Army has to be competent to face nuclear threat, says Chief

SRINAGAR, OCTOBER 5: Refuting reports that junior officers who participated in the Kargil conflict were being persecuted while seniors hav...

SRINAGAR, OCTOBER 5: Refuting reports that junior officers who participated in the Kargil conflict were being persecuted while seniors have been promoted, the Army Chief General S Padmanabhan today described the situation along the Line of Control as one of unease, but hoped that better sense will prevail on the other side and that the situation will not escalate to the point of war.

The Chief, who fielded all questions confidently said, at a press conference here that he wanted to lead successfully. He was flanked by the General Officer Commanding, Northern Command, H M Khanna and Commander, 15 Corps, Lieutenant General J R Mukherjee.

The General said he had visited several areas along the LoC and was happy to see the officers in good heart. He, however, ducked a question regarding whether several Kargil peaks were still under Pakistan’s occupation. “ It will take me sometime to go to the area and see for myself,” the General replied.

About reports that junior officers of the Kargil conflict were being persecuted, the Army Chief termed such reports as unfair’. “I have not been informed that any junior officer has been victimised. This is not a case of fair reporting,” he alleged.

To a question about Fidayeen attacks on Army camps, especially the Beerwah camp of 34-RR, the Army Chief said, “Action has been taken againstthe guilty, irrespective of rank.”

Regarding insinuations that the Army is fatigued with the insurgency in Kashmir, the General said though the primary job of the Army was to defend the nation against external aggression, whenever the territorial integrity and sovereignty is threatened, it becomes imperative to come to its defence.

The General declared that making the Army competent to handle a nuclear war would his priority as the Chief. “The Army needs to have the know-how, technical, operational and tactical to face nuclear war and emerge successfully out of it,” he said. The eloquent Chief, however, parried questions about the absence of a nuclear Command Council to effectively deal with a nuclear threat.

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To a question on whether he considered the Kashmir problem a military one, General Padmanabhan said, “The Army was doing its bit. However, the governments both at the Centre and in Srinagar address the issue politically.”

When asked that the T 90 Main Battle Tank deal was struck to overcome thefailure of the indigenous MBT Arjun to meet the Army’s requirements, theGeneral said the Army has placed an order for Arjun and that it had not failed them. When asked whether the induction of T-80 UD by Pakistan army hadshifted the balance of power, the Chief said, “It could.”