On Kargil Vijay Diwas, Army Chief General Bipin Rawat warns Pakistan of 'bloodier nose' next time

DRAS: Advising Pakistan against repeating any misadventure, Army Chief General Bipin Rawat on Friday warned Pakistan of a "bloodier nose" if it chooses to go into another war with India.

''Don`t do it. Misadventures are normally not repeated. You`ll get a bloodier nose next time," General Rawat said at a press conference when asked about his message to Pakistan on the 20th anniversary of India`s victory in the Kargil War.

Army Chief remarks came on a day when the entire country is observing the 20th anniversary of the Kargil Vijay Diwas on July 26, 1999.

General Rawat also talked about the plans to modernise the Army's inventory, Rawat said that the focus is on the Artillery weapon system.

"We are looking at modernising our inventory. Our focus is on Artillery weapon system, by 2020 we will get the Howitzers, K-9 Vajra is being manufactured in the country now and two Bofors like guns are being manufactured locally," he said.

 

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The Army Chief said that "peace" and "tranquillity" prevails along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) and the situation is under control.Rawat further said that the soldiers will continue to man and guard the borders while assuring the countrymen about their security.

"I want to convey to our countrymen that you can rest assured that any task given to defence services will always be accomplished no matter how difficult it is. Our soldiers will continue to man and guard our borders," Rawat said.

The 20th anniversary of the Kargil Vijay Diwas is being observed today to commemorate the success of ''Operation Vijay'' which was launched by the Indian Army to recapture the strategic Indian territories held by the Pakistani intruders in the Kargil-Drass sector in 1999.

Since 1999, July 26 is celebrated as the Kargil Vijay Diwas every year to commemorate the victory of ''Operation Vijay''. While the 60-day long war resulted in the loss of several lives on both the sides, India eventually won the unofficial war by regaining control of all the previously held territory, re-establishing the status quo.

One of the most prominent wars between India and Pakistan, the Kargil War or the Kargil Conflict took place between May 3 and July 26, 1999, in the Kargil district of Kashmir and elsewhere along the Line of Control (LOC). 

To honour the Kargil War's Heroes, who laid down their life for the country, July 26 is celebrated as Kargil Vijay Diwas in their memory. From Kargil–Dras sector in North India to Delhi and Assam, a host of events and functions are organised all over the country to commemorate the contributions of the armed forces.

After the signing of peaceful Lahore Declaration in February 1999, promising to provide a peaceful and bilateral solution to the Kashmir Conflict, some elements of the Pakistani Armed Forces infiltrated into the Indian side of the line of control (LOC). The infiltration, named as ‘Operation Badr’, aimed at severing the link between Kashmir and Ladakh and compel Indian forces to withdraw from the Siachen Glacier.

However, the Government of India responded with ''Operation Vijay'', with the war coming to an official end on July 26, 1999, thus marking it as Kargil Vijay Diwas. A total of 527 Indian soldiers bravely lost their lives during the war.

Numerous events have been planned to commemorate the 20th anniversary of Kargil Vijay Diwas across the country on Friday. President Ram Nath Kovind was earlier scheduled to visit War Memorial in Dras on Friday to pay tribute to the soldiers who made their supreme sacrifice during 1999 Kargil War. However, it was cancelled due to bad weather.

A 'Victory Flame' lit by Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on July 14 at the National War Memorial in Delhi was received by the Army Chief in Drass on Friday.

It was merged with the eternal flame at the Kargil War Memorial. Along with Defence Minister, the three Service Vice Chiefs paid homage to Kargil martyrs at National War Memorial in the national capital on the occasion of Kargil Vijay Diwas.

Pakistani Army had occupied the Kargil Heights and had plans to permanently extend the stay but they had not factored in the Indian Army's commitment to guard the sovereignty of the country at any cost and the tactical air superiority of Indian Air Force.

(With ANI inputs)