Pakistan on Wednesday justified its army chief Gen Qamar Javed Bajwa greeting pro-Khalistan leader Gopal Singh Chawla on the sidelines of the Kartarpur corridor groundbreaking ceremony after a video emerged of the two men shaking hands.

Chawla, known to be one of the main propagators of the Sikh separatist movement, has earlier stopped Indian diplomats from visiting a gurudwara in Lahore. A spokesperson for the Pakistan army said Bajwa “met all guests at the venue irrespective of identity”.

On a day Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan made a pitch for peace with India, army chief General Bipin Rawat said that Pakistan has used “hybrid warfare” against India since Independence and continues to do so. He cited the use of irregulars by the Pakistani army in 1947-48, 1965 and, most recently, in the 1999 Kargil war.

Delivering the 9th YB Chavan Memorial Lecture at the Institute of Defence Studies and Analyses on Addressing the Challenges of Hybrid Conflict in the 21st Century, Rawat said each act of cowardice in Jammu and Kashmir would be responded to with vigour and no sacrifice made by soldiers would go in vain.

Rawat said the whole world was aware that terror camps in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir were being run by government agencies to cause disruptions in India and that all terrorism in Jammu and Kashmir was state sponsored.

He said hybrid warfare was well-sequenced and organised, and focused on support from local population and infrastructure. “War is waged without declaring it, fought with proxies in collusion.”

General Bipin Rawat said hybrid operations last for a long time and the prime intent is to maintain deniability and that was what India was witnessing in Kashmir.

“In the 21st century technological advancements have added greater asymmetry to hybrid warfare. Irregulars can surprise conventional forces with hi-tech gadgets and weapons such as rockets, surface-to-air missiles, sophisticated communication systems and near-instant reach back to their state sponsors,” he said.

He said small but tech-savvy teams with intimate local knowledge and support could cause big disruptions.

Underlining the risks of using hybrid warfare, he said instigators ran the risk of losing control of the choreographed plan and that states practicing this often fall victims to these same tactics.

Responding to a question on whether India should go in for an offensive hybrid war, General Bipin Rawat said, “The stone that is thrown up comes and falls on your head…What happens to those people (the non-state actors) after the end state has been achieved?” Rawat advocated a calibrated offensive and defensive hybrid warfare strategy.

Note: Chaitanya- On a day Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan made a pitch for peace with India, army chief General Bipin Rawat said that Pakistan has used “hybrid warfare” against India since Independence and continues to do so.The hybrid operations last for a long time and the prime intent is to maintain deniability and that was what India was witnessing in Kashmir. The whole world was aware that terror camps in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir were being run by government agencies to cause disruptions in India and that all terrorism in Jammu and Kashmir was state sponsored.Pakistan is indirectly ruled by its army and more surprisingly our own leaders like Siddhu ,Aiyyar and others praises Pakistan and feel happy when they are in Pakistan.Siddhu being a sardar meets Pakistan Army chief and adovate for the peace talk with Pakistan.He is a blot on the sikh.  

Courtesy: Hindustan Times: 29th Nov, 2018