What happens within Pak is none of our business

VIJAYAWADA, MARCH 6: The Centre should resume talks with Pakistan before things take a serious turn, former Chief of the Army and ex-gover...

VIJAYAWADA, MARCH 6: The Centre should resume talks with Pakistan before things take a serious turn, former Chief of the Army and ex-governor of Jammu and Kashmir K V Krishna Rao has said.

Delivering a speech on ‘Kashmir and its future’ at the Dr T V S Chelapathy Rao and Parvataneni Brahmayya joint memorial lecture here on Sunday, Rao said, "We should not wait for restoration of democracy in Pakistan. It is none of our business. Even if democracy is restored, military rulers know how to mould rules to suit their convenience."

Rao said even if the Kashmir issue was resolved, Pakistan would continue its infiltration tactics as it never wanted a strong India. Hence, constant vigil on the frontiers was essential to safeguard the country’s unity and integrity, he said.

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"Pakistan has been launching a proxy war as it could not withstand India’s military retaliation during the Kargil conflict. Earlier, Pakistan used to encourage infiltration of militants, but when it was checked it encouraged intrusion of militants on the Indian borders," he added.

The recent hijack of an Indian Airlines plane was one of its strategies to create problems on the borders, he said. The former Army Chief stressed the need for a competent and effective internal security council at the national level.

He called upon people to be united and "not to weaken the country in the name of religion, caste and creed as Pakistan will take advantage of such situations."

Rao said, "the Kashmir issue poses a serious challenge to the unity and integrity of India, and involves international ramifications. The issue involves complexity of problems that could not be solved even after fifty three years, as it requires a multi-pronged approach."

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He said, during his governorship he had adopted a hardline approach to flush out militants from the area, made administration more responsible to the people, reactivated political life and won the people’s confidence to conduct peaceful democratic elections. Such actions proved fruitful as thousands of militants were killed and thousands captured and democracy was restored, he claimed.

Suggesting various welfare measures in Jammu and Kashmir to establish peace, the former Army Chief said constant vigil could be maintained at the border by posting adequate army personnel in all areas and challenging "our enemy at any time."

The Centre should come up with adequate financial help to Jammu and Kashmir to take up various welfare programmes and to rehabilitate the victims who suffered due to militancy and evolve measures to provide employment to youth "so that they can develop an all-India outlook," he said.

Earlier, he paid rich tributes to Chelapathy Rao and Brahmayya recalling their benevolent deeds.