Indian Army chief hints at conducting ‘surgical strikes’

ISLAMABAD: Indian Army Chief Bipin Rawat said on Sunday that the Indian forces will not hesitate to conduct “surgical strikes” against militants, reports Indian media.

He said the two neighbour countries China and Pakistan are not a threat to India. The Indian army chief's remarks came just a week after he reportedly dubbed the two countries as northern and eastern adversaries adding the country needed to be prepared for a two-front war. 

Reacting to Rawat’s 'adversary' remark, China had said that ties between the two countries should not be derailed. “What I had said…said,” Rawat said on Sunday. India and China last month ended about a 70-day long military standoff at the Doklam tri-junction near the Sikkim border which had strained bilateral ties. The general said the army has been extra vigilant after the incident and appropriate action has been taken in “sensitive areas”. 

Army chief General Bipin Rawat on Saturday said neither China nor Pakistan is an imminent threat to the country in a departure from his earlier statement wherein he had dubbed the two neighbours India’s northern and western adversaries respectively and that the country needed to be prepared for a two-front war.

On the issue of Kashmir militancy, he said the army has been doing everything in its power to restore peace and tranquility in the Valley. He said the forces will not hesitate to conduct “surgical strikes” if needed. 

Interestingly Indian claimed conducting a so-called surgical strike in Azad Kashmir last September but without any evidence. For the reason the claim was castigated by the whole world and Indian public opinion.  The army chief was reportedly in Dehradun to attend an annual function at Cambrian Hall, his alma mater. Rawat, who hails from Pauri, reportedly studied at the Cambrian Hall between 1969 till 1972 and then did his senior schooling at St. Edward’s School, Shimla. “I have spent my most memorable days in this school,” he was quoted as saying during the event.