Army Chief General MM Naravane said that Pakistan's narrow-mindedness was on display when it used a SAARC-like platform, which was meant to address COVID-19 crisis, to complain about Kashmir

New Delhi: Army Chief General MM Naravane, on Monday, said that repeated infiltration attempts by Pakistan show that Islamabad is not interested in battling COVID-19 crisis in that country. Reiterating that the Indian Army will give a proportionate response to acts of misadventures by the western neighbour, Naravane also hailed the supreme sacrifice made by five security personnel - two officers, two soldiers and one policeman - in Handwara in Jammu and Kashmir on Saturday. 

"Infiltration attempts show that Pakistan is not interested in battling COVID-19," Naravane told news agency PTI in an interview. "Pakistan claims to be a friend of Kashmiris; Want to ask what sort of friend resorts to killing and spreads terror," he further added.

"Commanding Officer Col Ashutosh Sharma led from the front and ensured there was no collateral damage during operation," he further added. 

Naravane said that the onus remains on Pakistan to bring peace in the region and added that unless Islamabad gives up its policy of state-sponsored terrorism, India will continue to respond 'appropriately and with precision'. 

Hitting out at Islamabad for making references to Kashmir during the SAARC COVID-19 conference called by PM Narendra Modi, Naravane said that Pakistan's narrow-mindedness was on display when it used the platform to complain about 'non-existent human rights violations' in Kashmir.