Indian Army Chief: War With Pakistan Still an Option

Tensions between India and Pakistan continue to worsen nearly two months after the Mumbai attacks. Today, Indian Army Chief General Deepak Kapoor commented on the increase in the number of Pakistani troops along the powder-keg border between the two. Gen. Kapoor said that “our political leadership has said war is not an option. But all options are open,” though he later added that war was a “last resort.”

Another senior Indian official said that the comments were not intended to “raise any kind of hysteria for any kind of war, fight or anything.” Yet with Home Minister Palaniappan Chidambaram’s threat to sever all ties with Pakistan and “isolate it from the rest of the world” to punish it for inaction in the wake of the Mumbai attacks, even mentioning that attacking Pakistan remains an option is bound to raise red flags.

The Pakistani Foreign Ministry termed Gen. Kapoor’s comments “most unfortunate” and said the government would continue to work with India both to defuse tensions and to cooperate concerning Mumbai. Spokesman Mohammed Sadiq added that “indulging in the blame game is counterproductive.”