"Kashmir Has Been Used As Weapon To Unite Pak": Ex Army Chief

The role of the Director General of Military Operations is in focus after the recent ceasefire between India and Pakistan was declared following a call between officers holding the rank in both countries. 

The position, which also involves planning and overseeing military operations, was equally important - if not more so - when India and Pakistan fought the Kargil war in 1999. The man occupying the post at the time was Nirmal Chander Vij, who went on to become the Army chief in 2005 and was instrumental in the decision to construct a 740-km fence along the Line of Control. 

In an exclusive interview with NDTV on Friday, General Vij (retired) said that, after Operation Sindoor - during which India struck terror bases in Pakistan, including the headquarters of the Lashkar-e-Taiba and Jaish-e-Mohammed - Islamabad has been sent a clear message that its nuclear bluff will not work anymore and that India will go to any extent to make sure its national integrity is safeguarded.

General Vij also said his experience has taught him that Pakistan is incorrigible and lying is part of its ethos.

State-Sponsored Terror

Asked about the recent hostilities, the former Army chief, who has written a new book, 'Alone In The Ring - Decision-Making In Critical Times', said, "In many ways, I think this book has turned out to be prophetic. Because I have written that our western neighbours are so incorrigible and so untrustworthy that you really cannot say anything about them for sure. And despite all the efforts by India to maintain peace, they have been indulging in terrorism promoted by the state."

General Vij recalled his interactions with General Tauqir Zia, who was the Pakistani DGMO during the Kargil war, and said that's when the country's propensity for lying and obfuscating became very apparent to him. 

"You could make out that telling lies is a part of their very ethos and ecosystem... Once, I told him, after point 5140 was captured (during the Kargil war), that we have found lots of maps which were duly marked, all he could say in reply was 'ahmaq', which means 'fool' or 'stupid'. That's the problem with them... they will not speak the truth," he said. 

'India Will Stay Alert'

The former Army chief said that despite the understanding being reached with Pakistan, India will maintain a state of alertness for "quite some time", until it's clear what line the other side will adopt. This, he said, was also important since PM Narendra Modi has made it clear that any act of terror originating in Pakistan will be seen as an act of war. 

On Operation Sindoor, which was carried out in response to the Pahalgam terror attack, in which 26 people were killed, General Vij said some very important messages had been sent out to Pakistan. 

"All along, we have been worried about nuclear responses. Our anti-terror operations were restricted to an extent. Even during the Kargil war, we didn't cross the Line of Control... Now, the PM has said your nuclear bluff is off... We will not take it as a serious thing. We have upgraded our response, attacked nine targets and gone into (Pakistan's) Punjab, which we have never done earlier. So, now they know that we will go to any extent to make sure that our national integrity is taken care of and safeguarded," he emphasised.

The former Army chief said the fact that all three forces - Army, Air Force and Navy - were involved was also a key part of the messaging. 

"They have been told that we won't hesitate to go to any extent to make sure that they are put into great difficulty. As it is, the country is, economically, totally broke and they are taking loans to pay off their debts. So, they have to learn some place, sometime. The problem in Pakistan is... when Kargil happened, the then Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif said, he didn't even know... so we don't know who to believe," he said. 

War An Option?

Asked how things have changed between Kargil and now and whether war is an option, the former Army chief said he thinks India could have "gone to any extent" if the Pakistani DGMO had not called and approached his Indian counterpart last week. 

"If you ask a soldier, I don't think war is an option, even though it is our job to fight and we will perhaps be itching to fight at times. But war never solves much. Ultimately, you have got to get to the negotiating table. But to bring the other man to his senses - as Napoleon said, if you put a gun to the other's head, his rationale gets improved and he becomes far more sensible to talk to. So war is an option to bring the other man to a reasonable level of understanding and to get (him) talking more sense," he explained. 

General Vij also pointed out that predicting anything about Pakistan is very difficult because it is unclear whether it is the government controlling the Army or vice versa. 

"We are a far stronger country and we have shown the world that we are very reasonable. The first briefing, which was given by the foreign secretary and the two lady officers - who did a very good job - it was made clear that it was proportionate. We had gone after the terrorist targets and we had nothing against Pakistan as a country and did not want to escalate. But they escalated... And, in any case, for Pakistan to remain together, I think Kashmir has been a weapon to unite the country. So, it is very difficult to understand their mechanics of functioning," he said.