The Chief of Indian Army General Manoj Mukund Naravane said in a recent interview that the army has "various plans" to conduct larger-scale operations in Pakistan-Occupied Kashmir (PoK) and is ready for "any task".
Recently, in an exclusive interview with a news agency, Gen Naravane said that India reserves the right to "preemptively strike" at sources of terror across the Line of Control.
When asked if India can look at military operations in PoK, General Naravane said in an interview with NDTV, "We have our forces deployed all along the border including Jammu and Kashmir and we have various plans and if required, those plans can be put into action. We will carry out and carry out successfully any task that we are tasked to do."
General Naravane, India's 28th Army chief, replaced incumbent Gen Bipin Rawat on December 31, 2019. Naravane, who is the senior-most Army officer after the current Chief of Defence Staff Bipin Rawat, is leading the 1.3 million-strong force of the Indian Army.
Jaishankar reiterates India's stand on PoK
Earlier, External Affairs Minister (EAM) Subrahmanyam Jaishankar had insisted that PoK is part of India. "PoK is part of India and we expect one day that we will have physical jurisdiction over it," Jaishankar stated.
Jaishankar reiterated that India's position on PoK has always been and will always be very clear as PoK is part of our country.
India's new Army Chief
The Narendra Modi-led NDA government announced the new Chief of Army Staff after having finalized three names which were sent to Prime Minister Narendra Modi for selection. The three officers who were examined for the COAS post were Vice Chief, Lt Gen Manoj Mukund Naravane, Northern Army Commander, Lt Gen Ranbir Singh and Southern Army Commander, Lt Gen Satinder Kumar Saini.
