Representational imageDGMO at press meet
» Indian army made surgical strikes at terror camps last night
» Heavy casualties inflicted on terror groups in PoK
» No Indian casualties
» Launchpads within 2 kms of LoC targeted
» Pak army informed post operations
» Pak PM Nawaz Sharif condemns India's cross-border strike: Pak Media
» Sensex falls 465 points post army announcement of anti-terror strike
» Government calls for all-party meeting at 4pm today
» Punjab border villages being evacuated as precautionary measure: TV reports
» Home minister briefs state chief ministers on the strike
» Sonia Gandhi backs strike, says we stand with the govt in its actions to protect country’s security
New Delhi: Indian army struck at terrorist launchpads across the Line of Control in Kashmir on Wednesday night, inflicting "significant" casualties on the militants. The surgical strikes are a significant escalation of India's response to continued cross-border Pak-sponsored terror in Kashmir.
A recent terror strike in an army camp at Uri had killed 18 Indian soldiers, deteriorating the relations between the two nuclear-armed neighbors.
DGMO (director general of military operations) lieutenant general Ranbir Singh, who gave the information of the strikes at a presser in New Delhi, said supporters of the terrorists also suffered casualties. He warned that terror across LoC will not be allowed and that the details of the operations were shared with his counterpart in the Pakistani army, post the strike.
Surgical strike: Pakistan's shifting, incoherent response
The operation against multiple launchpads followed intelligence inputs of terror groups poised to cross the LoC to strike inside Indian cities. The army has ceased these operations since and has no plans to continue them, general Singh said. He added that the army was ready in case of any retaliation, and hoped that the Pakistani army will help India destroy these terrorist concentrations.
Significantly, the Indian army statement did not explicitly mention if it had crossed the LoC, only that it had carried out surgical strikes. But News agency ANI quoted Pakistan's Inter Services Intelligence, or ISI, as saying the Indian strikes occurred at Bhimber, Hotspring, Kel and Lipa sectors on Pak's side of LoC.
Twitterati praise Modi, thank army for surgical strike
General Singh said the army recovered GPS systems, stores and other items with Pakistani markings after the strike. The army did not reveal more details of the strike including the units involved or how the troops crossed the LoC. Some news reports said Indian commandos were airlifted across the LoC on choppers but this seems unlikely as helicopters are highly vulnerable to ground fire and the Line of Control is highly militarized.
Indian army's director general of military operations Lt General Ranbir Singh speaks during a media briefing in New Delhi. ReutersGeneral Singh said India was committed to maintain peace at the border. PM Modi had chaired a meeting of the cabinet committee on security Thursday morning to discuss the strike.
Panic, disbelief in Kashmir as India makes surgical strikes
Meanwhile, Pakistan PM Nawaz Sharif condemned India's cross-border strike and said that his country was ready to defend itself, according to reports in Pak media.
'Our desire for peace should not be interpreted as our weakness. We are ready for the safety and defence of our country," Sharif was quoted as saying by Pak media. However, Pakistan army called the strike announcement a "lie".
India has been building up pressure on Pakistan since the Uri attack on international fora as well as bilaterally. At the UN, foreign minister Sushma Swaraj put Pakistan on the defensive over state-sponsored terror. And India was able to get backing from Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan in its drive to isolate Pakistan - all the three countries pulled out of the upcoming SAARC summit in Islamabad after India decided not to attend.
India strikes across LoC: major developments of the day
India also spoke of reviewing the Indus Waters Treaty, which deals with sharing water from six rivers with Pakistan, prompting Pakistan to rush to the International Court of Justice.
Prime minister Narendra Modi was scheduled to hold a meeting to review India's most favoured nation status to Pakistan on Thursday. But it was postponed after the cross-border strikes.
Earlier reports had come in of two ceasefire violations by Pakistan army at the LoC, and the US national security adviser had called India's NSA Ajit Doval expressing support to Indian in the fight against terror and saying Pakistan needs to do more.
