicing and repairs is fairly long with
large-scale skilled labour not being available in shipyards. Therefore, the
officials feel, it is not wise to deal with Sri Lanka at this stage.

-----------

XI.

Asian Age
12 August 2000

Kargil's human chain leaves jawans cold, hungry

By Rahul Bedi
Kargil, Aug. 11
The haphazard military deployment along some 140 km of the Line of
Control in Kargil is an icy and desolate nightmare for soldiers which
several officers feel serves little or, at best, a marginal strategic
purpose.

Officers said little thought or reasoning had been exercised by senior
military commanders in locating the frontier posts following the
avoidable intrusion across the LoC by the Pakistan Army last summer.

"There was a frantic desperation after last year's hostilities to form
as close a human chain as possible along the porous LoC, with little
regard to strategy or practicality," officers said. Only jawans, they
added, suffered, at least 12 of whom had died due to exposure last
winter. "They will get no hero's funeral," officers said.

Official sources said Lieute-nant-General Arjun Ray, the newly-appointed
14 Corps commander based at Leh, is believed to have expressed
dissatisfaction with the general deployment along the LoC. In his first
meeting recently with officers from the Kargil-based 121 Brigade, he
reportedly declared that the current deployment patterns served a
limited tactical purpose and needed changing.

Jawans from the Jat Regiment posted along the LoC last winter painted a
wretched picture of serving out three months in unbelievably freezing
conditions, with temperatures dropping to minus 40=BA Celsius and fierce
winds substantially aggravating the chill.

Most posts were located at heights ranging between 4,000 metres and
5,500 metres along the meandering LoC.

In some locations, groups of four to five jawans had to tie themselves
together as they huddled in their sleeping bags, afraid of plunging to
certain death off sheer heights into bottomless crevices. Food and fuel
supplies were adequate - far superior compared to Pakistani soldiers'
rations across the LoC - but their tin-roofed shelters were somewhat
basic compared to the enemy's concrete, all-weather posts. Because of
the cold and altitude, appetites were non-existent and all movement on
patrol duty lugubrious and tortuous.

"Even a handful of badams (almonds) were too much in a day," a jawan
said. "We all lost around 15 kilos each in three months," he added. The
six jawans at one of the posts spent their entire time in a confined
space with the radio as their only outside companion. Trips to the
toilet were down a 50-metre rope where one false move meant certain
death and the chances of being evacuated by helicopter in case of an
emergency somewhat feeble. "It was what I imagine hell to be like," said
a jawan, who is quitting after over two decades of service.

Officers and jawans across Dras and Kargil, meanwhile, are furious over
the carelessness of senior commanders which led to the Kargil intrusion
and now requires the inhospitable border to be permanently manned. "None
of the senior officers responsible for the intrusion have been held
accountable," several officers said. Most, he added, had been decorated
and, in some instances, even promoted.

While Army Chief General Ved Prakash Malik, who was away in eastern
Europe when hostilities broke out last year in May, is likely to get a
senior appointment after he retires next month, Lt. Gen. Kishen Pal, the
former 15 Corps commander responsible for securing the LoC in the Kargil
region, has taken over as Quarter-Master General, a prized job at Army
Headquarters in New Delhi.

At the height of the Kargil war, Gen. Pal categorically stated that
there were "no indicators of war" along the LoC. He compounded his
ignorance to the Unified Command at Srinagar by declaring that the
"local situation" would be handled "locally." Gen.

Pal's deputy, Major-General V.S. Budhwar, commander of the 3 Infantry
Division which had overall control of the war zone till it was bolstered
by 8 Mountain Division, has been appointed chief of staff to the Desert
Corps at Jodhpur, by no means a punishment posting.

Gen. Budhwar was better known for tending to his zoo at Leh than for
conducting battle to evict the Pakistani aggression. And Lt. Gen. Hari
Mohan Khanna, the Northern Army commander, took time off to visit Pune
when hostilities with Pakistan were imminent to most Indians. But, while
all these senior officers have, for inexplicable reasons, escaped more
or less unscathed around 30 others, mostly majors, face legal and
disciplinary proceedings for their war conduct.

Official sources said one or two lieutenant-colonels and Brigadier
Surinder Singh, former commander of the 121 Brigade when the Pakistanis
intruded, also face indictment alongside an unknown number of junior
commissioned officers and non-commissioned officers. All these "errant"
soldiers are distributed across various cantonments in Kashmir and in
and around Chandigarh, where they are "attached" to various units.

These attachments are a corollary to a court of inquiry to initiate
legal proceedings against the accused. The COI determines after a
lengthy examination of witnesses and evidence whether there is adequate
prima facie evidence to demand court-martial proceedings against the
soldier. In the case of officers, the court-martial comprises five,
seven or nine officers, usually of higher rank.

Alternatively, if the COI dismisses the case, the soldier is absolved of
all charges, but suffers a loss of face amongst his peers and,
invariably, has limited avenues for promotion. "The Army top brass has
successfully covered its lapses," agitated officers said in Kargil,
adding that this was not a healthy portent for the future as the entire
force now suffered from a crisis of confidence.

-----------

XII.

[The below excerpts are part of a longer article that was published in The
leading Pakistani Magazine The Herad (July 2000)]

Indian Express
12 August 2000

Unmarked tombs, grieving families ... [of Pakistani Soldiers who died
during Kargil]

IF dead men could speak, they would tell the truth. If dead Pakistani
soldiers buried in unmarked tombs could speak, their voices would drown
out their government and now military regime's loud and consistent
denial of its involvement in the Kargil conflict. Scattered across
Pakistan's high-altitude Northern Areas is evidence of Pakistan's
official role in Kargil that General Musharraf doesn't talk about. Here
are edited excerpts from a meticulously researched report by journalist
M Ilyas Khan of the Karachi-based newsmagazine, The Herald.

The Karakorams, the Himalayas and the Hindukush have a significant new
addition to their enchanting world. As one drives along any river valley
in the region, one finds the landscape dotted with small tombs, each
encircled with waist-high walls and furnished with a flagstaff that
flies with the Pakistani colours.

There are over 500 flags flying across the entire Northern Areas, home
to the Pakistani Army's high-altitude warriors. The tombs are those of
the heroes of Kargil who fought valiantly in a war that seems to have
many losers but no winners. Behind each of these tombs lie tales of
struggle and valour, of neglect and disavowal, of betrayal and
unfaithfulness.

The body of Kargil's first martyr arrived in the Northern Areas (NA) as
early as mid-October 1998. At the time, few people knew about the
activity in the snowy peaks of the Kargil-Dras sector, overlooking the
Srinagar-Leh highway in Indian-held Kashmir.

Haider Khan, a sepoy of 5-Northern Light Infantry (NLI), fell in the
Hamzagun sector on October 13, 1998, probably due to an accident because
the war was still some seven months away. This, in fact, was the time
when the Pakistan government says it had started to respond to the
Indian build-up in the region. Haider Khan's body was brought home by
four NLI soldiers. ``They did not say if Haider was killed in action,''
recalls the martyr's cousin, Altaf Hussain. ``They did not even tell us
how he died.'' But when Islamabad decided in late June 1999 to
acknowledge the Kargil martyrs as their own soldiers, Haider Khan was
included in the list.

By February 1999, the area was rich with its own version of events. The
people of the area were loathe to accept the government's claim that
militants had infiltrated deep into Indian territory. For the residents
of Ghizer, Hunza and Baltistan, which supply the bulk of NLI's manpower,
it was only the NLI soldiers who were involved in these heroic deeds.
``Most of our relatives and friends are in the NLI, and when they came
home on leave, they told us what was was happening,'' says Zarawar Khan,
a cousin of Havaldar Major Lalik Jan who earned the Nishan-e-Haider, the
highest military award, for bravery in the Kargil war. ``They were
excited that they had advanced deep inside enemy territory without
firing a shot.''

These were also tense moments for the soldiers' families. ``When my
brother wrote to me in February that he deep inside Indian territory in
Shakma sector (Dras), we were worried,'' says Ghafoor Khan, a resident
of village Hamardas. Ghafoor's brother, Sepoy Shakoor Jan of 12-NLI, was
martyred three months later, on June 8.

The uncertainty gave way to panic in early June last year when dead
bodies of soldiers started arriving more frequently. Hamardas was to
receive the first body in the Gopis subdivision of district Ghizer on
June 5. Over the next month, some 105 dead bodies passed along the jeep
track that leads up to Yasin, Punial and Ghizer valleys.

Residents claim that the NLI soldiers who accompanied the bodies took
care to move them at night to avoid publicity. As a rule, only one
soldier accompanied a dead body. Shakoor Jan's body, for instance, was
brought by two soldiers in a private jeep which also carried the body of
Sepoy Ibrahim, Lalik Jan's cousin and colleague in 12-NLI. Both Ibrahim
and Shakoor Jan were in tracksuits. One soldier delivered Shakoor Jan's
body at 4:00 a.m., while the other rushed off with Ibrahim's body, which
was delivered at the martyr's native Hundur village before sunrise.

In both cases, there were no military honours at the funeral, no
hoisting of the national flag and no gun salutes. ``The soldier who
brought the body did not even offer a simple salute much less a gun
salute. He was not in uniform,'' says Zarawar Khan of Hundur village.

The miseries of the locals were compounded by stories of starvation and
ammunition shortage at the frontline. Gul Sambar Khan, father of
Muzaffaruddin Begana, says, ``My child spent seven days up there without
any food. One of his colleagues told me that they only had about five
kgs of sugar at the post. Muzaffar fought bravely and used up all his
ammunition. Then he died, with only some sugar in his mouth. I saw it
when I saw his face in the coffin.''

According to circles close to top military authorities in the NA, by
mid-June 1999 almost the entire strength of 6-NLI on the Kargil front
had been wiped out, while 12-NLI also suffered heavy casualties. Though
the Indians took more casualties than the NLI, they were able to clear
the heights commanding the Srinagar-Leh highway by June 26, thereby
taking the sting out of the Kargil operation.

``I suspect the magnitude of the casualties took the planners by
surprise,'' says Major (retired) Hussain Shah, president of the
Muttahida Quami Party and a veteran of the 1965 and 1971 wars. ``Perhaps
they believed that by holding the heights, our troops would not suffer
much damage. They did not realise that the Indians had a sophisticated
airforce that could specific targets, and against which the glaciers
offered no cover.''

Others blame the militants for their role in the conflict. The
government's decision to claim that the militants alone were involved in
the conflict, according to relatives of some martyrs, ended up
demoralising the NLI personnel. Others accuse the Pakistani air force of
failing to provide air cover to the troops ``When I first heard on the
Pakistani media that the Kargil war was being fought by the mujahideen,
I was shocked,'' says Hussain Shah. ``My children were being killed, but
the laurels went to Qazi Hussain Ahmad.''

(Tomorrow: The price of martyrdom)

----------

XIII.

Dawn
11 August 2000
Front Page

Air defense systems to be enhanced: Major General Khateer Hassan:

Islamabad, Aug 11: Government is working on many projects to enhance its
air defense systems through efforts of its own, APP reported today. APP
quoted Major General Khateer Hassan, head of the Army Air Defense
Command, as saying the projects include upgrading 37mm and 57mm gun
systems and automating its early warning and control systems into "real
time". General Khateer told a conference of commanding officers that air
defense will play an extremely vital role in the future. He said the air
defense unit of Pakistan army shot down two Indian aircraft, two
helicopters and damaged one Canberra aircraft during the conflict last
year with India in Kashmir's Kargil sector. That forced the Indian Air
Force to stay away despite having the most modern equipment and las
er-guided bombs, he said. (DPA)(Posted @ 13:55 PST)

----------

XIV.

Pakistan is establishing naval bases in the Arabian Sea, and Indian
Defense Minister George Fernandes reported that India is factoring these
bases into its strategic and tactical plans.

"Pak setting up naval bases in Arabian Sea"
http://www.timesofindia.com/040800/04indi18.htm

----------

XV.

http://www.dawn.com/2000/08/10/top8.htm
DAWN
10 August 2000

China increased missile sales to Pakistan: US

By Our Staff Correspondent

WASHINGTON, Aug 9: The CIA in its latest semi-annual report to Congress
alleges that China increased its missile-related sales to Pakistan last
year and is continuing to supply nuclear, chemical and biological weapons
and missile goods to North Korea, Libya and Iran.

"Chinese missile-related technical assistance to Pakistan increased during
this reporting period," the report stated. "In addition, firms in China
provided missile-related items, raw materials, and/or assistance to several
countries of proliferation concern such as Iran, North Korea and Libya."

The report, a copy of which was obtained by The Washington Times and is
published in the paper's Wednesday issue, also states that "we cannot
preclude" that China has ongoing contacts with Pakistani nuclear weapons
officials contrary to a pledge made by Beijing in 1996 to halt aid to
nuclear programmes in Pakistan that are not under international controls.

"China's involvement with Pakistan will continue to be monitored closely,"
the report said.

Earlier, reported Chinese (and North Korean) missile sales were mentioned
in reports which had surfaced just before the abortive test of the proposed
American anti-missile nuclear shield. This was mentioned as one of the
justifications for the so-called shield.

While the Pakistan-China\North Korea link has often figured in
Congressional debates, the CIA report also mentions the interesting fact
that Iran gained nuclear technology from Russia.

The Senate Intelligence Committee is investigating why additional arms
proliferation activities by Beijing were left out of the unclassified
report, a Senate aide is quoted as telling The Washington Times. "We
welcome the report but the committee has some concerns over the content and
whether certain information should have been included in the unclassified
report that was not," said the aide.

----------

XVI.

http://www.deccanchronicleonline.com/cover8.htm
Deccan Chronicle
11 August 2000

Pak admits Chinese help to build missiles

Islamabad, Aug.10: Pakistan for the first time admitted its cooperation
with China in missile technology which, it said, is within the parameters
of the Missile Technology Control Regime."There is no international regime
that prohibits cooperation within MTCR. I simply want to say that
cooperation within MTCR is permissible by international law," Pakistan
Foreign Minister Abdul Sattar told Kyodo news agency.

His statement came amid CIA reports that Chinese missile-related technical
assistance to Pakistan had increased. Sattar said Islamabad had been
"forced to create its missile programme because of India=92s missile
programme."

"Finally, does China cooperate with Pakistan in this field?" he asked
himself before answering that in the 1990s China supplied "a small number
of tactical missiles, which means short-range missiles. (China) also
explained very candidly that it would not export missiles in violation of
the MTCR," Sattar said.

----------

XVII.

The Hindu
Friday, August 11, 2000

First Hindu militant arrested in Jammu

By Shujaat Bukhari

SRINAGAR, AUG. 10. In the 11-year old insurgency in Jammu and
Kashmir, police for the first time have arrested a Hindu militant and
recovered two IEDs and other ammunition.

Giving details, the IGP, Jammu zone, Mr. Radhavinod Raju, told
mediapersons that the militant, Bharat Kumar alias Bharat Singh, hailing
from Jammu was trained in Pakistan and Afghanistan by the Harkat-e-Jehadi
Islami (HUJI) and then by the Hizbul Mujahideen.

He was recruited along with two other Muslim militants in
September 1997 and later sent to Rajouri for training in a local camp
where he stayed for three months.

He was later pushed to Pakistan occupied Kashmir (PoK) and was giving
training in handling arms and ammunition in Kotli and in Muzaffarbad
under the banner of HUJI.

Bharat got eight months' training in HUJI's Mansara camp, said Mr. M.
A. Anjum, SSP, Jammu. However, two Muslims were sent back to the State
through Nowshehra sector and Bharat was deputed to Afghanistan for
specialised training. He was in Kabul for three months were he was
trained by Afghan warlords.

Copyrights =A9 2000 The Hindu & Tribeca Internet Initiatives Inc.

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