 "Villagers along the border with Pakistan being evacuated as a precautionary measure on Thursday | Photo: PTI")
Setting restraint aside, India undertook surgical strikes across the Line of Control (LoC) in the early hours of Thursday. It, however, made clear that this was the only military action for the moment and did not intend to go to war with Pakistan.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi told the Indian Army that he would sanction the operation only if there was no escalation and casualties. India has never crossed the LoC in the past.
The strike destroyed infrastructure and killed terrorists believed to be poised to cross the border to attack Indian cities, Director General of Military Operations (DGMO) Lt Gen Ranveer Singh said. He added that the decision to strike was based on inputs that some terrorist teams had positioned themselves along the LoC to cross the border. However, the exact number of those killed and equipment destroyed was not made public. Sources said no helicopters or fighter jets were used in the operation.
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Details filtering out of Army Headquarters in Delhi suggested less than 100 commandos in groups of 20 each targeted five points two to three km beyond the LoC. After the strikes, the DGMO explained to his Pakistani counterpart that India had not attacked its army, and had targeted non-state actors.
The action was taken by 15 and 16 Corps North and South of the Pir Panjal. “There were no Indian casualties. Our people went across, killed and came back,” said a military source.
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Sources said reports in the Pakistani media of eight army personnel being killed were false. They, however, said one soldier from 37 Rashtriya Rifles inadvertently crossed over, adding that Pakistan had been informed by Singh and that such inadvertent crossings were not unusual, and those captured are returned through existing mechanisms. Reports in the Pakistan media identified the soldier as 22-year-old Chandu Babulal Chouhan from Maharashtra.
The army maintained that no Indian soldier was killed in the operation.
The strike should have invited retaliation from Pakistan, but Islamabad held back, claiming no such strike had taken place. Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif only said: "Our intent for peaceful neighbourhood should not be mistaken as weakness, as our valiant forces are capable of defending the territorial integrity of our country,” adding that Pakistan can "thwart any evil design made to undermine [its] sovereignty ".
Pakistan’s Defence Minister said after a meeting with Sharif: “If the Indian Army crossed the LoC, then we will teach them a befitting lesson.” But, there was no build-up or indication of retaliation. The Indian High Commissioner in Islamabad was summoned to the Pakistan Foreign Office and told off.
India, however, has left no stone unturned to prepare itself for a Pakistani response. Not only was there consensus at an all-party meeting called by the government that India was left with no other option, but the Prime Minister took time to brief opposition leaders including former PM Manmohan Singh about the reason for the raid.
Home Minister Rajnath Singh spoke to former PM H D Deve Gowda, and several chief ministers, including Punjab CM Parkash Singh Badal. External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj briefed Congress President Sonia Gandhi. Residents of villages within a ten km radius of the border in Punjab, Rajasthan and in J&K have been evacuated.
Leave of all army personnel on the western front has been cancelled. All schools within 10 km of the border have been closed, according to the district education officer in Ferozepur, Punjab.
All indications are that there will be no further escalation and no further attacks for now. The political response from supporters of the government is one of jubilation. The feedback within the Bharatiya Janata Party and the Sangh Parivar was that the PM’s Kozhikode speech had failed to “whet the emotional appetite” of the people. The ministry of external affairs briefed ambassadors of around two dozen countries, mostly neighbours and permanent members of the UN Security Council.
