NEW DELHI, JAN 15 (DNA) – Indian Army chief General Bipin Rawat has stressed on political initiatives along with military operations for bringing peace to the disputed region of Kashmir.

Comments come a few days after Rawat had claimed that his forces were ready to call “Pakistan’s nuclear bluff” and cross the border to carry out any operation if asked by the government of India.

Admitting the failure of Indian policies in the region, Rawat was quoted as saying, “The armed forces operating in the state cannot be status quoist, and must evolve new strategies and tactics to deal with the situation.”

“Political initiative and all the other initiatives must go simultaneously hand-in-hand and only if all of us function in synergy, we can bring lasting peace in Kashmir. It has to be a politico-military approach that we have to adopt,” Rawat added.

In October, the Indian government had appointed former Intelligence Bureau (IB) chief Dineshwar Sharma as a special representative to hold “sustained dialogue” with all stakeholders in the disputed valley.

The general emphasised that Sharma was the government’s representative and it was his job to reach out to the people of Kashmir to address their grievances.