Pak Army top brass terms Gen Naravane's statements as 'irresponsible rhetoric'

Pakistan Army's top brass has dismissed Indian Army chief Gen M M Naravane's "provocative" statements against the country as "irresponsible rhetoric" which could undermine regional peace and stability.

The statements made by Gen Naravane were discussed at a meeting of the corps commanders at the General Headquarters on Tuesday.

Taking account of repeated provocative statements of Indian military leadership regarding aggression against Pakistan, the forum termed it as an irresponsible rhetoric with implications on regional peace and stability, the military's media division, the Inter-Services Public Relations, said in a statement after the meeting.

Army chief Gen Naravane, at a press conference in New Delhi on January 11, said his force can take control of Pakistan-occupied Kashmir if it gets orders from political authority. He was replying to a question on whether the Army was ready to reclaim Pakistan-occupied-Kashmir (PoK).

The Army chief also said that the Army will remain very vigilant at the Siachen glacier as there was a possibility of collusion between China and Pakistan against India in the strategically sensitive area.

Earlier after taking charge of the 1.3-million strong force, Army Chief Gen Naravane said India reserves the right to "preemptively strike" at sources of terror. He asserted that a "new normal" in the country's response mechanism to acts of cross-border terrorism has already been "emphatically" displayed.

Pakistan Army had earlier dismissed as routine rhetoric Gen Naravane's statements.

Tensions between India and Pakistan escalated after a suicide bomber of Pakistan-based terror group Jaish-e-Mohammed killed 40 CRPF personnel in Jammu and Kashmir's Pulwama district on February 14 last year.

A review of the recent Middle East crisis, which began with the assassination of Iranian commander Gen Qassem Soleimani in a US air strike in Baghdad, was also on the agenda of the corps commanders meeting.