Union Minister of Defence Rajnath Singh on Saturday alleged that Pakistan was indulging in a proxy war through terrorism because it knew that it cannot win a conventional one, PTI reported. Singh was speaking after reviewing the passing out parade at the National Defence Academy in Pune.

Pakistan knew from 1948, through wars fought in 1965, 1971 and 1999, that it cannot win against India using conventional means, Singh claimed. “It has chosen a path of proxy war through terrorism and I can tell you with full responsibility that Pakistan will not get anything but defeat,” he said.

The defence minister added that India has never had any “extra-territorial” ambitions but threatened that Delhi will not spare anyone if it is provoked. “We are committed to the sovereignty and security of the people of the country,” he said. “But if someone runs terror camps in our soil or are involved in an attack, we know how to give a befitting reply.”

Singh claimed that Pakistan had been exposed on world platforms in connection with its terror activities and credited it to the “skilled diplomacy” of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, according to ANI.