No safe haven for terror: Ex-Army chief Naravane on Op Sindoor

India’s response to Pakistan-backed terrorism has moved beyond striking terrorist camps near the border to holding their support networks accountable deep inside Pakistan, former Chief of Army Staff General M M Naravane said in Gujarat's Vadodara on Saturday, describing Operation Sindoor as a “very significant shift” in India’s approach to dealing with cross-border terrorism.

Speaking to mediapersons in Vadodara, Naravane said the operation following the Pahalgam terror attack demonstrated that those backing terrorism could no longer assume that distance from the Line of Control would shield them from Indian action.

“Operation Sindoor, which was carried out after the Pahalgam attack, was a very important action. One significant aspect was that in earlier instances of such attacks, like after Uri and Pulwama, when the Balakot strike was carried out, we were largely targeting terrorist camps located around the border… This time, however, the strikes targeted their supporters and those providing them backing, wherever they may be, not just near the Line of Control, but deep inside Pakistan, in Muridke and Bahawalpur, from where they receive this support,” he said.

The message, Naravane said, was that geographical distance would no longer provide protection to those supporting terrorism. "India has demonstrated that wherever such support is being provided, no matter where the people involved are located, they cannot escape”, he said, referring to Prime Minister Narendra Modi's assertion that India would "enter enemy territory" to strike those responsible.

Naravane was in Vadodara on Saturday to attend a private event to launch the India Accelerator Vadodara Startup Centre, along with Vadodara Deputy Mayor Aditya Patel, aimed at strengthening the entrepreneurial ecosystem in Central Gujarat. General Naravane said startups would be critical to the vision of Atmanirbhar Bharat and Viksit Bharat by 2047. Accelerators, he said, could help address one of the biggest challenges faced by young enterprises, which is access to finance, while providing mentorship and other support needed to develop products, scale businesses and contribute to economic development and nation-building.