Kill Another Soldier, the Response Will be Intense and Immediate, Army Chief Warns Pakistan

The new Army Chief, Gen Dalbir Singh Suhag, has warned Pakistan that India's response to beheading-like incidences will be "intense and immediate".

"I can tell you that our response to any such act will be more than adequate in future. It will be intense and immediate," he said while addressing reporters after his welcome Guard of Honour as Chief of Army Staff.

Suhag was responding to a question on how India responded to Pakistani troops after they beheaded an Indian soldier, Lance Naik Hemraj, along the Line of Control in Poonch sector on 8 January 2013.

Previous Army Chief Gen Bikram Singh had stated on Thursday that India had given a 'befitting reply' to the incident that sparked a wide-spread condemnation, with some people even blaming the army's authority for being ineffective in dealing with the Pakistani threats and violence.

"Please understand that when we use force, that use is from tactical to operational to strategic levels," Gen Singh had said on Thursday.

"When I mention that during that incident it was aimed at operations at the tactical level, which have been undertaken. I think this has been done by the local commander, the Chiefs have nothing to do it," he added.

The new army General on Friday, however, sought to imply that he, as the chief o the army, will play more direct roles in addressing such problems and that any such incidences will be dealt with effectively,  the Indian Express reported. 

Anger and frustration grew in India after Pakistani Special Forces under the Border Area Teams (BTA) carried out the beheading of Hemraj and mutilating the body of Lance Naik Sudhakar Singh.

Adding to the outrage of Indians, the Pakistani force, later in August, also killed five Indian troops in the same sector, in an attack that was reportedly co-planned by Pakistani Special Forces and LeT terrorists.

BJP had opposed the designation of Gen Suhag as the new Chief by the UPA government in its dying days in May. But no sooner had NDA come to power, than the Defence Minister Arun Jaitley announced that the new government would continue with his appointment.