India in a 'war-like' situation, govt has steely resolve, says ex-diplomat Bambawale

Pune, May 10 (PTI) Former High Commissioner to Pakistan, Gautam Bambawale, has described the military conflict between India and Pakistan following Operation Sindoor as a "war-like situation", asserting that the Central government has a "steely resolve" and a clear sense of its objectives.

Bambawale was speaking at a panel discussion on the topic, 'Operation Sindoor', organised by Pune International Centre (PIC) on Friday.

"I would like to describe the current situation as a 'war-like situation'. When I say a war-like situation, I mean to say that we are at the edge of getting into a full-scale war, but we are not yet there," he said.

The former Indian ambassador to China said three elements are important for a nation in a war-like situation.

"First is — the government. As we know, for the last 10 to 12 years, this government has had a steely resolve. They know what their objectives are, they know what they want to do and what they want to target. The second element is the Armed Forces. We know that the Indian Armed Forces are capable of and have seen that in the last few days. The armed forces also have a steely resolve. They know how to take on the targets and achieve the goals set by the political leadership and their leadership," Bambawale said.

He said the third element was the 'people of the country'.

"In any war-like situation, not all things go in one way or against the enemy. There are setbacks, and we could also be targeted, the way people living in the border areas like Poonch were targeted by Pakistan. If we get into that kind of situation, the people of the country should show steely resolve. They should not lose their focus. This is the fight for justice against terrorism and against perpetrators of terrorism and those who are funding and supporting them," he said.

Other panellists at the discussion included Lt Gen V G Patankar (retired), Col. Vinayak Bhat, Air Marshal Dipendu Choudhury (retired), and Captain D K Sharma (retired).

Major General Nitin Gadkari (Retd), the director of PIC, moderated the panel. PTI SPK ARU