Kargil won8217;t repeat 8212; Army chief

PUNE, Sept 5: Chief of Army Staff Gen Ved Prakash Malik today indicated that the Army would be tightening security by setting up new obse...

PUNE, Sept 5: Chief of Army Staff Gen Ved Prakash Malik today indicated that the Army would be tightening security by setting up new observation posts along the border to ensure that no further intrusions take place and Kargil is not repeated. The Army is also contemplating an increase in defence expenditure in the wake of the Kargil conflict and was presently working out its requirements, he said.

The Army chief who was in Pune to attend the convocation ceremony of the students of Symbiosis Institute of Management Studies SIMS for the batch of 1999 was informally speaking to reporters. 8220;We are taking all necessary measures to see that no intrusion takes place. Some new posts are being established along the Line of Control LoC,8221; he said, adding that the Army was planning to modernise its systems. quot;But I cannot go into the details,quot; he said.

The Army chief revealed that cross-firing continued along the LoC even after the mission had been accomplished and mentioned that the quot;border was alivequot; at many places. 8220;There has been no ceasefire as such and infiltrators trained by the Pakistani Army have been coming in. This is one of the reasons why firing has continued along the LoC,8221; he said. Malik however, was quite confident that Pakistan would not violate the international border, barring the incident of the intrusion of their aircraft into Indian airspace.

Replying to a query on a possible intelligence failure, the Army chief said that it was not possible for somebody to know everything. 8220;Otherwise Kargil would not have happened,8221; he pointed out.

Malik declined to comment on Kargil Brigade Commander Brig Surinder Singh8217;s letters on 8220;enhanced threat perception in Kargil,8221; and mentioned that the Army headquarters had already released a comprehensive press release on the matter and he had nothing more to say.

Asked to comment on the role of the Indian Air Force IAF, the Army chief agreed that the IAF had been very useful and helpful in the Kargil conflict, but admitted that the Army Aviational Corps would require some expansion.

The biggest lesson from Kargil, according to Malik, was the strong emergence of national integration.