Pakistan should mend its ways or we'll continue to hit back: Army Chief on second anniversary of surgical strikes

Surgical strikes are not the only option for the Indian Army to retaliate to Pakistan's designs to push terrorists in Kashmir, Army Chief General Bipin Rawat said on Tuesday.

"We keep carrying out operations and we have plans in place but it's not necessary to call every action a surgical strike," he said while speaking to Zee News ahead of the second anniversary of the surgical strikes.

The Special Forces of the Indian Army carried out a covert operation on September 28 and 29, 2016 and destroyed terror launchpads backed by Pakistani army across the Line of Control.

The Army chief said that in the past two years, the Forces have hit back hard at Pakistan, causing maximum damage as infiltration attempts remained high. "Pakistan should mend its ways or we'll continue to hit back," he said.

He made it clear that recordings of operations to furnish evidence is not always possible as primary aim to is carry out the task at hand. "We don't bother about gathering evidence and priority is carrying out the operation.

Commanders are told any video recording should only be done if it does not jeopardise the operation," he said.

General Rawat clarified this while responding to a question whether the Army has been under pressure to provide evidence of the 2016 Surgical Strike.

In a freewheeling interview, General Rawat spoke on counter terror operations in Kashmir, India's Pakistan policy, Army restructuring, the need for modern technology among other issues pressing the Forces.

When asked whether he will join politics after retirement, he said he is not cut out for it. "I speak my mind and this does not help in politics."

General Rawat sees the recent killings of policemen in Kashmir by terrorists as a sign of frustration. "By killing, kidnapping or threatening families, they (terror bosses) are sending a message to the youth that they should give up their jobs. The youth will realise that they are being used as cannon fodder. Even in Punjab, when the terrorists began targeting police, the tide turned against them," he said.

Speaking about the relationship between the Defence forces and the government, he said that in a democracy the military has to follow the policies of the government of the day. "If the military and government work in different directions, then we will become like Pakistan. Governments keep changing, but we have to follow the polices."

Moving on to the controversy over the Rafale fighter jet deal, he said that sometimes a government-to-government agreement is good for buying big ticket military equipment. "Such deals can be very beneficial since there is no middleman and delays can be cut short to ensure early induction."

Cutting the flab to make the Army leaner is the need of the hour in modern warfare, he said while speaking about restructuring. The Army is currently working on a plan to bring down its strength by 1.5 lakh personnel.

"Modern day conflicts must also take into account non-contact warfare such as psychological and cyber warfare. There is need to include this in our organisational set up and for this a restructuring of current resources is required," he said.