In an obvious attack on Pakistan, Indian Army chief General Bipin Rawat on Tuesday said “our western neighbour” was ceaselessly supporting terrorists and warned that his troops won’t hesitate to take “heavy action”.

Speaking on the occasion of the 71st Army Day parade, Gen Rawat also said that a new policy had been adopted on the northern border with China and the armies of the two countries told to maintain peace.

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Referring to the action taken in the wake of firing by Pakistani troops, the Army chief said: “We have been giving befitting reply to the enemies on the Line of Control (LoC) that has led to heavy loss of lives and logistics.”

Accusing “our western neighbouring country” of continuously helping terrorists, Gen Rawat said: “I warn the enemy that we will not hesitate in taking heavy action in reply to what they are doing against our country.”

He said the Army’s anti-infiltration operations were on and would continue.

Talking about the situation on the India-China border that faced a military stand-off in 2017, he said: “A new policy has been adopted on the northern border and new instructions have been issued to soldiers of both countries … to maintain peace.”

But the review of security on the borders would continue, he added.

On terrorism in Jammu and Kashmir, the Army chief said the men had caused heavy losses to the militants with the help of other security agencies.

Along with others, the Army also provided better security during the Amarnath Yatra and the Panchayat polls in Jammu and Kashmir.

Asserting that the Army was determined to crush terrorism, Gen Rawat said the condition of the terrorists in Jammu and Kashmir was “hopeless”.

“The result is that the terrorists have now been threatening teenagers to take to arms in Jammu and Kashmir. We don’t want that terrorists continuously keep threatening the citizens of the state.”

The Army Day is celebrated to commemorate the day when Field Marshal M Cariappa took over as Commander-in-Chief of the Indian Army from General Sir Francis Butcher on January 15, 1949.