NEW DELHI: The Pakistan army's preoccupation with the troubled domestic situation may rule out, at least in the near term, a Kargil-type misadventure against India, chief of army staff Gen Deepak Kapoor has said.
Taking care not to sound as if he was enjoying an adversary's discomfiture, Gen Kapoor said in a TV interview that he feels his Pakistani counterpart, Gen Ashfaq Parvez Kiyani, is a "professional" soldier and that it was reassuring to have him as the head of the Pakistan army.
Gen Kapoor admitted that India was a "little worried" when things were in a "turbulent" phase in Pakistan, in a clear allusion to the civil stir against President Pervez Musharraf and the assassination of Benazir Bhutto, but expressed the hope that after the recent elections, the situation in Pakistan would improve.
Gen Kapoor's views can be read as the assessment of the government and indicate that there is some relief at the possibility of a new government taking office in Pakistan after an election that passed off relatively peacefully despite threats by terror groups.
"With elections having taken place, I think the security situation in Pakistan, if it now gets stabilized, should improve," he said.
Confirming that there were fears that uncertainty in Pakistan could result in an increased flow of jihadis into India, he observed, "When things were a little turbulent, we were a little worried...and were very vigilant on the borders."
He said Pakistan would "hopefully have a government" in the next few days and "we will be able to talk to a democratically elected government to resolve some of our differences".
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