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This story is from January 3, 2020

Surgical strikes sent Pakistan a message, says Army chief

There are enough viable and effective options to teach punitive lessons to Pakistan for aiding and abetting cross-border terrorism without crossing its nuclear red-lines, like it was done during the "surgical strikes" of September 2016 and the Balakot air strikes in February last year, Army chief General Manoj Mukund Naravane said on Friday.
Surgical strikes sent Pakistan a message, says Army chief
Army chief General Manoj Mukund Naravane (PTI photo)
NEW DELHI: There are enough viable and effective options to teach punitive lessons to Pakistan for aiding and abetting cross-border terrorism without crossing its nuclear red-lines, like it was done during the "surgical strikes" of September 2016 and the Balakot air strikes in February last year, Army chief General Manoj Mukund Naravane said on Friday.
The new Army chief told TOI that the strikes sent an unequivocal message to Pakistan, which may have re-activated the JeM terror facility at Balakot, that India "can take down" terror camps, infrastructure and launch pads across the border.

"The strikes definitely achieved a lot. It was a big message to Pakistan that it cannot operate with impunity," said General Naravane, adding Islamabad would be "cautious before it thinks of doing anything escalatory" in future.
Pakistan, of course, often indulges in nuclear sabre-rattling, brandishing its 70-km range Nasr (Hatf-IX) nuclear missiles as an effective battlefield counter to India's "Cold Start" conventional war strategy. Pakistan PM Imran Khan, after the Modi government abrogated J&K's special status in August, even warned of a nuclear conflagration that would spill beyond the subcontinent if the international community did not pressure India on Kashmir.
Brushing all this aside, General Naravane said, "Historically, nuclear weapons have been a good deterrence, and that is where their role ends…We have carried out (cross-border) operations on two-three occasions without nuclear (weapons) coming into play."
Though General Naravane asserted violence levels have significantly reduced in J&K after the reading down of Article 370, and the law and order situation was "set to further improve", the Army's latest assessment is that there are 250-270 terrorists "concentrated" across the Line of Control (LoC) in areas south of the Pir Panjal mountain range, with another 160-190 to the north of it.

"There are many terrorists waiting across ready to infiltrate … they keep trying every day and we keep foiling them. There are certain foreign terrorists, even non-Pakistani ones, among them. We are keeping a close watch on the terror camp and launch pads across the LoC, though many are makeshift and keep changing their locations," said the Army chief.
The defence establishment is much more positive about the situation along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) with China, especially after the first informal summit between PM Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jingping at Wuhan in April 2018 led to "strategic guidance" to the two militaries to manage and defuse troop face-offs during patrolling in accordance with existing protocols and mechanisms.
But India must be "firm in its resolve and be assertive about its claims, without being aggressive", while working towards solving the vexed boundary issue with China. "For several years now, we have been focusing on improving our infrastructure and capabilities along the `northern borders' with China. We must be prepared for all eventualities. If you want peace, you must be prepared (for war)," said General Naravane.
It's virtually "impossible for the Army to guard every inch" of the borders with China, which are longer with "more inhospitable terrain" than the borders with Pakistan. So, the aim is to "be strong in important areas" along the LAC, while mounting "strong surveillance backed with quick-reaction capabilities" in other parts. "A strong infrastructure, surveillance and resolve is needed to guard the northern borders," he said.
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