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‘From Kargil to Pahalgam, DGMO hotline has stood test of time': Ex-DGMO Lt Gen Bhatia on Operation Sindoor
In an exclusive interview with Firstpost, former Director General of Military Operations (DGMO) Lieutenant General (Retired) Vinod Bhatia said that the DGMO hotline between India and Pakistan has stood the test of time and has played critical roles from working out ceasefires to managing crises. read more
For years, high-level political dialogue and diplomatic engagement between India and Pakistan has been frozen, but one channel has been open and has served as the only high-level direct communication between the two countries: the hotline between the Directors General of Military Operations (DGMOs) of the two countries.
Set up sometime after the India-Pakistan War of 1971, the DGMO hotline has been central to some very historic moments.
Lieutenant General (Retired) Vinod Bhatia, who retired as the DGMO in 2014, told Firstpost that the DGMO hotline has played a very constructive role in the India-Pakistan relationship.
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'The main purpose of the DGMO hotline is crisis management. It also serves as a confidence-building measure between the two countries. Over the years, the hotline has been used to resolve misunderstandings, discuss the situation along the border, and reach understandings on particular issues,' said Bhatia.
In the India-Pakistan conflict this month, the hotline served as the only direct communication channel between the two countries — at least publicly.
After Indian strikes on nine terrorist sites in Pakistan and Pakistan Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (POJK) on May 7, the Indian DGMO, Lt Gen Rajiv Ghai, reached out to his Pakistani counterpart, but the Pakistani side did not convey any intention to stand down.
As India battered Pakistan over the next four days under Operation Sindoor, Pakistan activated the hotline and conveyed the intention to stand down to Ghai on May 10. Subsequently, the understanding to cease hostilities was reached over the hotline.
In war & peace, DGMO hotline has stood test of time
In peacetime, the DGMO hotline has been critical in resolving misunderstandings that may sometimes arise over troop movements or some military activities that the other side may misinterpret. The hotline also serves as the primary high-level communication channel when the cross-border firing gets intense.
In times of wars and conflicts, Bhatia said that the DGMOs and their hotline have always been central to ceasefire efforts.
Bhatia is an authority on the subject as he, as the DGMO at the time, negotiated a ceasefire understanding with his Pakistani counterpart in 2013.
'In 2013, discussions held over the hotline led to a historic meeting at the Wagha border crossing in December between me and my Pakistani counterpart. That was the first such meeting in a long time. We reached an understanding regarding the ceasefire that lasted for many months into 2014,' said Bhatia.
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Before that, Bhatia said that the DGMOs hotline had been instrumental in reaching the ceasefire in the Kargil War in 1999.
'While the Kargil War formally ended on July 26, 1999, when Prime Minister Vajpayee announced the successful conclusion of Operation Vijay, the understanding to cease hostilities was exchanged by the two sides over the DGMO hotline a few days back,' said Bhatia.
In peacetime, the DGMO hotline has resolved situations that could have snowballed into conflicts if left unaddressed. A case in point is the accidental firing of an Indian Brahmos missile into Pakistan in 2022.
Soon after the accidental launch on March 9, 2022, the hotline was activated and it was communicated to the Pakistani side that the launch was accidental and not an authorised act. Even as Pakistan reacted angrily in public, the two countries did not get into any conflict as the situation was duly addressed — thanks to the hotline.
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How does the India-Pakistan DGMO hotline work?
The hotline is a secure telephone link that connects the DGMO of India with their counterpart at the Pakistani Army headquarters at Rawalpindi in Pakistan.
Bhatia said that the hotline is manned by a duty officer 24 hours a day and 365 days a year.
Unlike how movies depict such communication channels, the working is quite simple yet effective.
Bhatia said, 'The hotline has a simple handset. As soon as someone on either side picks the handset, the call gets initiated. There is no dialler like regular landline phones and you don't have to dial any number.'
Once a call has been initiated by one side, it is an obligation on the other side's DGMO to answer it, said Bhatia.
'Once a call has been initiated, the duty officer at the other end picks up. The duty officer informs the DGMO and the DGMO arrives in the secure room at the earliest to talk to their counterpart. If the DGMO is not around, as they might be away at that moment, they arrive and make the call at the earliest available moment. Once a call has been initiated by the other side, answering it is not your choice but a requirement that has to be fulfilled without failure,' said Bhatia.
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While the public learns about the DGMOs' calls during momentous times, it is a channel continuously in operation in peacetime as well.
'DGMOs hold weekly calls over the hotline every Tuesday. Whether it's war or peace, the DGMOs' hotline has always been functional. It has stood the test of time," said Bhatia.
Operation Sindoor is the latest instance of the hotline fulfilling its role. Once a decision has been made at the level of political leadership, the DGMOs over the hotline work out the details about their implementation on the ground. In 2021, after multiple rounds of talks led by National Security Adviser Ajit Doval, the two sides arrived at an understanding of a ceasefire. Once the political leadership approved, the DGMOs finalised the technical details. The 2021 ceasefire lasted until last month when the Pahalgam attack shattered the uneasy calm between India and Pakistan.
As for Operation Sindoor, Bhatia said that India kept the initiative, controlled the escalation ladder, did not allow Pakistan to take the lead, and achieved the objectives it started the operation with.
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'India did not want to start a war. India started Operation Sindoor with the clear objective of imposing costs for Pakistan's actions. So far, Pakistan had played a low cost-high effect game against India with terrorism. Operation Sindoor turned that into a high cost-low effect game and sought to set a new normal. India controlled the escalation ladder accordingly so as to not get into an uncontrolled spiral,' said Bhatia.
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