Maj Gen (R) Jatinder Singh of Chandigarh letter in India's Hindu:
"This refers to the report that Pakistan allowed an India helicopter with four Army personnel to return home five hours after the aircraft was forced to land in Skardu for violating Pakistani airspace. This action vindicates my long-held view that Pakistan Army is a professional institution, not a rogue Army (As claimed by our American friends) and some sections of the media, service colleagues and politicians would like to suggest. Even if Pakistan had shot down the helicopter(Like we shot Pakistan Navy un-armed maritime. The Atlantique Incident was a major international incident that occurred on 10 August 1999 when a Pakistan Naval Air Arm patrol aircraft—a Breguet Atlantique with 16 personnel on board—was shot down in the border area of the Kutch region by Indian Air Force jets. Pakistan and India both claimed the aircraft to be in their respective airspace. However, the wreckage fell well within Pakistani territory, giving credence to the Pakistani claim),and shown it as a crash, we would not have been able to ascertain the truth, considering the sparsely populated terrain of Skardu. The incident speaks volumes for the speed in decision-making, communications set-up and the maturity of the Pakistani Army hierarchy."
MAJYD AZIZ
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