What is the new Indian army chief up to?

The newly-appointed Indian Army Chief, General Manoj Naravane, recently cautioned against a “collusive threat” to the Siachen Glacier from Pakistan and China and stressed that if the government ordered his force to seize control of Azad Kashmir, it will act on those directions. He further said that India reserved the right to “preemptively strike at the sources of terror threats” if the neighbouring country does not stop what he termed state-sponsored terrorism.

Pakistan’s Foreign Office (FO) sternly replied: "There should be no doubt about Pakistan’s resolve and readiness to thwart against any aggressive Indian move, inside its territory or AJ&K. No one should forget Pakistan’s befitting response to India’s Balakot misadventure.

Despite India's provocations, Pakistan will continue contributing to all efforts of promoting peace, security and stability in the region and beyond." Also, DG ISPR aptly responded: “Statements of Indian military leadership against Pakistan are an irresponsible rhetoric with implications on regional peace and stability.” On the other hand, General M M Naravane is forced to explain to the world that the Indian armed forces swore allegiance to the country's Constitution and fought to preserve the “core values of justice, liberty, equality and fraternity enshrined in its preamble.”

He claimed that Indian Army was of the people and for the people of India. “If we stick to the core values enshrined in the preamble and the fundamental rights, then we will not go wrong in the discharge of our duties. We are deployed on the border to secure for our people these core values." The former Indian Army chief, who is now elevated to chief of defence staff, had started defending the unethical and immoral CAA brought in by the Modi government. Also, UP chief minister Yogi Adityanath had bragged that the Indian Army was Modi’s Army.

Meanwhile, there are 900,000 Indian military men still in held Kashmir and the world is now taking notice of Indian military atrocities in the held Valley. More than 50 US Congressmen have slammed Indian actions and have raised questions about the way India is conducting its war operations in the occupied territory. They have also asked for lifting perpetual telecommunications blockade and ending the security lockdown. They have rejected India's one-sided narrative.

What is to be noted is that mostly the talk by the new Indian Army chief is to satisfy Modi’s ego. It is an effort to divert the Indian public’s attention from escalating protests in India against the draconian CAA. It should also be noted that pre-emptive strikes have international law implications. Then, it has been Modi Sarkar’s strategy to show to the Indian public that he is a "strong man" and means business and is thus in the habit of making inflated claims. The missiles used in the Balakot attack were fired from Indian Occupied Kashmir and no Indian aircraft could manage to cross into Azad Kashmir or the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province.

Pakistan armed forces are already battle hardened and can take on any kind of threat, including asymmetric.

As it is, the state of India suffers from chronic insecurity that regularly comes out in the shape of blustering statements by Indian generals and politicians alike.