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‘If we stop acting now, they will attack with us reinvigorated force’: Former COAS Gen Bikram Singh on Balakot strikes

Gen Bikram Singh on Balakot strikes
Gen Bikram Singh on Balakot strikes
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In the aftermath of Balakot strikes there has been a lot of debate in India about the way forward. At an event in Aaj Tak’s Suraksha Sabha, former Army Chief General Bikram Singh has highlighted the need to strike Pakistan again and hit them where it hurts. He reiterated that the Pakistani Army uses terrorists to wage a proxy war against India.

A very controlled speaker, General Singh said, “We should remember that terrorism will continue in Jammu & Kashmir. You have seen how the Pakistani Army, their government and their Prime Minister protects terrorists like Hafiz Saeed. Pakistan will keep making claims but will do nothing.”

Furthermore, the General says, “The Pakistani Army has harbored these terrorists. But now, they have become so powerful and powerful in a way that they are a law unto themselves. A significant section of the Pakistani population even respects them. Because it is a poor country and they have opened facilities like schools and hospitals and they pay them money for picking up the gun. Terrorism is a form of employment in Pakistan.”

The Way Forward After Balakot strikes

He emphasized that unless we are able to target the root cause of cross-border terrorism, things will not get better. “The Madrassas which are being run and the climate of safety that has been granted to terrorists by Imran Khan and the Pakistani Army, unless we are able to stop them, things will not change. They will continue attacking us and we will continue to bleed. We have to conduct operations against them in their soil which we have done recently. If we stop this now, they will attack with us reinvigorated force.”

He further added, “I think for a while they will not target military installations. They will attack our civilian institutions to show that they still have the capability. Unless we attack their headquarters where they receive their training, this will not stop.”

General Singh further added that we have stepped on the tail of the snake, there’s a need to smash its very skull. He said, “It’s a beehive. Throwing a stone at it and killing some bees will not be enough. We will have to burn the beehive to the ground. For that, we need an enduring strategy. We need to create pressure on the Pakistani Army which is the real villain in this entire scenario.”

Acts of War?

Adding to his comment former Chief of Air Staff Air Marshall AY Tipnis also displayed similar observations. He said, “People think we are being attacked by terrorists. These are not acts of terrorism, these are acts of War. Pakistan has been waging war against us, not from recent times, but ever since it came into being.”

“In the past 20-30 years, a novel way of waging war they have come up with is terrorism,” he said, “They don’t attack us from the front, they use terrorists and claim that these people are fighting for Azadi. These are all lies. Unless we recognize this, we can’t move forward.”

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