Army Chief Rawat: Focus on J&K issues before PoK issues
Army Chief Rawat is at it again. According to him, India should first resolve problems in Jammu and Kashmir. This has to be done through an integrated approach. A “hybrid war” must be tackled that can be unleashed from across the border. This issue comes first instead of harbouring any immediate notions of reclaiming Pakistan-occupied-Kashmir. Islamabad has also cleverly changed its demographics to erode Kashmiri identity.
The Army Chied said that India rightfully “claims the whole” of Kashmir. It should not lose sight of PoK in the long run. But, “we should first take control of our own part of Kashmir.” Efforts of all security and government agencies has to be synergized. “Our superior narrative” of being a liberal democracy has to effectively propagated to counter prevailing narrative of falsehoods, indoctrinaiton and radicalisation fuelled Pakistan.
He said, “The issue on the other side is that Pakistan has very cleverly changed the entire demography of Pok, Gilgit Baltistan…We are not sure as to who is an actual Kashmiri or a Punjabi who has come and occupied the area…the Kashmiri identity has gradually been eroded very eleverly Pakistan.”
While responding to questions after delivering a lecture on “Addressing the Challenges of Hybrid Conflict in the 21st Century” at IDSA, Army Chief Rawat said that the Kartarpur Corridor Initiative with Pakistan “should be seen in isolation, without being linked to anything else.” He also stressed the Indian government’s stance that “terror and talks can’t go together.”
He said that India had been a victim of hybrid warfare. It is well-sequenced, organied and employs regular and irregular means. It targets an adversary’s population and infratrtucture instead of military capabilities.
Addressing the issue of Pakistan, Army Chief Rawat said that Pakistan has been using such underhanded means since independence. But the Kashmir issue still holds precedence.
