Surgical strikes across LoC hit 6 terror pads

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, September 29

Mounting a swift counter-terror operation across the Line of Control in Jammu and Kashmir, the Indian Army today announced it had neutralised terrorists waiting to infiltrate. The brave military manoeuvre was hailed across the country.

The ‘surgical strikes’ was a resolute action by India 11 days after 18 soldiers were killed in the Uri sector in an attack by Jaish terrorists from across the border. The action came days after Prime Minister Narendra Modi promised that the blood of the jawans will not go in vain and the Army, asserting it will act at a place and time of its choosing, did so from midnight to dawn at five places and six launch pads.

“Based on specific and credible inputs that some terrorist teams had positioned themselves at launch pads along the LoC to carry out infiltration and conduct terrorist strikes inside J&K and in various metros, the Indian Army conducted surgical strikes at several of these launch pads. The operations were focussed on ensuring that these terrorists do not succeed in their design to endanger the lives of our citizens,” the Director General of Military Operations, Lt. Gen Ranbir Singh, said at a joint briefing with the Ministry of External Affairs. 

He said he had shared the information with his Pakistani counterpart.

Pakistan rejected across-LoC strikes as a “fabrication of truth”, suggesting it was a move to cater to the domestic media and public. “There has been no surgical strike by India; instead, there had been cross-border fire initiated and conducted by India which is an existential phenomenon,” the Pakistan army said. It admitted the loss of two soldiers and injuries to nine.

Stating that significant casualties were caused to terrorists and those providing support, the DGMO said while India does not have any further plans to continue, it was fully prepared for any contingency that may arise.

An immediate fallout was that border residents of Punjab were asked to move to safer locations and India stepped up its international outreach with Foreign Secretary S. Jaishankar briefing envoys from 25 countries. Earlier, National Security Adviser Ajit Doval spoke to his counterpart in the US.

Prior to the announcement on the successful conduct of the operation, Prime Minister Modi chaired a meeting of the Cabinet Committee on Security that was briefed about it. He later briefed President Pranab Mukherjee and spoke to Vice-President Hamid Ansari and former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. 

On his part, Home Minister Rajnath Singh briefed several chief ministers and leaders of various political parties, all of whom came out in support of the action against terrorists.

DGMO Lt Gen Ranbir Singh addressing the media (MEA video):