M A I N   N E W S

Army refuses to comment
Girja Shankar Kaura
Tribune News Service

New Delhi, February 20
Mystery shrouds the Army’s claim of shooting down a Pakistani plane which had intruded into the Indian territory yesterday afternoon in the Chhamb sector along the Line of Control (LoC) in Jammu and Kashmir.

While senior Army officers here were not ready to comment on this claim of the Army which came yesterday evening apparently after a report from the officers involved in military operations, sources here said there was no evidence available to suggest any such incident.

Informed circles in the Indian Air Force (IAF) also said there had been no reports which suggested that one of the intruding planes had been shot and it crashed in the Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK). There were just reports which said two Pakistani planes had intruded into the Indian territory and scrambled back after the ground troops in the region opened fire.

Incidentally, another pointer which casts a shadow on the Army’s claim is that there has been no reaction of any sort from Pakistan during the day. The shooting down of a plane by the Indian troops would have evoked out a reaction and that too a strong one from Pakistan because such incidents create an atmosphere which attracts direct international attention. Besides, there was nothing from the Indian side also. In an event like this, India would have also wanted to create a situation trying to focus international attention on the fact that Pakistan was purposely carrying out acts which were disturbing the peace in the region.

In the last such incident, which happened in 1999 in the Rann of Kutch region after the Kargil conflict, IAF jets had shot down a Pakistani navy reconnaissance aircraft, the Atlantique, after it had strayed almost 5 km into the Indian territory.

At that time while India had gone about claiming that Pakistan had sent the spy plane into its territory with a purpose, Pakistan had lodged a formal complaint with the International Court of Justice.

Sources in the Ministry of Defence here said the Army yesterday had overreacted to the incident. The fact was that two Pakistani trainer planes identified as “Mushaq had strayed about 0.5 km into the Indian territory. They were at a height of 200 ft and that was the reason the ground troops could even read the markings on them.

There was no scramble ordered in the IAF. However, the ground troops opened fire at the planes forcing them to retreat. But by the evening the word had apparently spread that the Army troops had actually hit one of the planes and it crashed in the PoK. While the official spokesman of the Army refused to confirm the report, sources said the word had gone out from one of the departments of the Army which specialises in psychological operations.

While the Army spokesman refused to comment on the incident even today, it would be interesting to ascertain how such a news spread which could have created international embarrassment for the country.

All-party meeting on J&K today
Tribune News Service and Agencies

New Delhi, February 20
Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee has convened a meeting tomorrow noon of all major political parties to brief them on the situation in Jammu and Kashmir, hours before the crucial meeting of the Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS) that is likely to take a decision on further extension of ceasefire.

The Congress, Left parties, the Samajwadi Party and NDA partners, including the TDP have been invited for the meeting, official sources said tonight.

The Opposition has been critical of the government’s handling of the Kashmir ceasefire alleging that it had gone ahead with the initiative without adequate groundwork leading to the killing of innocent people in stepped-up violence in the state.

The Congress termed the ceasefire as a military and not a political move to tackle the Kashmir problem.

The CCS meeting, to be chaired by the Prime Minister, is expected to be attended by Home Minister L.K. Advani, Defence Minister George Fernandes, External Afffairs Minister Jaswant Singh and National Security Adviser Brajesh Mishra.

It is likely to decide whether or not to extend the ceasefire for a third time beyond the February 26 deadline.

There is widespread feeling that if Pakistan backed foreign mercenaries continue with their machinations in the state, the security forces are expected to be given a pro-active brief to change their tactics.