Kashmiris no more in favour of Pakistan or terrorism: Doval

PM Modi has clarity of vision, ability to take decisions: NSA Doval on Agnipath scheme

22/06/2022

NEW DELHI, Jun 21: National Security Advisor, Ajit Doval on Tuesday said that the people of Kashmir are no more in the favour of Pakistan and terrorism.
Highlighting the abrogation of Article 370 in 2019 in Jammu and Kashmir, Doval in an interview to ANI said that the mood and temper of the people of the Valley has seen a change and that the situation has changed for the better in the region after the special status of the erstwhile state was revoked . "Post-2019, the mood and temper of the people of Kashmir have totally changed. People are no more in the favour of Pakistan, terrorism," Doval told ANI.
On the question of terror attacks against Kashmiri Pandits, Doval said that the Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led central government had taken steps in the past to protect vulnerable sections and would definitely do more in the future.
"Yes, they are a vulnerable section and need protection. Government has taken various steps in the past and probably much more has to be done and that is being done," said Doval on being asked about the safety of Kashmiri Pandits in the Valley.
The national security advisor said the country will go on an offensive mode against terrorists and make sure that their misdeeds do not go unpunished.
"The best thing is to go on offensive mode against terrorists and make sure they're accounted for," Doval said.
Assuring that the government was taking steps to tackle the menace of terrorism, Doval said: "You don't deal with terrorism, you deal with terrorists. We are tackling their equipment, weapons, explosives and money. We are battling on all fronts and in another few months, we will see results."
Earlier on Tuesday security forces killed one unidentified terrorist in an encounter in Tulibal area of Sopore town in J-K's Baramulla district. Also an encounter broke out between security forces and terrorists in Tujan village of Jammu and Kashmir's Pulwama on Sunday.
In 2019 over 40 Indian soldiers were killed after a CRPF convoy in which they were travelling in was bombed by a Pakistan-based terror group in Kashmir's Pulwama.
According to Doval, the government was taking steps to tackle the issue of terrorism and that now, only individuals were seen to be carrying out "lone wolf attacks."
"We are trying to persuade them (Kashmiris), their families too are doing that. Some individual organisations are operated by their notions or beliefs or fidayeen and creating problems for us. We are fighting them with total resolve," he said.
"Where is Hurriyat? Where are those bandh calls... those Friday hartals.. all gone. Some young boys are getting misled but we are doing our best to persuade them... some military organisations are there but we are fighting them with total resolve," NSA Doval asked.
On 5 August 2019, the government of India revoked the special constitutional status of the erstwhile state of Jammu and Kashmir under Article 370 of the Constitution and abrogated Article 35A.
Article 35A had allowed Jammu and Kashmir to define who its "permanent residents" are and what rights and privileges are attached to such residency.
The former state was bifurcated into the Union Territories of Ladakh (without a legislature) and Jammu-Kashmir (with a legislature).
Doval also said that while India wanted to have "normal relations" with Pakistan but its "tolerance threshold against terrorism is very low."
In an exclusive interview with ANI Doval said, "We cannot have peace and war at the choice of our adversary. If we have to protect our interests, then we will decide when and with whom and under what terms we will have peace. When our core interests are involved, there is no question of peace at any cost. There has got to be peace and we got very good relations with our neighbors, Pakistan included." "We would like to have very normal relations with them but certainly tolerance threshold for terrorism is very low," he added.
Doval mentioned that in the past eight years, India has not seen any terrorist activities except in Jammu and Kashmir, which has been adjusting to a proxy war. "It was a different type of proxy war," Doval said.
The NSA pointed out that between the years 2005 and 2014, there were "a whole range of" bombing incidents that took place in cities like Kanpur, Mumbai, Bangalore, Ahmedabad and others. He said that if the country was not firm and if we did not have clarity that we will fight it and that India "will not beg for peace at any terms."
On the Kashmir issue, Doval said that the mood and temper of the people of Kashmir have totally changed post 2019.
"Post-2019, the mood and temper of the people of Kashmir has totally changed. People are no more in the favour of Pakistan and terrorism," Doval said.
Since the abrogation of Article 370 in 2019, the national security advisor said that people in Kashmir do not support Pakistan and terrorism anymore.
2019 also marked the year in which over 40 Indian soldiers were killed after a CRPF convoy in which they were travelling in was bombed by a Pakistan-based terror group in Kashmir's Pulwama.
"Where is Hurriyart? Where are those bandh calls... where are those Friday hartals... they have all gone. Some young boys are getting misled but we are doing our best to persuade them, their families are trying to persuade them, there are lot of changes have come ... some military organisations are there ..they do create problems for us but we are fighting them with total resolve," Doval told ANI.
Meanwhile, earlier India had isolated Pakistan in the global arena on terrorism grounds. The International Court of Justice ruled in favor of India in the Kulbhushan Jadhav case and forced Pakistan to grant consular access.
Due to the lack of even minimum support at the UN Human Rights Commission, Pakistan did not get a chance to raise the Kashmir issue. It is a result of India's growing clout that after the cowardly terrorist attack in Pulwama and the subsequent airstrikes by India, all major global leaders stood in solidarity with India.
Emphasising that the Agnipath scheme will not be rolled back and was not a knee-jerk reaction, National Security Advisor Ajit Doval said on Tuesday said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi had shown the political will to bring about major change in recruitment to give armed forces a youthful profile.
In an exclusive interview with ANI, he said security is not only thinking about the present generation but also about the future generations and the Prime Minister has got the clarity of vision and ability to take decisions. Referring to protests over the Agnipath recruitment scheme, he said there are "conflict entrepreneurs" with vested interests who are behind the protests over the scheme.
"There is no question of any rollback. This is not a knee-jerk reaction. This has been discussed for decades. In the 1970s, we had the General Krishna Rao Committee of which General Sundarji, General Chhibber were members. They talked about reforming the Army, including the manpower policy, technology and others. Then there was the Arun Singh report in 1989 and then there was a Group of Ministers report...every time it was being felt... there was Subrahmanyam Committee report, the Kargil Committee report... All these consistently had a refrain go for a younger Army. But there was a problem. While everybody realized that it was necessary, no one had the will and ability to take the risk," Doval said.
Citing an example of the UPA government, he said that the Ministry of Defence wrote a letter to the Ministry of Home Affairs in 2006 that they were thinking of implementing if CPMFs (central para-military forces) will be able to take some retiring people (from defence forces).
Doval said Home Ministry gave a reply that they are forming a committee under the DG BSF to examine the matter but that committee's "report has never been seen by anyone".
Citing a lack of political will, he said the then Defence Minister never sent a reminder. "The letter was sent in 2006 and the committee was formed in 2007. It was political will. It is such a big problem, it is such a mass, who will dare getting into it and bringing about the change."
Doval said PM Modi visualises what happens to the Indian Army 15 years from now.
"It (the change) can only happen with a leader like PM Modi, who will say that if this is in the national interest, if this will make India stronger and secure, then no risk is big enough, then no cost is high enough. Even if it is a political cost, I will pay it because he visualises what happens to the Indian Army 15 years from now," he said.
"Security is not only thinking about your generation, also about the future generations, You will have an army which has been recruited and selected and manned by people who have got the highest level of fitness, agility, training, and capabilities. They would be manning it. There will be civil society in which there will be thousands of people who are there to bring about the change, they will be catalysts of change," he added.
Asked if PM Modi has the defence forces and the bureaucracy with him to bring about reforms, he said the Prime Minister "has got the clarity of vision and he has got ability to take decisions".
"He is very right in telling that all status quoits will have some doubts, some genuine fears. It requires certain clarity. There is a lot of clutter and confusion and to take it out, you need a very clear-headed leadership. When he is clear-headed, people down the line also become clear-headed. Probably the earlier regimes created a muddle because they themselves were not clear what did they want, what transformation they want to bring about and what is the cost and are they prepared to pay that cost."
He said Chief of Defence Staff Gen Bipin Rawat, who died in a helicopter accident, was also involved in the reforms aimed at making defence forces more youthful.
Doval said there was total commitment to bring about change in the form of Agnipath scheme and they resolved the doubts.
The "transformative" Agnipath scheme, announced by Union Minister Rajanath Singh on June 14, in the presence of the three service chiefs provides for the recruitment of into the armed services of youth between 17-and-a-half-years to 21 for four years with a provision to retain 25 per cent of them. The Centre later extended the upper age limit to 23 years for recruitment in 2022.
The Union Cabinet had also approved Agnipath scheme on June 14 and the youth selected under this scheme will be known as Agniveers.
The government had announced that 46,000 Agniveers to be recruited this year. It had said that the armed Forces will have "a younger, fitter, diverse profile" to face future challenges.
The Indian Army issued its first notification on Monday for recruitment under Agnipath scheme
Doval said in terms of manpower, India must have a young, agile, fit and well-trained army.
"It is a contradiction, a paradox that a country with one of the youngest populations has the oldest army. By 2030, it is predicted that over 50 per cent of our population will be under the age of 25 years in India. In this country, the average age of the armed forces is one of the highest in the world. We cannot afford that..India has a young population which needs to reflect in the armed forces also."
He said over the last eight years, a lot of structural and systematic changes have taken place and referred to Defence Cyber Agency, developments related to satellite technology, modern equipment, and new assault rifles.
He said Agniveers will never constitute the whole army. "Those Agniveers who become regulars eventually will undergo intensive training, acquire experience over a period of time."
Doval said when PM Narendra Modi came to power in 2014, one of his prime priorities was how to make India secure and strong.
"That required many avenues, many steps - multitude of them. Broadly speaking, they come under the four heads. It requires equipment, it requires change in systems and structures, it requires change in technology, it requires change in manpower, policies and they have to be futuristic," he added.

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