India’s Gen. Kapoor Can Learn From Pakistan’s Gen. Kayani
ISLAMABAD, Pakistan—Indian Army Chief General Deepak Kapoor has once again come up with a highly irresponsible and rather humorous statement when he stated that Indian Army was ready for surgical strikes, missile and infantry attack inside Pakistan.
This statement of the Indian Army Chief came when Pakistan government and Pakistani authorities were conducting a high profile probe into the Mumbai attacks on the basis of what should be termed as a rather shady dossier provided by the Indian government. The statement came when the Pakistan government was doing the job with all sincerity and when the Indian government itself had agreed to wait for the outcome. In such a situation, when Pakistan and the entire global community was making an all out effort to ease tensions between the nuclear archrivals, General Deepak Kapoor jumped the stage with a statement that surprised everyone.
At this sensitive moment, the Indian Army Chief was supposed be behaving with some sense and responsibility and in accordance with his stature as the chief of the world's third biggest army. The behavior of General Kapoor leaves one to ponder about how fragile the peace and security of the globe is with one of the world's biggest armies having a Chief with this sort of a mindset.
General Deepak Kapoor can learn a lesson and take inspiration from Pakistan's Chief of the Army Staff General Ashfaque Pervez Kayani, who has kept his cool and behaved like a real General and a Commander under the worst circumstances and opted for restraint instead of behaving like a villain in some third-rated Indian movie.
The Daily Mail believes that there are chances that the Indian government, after losing its diplomatic and political war against Pakistan, might have ordered its Army Chief to launch a "verbal" military offensive against Pakistan. However, if this hypothesis is true, even then General Kapoor should have used his own head and instead should have told his government about the consequences of such a move and its impact on regional and global peace initiatives. But it appears that the typical Indian hegemonic philosophy has now very deeply crept into the Indian military leadership. Indian military commanders have started making immature statements over matters of highly sensitive nature.
The Daily Mail strongly advises the Indian government that it should, before appointing it services chiefs, and especially the Chief of Army Staff, send them to Pakistan where they should be trained to behave in accordance with their stature and profile and to learn how to keep their cool and opt for restraint during a moment of crisis.
The Pakistani military schools, with their high premium on discipline and personal conduct, are renowned for instilling such professional behavior.
By Makhdoom Babar
Editor-in-Chief, The Daily Mail.
Wednesday, 11 February 2009
The Daily Mail
is based in Islamabad and Beijing. Makhdoom Babar Sultan can be reached at macbabur@hotmail.com
Comments