Army Chief warns Pak against sending drones across LoC

Army Chief Gen Upendra Dwivedi on Tuesday warned Pakistan against sending drones across the Line of Control (LoC). He was addressing a press conference here ahead of Army Day (January 15).

He said the Directors General of Military Operations (DGMOs) of India and Pakistan spoke on Tuesday and the issue of sighting of drones emanating from Pakistan was taken up.

There were multiple drone sightings on Tuesday while five drone intrusions were reported on Sunday evening along the J&K border.

The Army Chief said these drones were most likely sent for reconnaissance purposes.

He said the situation along the disputed boundary with China “remains stable but needs constant vigil”.

He cited two “turning points” during Operation Sindoor which, he said, turned the tide in favour of India. He said India was looking at creating a dedicated missile and rocket force on the lines of China and Pakistan. He termed it a “strategic necessity” in the current security environment.

He said since Pakistan and China had already created specialised rocket forces, it was essential for India to have one.

He pointed to the successful tests of the indigenous Pinaka system, having a range of 120 km, and said additional contracts had been signed to extend its reach to 150 km in the near term. Over time, the Army was looking at ranges of 300 to 450 km, alongside existing systems such as Pralay and BrahMos, to build a credible and layered strike capability.

Responding to a question on Operation Sindoor, the Army Chief dismissed suggestions of military-level nuclear signalling during the conflict. He said nuclear issues did not feature in talks between the DGMOs and nuclear rhetoric originated from political voices or public discourse in Pakistan, not its armed forces. He said the scale of firing and manoeuvres during the 88-hour period (May 7-10 last year) showed that the Indian forces were fully mobilised and prepared to launch ground operations if Pakistan had escalated further.

General Dwivedi identified two turning points during Operation Sindoor, one of them being the 22-minute strike on terror targets on May 7 which “disrupted Pakistan’s decision-making”.

“The second turning point was certain directions given to the tri-services on the morning of May 10 on what to do if the war escalates. They had understood it, and hence, called up our DGMO,” he said.

Pakistan, he said, had used satellites and had complete information about “which Indian warship, which strike corps and which plane was where”. “When they connected these dots, they realised that the time had come to stop this war,” he said.

On the border issue with China, he said, the “situation at the northern front remains stable but needs constant vigil. Our deployment along the LAC remains balanced”.

In October 2024, India and China had agreed to a patrolling arrangement along Depsang in eastern Ladakh along the LAC, ending their military stand-off that started in April 2020.

Since then, the special representatives of India and China —National Security Adviser Ajit Doval and China’s Foreign Minister Wang Yi — have met twice and agreed to work out a solution of demarcating a boundary.

The Army Chief said Operation Sindoor was ongoing and any misadventure would be responded to.

He said the mandate for integration was happening. “We are progressing towards theatre commands”.

DISCLAIMER:                                                                                                                                                               

The views expressed in the Article above are Author’s personal views and kashmiribhatta.in is not in any way responsible for the opinions expressed in the above article. The article belongs to its respective owner or owners and this site does not claim any right over it. 

Courtesy: The Tribune -14-Jan-2026