Please don8217;t tell us how to fight, angry Army tells prying babus

New Delhi, June 4: The Finance Division FD of the Ministry of Defence MoD has asked Army Headquarters to explain as to how it has been u...

New Delhi, June 4: The Finance Division FD of the Ministry of Defence MoD has asked Army Headquarters to explain as to how it has been using certain weaponry during anti-infiltration operations on the Line of Control LC.

Even while the snowmobile controversy is brewing in the MoD, with the Defence Minister sending three bureaucrats to the Siachen Glacier for their 8220;callous8221; attitude, the same officials have been questioning the Army8217;s use of its first-generation ZSU-23 air defence guns against the Pakistan Army positions along the LC during heightened tensions, as was the case several times last year. The ZSU-23 air defence guns are fairly simple first-generation weapons, ostensibly meant for low-level aerial targets, like helicopters and slow-moving aircraft. These Russian guns have been in the Army8217;s inventory since the late 1960s. Air Defence Artillery ADA officers describe these guns as being 8220;rugged, but largely ineffective for modern combat needs8221;.

The Army, however, found a good use forthem for ground roles. They have been used against ground targets every time the firing from across the LC has gone beyond bearable limits8217;, as an ADA officer put it. In this new role they have proven to be fairly useful. The problems for the Army, however, cropped up when the move to regularise their use was initiated.

Northern Command, which is solely responsible for the management of the LC, made a request to have the ZSU-23 guns transferred to be held as sector stores8217;. By this change in designation, the guns would have remained in permanent possession of the local formations, rather than the ADA units moving from LC duties to peace stations. This request was acceded to by the Directorate General Air Defence Artillery and Military Operations Directorate at Army Headquarters, from where it was sent to the MoD.

While the MoD processed the request without delay, say South Block sources, its Finance Division nevertheless thought otherwise, and that is where the file stuck.

The objection raised by theFinance Division was as to who gave permission to the Army under which it changed the operational role of the ZSU-23 guns. Under whose authority did the Army use the ZSU-23 guns on ground targeting roles8217;, queried the Additional Financial Advisor Defence Services AFA DS in the Finance Division. The AFA DS is a joint secretary-level official. When the matter was taken up with him, say the South Block sources, and the operational logic explained, it was his Desk Officer who produced an even more curious query. He is believed to have exclaimed, said the same sources, that We have provided them with light and medium machine guns for ground roles. And besides, their ammunition is cheaper than that of the ZSU-23s8217;.

This really got the Army8217;s goat, said an ADA officer. 8220;How we conduct our operations, and what weaponry we use to execute those operations is really only our business. After all we live there, fight there, and know how best to tackle the situation8221;, said the officer. The same officials have,on 28 May, been ordered by the Defence Minister to undergo an experience at Siachen Glacier. His ire was on account of these officials delaying the purchase of snowmobiles for the soldiers posted there. The Defence Minister has also asked the Defence Secretary to give him a completion report of the officials8217; tour within a month.