New Delhi: Eight terrorist training camps continue to operate across the border and the Army is maintaining close watch on them, India’s chief of the Army staff General Upendra Dwivedi said on Tuesday.
If any provocative action is initiated from these camps, India will not hesitate to deliver a strong and decisive response, the Army chief said.
Of the eight camps, two are situated along the International Border (IB) and six near the Line of Control (LoC). Intelligence inputs have revealed that there are an estimated 100-150 terrorists currently present in these facilities, Gen Dwivedi said, while emphasising that Operation Sindoor is still underway and the Indian Army remains on full alert.
The general also revealed how “certain orders” issued on May 10 last year pushed Pakistan, which suffered huge losses, to reach out for a ceasefire during Operation Sindoor.
“On the morning of May 10, certain orders regarding what needed to be done if the fight escalated were issued to all three armed forces,” he said at a press conference in Delhi.
He went on to explain that the intent behind those orders was clearly understood by the other side.
“The message of what would happen if the fighting continued was understood by whoever needed to understand it,” he said, adding that Pakistan had access to satellite imagery that revealed the movement of Indian naval assets, strike corps and aircraft, as reported by India Today.
“When they connected the dots, they realised that it was the right time to stop the fight,” General Dwivedi said. Pakistan reached out through Director General of Military Operations Lt Gen Rajiv Ghai soon after to seek de-escalation, he added.
A DGMO-level meeting between both sides resulted in a decision to scale back forward deployments. Troop movements made during earlier tensions have now been pulled back to designated positions, the general said, according to ABP Live English.
Gen Dwivedi clarified that at no point during the DGMO talks was there any discussion about nuclear weapons. According to him, “any statements about nuclear weapons were made by politicians or in public forums” and no such message was relayed by the military.
The Army chief said that India, for the first time, carried out an operation that demonstrated capabilities positioned between nuclear and conventional warfare. This, he said, sent a clear signal that India is prepared to respond at every level if provoked.
Operation Sindoor delivered major success, with seven out of nine targeted sites being completely destroyed, Gen Dwivedi said.
