Forty former army, intel chiefs ask govt to halt Pak talks

In a joint statement issued on Friday, 40 retired Indian military, intelligence and civilian chiefs have called for a halt in talks with Pakistan. “The government would be well advised not to rush into a dialogue with Pakistan on the assumption that the new PM of Pakistan Nawaz Sharif is ostensibly committed to improving ties with India.” [caption id=“attachment_1022507” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Among those who have signed the statement are two former Army chiefs General Shankar Roy Chowdhury and General NC Vij. AFP[/caption] Speaking at a press conference, former deputy NSA Satish Chandra said, “the policy of appeasement has failed; India needs a new bipartisan policy which will impose costs on Pakistan for terrorism.” Chandra further said that imposing such costs will deter Pakistan. “There is no need to be afraid of nuclear blackmail, India is a nuclear power too,” he added. Former Navy Vice Chief, Vice Admiral KK Nayyar also agreed that India needed a new Pakistan policy, saying “severe costs can be imposed on Pakistan without doing what Pakistan does in India – terrorism.” Former Chief of Army Staff General NC Vij said a low level war on LoC is a ‘purposeful Pakistani strategy’ that can be sustained indefinitely. “Pakistan is a rational actor; they will not risk nuclear escalation. This nuclear bluff should be called by India.” The answer is for India to raise the stakes, Vij said. Also present at the press conference was former High Commissioner to Pakistan G Parthasarathy who said Indo-Pak talks at the bureaucratic and military levels could continue but India needs to think hard how to challenge Pakistan’s strategy. “Eating kebabs and biryani and listening to music is fine but India needs hard headed thinking about how to challenge Pakistani strategy of stoking internal tension in India.” Former Intelligence Bureau director Ajit Doval also slammed Pakistan for its failure to hand over fugitives. “Pakistan’s failure to hand over terror and organised crime fugitives indicates its intentions,” he said. Among those who have signed the statement are two former Army chiefs General Shankar Roy Chowdhury and General NC Vij, former Air chief Marshal S Krishnaswamy, Navy vice chief vice admiral KK Nayyar, former secretaries R&AW AK Verma and CD Sahay, former IB director Ajit Doval, former Home Secretaries Anil Baijal and Dhirendra Singh, Former Foreign secretaries MK Rasgotra and Kanwal Sibal, former MEA secretary JC Sharma. You can read the entire statement below