Ex-IAF chief calls for 'ruthless measures' to combat terrorism in Kashmir
June 10, 2017 00:48
Former IAF head Air Chief Marshal P V Naik has called for "ruthless measures" -- including the use of air power and special zones where intruders can be killed without a warning -- to combat terrorism in Jammu and Kashmir.
The Indian Air Force veteran, in an interview to PTI, suggested a slew of methods, which, he said, could be "better accomplished" under a few months of Governors Rule.
"Hard decisions will have to be taken...It (the situation) demands something which others feel we as a nation lack: Ruthlessness," he said.
Naik, who was the IAF chief from 2009 to 2011, said there had to be a "more effective use" of air power, so far "underutilised" in the valley.
The retired IAF chief's aggressive views on battling militancy followed Army Chief General Bipin Rawat's position that the Army faced a "dirty war" in the valley.
"This is a proxy war and proxy war is a dirty war. It is played in a dirty way," Rawat told PTI last month.
Fifty-nine Army personnel have been killed in counter- terror operations in J&K since 2016. Twenty-two infiltration attempts have been foiled so far this year and 34 armed intruders killed on the LoC, according to official figures.
Naik believed "Red Zones" should be declared in infiltration prone areas near the LOC.
"Each zone should be a bubble 10 km in depth and include airspace above. Any unauthorised movement in this zone should be treated as inimical," he said.
"We must start thinking along these lines if we are to control terrorism in the Kashmir valley," he added.
Special forces with a clear mandate needed to be deployed to "seek and destroy" foreign terrorists, said Naik, now leading a retired life in Pune.
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