SRINAGAR: The Chief of the Army Staff. Gen.S.F Rodrigues has said that the Army was con{dent of meeting any eventuality arising out of the nuclear capability of Pakistan.
Addressing news conference at the end of the one day visit to Kashmir in Srinagar on Friday Gen Rodrigues said the situation s borders was The inflationary Pakistan trained militants has denied substantially he added.
He observed that Pakistan was likely to face increased pressure from the international community for its state sponsored” terrorism in Kashmir”, The global community cannot adopt double standards regarding state sponsored terrorism.
“Pakistan’s in Kashmir has been exposed the international level. The late developments in Europe and West Asia will also put pressure on Pakistan, he added.
Talking about the “Pakistan’s game plan” in Kashmir, Gen Rodrigues said there was a lot of “cynicism in Pakistan approach to Kashmir militancy in view of its lack of purposefulness. He said cone would wonder of the callousness of Pakistan marioulating the young boys” and using them as “political pawns”. He said that he had to meet a number of arrested militants who told about the forcible exiltration at gunpoint training camps across the border.
The army chief expressed the hope that with the situation in Punjab and Assam improving he expected the “wide thing (in Kashmir) o button by the end of this month”.
Replying questions about the allegations of human rights violations in Kashmir by the Amy, Gen Rodrigues said that everyone should be aware of the fact that things are very serious here, Merely for embarrassing someone such allegations should not be made since Kashmir was border state, its next to Punjab and there was proven collusion from across border to destroy national integrity here.”
He said that very few armies in the world would offer to conduct such impartial inquiries as the Indian Army had done by inviting the Press Council of India in Kashmir
About the fallout of the Soviet beak upon the defence plans of the country, Gen Rodrigues said luckily, we had already started our important substitution plans in the defence sector and, therefore, there would not be any ad verse effect. He however, said that the next six months would be very difficult for India, and the rest of the world for coping up with pulls and pressures of the Russians breakup. “Even the American State Secretary has said that they had to face 12 states instead of one Soviet Union”, he added.
To a question about the demand by former chief minister, Dr Farooq Abdullah, that India should bomb the Pakistani training camps for Kashmir militants, Gen Rodrigues said, “I am suspicious of Kashmir Experts, who lulk of such things outside Pirpanjal (mountain dividing Kashmir from the rest of the country). With regard to them, I wish they make such suggestions here”.
Article extracted from this publication >> January 17, 1992
