Rajasthan, Oct 3: In a stern warning to Pakistan, Army Chief General Upendra Dwivedi said on Friday that the neighboring country must stop sponsoring terrorism on its soil if it wants to retain its place on the world map. Speaking to soldiers at Anupgarh in Rajasthan’s Sriganganagar district, he said India’s restraint during Operation Sindoor would not be repeated in any future conflict.
“India, as a country, is fully prepared this time. And this time, it will not show the restraint that it showed during Operation Sindoor 1.0. This time we will take a step forward and act in a manner that will make Pakistan think whether it wants to remain on the world map or not,” General Dwivedi said.
He urged Indian soldiers to stay vigilant and ready. “Keep yourselves fully prepared now. If God wants, the opportunity will come soon,” he said.
The Army Chief highlighted that India had presented global evidence of terrorist hideouts in Pakistan during Operation Sindoor. “Had India not unearthed this evidence, Pakistan would have hidden all of it,” he said, emphasizing that the international community had backed India following the April 22 Pahalgam attack.
During the operation, Gen Dwivedi said, the Indian military struck nine targets inside Pakistan—seven by the Army and two by the Air Force—carefully selected to avoid harming ordinary Pakistani citizens. “We had identified the targets because we only wanted to harm the terrorists. We have no complaints against ordinary Pakistani citizens, so long as their country does not sponsor terrorists. Because terrorists were being sponsored, those terrorist targets were hit,” he noted.
Addressing the population near the international border, the Army Chief described them as “soldiers” standing shoulder to shoulder with the Indian Army. “This is crucial because the coming struggle is the nation’s struggle, not just the Army’s,” he said, adding that history bears witness to civilians supporting the military during the 1965 and 1971 wars. “We would want them to join us in the days ahead as well. I want to thank them — their zeal boosts the morale of our soldiers,” he added.
Gen Dwivedi concluded by reiterating that Pakistan’s state-sponsored terrorism would determine its global standing.
