Pakistan through proxy militant groups in Kashmir is using local terrorists to create fear in the Valley and is making all attempts to show the indigenous face of terrorism, Indian Army chief General Manoj Pande said on Monday.
Pande said, "There is a new trend in Kashmir. Pakistan is using locals through proxy 'tanzim' to create fear and get visibility through media to show the indigenous face of terrorism."
The Army chief said the current spate of killing of non-locals, political workers and minorities is an attempt to create sensation and show that insurgency in Kashmir is indigenous.
"Through counter-terror operations, we have managed to neutralise such attempts and we have been successful," Pande said.
Talking about infiltration in Jammu and Kashmir, the officer said there has been improvement since 2019.
"The counter-infiltration grid in the Valley has been successful," he said.
However, Pande said that Pakistan has started pushing in arms and ammunition and drugs through international boundary in Punjab.
He added that Pakistan has been sending these through drones and it is a matter of concern which is being looked upon.
In the past couple of months, the security agencies have witnessed a rise in cross-border efforts of dropping consignments of weapons and narcotics into Punjab and Jammu and Kashmir along the border using drones.
Also Read | China's intent has been to keep the boundary issue alive: Indian Army Chief
In February, the Punjab government had informed a Parliamentary Committee on Home Affairs that over 130 drones have been sighted near the Pakistan border in the last two years.
Army chief underlines lessons for Indian forces from Ukraine crisis
Battle of narratives, prolonged and conventional war, realignment and new alliance are some of the lessons which the India military has learnt from the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war, Indian Army Chief, General Manoj Pande, said on Monday.
Stating that the Russia-Ukraine war holds important lessons for the Indian security forces, Pande pointed out that the immediate impact is on the supply of certain defence spare parts and ammunition. However, he added that the Indian military has adequate storage of such equipment and ammunition.
The officer said that the first and foremost is the relevance of conventional war where various weapon platforms like artillery guns, tanks, air defence systems and others were deployed in one form or the other.
"The other lesson is that a war is not necessarily short and can prolong like the Russia-Ukraine conflict," Pande said.
The Army chief pointed out that another lesson for the Indian military is to be "self-reliant" in terms of armament, equipment and weapons.
"We are dependent on certain weapons systems like the air defence system, tanks and others on Russia and Ukraine," he said.
He said the military needs to increase self-reliance and reduce dependency on other countries.
"We have already started work in keeping with the 'Make in India; initiative," he said.
The immediate impact of the Russia-Ukraine war on India is the supply of spare parts and ammunition to a certain extent. However, the Indian military has adequate storage, he said.
India is also looking for alternate sources of these items from other friendly countries, Pande said.
Also Read | Amid Russia-Ukraine war, IAF postpones Rs 35,000 cr plan to upgrade Su-30 fighter planes
As per the Army choef, another important aspect that the forces have learnt is non-combat warfare in the cyber and information domain.
In the Russia-Ukraine war, battle of narrative is used to gain advantage over the adversaries.
Talking about change in the geo-political situation, Pande said the force is monitoring the situation closely in terms of realignment and new alliance.
Also Read | India logs 3,207 Covid cases, 29 deaths in past 24 hrs
"We have to ensure that our attention does't get diverted from Afghanistan and the Indo-Pacific regions. We keep monitoring the situation at the national level," he said.
