‘Pak’s proxy war won’t last’: New Army Chief General MM Naravane

Hours after taking over as the new Chief of Army Staff, General Manoj Mukund Naravane, speaking to news agency ANI on Tuesday, 31 December, said that Pakistan's proxy war will not last long.

"As far as our neighbour is concerned, they are trying to use terrorism as a tool of state policy... as a way of carrying out a proxy war against us while maintaining deniability. However, this state can't last long, as they say you can't fool all the people, all the time," he said.

Commenting upon ceasefire violations by Pakistan, he said the army is aware of terrorists "waiting to cross over" and is "fully prepared to meet the threat"

On Kashmir

General Naravane termed the abrogation of Article 370 in Jammu and Kashmir as "a step forward towards bringing peace and prosperity to the region"

"Post the abrogation of Article 370m there has been definite improvement in the situation on the ground. Incidents of violence have seen a marked decline... this augurs very well for the population of Jammu & Kashmir," he said.

On China

On being asked about the frequent skirmishes along the Indo-China border, the new army chief attributed them to "difference in perception of where the LAC lies".

He, however, expressed confidence that peace and tranquillity will prevail along the border as a result of the guidelines mandated following the Wuhan summit.

On The Post of CDS

Reacting on the creation of the new post of Chief of Defence Staff (CDS), General Naravane called it the "need of the hour" and asserted that it will bring about greater interaction and synergy between three forces.

"It hasn't happened overnight. The proposal to create such a post has been in the pipeline for more than two decades," he also said.