Army chief General Bipin Rawat has stressed that there is a need to avenge the barbarism by terrorists and the Pakistan Army against Indian soldiers without resorting to brutality. He stated in an interaction with newspersons in Rajasthan’s state capital , Jaipur on Saturday. General Rawat who is known for speaking his mind, was extremely critical of the terrorists as well as Pakistan army when he said, it is is time to give it back to them in the same coin, but not by resorting to similar kind of barbarism. “I think the other side must feel the same pain,” stated the Army chief. His comment came after a BSF jawan was shot and his throat slit recently, followed by the abduction and brutal killings of three policemen in Jammu and Kashmir.
His comment assume significance in view of the fact that India has already cancelled a meeting between its foreign minister and her Pakistani counterpart planned for next week in New York due to recent killings of BSF and J&K police jawans that had exposed the “evil agenda of Pakistan”.
On the killing of the BSF solider whose mutilated body was found in Jammu, the army chief was categorical when he said that such acts were unacceptable and there was a need to avenge it. He said the Indian Army had carried out successful operations against the Pakistan Army whenever they did something against India along the border.According to him, India has never resorted to barbarism. He however maintained that the casualty and damage suffered by the other side is far more than what India has been suffering.” We have done it a professional and a military-like manner,” he insisted.
Reacting to Pakistan prime minister Imran Khan’s tweet in which Khan expressed “disappointment” on India’s decision to cancel a meeting of foreign ministers, General Rawat said that talks and terrorism cannot go hand in hand and Pakistan needed to curb the menace of terrorism. Indian Army chief Bipin Rawat’s statement was certainly not liked by Pakistan. Responding to Indian army chief’s statement, Major General Asif Ghafoor, a spokesman for the Pakistani military said that dialogue was the “best course” for peace between the two nuclear-armed neighbours.
He denied that Pakistan had any role in the killing of BSF soldier stating that they they are a professional force and can never undertake such non-professional action against any soldier.
