security forces should have been allowed to occupy Pakistani areas along the LoC:VP Malik

J&K, 26/7: Former Army Chief General VP Malik has said that security forces should have been allowed to occupy Pakistani areas along the LoC before the ceasefire in Kargil. In 1999, 22 years after the India-Pakistan war, Malik said that Operation Vijay was a politically, militarily and diplomatically resolute action, which helped us turn even a bad situation into a strong military and diplomatic victory. Whereas Pakistan had to pay a big price at the political and military level. The former Army Chief said that the Indian Army took some time to assess the situation and take appropriate action on the basis of poor intelligence and incomplete surveillance. However, India was successful in achieving its political goals through military victory on the battlefield and successful politico-military strategy. With this, India made its democratic, responsible and firm image in the world.

According to the English newspaper Times of India, Malik said that when the war started, we were responding to the ‘surprise situation’ created by Pakistan. Due to the failure of intelligence and surveillance, there was a lot of confusion within the government about the identity of the infiltrators. Our frontline failed to detect the infiltration and had no clue about their whereabouts. So it became necessary to get enough information, stabilize the situation and take the initiative again.