New Delhi: Army Chief General MM Naravane on Thursday said that China has realised it cannot back its 'all-weather' friend Pakistan 'all the time.'
There is an external dimension to the decrease in cross-border terrorism, he said, in oblique reference to the ongoing Financial Action Task Force (FATF) plenary.
"China has also realised that they cannot back their all-weather friend (Pakistan) all the time," he said, highlighting how the plenary will affect Pakistan’s activities in Kashmir.
The Army Chief stressed that if the FATF, the global anti-terror watchdog, comes down heavily on Pakistan, then the neighbouring country may be forced to do a rethink on its terror activities and rhetoric.
"If the FATF comes down heavily on them, they may have to do a rethink on their rhetoric and activities. FATF is a factor (in the reduction of terror activities in Kashmir valley)," the Army Chief said.
Read: Pakistan desperate to push terrorists as Army foiled most of infiltration attempts: Army Chief
A sub-group of the global terror financing watchdog FATF on Tuesday recommended continuation of Pakistan in the ''Grey List'' for its failure to check terror funding.
Naravane also stressed that the Indian Army is not allowing any disruptive actions by Pakistani Army's BAT, by foiling the attempts even before the adversary is able to launch them.
"We have been getting inputs. We have been able to foil (Pakistan Army's) BAT action attempts even before they have been able to launch them," he said.
Read: Army ready to take control of PoK: Gen Naravane
The BAT (Border Action Team) of the Pakistan Army includes both regular Army personnel and mercenaries from groups such as Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) and Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) and is tasked to carry out surprise hits on Indian positions along the LoC.
General Naravane underlined that there are 15-20 terrorist camps inside Pakistan-occupied-Kashmir where there are around 250-350 terrorists at any given time. The numbers may vary at different times.
Speaking about the newly proposed 'Thal Sena Bhawan' in Delhi Cantonment, the Army Chief said it will improve efficiency.
"The proposed Thal Sena Bhawan will bring all Army Headquarters offices under one roof thereby improving working efficiency while reducing carbon footprint and logistics requirements. It will also allow more family time for all soldiers tenating peace posting in Delhi," he said.
(With inputs from agencies)
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