Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has set a deadline of 10 months for the Army to fortify its bases in Jammu and Kashmir, North East and several other places in order to plug their security gaps and protect them from any more terror attacks. For this, the Defence Ministry has sanctioned Rs 1,487 crore.
Lieutenant General DS Hooda (retd) – the Northern Army Commander under whose watch the Indian Army conducted the 2016 surgical strikes – called the deadline "ambitious" while speaking with The Quint in an exclusive interview.
A committee headed by Lt Gen Philip Campose had submitted a comprehensive plan for garrison security in May 2016. Is the government sitting on the Campose Report recommendations? What is a realistic timeline for implementation?
There is no denying that the Campose report should have been implemented a lot quicker. We have had attacks in Nagrota, Handwara and now in Sunjwan. I agree the Indian Army also has to improve the security levels. But there are some human endurance limitations. The number of soldiers you can spare for garrison duty is limited, at the same time we can’t compromise on border security. We can’t pull back troops from LoC to guard army camps.
There are limits to how much a human eye can see, so the solution is to enhance the security aided by technology like ground sensors and CCTV cameras. We don’t have enough of those.
The Defence Minister’s deadline of 10 months to implement changes is ambitious, but can only be done with a fast track procedure of procurements.
Are our procurement procedures up to the mark or do they need a fundamental overhaul?
It is impossible to fast track everything, but some changes can be implemented in the procurement process.
Currently, the Army commanders have special financial powers for procuring special equipments. We need to enhance the amount under these powers to give the commanders a freer hand. They are the ones who understand the soldiers’ requirements best and a prompt response help avert anything untoward.
Why was there no inquiry into Ministry of Defence’s failure to procure security devices and systems recommended by Philip Compose Committee?
It is not for me to say at what level the inquiries were done, but they are not going to serve the purpose. The need of the hour is to look into the critical requirements of the armed forces and equip them to deal with the contingencies.
It is important to understand how critical the state of readiness is as it impacts the morale of the armed forces and the country as well.
Everyone from Delhi downwards understands what the army’s requirements are, but Delhi should show they understand the needs and that Delhi isn’t far from them.
What was the impact of surgical strikes on Pakistan?
Surgical strikes were more of a strong message rather than an action that would stop terrorism from Pakistan. None of us involved in the planning and execution thought this was going to stop terrorism. The idea was to send a strong message to Pakistan and put pressure on its Army at the border. The strikes in PoK also showed that the Indian Army has widened the ambit of its response.
Ultimately all strategies have to be a combination of politics, diplomacy and military. Diplomacy with Pakistan for now seems to be going nowhere. It’s Rawalpindi (Pakistan army HQ) and not Islamabad that matters in Pakistan.
What’s the significance of attack on family quarters of military personnel? Are they fair game now?
These terrorists have no compunction about whom they are killing, they just want some attention. Attacks on families of military personnel in Nagrota and Kaluchak are hard to forget and it takes things to a whole new level.
We need to put in place few measures to ensure families are protected.
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