‘From Kargil to Pahalgam, DGMO hotline has stood check of time’: Ex-DGMO Lt Gen Bhatia on Operation Sindoor

For years, high-level political dialogue and diplomatic engagement between India and Pakistan has been frozen, however one channel has been open and has served as the one high-level direct communication channel between the 2 nations: the hotline between the Administrators Common of Navy Operations (DGMOs) of the 2 nations.

Arrange someday after the India-Pakistan Struggle of 1971, the DGMO hotline has been central to some very historic moments.

Lieutenant Common (Retired) Vinod Bhatia, who retired because the DGMO in 2014, instructed Firstpost that the DGMO hotline has performed a really constructive function within the India-Pakistan relationship.

“The principle goal of the DGMO hotline is disaster administration. It additionally serves as a confidence-building measure between the 2 nations. Through the years, the hotline has been used to resolve misunderstandings, talk about the state of affairs alongside the border, and attain understandings on explicit points,” stated Bhatia.

Within the India-Pakistan battle this month, the hotline served as the one direct communication channel between the 2 nations — a minimum of publicly.

After
Indian strikes on 9 terrorist websites
in Pakistan and Pakistan Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (POJK) on Might 7, the Indian DGMO, Lt Gen Rajiv Ghai, reached out to his Pakistani counterpart, however the Pakistani aspect didn’t convey any intention to face down.

As India battered Pakistan over the subsequent 4 days beneath Operation Sindoor,
Pakistan activated the hotline and conveyed the intention to face down
to Ghai on Might 10. Subsequently, the understanding to stop hostilities was reached over the hotline.

In battle & peace, DGMO hotline has stood check of time

In peacetime, the DGMO hotline has been essential in resolving misunderstandings that will generally come up over troop actions or some navy actions that the opposite aspect might misread. The hotline additionally serves as the first high-level communication channel when the cross-border firing will get intense.

In occasions of wars and conflicts, Bhatia stated that the DGMOs and their hotline have at all times been central to ceasefire efforts.

Bhatia is an authority on the topic as he, because the DGMO on the time, negotiated a ceasefire understanding along with his Pakistani counterpart in 2013.

“In 2013, discussions held over the hotline led to a historic assembly on the Wagha border crossing in December between me and my Pakistani counterpart. That was the primary such assembly in a very long time. We reached an understanding concerning the ceasefire that lasted for a lot of months into 2014,” stated Bhatia.

Earlier than that, Bhatia stated that the DGMO hotline had been instrumental in reaching the ceasefire within the Kargil Struggle in 1999.

“Whereas the Kargil Struggle formally ended on July 26, 1999, when Prime Minister Vajpayee introduced the profitable conclusion of Operation Vijay, the understanding to stop hostilities was exchanged by the 2 sides over the DGMO hotline just a few days again,” stated Bhatia.

In peacetime, the DGMO hotline has resolved conditions that would have snowballed into conflicts if left unaddressed. A working example is the
unintended firing of an Indian Brahmos missile into Pakistan
in 2022.

Quickly after the unintended launch on March 9, 2022, the hotline was activated and it was communicated to the Pakistani aspect that the launch was unintended and never an authorised act. At the same time as Pakistan reacted angrily in public, the 2 nations didn’t get into any battle because the state of affairs was duly addressed — due to the hotline.

How does the India-Pakistan DGMO hotline work?

The hotline is a safe phone hyperlink that connects the DGMO of India with their counterpart on the Pakistani Military headquarters at Rawalpindi in Pakistan.

Bhatia stated that the hotline is manned by an obligation officer 24 hours a day and three hundred and sixty five days a 12 months.

Not like how motion pictures depict such communication channels, the working is sort of easy but efficient.

Bhatia stated, “The hotline has a easy handset. As quickly as somebody on both aspect picks the handset, the decision will get initiated. There isn’t a dialler like common landline telephones and also you don’t must dial any quantity.”

As soon as a name has been initiated by one aspect, it’s an obligation on the opposite aspect’s DGMO to reply it, stated Bhatia.

“As soon as a name has been initiated, the obligation officer on the different finish picks up. The obligation officer informs the DGMO and the DGMO arrives within the safe room on the earliest to speak to their counterpart. If the DGMO just isn’t round, as they is perhaps away at that second, they arrive and make the decision on the earliest out there second. As soon as a name has been initiated by the opposite aspect, answering it’s not your alternative however a requirement that must be fulfilled with out failure,” stated Bhatia.

Whereas the general public learns concerning the DGMOs’ calls throughout momentous occasions, it’s a channel constantly in operation in peacetime as nicely.

“DGMOs maintain weekly calls over the hotline each Tuesday. Whether or not it’s battle or peace, the DGMOs’ hotline has at all times been purposeful. It has stood the check of time,” stated Bhatia.

Operation Sindoor is the most recent occasion of the hotline fulfilling its function. As soon as a choice has been made on the stage of political management, the DGMOs over the hotline work out the small print about their implementation on the bottom. In 2021, after a number of rounds of talks led by Nationwide Safety Adviser Ajit Doval, the 2 sides arrived at an understanding of a ceasefire. As soon as the political management accepted, the DGMOs finalised the technical particulars. The 2021 ceasefire lasted till final month when the Pahalgam assault shattered the relative calm between India and Pakistan.

As for Operation Sindoor, Bhatia stated that India stored the initiative,
managed the escalation ladder
, didn’t permit Pakistan to take the lead, and achieved the aims it began the operation with.

“India didn’t need to begin a battle. India began Operation Sindoor with the clear goal of imposing prices for Pakistan’s actions. Thus far, Pakistan had performed a low cost-high impact recreation in opposition to India with terrorism. Operation Sindoor turned that right into a excessive cost-low impact recreation and sought to set a brand new regular. India managed the escalation ladder accordingly in order to not get into an uncontrolled spiral,” stated Bhatia.