Pakistanis want peace, says Maj Gen (Retd) B.N. Dhar

New Delhi, July 1 (ANI): Major General (Retired) Brij Nath Dhar, a Kashmiri- speaking commissioned officer of the first post-Independence batch of Indian Military Academy Dehradun, says that people in Pakistan want peace and nothing else.

Brij Nath Dhar has many memories of interaction with Pakistani leaders and men. He recalls how General Zia responded to his telegram when his son was in the plane, which was hijacked during its flight from Delhi to Jammu in 1984. General Dhar had then sent a telegram to General Zia and addressed it "From a Soldier to Soldier".

General Zia ordered the release of his son in Lahore, and arranged his flight along with his wife to Delhi.

He recalls his visit to Pakistan as a member of the delegation led by Gandhian Nirmala Deshpande in 2001. He recalls: My impression about Pakistan is that people who met us with open arms". The Pakistan Government responded to his request to visit the PIFFERS' Mess and look at the signatures of General Sam Manekshw and his cousinol S.K. Dhar.

He shared a glass off beer with officers and danced to the tunes of their band. "I was fortunate to meet my batchmate Brigadier (Retd.) Mukthiyar Karim. I recollect the words of the then General Pervez Musharraf when the delegation met him and I addressed him as "His Excellency". He spontaneously replied, "Please don't call me 'His Excellency', we are soldiers."

85-year-old General Dhar is still alert and feels that Jammu and Kashmir will always remain a part of India. In an interview to journalist R. C. Ganjoo, published in the periodical Power Politics of July 1, he said: "It is my firm opinion that there is no possibility of India leaving Kashmir."

"There has to be complete merger and no azadi. I must mention here that no other war with Pakistan could solve the Kashmir problem," he added.

Major General Dhar, 85, has the honour of being the first Kashmiri- speaking officer of the first batch of post Independence IMA, Dehradun, after independence and was commissioned on December 21, 1947.

Brij Nath Dhar is the younger brother of late D. P. Dhar, who was a member of the policy planning group during Indira Gandhi's Prime Ministership.

He was awarded Param Vishisht Sena Medal for his distinguished services in 1982. He wants the Indian Army to increase its strength (ANI)