Pakistan has proved time and again that 'it cannot be trusted': Former Indian Army Chief

New Delhi [India], Aug. 26 (ANI): Analysing factors that have brought ties between India and Pakistan to a new low, former chief of army staff, General Deepak Kapoor (retired), has said that first and foremost what comes to mind is the lack of trust between the two nations, and added that Pakistan has proved time and again that it cannot be trusted. "Starting with 1948, 1965, 1971, the Kargil War, the proxy war in Jammu and Kashmir, inciting of communal trouble in different parts of the country at different points and times since independence. Broken promises, especially in regard to the investigations, which had been promised by the Pakistan into both Mumbai and Pathankot attacks. Going back on understandings at Bangkok, Ufa and Lahore, the list is endless, and that is why that lack of trust is going to persist," he elaborated. Delivering the inaugural lecture on the theme 'Pakistan-Deep State: Fountainhead of Terror and Conflict' organised by Centre for Land Warfare Studies at the Manekshaw Centre here on Thursday, General Kapoor said, "Second very important aspect is the role of the army, the Pakistani Army. As we all are aware, and we all don't need to go into details, the army has been directly or indirectly ruling Pakistan. But what is of our interest is that, it has been dictating the foreign policy of Pakistan, especially when it concerns to India in all its aspects. So, whether it has been in the driving seat, or in the back seat, it has always been the Pakistan Army." "There is no denying that Indo-Pak relations is one of the evergreen topics in all think tanks and it is going to remain so ,because it affects both our internal and external environment and the effect it has," he added. "Indo-Pak relations have followed a meandering curve," he observed, adding that there are a "number of highs and a much larger number of lows, like the current low that we are going through, and it's called a historic load for the simple reason that the reference to Balochistan by the Prime Minister on the 15th of August, in addition to what is happening in Jammu and Kashmir, has brought it to a level where even we don't know who to talk to in Pakistan." "You just cannot help, but indulge in Pakistan bashing," he added. The seminar was organised with the idea of training focus on important aspects that require discussion, analysis and understanding, such as Pakistan's power structure, its anti-India mindset, its selective approach and actions against terror organisations, the Pakistan military's role, support and direction of terror against India and Afghanistan, Pakistan's military modernisation and development of its nuclear and conventional deterrence to support the proxy terror war in Jammu and Kashmir. The importance of the Pak-China and the Pak-US dynamics within the regional security calculus was also discussed by eminent personalities. (ANI)