Political, military leaderships need to talk regularly: Malik

Batting for regular discussions between political and military leadership in peace time, former Army Chief V P Malik, who was at the helm during Kargil war, said the country failed to achieve long term strategic advantages in the wars it won due to lack of such a discourse.
Malik said it is too late if a "free hand" is given to the armed forces when a war is on.
Gen Malik, who was chief guest at the launch of the book 'The Monsoon War: Young Officers Reminisce 1965 India-Pakistan War' penned by by Congress leader Amarinder Singh and Lt General Tajindar Singh Shergill (retd), said many people ask him about the Kargil war.

"So many times people ask me about the Kargil war... The political aim that was given to us, we achieved that and then they (country's political leadership of that time) said okay, we do not want to go beyond that.
"Now, there is a lot of debate, which is quite justified, of the political aim and the military aim because in all wars, although we have won except for 1962, the fact is that in those battles we have not been able to achieve strategic, long term strategic advantages for the country.
"There is a good reason for such a debate," Gen Malik said in his address, after launching the book in Chandigarh last evening.

Addressing the gathering, Malik said, "But then, I personally feel, that is because we do not have adequate civil-military relationship, we do not have adequate civil-military discussions, particularly (between) military-political leadership.

"Giving a free hand to the armed forces at the end when the war is already on, it's too late," the ex-Army chief stated.
He said, "It (holding discussions) has to be done both in peace times as well as in war times. It cannot be only in war time and in peace time you sort of don't talk to each other and discuss politico-military issues. That is the problem which continues and I hope it will get sorted out.

"And then, I think, once we have a political aim derived after discussions from the military leadership, it will be much better for the armed forces also as well as for the nation".
Speaking about the 1965 war from a "strategic angle", Malik said, "Sometimes people say who won the war... The fact is that wars are fought with a political aim.
"All in all, our armed forces did extremely well during
the war. All I can say, the kind of book that has come out, it does a great honour to our martyrs...," Malik said, adding it has accounts from both sides.

Also present at the function were Congress MP and former Chief Minister Amarinder Singh, Gen Shergill, judges from Punjab and Haryana High Court, bureaucrats, military veterans from the 1965 war, former troop leader of Pakistan's 25 cavalry Major Shamshad Ali Khan Kaimkhani, Pakistani scribe Aroosa Alam, Punjab Congress leader Sunil Jakhar and a number of party MLAs from the state.
Speaking on the occasion, Amarinder Singh, who was Aide-De-Camp (ADC) to then Army Commander of Western Command, Lt Gen Harbaksh Singh, at the outset said in a lighter vein that he was flanked by two adversaries of that war-- Gen Shergill and Major Kaimkhani.

Singh felt that the intelligence apparatus had failed to assess the situation that was building up from Pakistani side months before the 1965.
"Well, obviously, it's Intelligence Bureau that was responsible. They (IB) let us down in 1962, 1965 and I think they let us down in 1971 also. So, really, the Army doesn't have that sort of input, it has to come from the Bureau," he said during a panel discussion.
Amarinder Singh said that the events that were unfolding after the Rann of Kutch event in 1965, Pakistan's nefarious designs had become evident.
"(Pakistan's) General Ayub Khan had already given approval for Operation Gibraltar, under which their troops had to infiltrate in Kashmir. I think that (Pak's designs) was very much there, we were not aware. Our awareness started much later," he said and referred that input about Pakistani toop movement came from Tangmarg in Kashmir.

Amarinder said that Pakistan was under the impression that Kashmir will rise once their troops were in, but they were mistaken.
The Congress leader described Lt Gen Harbaksh Singh as the architect of the Army's victory at the Western front during the war.
Gen Shergill, who was troop leader of a squadron of 9-Deccan Horse during the 1965 war whose golden jubilee is being celebrated by the country, said "as far as Kutch was concerned, it was a tickle, it was really a tickle to test the mettle of India (by Pakistan).
"And as far as Kashmir was concerned, it was an offensive to get hold of that territory. They had hoped that the people of Kashmir will rise, but indeed they rose, but they rose for India".

The war in the Rann of Kutch was triggered by Pakistan under the aegis of Operation Desert Hawk. This led to a ceasefire in April 1965. Thereafter, in August 1965, Operation Gibraltar was launched by Pakistan where Pakistani soldiers in civilian outfits crossed the Line of Control in Jammu and Kashmir.
Major Shamshad Ali also gave brief account of his role during the war.