Kargil Army chief Malik to Govt: debunk Musharraf claims

Describing Pakistan President Musharraf8217;s new book In the Line of Fire as an exercise in 8220;megalomanical self-promotion8221; that has partly 8220;turned the Kargil war on its head8221;...

Describing Pakistan President Musharraf8217;s new book In the Line of Fire as an exercise in 8220;megalomanical self-promotion8221; that has partly 8220;turned the Kargil war on its head8221;, former Army chief General V P Malik, Musharraf8217;s Indian counterpart during the 1999 conflict, today said it was imperative that New Delhi debunk the claims in the book. He said he had already taken up the matter with the Government, though still critical of how even the Congress-led Opposition of the time apparently politicised the war.

8220;I have been agitated for two days after reading portions of the General8217;s book. This is history we are talking about. A systematic rebuttal has to be issued at the highest level, not by the Army, but by the Government,8221; Gen Malik said in a meeting with The Indian Express staff here.

8220;We have become so reactive that we can8217;t protect our own strategic achievements. I can8217;t let this man get away with the things he has claimed in his book,8221; he said.

General Malik spoke of the time he personally called on both Manmohan Singh, who was then leader of the Opposition in the Rajya Sabha and then Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee after the ceasefire, to stop politicising the Kargil conflict and the Army8217;s part in it, though even the possibility of an all-party meeting on the conflict fell prey, according to Malik, to electoral considerations.

8220;The NDA won8217;t talk about it now because the UPA is in power. I remember asking Manmohan Singh, who was then leader of the Opposition in the Rajya Sabha, why the Army was being dragged into the politics of the conflict. Our history is neutralised because of internal politics,8221; he said.

On George Fernandes8217; tenure as Defence Minister, Malik said, 8220;He was too much of a politician.8221;

On Musharraf, Malik said: 8220;I don8217;t think much of him as a General. As a Captain or Major, I would give him nine out of ten. But as a General, I would give him three out of ten.8221;

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Malik indicated that Musharraf was silent on issues that were inconvenient to his perceived Pakistani victory in Kargil, including conversations and a meeting then between the two DGMOs. 8220;I am amazed at the description of the timidity of his interaction with his political bosses. He even indicates that he was forced by Nawaz Sharif to agree to the ceasefire. There is a systematic passing the buck. They were together for the war, but I knew that they did not get along from the very beginning.8221;

Malik8217;s own account of the conflict, Kargil: From Surprise to Victory, launched in May, brought the gavel down on a perceived systemic intelligence failure on Pakistani intrusions in 1999. Having spoken to Musharraf only once, apart from an exchange of official letters when he took over, Malik feels, 8220;As he is a head of state, we can8217;t shirk talking to him through dialogue. But I don8217;t think I would trust him in an agreement, it would not be worth the paper it was on.8221;

8216;N-plan indigenous8217;

Countering General Musharraf8217;s claim that India8217;s nuclear programme was a copy of Pakistan8217;s centrifuge design, Defence Minister Pranab Mukherjee on Wednesday said: 8220;We were the first one among the Asian countries, and the developing countries to develop the nuke technology through our indigenous efforts. Our track record in this matter is impeccable.8221; 8212;ENS