Indian brags of ‘surgical strike’ rubbished

• DG ISPR says armed forces will strongly respond to any Indian mischief
• Reports say corpses of 8 to 14 Indian soldiers lying unattended along LoC

Pakistan on Thursday dismissed claims made by India of carrying out a “surgical strike” across the Line of Control (LoC) in Azad Jammu and Kashmir, with army’s media wing stating that unprovoked cross-border Indian firing resulted in martyrdom of two Pakistani soldiers.

“There has been no surgical strike by India, instead there had been cross border fire initiated and conducted by India which is existential phenomenon. As per rules of engagement (the) same was strongly and befittingly responded by Pakistani troops,” the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) said in a statement.

“The notion of surgical strike linked to alleged terrorists bases is an illusion being deliberately generated by Indian to create false effects. This quest by Indian establishment to create media hype by rebranding cross border fire as surgical strike is fabrication of truth. Pakistan has made it clear that if there is a surgical strike on Pakistani soil, same will be strongly responded,” the ISPR statement added.

Describing Indian claim of surgical strike as “totally wrong” and “baseless”, ISPR Director General Lt-Gen Asim Saleem Bajwa said Pakistan was keeping a close watch on Indian movements and if they committed a mistake, they would be responded with full force as Pakistan was prepared to repel any aggression.

Bajwa, while talking to a private media outlet, said that the Indians fired with small arms and mortar and two soldiers embraced martyrdom at different places by Indian firing.

EARLY MORNING FIRING AND INDIAN CLAIMS:

The exchange of fire between Pakistani and Indian LoC troops began at 2:30am and continued till 8:00am in the Bhimber, Hotspring, Kel and Lipa sectors in Azad Jammu and Kashmir, the ISPR statement said. “Pakistani troops befittingly responded to Indian unprovoked firing on the LoC.”

Shortly after the exchange of fire, India’s Director General of Military Operations (DGMO) Lt Gen Ranbir Singh told a press conference alongside Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Vikas Swarup that surgical strikes were conducted by Indian army on “terror launch pads along the LoC”. The strikes would not continue, he said.

The Indian DGMO claimed that “some terrorist teams had positioned themselves at launch pads along the Line of Control”. “The Indian army conducted surgical strikes last night at these launch pads. Significant casualties have been caused to these terrorists and those who are trying to support them… The operations aimed at neutralising the terrorists have since ceased,” he claimed.

“The operation was obviously kept under the wraps due to operational concerns, but this strike has been long awaited,” added the Indian DGMO.

NUMBER OF INDIAN SOLDIERS KILLED UNCLEAR:

There were conflicting reports about the number of Indian soldiers killed in the trade of fire, with some media outfits putting the number around eight while others claiming it to be around 14.

One of the media outlets also claimed that an Indian soldier had been captured by Pakistan army, but confusion over the capture persisted as neither Indian nor Pakistani officials would issue any official statements on the matter immediately.

“It is confirmed one soldier from 37 Rashtriya Rifles with weapons has inadvertently crossed over to the Pakistan side of the LoC,” a private media outlet reported, citing an anonymous Indian army official based in New Delhi.

“Pakistan has been informed [of the soldier’s crossing] through the DGMO on hotline,” ANI News quoted Indian army source as saying.

On Pakistan’s side, two officials based in Chhamb sector said the Indian soldier with weapons was captured at 1330 local time on Thursday.

“A 22-year-old Indian soldier by the name Chandu Babulal Chohan has been taken into custody by Pakistani forces,” sources said.

They added that at least eight Indian soldiers were killed. The bodies of the Indian soldiers had not been recovered from by the Indian army from the site of the skirmishes at the LoC. Security sources claimed an attempt to recover the bodies by Indian army had not been made yet as they feared coming under fire from Pakistan troops.

In his talk show, senior analyst Hamid Mir said that 14 Indian soldiers were killed in two sectors. Defence analyst Major General (r) Ijaz Awan, who was on his show, confirmed his claim.

On the other hand, Indian army rejected reports that eight Indian soldiers had been killed.

Also, Pakistan army denied reports that they had captured an Indian army soldier near the de-facto border with India. The ISPR denied that an Indian soldier was in Pakistan army’s custody.