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| Terrorist activity in J&K will increase | | Govt. has no plans to use IAF against militants | | From B L KAK
NEW DELHI, JULY 13: The Centre has no plans, at present, to use the Indian Air Force(IAF) against militants and their hideouts in forest areas of Jammu and Kashmir.
Even as the government does not rule out the possibility of further rise in the terrorist activity and strikes in parts of the troubled States in the coming days and weeks, New Delhi would like to continue to depend on the ground forces in J&K. EARLY TIMES was offically told that the government has not abandoned the idea of using the IAF to launch a counter-insurgency offensive in J&K.
"But this kind of operation will not be undertaken at present, simply because the Army and other security agencies and J&K police authorites have not pressed for involving the Air Force against the militants and their hideouts in forest areas and upper reaches", sources in the Ministry of Defence (MoD) said.
Commenting on a report appearing in Pakistan's publication, Daily Times, which states that the Indian government in c onsidering using the Air Force to launch counter-ionsurgency ofensive in Kashmir following increased militant activity and a series of blasts in Srinagar, these sources said that the government "has other options and, therefore, the question of making use of the Air Force in the given situation does not arise".
EARLY TIMES was also told that it was Rajesh Pilot, Minister of State for Internal Security in the PV Narasimha Rao government, who was keen on using the Air Force, particularly in the hilly Doda district of Jammu region. Rajesh Pilot who himself had served in the Indian Air Force had, without specific consultations with his Home Minister, SB Chavan, provided a set of inputs to the Defence Ministry on how to take on the militants and battle-hardened foreign mercenaries.
This was followed by the IAF submitting a doctrine, which sugested ways to force militants out of the inaccessible forest areas in Jammu and Kashmir and engage with the Army on the ground. The doctrine shows how the Air Force can help in combat operations against militants. The air support can provide interceptive dominance through electronic warfare and its airborne command posts can keep tabs on militant movement.
The IAF is universally known for its fine skills to cut down communication delays during ambushes. The IAF's electronic jamming would block communication between militants. Sources confirmed that the Air Force had also proposed tactical support for the movement of the Army personnel.
This apart, the IAF has also the ability to reinforce Army surveillance and provide real-time photography and intelligence on militant movement and their hideouts. Acording to sources, the entire doctrine requires to be re-written as things today are not what they were when the doctrine was structured
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