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The Rediff Interview/ Air Commodore Jasjit Singh

'We must take PoK back'

Director of the Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses, Air Commodore (retd) Jasjit Singh, strongly believes that Pakistani army generals are living in a fool's paradise if they think they would be able to take even an inch of the Indian territory in Kargil, Drass, or Batalik. He remembers Pakistani officers telling him: ''Sardarji, kab tak ladoge Kashmir mein. You cannot win a cricket match against Pakistan, leave alone winning a battle against us in Kashmir.'' His reply to them was: ''Kashmir is not Sharjah. You have tried so many times in the past and lost it. We are not going to leave Kashmir at any cost.''

His confidence in the abilities of the Indian defence forces is intact even today. In an exclusive interview withOnkar Singh, he said he was positive that in the current conflict, it was just a matter of time before the Indian forces pushed back the intruders and reclaimed the occupied territory.

How would the infiltration in Kargil affect our relationship with Pakistan?

First of all, let me make it clear that this is not an intrusion. It is an invasion by the Pakistani Army regulars. We have now clearly established that at least three battalions of the Pakistani Army have been directly involved in this conflict.

Our relationship with Pakistan has always been strained. We should aim at establishing a stable relationship with Pakistan rather than being overtly friendly. The power structure in Pakistan would never allow a friendly relationship to develop between the two countries. I think we need to accept this reality. We have to look for some ways and means to have a stable relationship with Pakistan.

Why is Pakistan acting in a manner that will not only see it lose face at the international level, but also a war with India?

This has something to do with their perception. They have always fancied the possibility of winning a war with India. They did so in 1948, 1965 and later in 1971. Then after losing the war in 1971 they started thinking in terms of winning a proxy war with India through militants in Punjab and Jammu and Kashmir.

Why is it that we never ask Pakistan to vacate Occupied Kashmir?

That's something I too fail to understand. Pakistan's occupation of Kashmir is against the UN's resolution. When Kashmir decided to merge with India, the whole state of Jammu and Kashmir did so, not a part of it. So we should ask them to vacate the occupied territory of Kashmir. If we haven't done so in the past, then we must do it now.

When did Pakistan start planning this operation and when did it actually implement it?

I think they started planning the intrusion into Kargil some time early last year. I say this because it takes a lot of time to plan such an operation. As far as implementation is concerned, it must have taken place some time in early winter this year. Because the guys who crossed over were fully equipped to meet the challenges of winter. They had all the necessary support.

Do you think there was an intelligence failure?

I would say there was information available in bits and pieces. We had a clear indication of the impending threat as early as last year, when Pakistan started shelling Kargil. We failed in our analysis. We should have got all the information on board and that's what our Joint Intelligence Committee is supposed to do. We did not have a JIC chief for some time. We should prevent such incidents instead of looking back and forth later on.

If Pakistan pulls back its men because of international pressure, don't you think there would be pressure on us as well to hold talks with Pakistan on Kashmir?

Fine, hold talks. But then we must identify the problem. We must tell them to vacate Occupied Kashmir because that is the crux of the problem. Even if we accept the 1972 Line of Control as the international border, we are giving a big concession to Pakistan because Occupied Kashmir should be with us and not with them.

The Rediff Interviews

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