A TRIBUTE CONTROVERSY

A hostage returns
Ayub Khan to sign the Tash-
kent Agreement.
Defense analysts have
also noted that Gohar Ayub
Khan has in the past been
known to make statements TNT News Desk lowing intelligence inputs from the As-
without credibility. It has sam police, state police and the army.
also been suggested that he Abduction of a high profile man in On the basis of their information,
was eager to gain publicity Arunachal Pradesh on June 18 has hit police had cordoned off a predominant-
for his forthcoming autobi- the headlines across the region and found ly Bodo forested area on the Assam-
ography by making these much prominence in some national me- Arunachal border, he said, adding that
claims. Other sources note dia – thanks to the stature of the abducted though the area was cordoned off from
that fake plans may have
planted by Indian Intelli-
gence Agencies, in order to
fool the Pakistan Army.
Whatever may be the
case, whether a strategy or
wild allegation, Sam Baha-
dur stopped not till he taught
Pakistan a lesson and had
the entire nation on his side
Triumph at New Delhi after the war. From left to right, Air Chief Marshal P C Lal, Admiral S M
Nanda, General Sam Manekshaw join Indian Defence Minister Jagjivan Ram. Notice the defence
to defend his position. We all
minister’s closed fist, symbolically representing a knock-out punch against Pakistan. salute him.

questions about detail.

This country honoured him with the
Padma Bhushan in 1968 and Padma Vib-
hushan in 1972. But the worst thing hap-
pened when Gohar Ayub Khan, son of
former Pakistani President Ayub Khan,
in an interview with Karan Thapar on
CNN IBN on May 8 last year made alle-
gations that a very high ranking general
of the Indian Army had sold War Plans
to Pakistan during the 1965 War. Refus-
ing to name the person, Khan described
him to Thapar in hints as a brigadier who
was Director of Military Operations. On
being asked by Thapar whether he was
talking about Manekshaw, Gohar Khan
replied, “I can’t name him. I have given
hints... you fit the cap.” This news came
one week after the release of Ayub’s fa-
ther’s memoirs. man and his political connections. that date, the police could not rescue
However, the allegations drew The abducted man was Getam Getem and his music teacher immediate-
strong criticisms and skepticism from Apang, the second son of the former ly considering possible risk to their lives.
within the Indian Military establish- Arunachal Pradesh Chief Minister, Mr. Director General of Police Ajay
ment. It has been pointed out that Indian Gegong Apang, while the abductor was Chadda said both Getam and Rai walked
Military doctrine underwent consider- none other than his maternal uncle who down on their own to meet family mem-
able change after the 1962 Sino-Indian fell into police dragnet as the curtain bers on June 26 night at Holongi on the
War. Moreover, it was also pointed out came down suddenly on this high volt- inter-state border with Assam.
that the Pakistani Military should have age abduction drama that continued for Asked if extremists were involved,
been in a better position to win the 1965 ten days or so. he named former Bodo militant Upen
war if they were indeed in possession of State Home Minister Jarbom Gam- Basumatry, who was among the arrest-
the Indian Army’s battle plans, as op- lin said Getam’s uncle Tahak Tatak and ed. Four more involved in the abduction
posed to the war situation that forced two others were arrested on June 21 fol- had been identified whose antecedents

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