Endangered

ISLAMABAD: Terming the 1965 war as "wrong," the then Pakistan Air Force chief Nur Khan has said that it was the result of attempts by Pakistani Army to push a large number of militants into Jammu and Kashmir.

He accused former military ruler Ayub Khan and his Generals of telling a "big lie" to the nation that India had provoked the war.

Air Marshal (Retd) Khan's account of the war, published in the local daily Dawn on Tuesday, coincided with Pakistan's commemoration of the 'Defence Day' on the 40th anniversary of the conflict.

Khan said the war was the result of attempts by Pakistani Army to push a large number of armed militants into Jammu and Kashmir without even informing Air Force and Navy.

He said Pakistani Army suffered heavy losses in the war. "They (the coterie of Generals around President Ayub Khan) had planned the 'Operation Gibraltar' for self glory than the national interest.

"It was wrong war and they misled the nation with a big lie that India rather than Pakistan had provoked the war and that we were the victims of the Indian aggression."

He said Gen Ayub was told on the second day of the war by Army Chief Musa Khan that Army had even run out of ammunition.

"That was the extent of preparation of army. And information had shocked Gen Ayub so much that it could have triggered his heart ailment which overtook him a couple of years later."

Charging the Army with starting the "unnecessary" war, Khan said "rumours about an impending operation (by Pakistan Army) were rife but army had not shared plans with other forces."

Khan said since the 1965 war "was based on a big lie and was presented to the nation as a great victory, the army came to believe its own fiction and used Ayub as its role model and therefore continued to fight unwanted wars -- the 1971 war, the Kargil fiasco in 1999."

"In each of the subsequent wars we have committed the same mistakes that we committed in 1965," he said and demanded that a 'Truth Commission' should be constituted to determine "why we failed in all military adventures."

In a detailed account of the war in which Pakistan Army suffered serious reverses, Khan said he understood from Gen Musa Khan that "something was afoot."

He was later told about the plans by GoC Akthar Hassan Malik to send a large number of militants into Jammu and Kashmir to fight the Indian Army.

"Don't worry, because the plan is to send in some 800,000 infiltrators... to throw out the Indian troops with the help of the local population," Malik told him giving an impression that the Indians would not be able to retaliate and therefore the Pakistan Air Force need not get into the war time mode.

Meanwhile, President Pervez Musharraf in a message on 'Defence Day' said that "while Pakistan is economically stable and has an impregnable defence, our nation is still facing multidimensional threats" and asked people to pledge to uphold dignity, honour and sovereignty of Pakistan at all costs.

Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz in his message urged people to make the country a tolerant, developed, enlightened and democratic Islamic welfare state, as envisaged by its founding fathers.

"Our economy is on high growth trajectory, and we are utilising all our resources to make our defence impregnable. The armed forces are fully capable and sufficiently equipped to defend the motherland."

__________________
Wild Wild Web

ajaybhutani

finally at least some pakistani is ready to say things as he know it.

Ray

All I can say that Pakistan continues to misread the Kashmiri and daydream that they are just raring to go to join Pakistan.

Kashmiris are a race, who as per Lawrence, pretending to be meek are actually very wily and cunning. They act meek and extract their pound of flesh from the rulers. whoever they have been. (Vale of Kashmir). So does it say in Moorecrofts "Travails".

There is a Persian couplet which goes like this:

"Agar khut-e-raijl uftad
azeshan uns kam geeri Eke AFghan, doum Kmboh, seum badzat Kashmiri"

Translated:

"Should Fate decree a dearth of men,
Then friend of mine, beware ye
Of Afghan, Kumboh scoundrel too,
But worst of all dpo thou eschew
That ill bred knave Kashmiri"

I am sure Pakistanis are saying the same after they ensured that all efforts to invade India throughout history have ben brought to nought by the Kashmiris themselves! Who informed the Indian Army in1965 or Kargi? In 1965 it was a Sunni and in Kargil a Shia!

indianguy4u

What the ppl from pureland dont understand is that they have a complex of thinking they alone took on soviets & beat them in afganistan. But they dont understand a simple fact that soviets had nothing to loose there, but we have. When those daydreamers awaken from their dream of 72 vigins et al, then only can we have some progress with relations with them. Anything short then we have to be ready for misadventures like kargil.

__________________
Hala Madrid!!

bull

Its the common people aon the streets that doesnt understand this.The army/ISI definitly knows what the undercurrent is.But they are committed toit as thats their major source of funding

__________________
What's the difference between people who pray in church and those who pray in casinos?
The ones in the casinos are serious.

gilgamesh

"In each of the subsequent wars we have committed the same mistakes that we committed in 1965," he said and demanded that a 'Truth Commission' should be constituted to determine "why we failed in all military adventures."



Pakistan's raison d’être has been India. All aspects of their lives(food, culture, economy, politics, military, religion) are centered around India. Every yardstick used in measuring success or failure is vis-a-vis India.

Average Pakistani should take stock of his situation. In all aspects they will be outshone by sub-par Indian performance. This despite the fact that they posses natural advantages(resources) over India.

Forget statistics and think-tanks. IMO, a most objective measure is the fact that India has been forced to build fences on its borders with Pakistan and Bangladesh to cut infiltration and more importantly illegal immigration. You don't find Indian moslem hordes running across the border into Pakistan or Bangladesh.

gilgamesh

Therefore gentlemen, Pakistan should pick a country its own size. Bangladesh is a fair comparison. And Pakistanis can hold their heads high as they have done better than Bangladesh.

generation_x

It wil be interestin to get some Pakistanis into this thread and get thei opinions.

ajaybhutani

they will never comment on it.

lemontree

For generations they have been taught that India invaded on 6th Sept 1965, they even celebrate "Defence Day" on that day with a parade and all. Most educated Pakistanis know of the truth, but cannot go against the general tide of opinion.

__________________

Cheers!...on the rocks!!