New Delhi: Accusing Pakistan of sponsoring terrorism and resorting to misadventure repeatedly through its proxies against India, Army chief General Bipin Rawat on Saturday said India would hit back with a ‘very punitive response’ for every such attempt.
Speaking at an event to mark the completion of 20 years of Kargil war, he said, “Historically burdened by its own inadequacies, internal security and governance issues, Pakistan Army time and again resorts to misadventure, either through flawed proxy wars and state-sponsored terror or intrusions in our country.”
“Indian armed forces stand resolute and ready to defend our territorial integrity. Let there be no doubt that any misadventure will be repelled with a very punitive response,” Rawat added.
“Battlefield will be severely contested and seamlessly connected. In future, even conventional conflicts are likely to have a large asymmetric component leading to now what is being termed ‘hybrid war’. Technology has become a key driver of future wars,” he said.
Army Chief General Bipin Rawat: Future conflicts will be more violent and unpredictable where importance of human factor shall remain undiminished. Our soldiers are and will remain our primary assets. pic.twitter.com/gCrcn6L3rl
— ANI (@ANI) July 13, 2019
The Army chief also underlined that dissemination of information and control over shaping narratives would be emerging as one of the key domain in future warfare.
Talking about the changing nature of wars, he said that non-state actors have gained prominence in some countries. “The rise of non-state actors and readiness to use terror and other irregular methods of fighting has become the new norms,” he said.
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General Rawat said India’s response after the 2017 Uri terror attack and Balakot air strike demonstrated the country’s political and military will to respond to terror.
“We are working in a coordinated manner for a cogent and synchronized national response against sub-conventional and asymmetric threats by any adversary. Surgical strikes post-Uri and Balakot have amply demonstrated our political and military resolve against terror. Any act of terror will not go unpunished,” he stated.
He also said that cyber and space areas have emerged as new battlefields and the country needs to prepare itself to tackle the new challenges.
He informed the gathering that India has been remembering the fallen soldiers in the Kargil war from July 5 to July 27.
(With ANI inputs)