Indian brigadier ´sold 1965 battle plan´

[2RHPZ]

Indian brigadier 'sold 1965 battle plan'

By Peter Foster in New Delhi
(Filed: 01/06/2005)

The hunt is on for an Indian Army brigadier who allegedly betrayed his country for 20,000 rupees, selling battle plans to bankroll his wife's passion for preserving fruit and vegetables.

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The secret Indian Army battle plans for the 1965 Indo-Pakistan war were sold by the brigadier to fund his wife's unusual hobby, said Gohar Ayub Khan, 68, son of Pakistan's first military ruler, and foreign minister during the 2002 nuclear stand-off with India.

Mr Gohar, whose father, Gen Ayub Khan, ruled Pakistan between 1958 and 1969, refused to name the brigadier but, tantalisingly, said he was still alive and retired after reaching a "senior rank" in the Indian Army.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/images/new_hed_story.gif (http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2005/06/01/wplan01.xml&sSheet=/news/2005/06/01/ixworld.html)

[2RHPZ]

OK, I noticed that Geezah posted this article in General section ... I am slowly getting used to the fact that many ppl ignored History section. I will add a couple of more (biased ?) inormations:

Indian establishment sceptical about Gohar's claims

New Delhi | June 01, 2005 7:43:09 PM IST

New Delhi, June 1 : Although India has ordered a probe into former Pakistan speaker Gohar Ayub Khan' claim that an Indian brigadier sold a secret war plan in 1965, the general response in the country's security establishment is one of deep scepticism.

"You simply cannot have an operational plan contained in one single document. Any seasoned soldier will know that battle plans will keep changing according to the ground situation," remarked a senior general at the Army Headquarters here.

http://www.webindia123.com/home_file/logo.gif (http://news.webindia123.com/news/showdetails.asp?id=84856&cat=India)

[rajkhalsa]

Another bogus claim put out by another Pakistani politician.

Even if it were possible that battle plans were 'sold', the Paks must be even that much more incedibly militarily inept, considering the outcome of the war.

It's like having a cheat sheet to a test, but then still failing. :lol:

[rajkhalsa]

From Tribune India - No URL

War plans sale: defence experts demand probe
Vijay Mohan
Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, May 31
Even as the Defence Ministry and the Army today launched an inquiry to look into Gohar Ayub Khan’s allegations that an Indian brigadier had sold the Army’s 1965 war plans, the defence community is raising two prominent questions. The first being why are the allegations coming so late and the second is, given the nature of allegations coupled with incorrect facts, whether it is it a deliberate attempt by the Pakistani establishment to create mischief.

Defence experts, nonetheless, called for a thorough probe without any prejudice to ascertain facts and present the correct picture of what may have then transpired or absolve the Army of any blame. The repercussions of the allegations, if true, would have to be viewed with grave concern.

Gohar Ayub Khan, whose father Field Marshal Ayub Khan was the Pakistani dictator during the 1965 Indo-rPak war, had yesterday alleged that an Indian brigadier, who rose to a senior position, had sold war plans for Rs 20,000 to fund his wife’s hobby of canning fruits and vegetables.

Senior officers discount the Pakistani industrialist-turned-politician’s claims on the grounds that there had been no Indian “Grand Plan” which could have been leaked. Also, to be noted is the success with which Indian formations were able to cut across the International Border (Ib) and Pakistan’s inability to achieve tactical or strategic gains during the conflict. Officers have also termed it as a publicity stunt for his forthcoming autobiography and are unwilling to lend credence to the theory that a brigadier would take the risk for the “petty” reasons cited.

The most glaring inconsistency in Gohar’s statement is that Pakistani forces ran into trouble while crossing the Beas. Beas is about 50 km from the IB and though Pakistani plans envisioned crossing it, they reached nowhere near it. “Pakistani forces could not proceed beyond Khem Kharan, where their armoured division was decimated by Indian formations,” Major-Gen Rajendra Nath (retd), a military historian said.

In fact, the only place along the entire western frontier where they made an initial gain was in the Chhamb Sector where they had themselves planned an offensive, and had moved their armoured division well in advance he added.

Pakistan’s 1 Armoured Division and the 11 Division had launched an attack in this sector, but were checked by the 4th Infantry Division, which had taken up defensive positions after falling back. Indian Army’s 7th and 15th Infantry Division, which were part of 11 Corps, were tasked to advance up to the Ichhogil Canal, Pakistan main defence line. “These divisions reached their objectives and some units were even able to go beyond,” General Rajendra Nath said. “Had Pakistan known about Indian plans, this may not have been the case,” he added.

Terming the whole thing to be unlikely, Col Bimal Bhatia, a retired Military Intelligence officer, said he was of the opinion that if the allegations turned out to be true, the question was that of repercussions on Indian security later on. “If true, the establishment would have to determine how the alleged mole could have been used for other purposes,” he said.

Colonel Bhatia, like several other officers, did not discount the possibility of the allegations being a mischievous ploy to demoralise the other side. “This is a known game played by intelligence agencies,” he said. “Such things become the topic of discussions, which create doubts about security and integrity,” he added.

In fact, an intelligence source said a brigadier who had held the post of Director, Military Intelligence, in the 60s and had subsequently moved up the ladder, had travelled to the United Kingdom in 1967 and was known to have relatives there. An intelligence officer said that this particular piece of information, was perhaps being used by Pakistan to lend authenticity to its claims, as was often done by world’s two biggest intelligence agencies during the cold War.

According to Mandeep Bajwa, a city-based defence analyst, Gohar’s earlier statements and sentiments have given him a very low credibility. “He is known to have strong anti-India feelings. He never forgave India for denying victory to Pakistan, which led to the downfall of his father,” he said. “Gohar was then establishing himself as an industrialist and his father’s defeat resulted in heavy financial loss and lowering of prestige, which is why he throws up such allegations,” he added.