Fully prepared to respond to any act of Indian aggression: Pak Army
Tribune News Service
New Delhi, January 11
Army Chief Gen MM Naravane on Saturday said his force can take control of Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) if it gets orders from the political authority, in what is seen as a strong message to Islamabad.
In a press conference ahead of the Army Day, Gen Naravane also said, “The Army will remain vigilant at the Siachen glacier as there was a possibility of collusion between China and Pakistan against India in the strategically sensitive area.”
As far as Pakistan-occupied Kashmir is concerned, many years ago there was a parliamentary resolution on it that entire J&K is part of India. If Parliament wants that area should also belong to us, if we get orders to that effect, then definitely we will take action on it.
Gen MM Naravane, Chief of Army Staff
“As far as Pakistan-occupied Kashmir is concerned, many years ago there was a parliamentary resolution on it that entire J&K is part of India. If Parliament wants that area should also belong to us and if we get orders to that effect, then definitely we will take action on it,” the Army Chief said.
A resolution by Parliament in February 1994 stated Pakistan must vacate the areas of Jammu and Kashmir, which it has occupied through aggression, and resolved that all attempts made by Islamabad to interfere in India’s internal affairs will be dealt with resolutely. After India withdrew special status of J&K and bifurcated the state into two union territories, several important functionaries said the focus now should be on reclaiming PoK.
Gen Naravane said the conduct of the Army would be guided by its “allegiance” to the Constitution and its core values of justice, liberty, equality and fraternity — comments which came in the backdrop of criticism that the military had been politicised under his predecessor Gen Bipin Rawat.
He added that the Army was ‘rebalancing’ itself to pay greater attention to the northern front. “Earlier, we assessed a threat from the western front, but today the northern front is being given importance, and this includes moving some equipment to the eastern front. We are going in for capacity-building like making roads,” he said.
General Naravane, who took over on December 31, laid down the path for the Army personnel, saying, “It will be ABC — allegiance, belief and consolidation. Allegiance to the Constitution should guide us at all times. It also translates to core values of the Constitution, that is justice, equality and fraternity.
“Second is belief in our organisation… If we have belief, we will not fall to rumours. Regarding consolidation, we are in a transformative stage. We will follow the policies of my predecessor. Of course there will be mid-course corrections.” Gen Naravane said his other focus areas would be ITPQ — Integration, Training Personnel and Quality. “The formation of the Chief of Defence Staff and creation of a Department of Military Affairs is a big step towards integration. We will make sure that this is a success.”