Behind the success of the Sri Lankan army’s operations against the Tamil Tigers — troops searching for LTTE chief Velupillai Prabhakaran breached two rebel defence fortifications in the no-fire zone — is an interesting little detail of Indo-Pak cooperation against terror. Separately but consistently, the two countries have trained and equipped the Lankan army to prepare and fight its only enemy, the LTTE.

The Sri Lankan army says the reason for its success is that “we didn’t reduce the momentum”, planned the entire operation in advance and employed innovative counter-insurgency tactics to confront the Tigers.

“I got training in both India and Pakistan. Both have been helping us a lot,” said Brigadier Udaya Nanayakara, now the military spokesman. “We send our officers regularly to India and Pakistan for specialised training. I did four courses in India and three in Pakistan. The last time, I trained in Secunderabad”. He said Lankan forces have been procuring the latest technology from both countries. “We know they are rivals but we have nothing to do with that. We have benefited from both India and Pakistan,” he said.

So how does Sri Lanka remain neutral in the rivalry of the armies of India and Pakistan, especially when it trains and works closely with both? “We don’t talk about it. Both are our friends,” Nanayakara said.

Former Army chief General L Balagalle put this military cooperation in perspective. “For me, 80 per cent of my advanced training happened in India. I have been trained in Pakistan as well. There are vacancies for our officers and men in both countries. We generally send company commander-level officers for training,” he said.

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