New Delhi: Angered with the Uri terrorist attack which had claimed 18 Indian soldiers lives. Within the eleven days after the attack, on the intervening night of September 28-29, 2016, Indian Army carried out surgical strikes against terror launch pads in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) targeting Pakistani terrorists positioned across the Line of Control (LoC).
Next morning, on September 29, 2016, the then DGMO, Lt General Ranbir Singh, had announced that India had conducted surgical strikes on terror pads along the LoC using ground forces and inflicted significant casualties.
Singh told in a joint press briefing with the MEA that Indian forces led by a Special Operations Group had caused significant damage to terrorists and those who were shielding them in PoK.
What is a surgical strike?
A surgical strike is essentially a swift and targeted attack on a specific target that aims to neutralise them while ensuring minimum collateral damage to the surrounding areas and civilians.
What was Pakistan’s reaction?
As the news of surgical strike broke out, Pakistan, on September 30, 2016, refuted India’s claim saying New Delhi is doing this publicity stunt only to please the media and public.
In a statement, Pakistan Defence Minister Khawaja Asif said, “The Pakistani Army gave befitting response to the Indian army. Indian Army opened up small arms fire last night on five sectors across LoC. India is doing this under a well-planned objective. If India tries to do this again, we will respond forcefully. India is doing this only to please their media and public.”
What government said
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on September 29 said that surgical strikes prove that the country can defend itself when needed.“When India talked of terrorism 20 years back, many in the world said it was a law and order problem and didn’t understand it. Now terrorists have explained terrorism to them so we don’t have to,” Modi said in during his Virginia tour, June last year.
Home Minister Rajnath Singh also tried to make it clear that security forces can cross over the Line of Control, if needed, to protect country’s territorial integrity.
In October 2016, the then urban development minister M Venkaiah Naidu had rejected the Opposition’s demand for proof of the surgical strikes, saying that any further debate on the matter would be an “insult” to the Army.
What was the opposition’s reaction?
Congress said that surgical strikes were conducted thrice during the party-led UPA rule but their government did not make loud claims in the interest of national security. “We are proud that even in the past our forces have successfully conducted such surgical strikes on numerous occasions, particularly on September 1, 2011, July 28, 2013 and January 14, 2014, giving a befitting reply to the enemy,” Congress spokesperson Randeep Singh Surjewala had said.Moreover, after the recent video release, Surjewala said, “When Modi government start failing they use Army to divert the issue and take political gain.
The latest: Surgical strikes video released
The video clips of September 29 operations across the LoC were broadcast on several TV channels on Wednesday, for the first time.
These clips showed some terrorists being killed, besides destruction of bunkers and other military constructions. TV channels claimed these videos, which they had accessed from official sources, were taken by Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) and Thermal Imaging (TI) cameras used by the Army to monitor the operation.
Later, senior army and government officials confirmed that footages are original.
