On the occasion of the 20th anniversary of the Kargil Vijay Diwas, Army Chief General Bipin Rawat on Friday warned Pakistan that it will get a “bloodier nose” if it attempts a misadventure like it did in 1999.
“Don’t do it. Misadventures are normally not repeated. You will get a bloodier nose next time,” the Army chief said in a stern warning.
Earlier in the day, Air Chief Marshal Birender Singh Dhanoa, Army Chief General Bipin Rawat and Navy Chief Admiral Karambir Singh paid tributes at Kargil War Memorial in Dras.
Addressing the media at Dras, Bipin Rawat assured the country that “any task given to the defence services will always be accomplished no matter how difficult it is”.
“Our soldiers will continue to man and guard our borders.”
He further said the Indian Army was looking at modernising its inventory.
Speaking on expanding the inventory, Rawat said the force’s focus is on the artillery weapon system. He said by 2020, India will get Howitzers adding that K-9 Vajra self-propelled howitzer is being manufactured in the country now and two Bofors-like guns being manufactured locally.
He concluded that peace and tranquillity are prevailing along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) and the situation is under control.
Earlier this month, General Bipin Rawat had said that any misadventure by Pakistan army will be repelled with punitive response and no act of terror will go unpunished.
Speaking at an event on ’20 Years after Kargil Conflict’, Rawat said Pakistan army, time and again, resorts to misadventure, either through state-sponsored terrorism or intrusions in India.
“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.
The rise of non-state actors and the readiness to use terror and other irregular methods of fighting have become a new norm, he said.
Addition of cyber and space domain has changed the battlefield scenario, the Army chief noted.
Rawat also asserted that no act of terror will go unpunished. “Surgical strikes post-Uri and Balakot (terror attacks) have amply demonstrated our political and military resolve against terror. Any act of terror will not go unpunished,” Rawat added.
India is celebrating the 20th anniversary of victory in the Kargil War today.
On July 26, 1999, the Indian Army drove out Pakistani forces and militants who had captured territories in the Kargil region of Jammu and Kashmir. The war fought for more than 60 days, finally concluded on July 26, 1999. Since then, Kargil Vijay Diwas is celebrated on July 26 every year to honour the heroes who fought for the country.