India to Treat Terrorists and Their State Sponsors as One, Declares Army Chief Dwivedi

Chief of Army Staff General Upendra Dwivedi, while addressing a defence seminar in New Delhi on Monday, stated unequivocally that India will henceforth make no distinction between terrorists and the state entities that provide them sanctuary, funding, training, and operational support. This policy, he emphasised, applies particularly to cross-border terrorism directed against India, marking a significant hardening of New Delhi’s counter-terrorism doctrine.

The Army Chief categorically rejected the possibility of dialogue in the presence of continued terror sponsorship, reiterating India’s long-standing position that “talks and terror cannot go together” and that “blood and water cannot flow simultaneously.” In a direct reference to the Indus Waters Treaty and Pakistan’s repeated nuclear signalling, General Dwivedi asserted that India is no longer susceptible to strategic coercion or nuclear blackmail, underscoring that the nation possesses both the capability and political resolve to neutralise any such threats.

Outlining the operational implications of this stance, General Dwivedi explained that India’s evolved counter-terrorism framework now treats terrorists and their state sponsors as a single target category. He highlighted the robustness of India’s current deterrence posture — encompassing advanced conventional forces, missile capabilities, and integrated tri-service mechanisms — and affirmed that the political leadership remains fully committed to sustaining and enhancing this deterrence architecture, rendering any adversarial miscalculation increasingly costly.

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General Dwivedi also drew attention to the marked improvement in the security situation in Jammu and Kashmir following the abrogation of Article 370 in August 2019. He noted a substantial decline in terror incidents, near-elimination of local recruitment into militant ranks, cessation of organised stone-pelting, and accelerated developmental activities across the region, attributing these outcomes to the combination of political clarity and sustained military pressure on terror ecosystems.

In conclusion, the Army Chief underscored India’s unwavering focus on national progress and economic growth, while making it clear that any attempt to obstruct this trajectory through terrorism or its sponsorship will be met with resolute and proportionate response, irrespective of the origin or nature of the provocation.

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