News
Thursday, April 19, 2012
Kayani calls for talks with India* COAS says peaceful coexistence with India vital to both countries
* Welfare of people should be a priority
* Stresses urgency of halting damage to environment caused by troop deployment on Siachen Glacier
* Urges less spending on defenceSKARDU: Chief of the Army Staff General Ashfaq Kayani on Wednesday called for the peaceful resolution of the Himalayan glacier dispute with arch-rival India, and suggested Pakistan should spend less on defence and more on development.
“Peaceful coexistence between the two neighbours is very important so that everybody can concentrate on the well-being of the people,” he told reporters.
The army chief was speaking at Skardu airport after visiting the remote Gayari army base in disputed Kashmir, which was hit by a massive avalanche on April 7.
Rescuers are still searching for nearly 140 people buried by the mass of snow and rock at the camp, which lies around 4,000 metres above sea level.
Pakistan and India invest significant resources in maintaining a military presence on the Siachen Glacier – dubbed “the world’s highest battleground” – and the tragedy has sparked lively debate about the human and financial cost of defending an uninhabitable patch of snow and rock.
The army chief noted that India began the conflict when its troops occupied the uninhabited Siachen Glacier in 1984. Gen Kayani said soldiers would do their duty come what may, but defending borders should not be the country’s sole priority.
“We in the army understand very well that there should be a very good balance between defence and development. You cannot be spending on defence alone and forgetting about development,” he said. “Ultimately the security of a country is not only that you secure boundaries and borders but it is when people that live in the country feel happy, their needs are being met. Only in that case will a country be truly safe.”
He said national security should be a comprehensive concept. “And therefore we would like to spend less on defence, definitely,” he added.
“Any country should do the same – more focus should be on the welfare of the people.” Gen Kayani said the decades of enmity between India and Pakistan should be resolved through negotiation and stressed the urgency of halting the damage to the environment caused by troop deployment on the Siachen Glacier.
“Ultimately it’s going to affect the River Indus adversely and we understand water is important and water management is very important,” he said.
Gen Kayani did not set a timeframe for the talks, and his remarks were in line with Pakistan’s general position that talks are needed to resolve all its disputes with its much larger neighbour.
Pakistan and India have fought three major wars since they both achieved independence from the British empire in 1947, two of them over Kashmir.
Relations have warmed over the last year, especially regarding trade. But there has been little progress on other areas of disagreement.
Gen Kayani’s remarks came a day after the main opposition party PML-N chief Nawaz Sharif called on the Pakistani government to take the initiative for resolving the Siachen issue with India.
Speaking to the media, Nawaz Sharif said on Tuesday that Pakistan and India were spending billions of rupees on defence, which could be diverted for the prosperity of people. He urged Islamabad and New Delhi to resolve the Siachen dispute through a dialogue. agencies
Courtesy www.dailytimes.com.pk