Lt Gen DS Hooda, who had directed the 2016 cross-LoC surgical strikes, says one surgical strike or air strike will not make Pakistan change its behaviour
Former Northern Army Commander Lt. Gen. D.S. Hooda, former Union Minister Jairam Ramesh, senior Congress leader P. Chidambaram release national security plan, during a joint press conference, in New Delhi, on April 21, 2019. (Photo: IANS)
Former Indian Army Northern Command chief Lt Gen DS Hooda said on Sunday one surgical strike or air strike would not make Pakistan change its behaviour.
At a panel discussion, “Beyond politics: Debating a new security manifesto”, the officer who had directed the 2016 cross-LoC surgical strikes said dealing with Pakistan required long-term, dialogue-based planning and also engagement on nuclear issues.
“One surgical or air strike will not force Pakistan to change its behaviour. Dealing with Pakistan requires a long-term strategic policy,” he said.
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On the occasion, Hooda presented the salient features of his report, “India’s National Security Strategy”, which he submitted to Congress president Rahul Gandhi last month.
The Congress has consulted Lt Gen Hooda to lay out a new security strategy for India.
The report talks about measures that can be taken to maintain India’s relations with its neighbouring countries, and to resolve internal conflicts.
“India is home to one-sixth of the world’s humanity, and its people aspire for a prosperous and safe future in which they can pursue their dreams without fear. This requires the state to create a conducive external and internal environment in which India occupies its due place in world affairs, is shielded from global and regional risks, and lives in peace,” Hooda has said in the report.
For Jammu and Kashmir, Hooda has said, tackling both the transnational and internal dimension was needed. He asked for an empathetic approach towards the population, with a clearly defined political objective and well-crafted information campaign.
“In preparing this report, we neither ignore the strength of India’s growing power nor the difficulties that shackle us from achieving our real potential. We live in a time of considerable uncertainty, but what is certain is that the choices we make today will define our future place in the world,” Hooda has written in the preface of the report.
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