General Bipin Rawat, who took over as the Chief of the Army Staff (COAS) from Gen. Dalbir Singh on December 31, 2016, told reporters on Friday (January 23) that the surgical strike that took care of several militants and their hideouts in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) last September could be repeated if circumstances so demanded.
On surgical strikes
Addressing mediapersons on a number of issues, Gen. Rawat said: "Ceasefire violations [by Pakistan along the Line of Control] have come down in recent times. If they had continued, we would have opted for more surgical strikes." His statement came soon after 26/11 Mumbai terror attack mastermind Hafiz Saeed announced in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) that Pakistani terrorists had carried out the attack on an army camp in Akhnoor in Jammu and Kashmir on Monday (Jan 9). The Jamaat-ud-Dawa (JuD) terror outfit chief was reportedly speaking to more than 100 members of the JuD at Muzaffarabad in PoK.
On complaints about resources from soldiers
Also in light of recent incidents of soldiers taking to social media to air their problems with resources provided to them by the armed forces, Gen. Rawat said: "If a soldier writes to us regarding his grievances, penning down his identity, we will ensure that his identity is not made public. If he is not satisfied with the action taken, he can choose other ways [to voice his grievances]."
On Indian soldier Chandu Chavan in Pakistan
The army chief also spoke on the topic of Indian soldier Chandu Chavan, who had inadvertently crossed the Line of Control (LoC) into Pakistan and was detained by the Pakistani forces. He said: "Pakistan has given assurance that he is with them. There are procedures in soldier repatriations, and they will be followed."
His assurance comes just a day after Minister of State of Defence Subhash Bhamre asserted that Chavan, a soldier with the Rashtriya Rifiles in Kashmir who had crossed the LoC on September 29, 2016, would be brought back safely.
