Gen fears another Kargil

JAMMU, JAN 16: With hype to proxy war as the only available alternative, Pakistan can try to create a Kargil-like situation at any other p...

JAMMU, JAN 16: With hype to proxy war as the only available alternative, Pakistan can try to create a Kargil-like situation at any other place along the Line of Control LoC in Jammu and Kashmir.

8220;It is capable of doing it,8221; said the General Officer Commanding-in-Chief GOC-in-C of the Northern Command, Lieutenent General H M Khanna, at a press conference soon after the investiture ceremony at the Tiger Auditorium here yesterday. Referring to the Indo-Pak wars in 1965 and 1971, he said that the problem with Pakistan is that it always makes bold initiatives. However, it is not capable of executing those under the present circumstances, he added.

Admitting that anybody who had the initiative would have the advantage, Lt Gen Khanna said that if Pakistan made such an attempt, India would give it a fitting reply. Pakistan had been engineering proxy war and terrorism in the state for the last many years, Lt Gen Khanna said.

8220;This escalation was necessitated as we had brought the situation under controland got an elected government in the state,8221; he said. Pakistan had to do something as the terrorism was on the decline, he added.

However, after having suffered politically, militarily and diplomatically as due to the Kargil defeat, Paksitan will try its best to step up terrorism. Lt Gen Khanna said that terrorists were concentrating on soft targets. Though they were also hitting security forces at times, their aim is to kill civilians to create terror and get covered by the media.

The GOC-in-C said that insurgency is a longterm game, especially when it is supported by another country. 8220;However, we will overcome it and kill all those infiltrating from across the border,8221; he added. Though borders are the primary responsibility of the Army, fighting insurgency becomes their primary task when there is less threat of invasions, he said. However, he admitted that insurgency has spread during the last six months as terrorists moved into areas from where the troops were moved out during Operation Vijay. Thesecurity grid has been reoriented and a number of terrorists killed after the conclusion of Operation Vijay.

To a question, Lt Gen Khanna said that terrorists were trying to establish themselves in the otherwise peaceful districts of Jammu and Kathua. He appealed to the people not to shelter terrorists and to provide information about them to counter-insurgency agencies.

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On the issue of human rights abuses, he said that the Indian Army8217;s had the least instances in the world.