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No lowering of guard: Vij

By Our Special Correspondent

NEW DELHI JAN. 1. The new Army chief, N.C. Vij, today criticised the Pakistani President, Pervez Musharraf, for hinting at plans to use nuclear weapons had Indian forces crossed into Pakistan during the tense military standoff after the December 13, 2001 attack on Parliament.

Observing that "no responsible military man can make that statement'', Gen. Vij declined to get into the semantics of the observation.

However, he pointed out that a few months ago, Gen. Musharraf had stated that only a mad man could think of using nuclear weapons.

Interacting with newspersons after inspecting a guard of honour by his parent regiment, Gen. Vij said the Army was being relocated in positions from where it could react to a threat on the western borders in the quickest possible time. Its repositioning would be based on the experience gained during `Operation Parakram' — the name given to the deployment of troops in a battle-ready position ordered in December 2001.

There would be no lowering of guard in Jammu and Kashmir — the Army would maintain the tempo of hunting down terrorists, persevering with its vigil along the rugged Line of Control as well as cooperating with the newly-elected State Government by supporting its initiatives for the restoration of peace and normality.

The other three priorities are increasing the intake of officers, modernisation and stepping up welfare activities for the serving and retired personnel.

Gen. Vij did not agree that the Army would become marginalised with respect to the other two services owing to the current emphasis for them. Warfare in the modern world would have to take place in total synergy in which the role of all the three services would be equally important.

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