The Hindu : Front Page : Gohar Ayub Khan's claim baseless , says: Pranab

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Thursday, Aug 04, 2005

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Gohar Ayub Khan's claim baseless , says: Pranab

Special Correspondent

An attempt to sensationalise events, says Pranab Mukherjee

NEW DELHI: After an in-house investigation, the Government has concluded that there is no merit in the claim made by Gohar Ayub Khan, son of the former Pakistan President Ayub Khan, that his father bribed an Indian Army brigadier to purchase military plans of the 1965 war.

The Government told the Rajya Sabha on Wednesday that the claim was an attempt to sensationalise events to promote the sale of his book, due for release in December.

Defence Minister Pranab Mukherjee said the investigation highlighted three aspects, all pointing to the claim appearing baseless.

The first was that any plan or strategy formulated around 1958 [when the brigadier was allegedly bribed Rs. 20,000 to enable his wife to set up a food-processing company, according to Mr. Gohar] would have had no worthwhile value or relevance at the time of the 1965 operations. For, the strategy and operational plans underwent major changes following the 1962 Sino-Indian conflict.

Second, if Pakistan had access to India's plans, it would have achieved a major strategic victory. Further, it would not have been taken by surprise when the Indian Army launched its counter-offensive on Lahore.

Thirdly, Mr. Mukherjee said, according to media reports the Pakistan top brass were also not convinced of Mr. Gohar Ayub Khan's claim.

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