The Indian Army chief Gen Bipin Rawat said on Saturday that any misadventure by the Pakistan army would be repelled with punitive response and no act of terror would go unpunished. “The Pakistan army, time and again, resorts to misadventure, either through state-sponsored terrorism or intrusions in India,” he said.
"The Indian armed forces stand resolute and ready to defend our territorial integrity. Let there be no doubt that misadventures will be repelled with a punitive response," he said speaking at a function here to mark the 20th year of Kargil conflict between India and Pakistan in the summer of 1999. Rawat said the rise of non-state actors and Pakistan’s readiness to use terror and other irregular methods of fighting have become a new norm.
Addition of cyber and space domain has changed the battlefield scenario, the Army chief noted. Rawat also said no act of terror will go unpunished. Surgical strikes by India after a Brigade headquarters in Uri, Jammu and Kashmir in 2016 and the air assault on Balakot terror camp after the Pulwama terror attack in February this year “have amply demonstrated our political and military resolve against terror. Any act of terror will not go unpunished," he pointed out.
Rawat said future conflicts will be “more violent” and “unpredictable” with technology, cyber domain playing a greater role. He said the rise of non-state actors and the rapid changes in technology is changing the nature of warfare. Cyber and space domain will increasingly play a bigger role as the battle field becomes more contested and at the same time will be seamlessly connected.”
The Army chief said the Indian army is going through a transformation. “The formation of the Space, Cyber and Special Forces divisions is indication of the transformation that the armed forces are going through,” he said.
