The Army chief General Bipin Rawat on Saturday said the militancy in Kashmir is decreasing and the survival rate of militants has also gone down significantly.
Talking to media on the sidelines of the seminar, the Army chief said that militancy in Kashmir is on the wane and the shelf life of the militant is much less.
On being asked that although the top militant leadership in Kashmir has been eliminated, yet youth are still lured towards militancy, the Army Chief said youth should shun the path of radicalization and instead take different path and shun violence.
Gen Rawat said the Army is focusing on the Super 30 programme in Kashmir so that more and more youth, especially from the rural areas, will find employment and will not have to shift to urban areas.
The Army Chief also that the government should focus on bringing more IITS as “Kashmiris are very intelligent” he said.
Commemorating the 20th anniversary of Kargil War organised by CLAWS at New Delhi, when India failed Pakistan’s plans to infiltrate into Kargil region of Jammu and Kashmir, Army Chief said ‘future conflicts will be more violent and unpredictable where the importance of human factor shall remain undiminished due to technology.’
“Technology would play a key role in a large asymmetric component leading to now what is being termed 'hybrid war'. Our soldiers are and will remain our primary assets,” said Army chief.
Hitting out at Pakistan, Army Chief said that Pakistan has historically been burdened by its own inadequacies, internal securities and governance issues due to which “Pakistan army time and again resorts to misadventures either by proxy wars, or state-sponsored terrorism or intrusions into our country.”
Army Chief said that Indian armed forces stand resolute to defend our territory.“Let there be no doubt that any misadventure will be repelled with a punitive response,” he said.
Speaking about India’s victory during the Kargil War, the Army Chief said that, “Despite several odds including several operations conducted on arduous terrain and diplomatic necessities, the valiant forces and nation was proud in achieving a resounding victory (in Kargil).”
The Army Chief also commended the role of the media in highlighting the transgression by Pakistan during the Kargil War.
“Media played a crucial role in shaping perceptions during the Kargil War as this was the first war where media was reporting live from the battlefront and the world and the nation saw it on television in their homes,” he said.
The Army Chief said the Kargil War was waged in the most professional manner by the indomitable Indian soldier.
Talking about the effectiveness of surgical strikes and Balakot strike, the Army Chief said that the Surgical strikes post-Uri and Balakot have amply demonstrated our political and military resolve against terror. Any act of terror will not go unpunished.
Dispelling reports of Chinese troops in Ladakh, the Army Chief said that there has been no intrusion by the Chinese in Ladakh's Demchok sector.
“There is no intrusion,” Rawat said during the sidelines of the seminar.
“Chinese come and patrol to their perceived Line of Actual Control...we try and prevent them. But at times there are celebrations that take place at the local levels. Celebrations were going on our side by our Tibetans in the Demchok sector. Based on that, some Chinese also came to see what was happening. But there have been no intrusions. Everything is normal,” the Army chief said.