NEW DELHI: Contesting the former Air Force chief's charge that the Army did little initially to jointly plan and evict Pakistan-backed intruders in Kargil in 1999, the then Army chief, Gen. V.P. Malik, on Wednesday released correspondence in which Air Chief Marshal (retd) Anil Yashwant Tipnis applauded the courage and devotion shown by Army personnel.

In a letter, purported to have been written to Gen. Malik on July 7, 1999, he said: "The whole nation has been witness to the courage, tenacity and single-minded devotion of our Army officers and jawans in Kargil.

"All personnel of the Air Force join me in applauding the indomitable spirit of our Army. We are happy that we were able to contribute to the joint effort."

Air Chief Marshal Tipnis went on to praise the sacrifices made by soldiers. "We salute our brave comrades-in-arms of the Army who have fought so valiantly and set a shining example of self-sacrifice in the cause of our motherland."

In his July 10, 1999 reply, Gen. Malik said: "These successes could not have been achieved but for our Air Force having jointly performed with equal valour and commitment in complete coordination. The success in the operations is therefore attributable to our synergised joint effort."

However, Air Chief Marshal Tipnis told Karan Thapar in an interview telecast on CNBC-TV18 that helicopters were used in the Kargil operations against his wishes but his differences with the then Army chief had no impact on the overall campaign to evict the Pakistan-backed intruders.

Reiterating that air support could not have been used in Kargil without political clearance, the former Air chief said it appeared the Army did not have a satisfactory reply to a query raised at a Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS) meeting about the assessment of the "enemy's intentions" in early 1999.

"This is something that he [Gen.Malik] wanted. I had done it against my wishes and against a better judgement,'' the former Air chief said on the interview.

Asked what transpired at a meeting of the three services chiefs on May 24, 1999, ahead of the CCS meeting, from which Gen. Malik stormed out after having been refused helicopter support for evicting the intruders, he said: "Yes, he walked out. I went to the corridor and told him he can have the helicopters."

With that commitment the three services chiefs were again at the same level, speaking the same language ``except that something had been done which was not to my liking."

However, he said, his differences with Gen. Malik did not affect the Kargil operations.

— PTI

Printer friendly page  
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail