ELECTIONS '98
COMMENTARY
SPECIALS
INTERVIEWS
CAPITAL BUZZ
REDIFF POLL
DEAR REDIFF
THE STATES
YEH HAI INDIA!
ARCHIVES

Army rules out war with Pakistan

There is no danger of the current situation in Jammu and Kashmir triggering another Indo-Pak war, the Indian army has said.

''The recent incidents on the Line of Control are fairly localised in nature and are being handled with a controlled response from the Indian side,'' senior army officers told the media in New Delhi.

Asked whether these could escalate into a 'limited war', Director General of Military Intelligence Lieutenant General R K Sawhney said: ''It is in Pakistan's interest to keep the LoC active and in our interest to keep it cool.''

''We are resilient enough to call off this bluff of war,'' Gen Sawhney added.

The army officers reiterated that Pakistan was trying to achieve mileage by creating a 'war hysteria.'

Sawhney said the situation on the LoC had 'de-escalated' and the intensity of firing was reduced to 'a mere trickle'. He underlined that the situation was fast returning to normal.

The officers cited the chronology of firing on the LoC to point out that it escalated significantly from the Pakistani side when any talks were scheduled.

They also pointed out that it was a Pakistani ploy to project Jammu and Kashmir as a flash point, internationalise the issue and demonstrate to the world that the matter could not be resolved bilaterally.

The army authorities were, however, evasive to a query whether the Special Powers Act would be extended to Doda and other areas south of the Pir Panjal. Currently, the Act is applicable only in the Kashmir valley.

They said the permission for the army to operate in a particular area was enough -- even now, they did not feel handicapped in the absence of the Act.

They pointed out that the arc of militancy had extended to areas south of Pir Panjal, and Hindus were being massacred to cause communal backlash and force migrations.

The army officials said the core of the present problem was infiltration of foreign militants -- organised, trained, equipped, financed, armed and finally pushed in by Pakistan with active covering fire and support.

Speaking about the newly-troubled district of Doda, Additional Director General Military Operations Major General Shantanu Choudhary said the army had adopted an ''innovative" method to tackle the spurt in militancy there.

''The army will take on an offensive- oriented task. The rest will be taken care of by the para military forces and the state police,'' he said.

He said that since the beginning of August about 30 militants have been killed and five arrested.

UNI

Tell us what you think of this report