Reserve right to strike at terror source, says Army chief Naravane in clear warning to Pakistan

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Updated: Aug 15, 2020 01:29 IST

Indian Army chief General MM Naravane said on Tuesday India reserves the right to pre-emptively strike at sources of terror threat if Pakistan does not stop state-sponsored terrorism.

The newly-appointed army chief said a strategy of “resolute punitive response” has been evolved to tackle cross-border terrorism.

“The Pakistan army’s proxy war design received a setback due to elimination of terrorists and decimation of terror networks (by India),” General Naravane was quoted as saying by news agency PTI.

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“Multiple options across the spectrum of conflict are on the table to respond to any act of terror sponsored or abetted by Pakistan,” he said, according to Press Trust of India, hours after taking charge as the Chief of Army Staff.

In a strong signal to Pakistan, Gen Naravane said India is prepared to tackle any threat.

“Our neighbour is trying to use terrorism as a tool of state policy, as a way of carrying out a proxy war against us while maintaining deniability. However, this state can’t last long, as they say, you can’t fool all the people, all the time,” Gen Narvane said in another interview to ANI.

“As far as the situation on the LoC is concerned, it is what it was in the recent past. There are ceasefire violations, we are aware that there are terrorists on the other side in various launchpads waiting to cross over but we are fully prepared to meet this threat,” he said.

“We have a strong counter-insurgency and counter-terrorist grid which we keep modifying as per the input we receive and we are fully prepared to tackle any eventuality,” added.

Gen Naravane, who succeeded Gen Bipin Rawat, had served as vice-chief of the army before taking charge of the 1.3 million-strong force on Tuesday.

The 60-year-old has served in numerous command and staff appointments in peace, field and highly active counter-insurgency environments in Jammu and Kashmir and the northeast in his 37 years of service.

He has also headed the force’s Eastern Command that takes care of India’s nearly 4,000-km border with China. He also commanded a Rashtriya Rifles battalion in Jammu and Kashmir and an infantry brigade on the eastern front.

Gen Bipin Rawat, who retired on Tuesday as the army chief, is set to take over as the first Chief of Defence Staff (CDS).