Perhaps, Iftikhar Gilani’s problem is he has been ‘‘caught’’ storing what still passes off as classified information. But any surfer of the worldwide web will tell you that there are virtually as many versions of Indian Army formations as there are links.For instance, try visiting the website of the Pakistani Defence Journal (www.defencejournal.com) and go through analyst Ikram Sehgal’s piece on India’s war plans in its January, 2002 issue. You will get a complete lowdown — even if you were to ignore Sehgal’s opinion on Indian plans which he also published in the Pakistani English newspaper The Nation on claims of Indian troop strength and movements.You will be staring at all that, if accurate, should officially be called ‘‘sensitive information.’’ There is even a purported list of ‘‘number and type of aircraft’’ at each base. Compared to this, Gilani’s papers on assumed Indian troop strength in Kashmir reads more like typical Pak propaganda meant to buttress Islamabad’s refrain: that there are 6 lakh personnel in the Valley and how strength of all the units adds up to that final total.Here’s some of what the Defence Journal put out which most of us in India are still told is classified. It’s all there on the worldwide web. Right or wrong, sensitive alright:• ‘‘15 Corps at Srinagar comprises 19th Infantry Division (at Baramula), 28th (Gurais) and 57th Mountain Division (Sharifabad, reinforcement from Dimapur in Eastern Command)• ‘‘16 Corps at Nagrota (Jammu), besides having five Infantry Divisions, has three Independent Armoured Brigades, the 2nd, 3rd and 16th. There is an Artillery Brigade with each Corps. Except for the 39th Infantry Division and the three Armoured Brigades which are engaged in Counter-Insurgency duties, all the other Divisions are deployed on the Line of Control (LoC).• ‘‘These forces have been joined by three Divisions as part of a I Corps Strike Force, moving from Central Command but still without its 31st Armoured Div, which has probably moved into Western Command area as part of Army Reserve to support 2 Corps operations.• ‘‘Western Air Command’s fighting units in Kashmir ‘‘include 12 MIG 21s at Leh, 17 MIG 21s at Srinagar, 18 MIG 21s at Udhampur, 8 MIG 21s at Jammu, 17 MIG 23s and 24 MIG 21s at Pathankot (total 96 aircraft).• ‘‘In Punjab its bases are at ‘‘Amritsar 18 MIG 21s, Adampur 17 MIG 23s, 16 MIG 29s and 16 MIG 21s, Halvara 17 MIG 23s, 18 MIG 21s and 8 MIG 23s, Chandigarh 18 Jaguars, 8 Canberras and 18 MIG 21s, Ambala 19 Mirage 2000, 18 Jaguar and 16 MIG 21s, Bhatinda 18 MIG 21s and 8 MIG 23s, Sirsa 18 MIG 27s and 16 MIG 29s, Suratgarh 17 MIG 23s and 18 MIG 21s and Hindon 6 Canberras, 8 MIG 25s and 16 MIG 21s.• ‘‘New naval base is coming up between Mumbai and Cochin at Binaga Bay. There is an advance base at Dwarka and the Navy’s Missile Boat HQ is at Colaba.It is obvious that both the Western and Eastern Naval Commands will be involved in operations against Pakistan.• ‘‘Their surface fleet consists of one aircraft carrier, 7 Guided Missile Destroyers, 7 Guided Missile Frigates, 3 Frigates, 4 Corvettes, 10 large patrol craft, 5 Fast Patrol Boats, 3 Fast attack Missile Boats and 18 Minesweepers.’’
