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Army chief punches holes in Pak war hysteria

India today categorically denied Pakistani allegations that India was preparing to attack and that Indian army troops had crossed eight km into the Pakistani Occupied Kashmir.

In an informal chat with the media, Chief of the Army Staff, General Ved Prakash Malik, said the loud talk by Pakistan about an Indian attack was 'a totally disinformation campaign'.

There was absolutely no move by the Indian troops along the borders. However, some movement was observed by on the Pakistani side like cancellation of leave of their armymen. ''But this did not not alarm us in any.''

Pakistan had become panicky after India exploded five nuclear devices earlier this month.

Reacting to Pakistan's nuclear tests, he said they did not come as ''a surprise as it was known they were close to detonating the device''.

''You have to wait and see what is the yield of these tests are,'' he said.

General Malik said he did not see any war scenario on either side ''but our job is to remain alert. We also do not see any major move on the Pakistani side.''

The army chief said the directors general of military intelligence of India and Pakistan had spoken on the hotline last Tuesday and the conversation was quite normal.

About the firings by Pakistan in Jammu and Kashmir, the army chief said whenever Pakistan wanted to send infiltrators to the Indian side they resorted to such unprovoked firing.

India had already made it clear to Pakistan that it would not resort to first strike. ''Then why should Pakistan talk about war clouds?'' he asked.

About China, the army chief said more efforts were being made for confidence-building measures. The dialogue with China would go on to resolve the border question and give a momentum to the normalisation process.

UNI

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