Next surgical strike will be different: New Army Chief
The newly appointed Indian Army Chief General Bipin Rawat on Monday said the next surgical strike will be of a different manner and style. Adding that anti-India militants have changed their strategy post the September surgical strikes, Rawat said, "We will surprise the enemy." Referring to Pathankot, Uri and Nagrota attacks, he cautioned that security forces must not drop guard.
Three months after its dauntless surgical strikes in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir, the army on Monday didn't rule out another swoop to wipe out anti- India terror infrastructure across the border.But any such future measure would have a different shape and form, the new army chief, Gen Bipin Rawat, told India Today TV in an exclusive interview.NEXT SURGICAL STRIKE AGAINST PAK WILL BE OF DIFFERENT KIND  "We have done one surgical strike in PoK. But if we have to do something again, we will do it in a different manner and different style," Gen Rawat said. "We'll surprise the enemy." The Indian army, he explained, is closely watching terrorist movements in the restive Kashmir valley.Anti-India militants, noted Gen Rawat, have rapidly changed their strategy since the September surgical strikes. The operation against terrorists who were planning to infiltrate into the country from PoK came in response to an attack on an army base in J&K's Uri sector that left 19 personnel dead.ALSO READ: Inside story of Indian Army's daring surgical strikes against Pakistan"Terrorists have changed or are changing their strategy," the Gen Rawat said. "We have to adapt our strategy accordingly and we are working on it," he added. The army chief described the Special Forces' operation in PoK as a powerful deterrence against major attacks.However, he cautioned the security forces against dropping their guard. "Terrorists found weaknesses," he said, referring to last year's terrorist attacks targeting the military in Pathankot, Uri andNagrota. "Security forces must neutralise (the terrorists) at the earliest (during such operations)," he observed. "We have to prevent terrorists from taking action. They can infiltrate; they have Pakistan support. They have weapons as well as money."TERRORISTS LOOKING FOR SOFT TARGETS Gen Rawat warned that militants might choose targets other than military bases in the future. Asked about China, he said "cooperation" summarised the Indian army's current policy towards Beijing. "Wherever there is tension along the border with China, we deal with it through mutual dialogue," he said. India's army, he said, is supportive of peace. Violence, he noted, affects civilians the most in border areas.Asked about the supersession issue surrounding his appointment, he said the army would continue to get full "support and cooperation" from the two most senior officers, Lt-Gen Praveen Bakshi and Lt-Gen PM Hariz. "Their commitment towards the army is unflinching."He also spoke about the need to modernise the army's infrastructure and hardware. "With changing times, we need to change our logistics. We are getting full support from the government in this regard. We need to modernise our warfare, arms, ammunition, and tanks," he said.