Indian army mulling all options before striking hard
[dropcap color=”#008040″ boxed=”yes” boxed_radius=”8px” class=”” id=””]I[/dropcap]t appears as though the Pakistan army on the warpath even as Indian army is mulling all its options before striking hard. In the last 24 hours Pakistan tried to provoke strong Indian retaliation on two different fronts across border districts of Baramulla and Poonch.
…during the intense shelling which continued for several hours, five Indian civilians in Shahpur Kerni and Saujian area of Poonch were injured.
In one operation a highly motivated militant group, believed to be trained in Pakistan, tried to storm an army camp of 46 Rashtriya Rifles in Baramulla late Sunday night while hours later Pak army started pounding forward villages using long range mortar shells along the Line of Control in frontier Poonch district of Jammu province.
This is the first time that Pak army resorted to use of 120 mm mortars, with a range of 6.8 km,sending across a clear message that it was in no mood to de escalate.
Following these two crucial developments the three Services chiefs briefed the Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar on Monday about the current security scenario and operational preparedness.
On the other hand Home Minister Rajnath Singh and National Security Adviser Ajit Doval discussed the situation and gave necessary instructions to the forces.
Meanwhile, during the intense shelling which continued for several hours, five Indian civilians in Shahpur Kerni and Saujian area of Poonch were injured.
Indian troops also retaliated the fire using similar calibre of weapons to silence the roar of Pak guns.
A fuel reserve was also hit by Pak shelling in Gali Maidan area along the line of control. BSF which has deployed its soldiers to assist Indian army had stocked its winter reserves for the forward posts. At least one dozen civilian shops were gutted in the fire triggered after kerosene oil reserves were set on fire.
[dropcap color=”#008040″ boxed=”yes” boxed_radius=”8px” class=”” id=””]T[/dropcap]he Indian army authorities while confirming the use of 120 mm mortars by the Pak army claimed top brass of the army commanders in Northern command are mulling all their options as Pakistan army has crossed the threshold by targeting civilian pockets deep inside the Indian territory.
Strict vigil is being maintained through the sky on the movement of Pakistani army towards western borders.
Earlier, Director-General of Military Operations (DGMO) Lieutenant-General Ranbir Singh had conveyed to his Pak counterpart that India was not keen on escalating the border tension.
But beleaguered Pakistan army is showing no signs of a change of heart on ground zero as it is keen on avenging surgical strike by elite para commandos of the Indian army.
Security experts are of the opinion that instead of taking India head on Pakistan will first try to avenge the surgical strikes by launching terrorists inside the Indian territory to carry out spectacular strikes on key defence installations in the coming days.
At the same time the Indian armed forces are learnt to have carried out fresh review of security ‘bandobast’ in and around strategic air bases and other military installations. It should be borne in mind that India’s fencing along the Pakistan border is quite robust and only groups of 4 or less can sneak in.
Strict vigil is being maintained through the sky on the movement of Pakistani army towards western borders.
India has also kept its Indian Air Force (IAF) fleet in a state of readiness while the Army on its part had moved its ammunition depots and fuel dumps closer to the LoC to ensure swift movement of troops.It remains to be seen how Pak army and its leadership would behave in the coming days and whether they would cross the ‘lakshman rekha’ and invite more trouble.
Retaliation must be two for one.Action must be directed to wherever attack is coming unconcerned of identity of target.The time for civility with Pak is gone with beheading of Indian soldier. now it should all holds barred reaction.Someone suggested to cremate Paki bodies, can be followed.
India’s patience is on the wane and justifiably so after nearly 30 years of facing terror acts from Pak. There will be loss to India but if the issue can be settled once and for all, the loss can be accommodated as it is unavoidable.