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Armed forces mobilisation met objectives: Fernandes

By Our Special Correspondent

NEW DELHI NOV. 20. The Government today claimed that the 10-month forward mobilisation of its armed forces had achieved the intended objectives with "great distinction.''

Replying to questions in Parliament on the `benefits' of the deployment of troops in battle-ready mode, the Defence Minister, George Fernandes, said it exerted immense military pressure on Pakistan and forced Pervez Musharraf to denounce support to `jihad' through his speeches of January 12 and May 27. The military, primarily the Army, was mobilised for `Operation Parakram' on December 19, 2001, and the Government decided to strategically relocate its forces on October 16 this year.

Besides some of the terrorist organisations in Pakistan were banned, some terrorist camps in Pakistan occupied Kashmir were closed, their accounts frozen and leaders arrested. Moreover, infiltration this year has come down to 53 per cent of the figures of the corresponding period of the previous year. Elections to Jammu and Kashmir Assembly were successfully conducted, he said.

The mobilisation focussed the attention of the international community on Pakistan as a State sponsoring terrorism, thereby pressurising Pakistan to shun cross-border terrorism. "The experience gained during the mobilisation has enabled the Army to reassess and revalidate its operational plans and procedures,'' he said in a written reply. No incident among the forces arising out of stress-related syndrome in the course of their deployment has been reported to the Army Headquarters, he said.

The Minister said the expenditure incurred in re-deployment of forces could be assessed only after the re-deployment was complete. The amount of compensation paid to States for farmers whose crops were adversely affected by deployment is approximately Rs. 300 crores.

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