December 01, 2007	Saturday	Ziqa’ad 20, 1428

NEW DELHI, Nov 30: Pakistan's new army chief Gen Ashfaq Parvez Kayani had played a role in defusing the 2001-2002 nuclear standoff with his Indian counterparts, who found him to be a reasonable man, the Indian

Express said on Friday.

For the Indian army, its first encounter with the officer who has now taken over as the Pakistan army chief came as a bit of a surprise, the Express said. “The soft, respectful and reasonable voice over the phone at the height of tensions in 2001-02 after India launched the Operation Parakram is still remembered as ‘striking’ by officers who were at the helm of affairs.”

According to the newspaper, Gen Kayani is known to keep a low profile and his only interaction with the Indian army came through numerous phone calls over the military hotline between the two countries when he was a Major General in charge of Pakistan's military operations during the tense standoff.

The Express quoted a top Indian army officer, who did not wish to be named, as recalling Gen Kayani as a “reasonable guy” who never spoke out of turn and was “very receptive” and “attentive” to points raised by the Indians during the crisis.

Notwithstanding the fact that he is the first Pakistan army chief who did not see the Partition, “Gen Kayani's views on India and Kashmir are not likely to be different from his predecessors,” the newspaper said. It quoted US strategic expert Stephen Cohen as saying that Gen Kayani “views India like all senior officers -- with deep distrust, tinged with envy over India's new economic progress.”

A senior officer told the Express: “One thing that is clear is that he will crackdown on terror. However, the priority will be to eliminate anti-Western terror and a crackdown on Kashmiri militants is not likely in the near future.”