Air chief ridicules Musharraf

PUNE: Chief of Air Staff Air ChiefMarshal S. Krishnaswamy on Friday sympathised with Pakistan president generalPervez Musharraf and said that the General had little option than to speak invarious hues and tones.He was briefing newsmen after reviewing thepassing-out parade of the 102nd course at the National Defence Academy."Heis the president, the authority of a nation," Krishnaswamy said, referring tothe Pakistani president''s recent speech. "I sympathise his position...Given thesituation in which he is, he has to speak in various hues and tones." "Wehave to see how he converts his words into reality," Krishnaswamy said. However,he expressed serious doubts about his ability to do so. "Since he has madehimself the president, he has to speak to please his people. But what he speaksand what the reality is could be miles apart," he added. The air chiefalso pooh-poohed Musharraf''s nuclear threats from time to time, and said: "It''squite amazing that a man with an army background is issuing such statements.Maybe he is donning the role of a politician." Asked to react on Pakistanfiring missiles in the backdrop of heightened tension, Krishnaswamy only said,"It is their missiles. Well done, we enjoyed the show." He, however, saidthat India is fully prepared to counter any threat from its neighbours. On thepossibility of short-strikes in PoK, he said it is for the government to take afinal decision. "While war is not in the interest of either country, thepreparedness is of the highest level, and if given a task to perform, it will beexecuted in totality."Earlier, addressing the cadets, he said that thearmed forces stand deployed to undertake operations at short notice, and giventhe opportunity they were determined to root out the evil once and for all."We keenly look forward to that opportunity to show our nation ourstrength and determination," Krishnaswamy said, adding that the three serviceswere cohesive and strong as never before. "In due course, we shall witnessgreater integration and inter-posting among the three services. While we maywear different uniforms and fight different dimensions, our roots and objectivesare the same," he said. "We have a common enemy and it is our resolve to wipehim out," he added.Battalion Cadet Captain (BCC) Ajeet Krishnan wasawarded the president''s gold medal, while BCC R.N Laddha from Pimpri-Chinchwadarea won the silver medal and R.S. Duhan claimed the Bronze medal for standingfirst, second and third respectively in the overall order of merit.