General Bipin Rawat, chief of the Indian Army, has said that talks with archrival and neighbor Pakistan could commence only if the latter stopped sponsoring cross-border terrorists.

Speaking to newsmen in Jaipur yesterday, the Army chief said that India no doubt wanted to maintain a healthy and friendly relationship with its north-western neighbor. “However, looking at Pakistan`s activities and its intention in sponsoring cross-border terrorist activities, it appears that Pakistan has no objective of kick-starring the stalled peace talks with India,” Rawat observed.

“Talks can obviously commence only when it becomes absolutely certain that Pakistan had stopped sponsoring terrorist activities on Indian soil. I`m proud of the successful anti-terrorist operations taking place in Jammu & Kashmir undertaken jointly by the army, para-military forces and the State police. This would continue till terrorism is rooted out,” he added.

The Indian Army chief`s remarks are seen as reply to his Pakistan counterpart Qumar Javed who had recently spoken on the issue. “I`d whole-heartedly support peace talks with India if the Govt. (Pakistan) initiated such talks,” Javed had earlier said.