This was stated by Major General (retd) M Upadhyaya while participating in a discussion on Kargil organised by the Gujarat Senior Citizens Federation here on Sunday. ``At such heights it becomes difficult to operate rapidly'' he said.

Upadhyaya said that while it wouldn't be feasible for either India or Pakistan to go for a full-fledged war, the defence forces were prepared to take Pakistan head-on if such a situation arose. He ruled out any Intelligence failure leading to the intrusion remaining undetected for long, and maintained that the delay in action against the intruders was because of `political reasons'.

Professor Nalin Anadkat of the Political science department in M S University said that it was imperative to drive out the intruders from the sector as their domination of the heights in these sectors could pose a serious threat to the Srinagar-Leh national highway which was vital for linking up the Ladakh region with rest of the country. ``Ladakh is strategically important as it borders China and if it is cut from the rest of the country it would be difficult for the forces,'' he said. He said that the Kargil intrusion was a major Pakistani plan to carry out a large-scale proxy war in the state. ``The operation was chalked out and carried out in a technically sound and meticulous manner,'' he said.

Various senior citizens who participated in the discussion agreed unanimously that it was important to drive the intruders out of Indian soil. One of the participants termed the Pakistani intrusion `a breach of trust'.

Later, the Federation members held a meeting in which floral tributes were paid to the jawans who laid down their lives while fighting the Pak backed intruders in Kargil sector.