Former Airforce Commander and Chairman of the Retired Airforce Officers Association, General Commodore K.K Pumpuni, is calling for objectivity and depoliticizing the issue of purchasing light tactical transports and other military equipments for the Airforce.
According to him, adding political nuances to the subject matter would defeat the underlying purpose for purchasing the jets, which is the need to re-equip the military.
�It�s very necessary. All the equipment are outmoded and needs to be urgently replaced. In times of emergency or rescue missions, the Airforce might be found wanting and the leadership (Military High Command) might be held liable�this is not politics, it should not be politicized. If you go to the Defence Ministry and see the catalog of items needed, you�ll marvel�we need troop transport, fleet transport and VIP,� said.
Speaking in an interview with PEACEFM NEWS, the former Airforce Commander, lamented how partisan the discussion on the issue had turned, and how military matters are being discussed that openly.
�The discussion should not have degenerated to this level. For me, I think it would have sufficed for only Parliament and the other Committees to deliberate on the matter. Security issues being brought out in the public domain is a source of great concern to me�we need planes to oversee the recently discovered oil fields,� he added.
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