NEW DELHI, Sept 1 - IAF chief Air Chief Marshal Arup Raha today indicated that Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) would have been India�s had the country gone for a military solution rather than taking a �moral high ground�.
Raha also rued that air power had not been fully utilised by the Indian government till the 1971 Indo-Pak war.
In unusually candid remarks, the Air Force chief termed PoK as a �thorn in our flesh� and said India did not follow a �pragmatic approach� to security needs.
He said India�s security environment is vitiated and aerospace power, as part of the military power, would be required to deter a conflict in the region and also ensure peace and tranquillity.
�Our foreign policy was enshrined in the charter of the UN, charter of the Non-Alignment Movement as well as Panchseel doctrine.
�We have been governed by high ideals and we really did not follow a very pragmatic approach, to my mind, to security needs. To that extent, we did ignore the role of the military power to maintain conducive environment,� Raha said at an aerospace seminar here.
He further said that India as a country was �reluctant� to use military power, especially air power, in deterring adversaries, in deterring a conflict and when involved in conflict the country has been drawn into several times in the past.
He said when hordes of raiders attacked Jammu and Kashmir in 1947, it was the transport planes of the IAF which helped Indian soldiers and equipment to reach the battleground. � PTI
