APROPOS ‘The making of the Kargil disaster’ (Dawn EOS July 2). There is nothing like India’s Kargil Committee Report to verify claims and counter-claims about the background and foreground of the adventure. As such, the truth lies buried in a few books and outbursts of our YouTube Kargil commando.

If we go by the Indian view, the Kargil war was the upshot of Pakistan’s view of a superior martial heritage. Musharraf was encouraged by his stint with the Special Services Group (SSG) which had earlier launched an attack on Bilafond La in Siachen.

The Kargil (mis)adventure permanently damaged Pakistan. It brought about a change in Indian attitude. Defence became a really sacred cow. Media stopped talking of `coffin scams’. Stingy clerks (babus) in the defence ministry relaxed procedures to facilitate a flurry of defence purchases. Gone were the days when media called Rajiv Gandhi more a`son-in-law of Italy rather than son of India’ in regard to allotment of 36-inch Hazira-Bijapur-Jagadishpur gas pipeline to Italy.

Asghar Khan in his book We have Learnt Nothing from History has dedicated a chapter: ‘Wars for ceasefire’. He writes: Pakistan’s East Pakistan debacle is shrouded in mystery. For instance, Ardeshir Cowasjee in a piece startled readers by revealing that Gen Yahya never disowned his responsibility in the East Pakistan debacle and he welcomed his inquisition. Gen Mitha and some other ‘villains’ of the Bangladesh theatre have written books that apparently portray them in a fair light.

Few people read memoirs of fallen angels, even if they be generals. There is a deluge of literature that reflects that the Pak army was doomed to fail because of its moral frailties, and indiscipline. No one can be condemned unheard yet it appears that the dead generals like Yahya and Niazi stand convicted unheard. Why not hold an inquiry into our wars to separate wheat from chaff.

For one thing, India is always wary of both dialogue and international mediation on Kashmir (it spurned even a recent Chinese offer). Yet, on Kargil, India sought US intervention. Sans a dialogue or international mediation, does India want a nuclear Armageddon with Pakistan?

Saman Ali

Islamabad

Published in Dawn, July 6th, 2018