The Indian lies of cross-border surgical strikes were exposed before the world on Saturday as the United Nations said its mission tasked with monitoring the Line of Control (LoC) “has not directly observed” any firing along the LoC.
The UN Military Observer Group in India and Pakistan (UNMOGIP) “has not directly observed any firing across the LoC related to the latest incident,” Stephane Dujarric, spokesperson for UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon, told reporters the other day.
When asked how the UNMOGIP did not observe any firing despite claims by India of surgical strikes across the LoC, he reiterated that UNMOGIP has not “directly observed” any of the firing.
“They are obviously aware of the reports of these presumed violations and are talking to the relevant concerned authorities,” he was quoted as saying.
He said the UN observer group was aware of reports of “presumed ceasefire violations” and is in contact with concerned authorities for further information.
“The secretary general also recalls the role played by UNMOGIP, which is deployed to observe, to the extent possible, developments pertaining to the strict observance of the 1971 ceasefire to report thereon to the secretary general,” he said.
Meanwhile, the Pakistan Army vehemently rejected all the Indian claims of the so-called surgical strikes, saying that no such incident had taken place and the Indian lies had been exposed before the world.
It said anyone who tried any misadventure inside Pakistan will get response beyond his imagination.
“No such incident has taken place nor any such will be allowed to happen in future and if the adversary attempted so, it will be responded to with an ever strongest force,” Director General (DG) Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) Lieutenant General Asim Saleem Bajwa said.
Briefing the visiting journalists, representing both foreign and local media, at two different locations along the LoC, Boxor and Hotsping, he said the Indian claims of carrying out surgical strikes across the LoC were baseless, absurd and unfounded, which were meant to not only misguide the Indian people but also the international community.
“No physical violation of the LoC has taken place, nor it will be allowed to happen by our resilient forces,” he reiterated in reply to a question.
“The Pakistan Army is fully prepared to tackle any misadventure and any such attempt will be responded to in a more effective and forceful manner,” he said.
General Officer Commanding of Bhimber Sector Major General Chiragh Haider apprised the journalists that no physical violation of the LoC happened on the night between September 28 and September 29 as claimed by the Indian Director General Military Operations.
The journalists were earlier given a full picture about the geographical and physical location at the Boxor Formation by Brigade Commander Brigadier Furqan Moazam. The entire scenario was drawn to make them understand that how the Indian forces had carried out unprovoked firing due to which a Pakistani soldier embraced Shahadat.
At the foothills of Boxor Formation, two villages of about 130,000 inhabitants are situated whose residents have no clue about any intrusion by the Indian troops. They confirmed that only crossfire had taken place on the particular night and nothing else.
The DG ISPR said the visit of media persons was arranged with the purpose that they should independently probe the Indian claim.
The DG ISPR said the ceasefire violation along the LoC was a routine affair and labelling it as a surgical strike was totally baseless and a pack of ‘white lies’. He said in 2003 Pakistan had announced unilateral ceasefire which was later ratified by India. Pakistan, he said, had been exercising maximum restraint by not initiating fire. The Pakistan side, he said, hardly initiated fire while in most of the cases it was the other side which had initiated firing and then it became necessary for Pakistan to silence the guns of the adversary through an effective response.
Lieutenant General Asim Bajwa said same was the case of the night between September 28 and Sept 29 when the Indian side opened fire of small to medium calibre at around 02:00 hours and the same was responded in a befitting manner. The fire from across the LoC continued till 08:00 hours with a matchless response from the Pakistani side and the same morning it was named as a “surgical strike”.
In that specific case, he questioned as to how Indian special forces personnel landed on the Pakistani soil and then left the area without coming into the knowledge of Pakistani troops who were deployed in an alert state.
“If they had sent paratroopers, what was their purpose or aim to be here and how they returned to their country?” he posed another question, referring to the Indian claims.
When asked to comment on the hotline contact between the DGMOs of the two countries, he said they did speak on the issue and the Pakistani DGMO lodged a protest on the incident of unprovoked Indian firing that claimed the lives of two Pakistani soldiers. He had straightaway rejected the claim of Indian DGMO regarding the surgical strike, stating that no such incident had taken place.
The DG ISPR stated that the UNMOGIP with seven posts on the Pakistani side of the LoC had been observing the situation while India had not been offering them access to locations on its side.
Answering a question, he said inadvertent crossing of the LoC was a routine matter and if any such case was found, it would be treated in accordance with the standing order procedures (SOP).
“We are prepared for any eventuality. The other side had been escalating the situation which is being minutely observed by the world forums,” he added.
Pointing out the situation in the Indian Held Kashmir (IHK), he said it was the 84th consecutive day of curfew in the IHK where the people had been demanding their right to franchise in accordance with the UN resolutions.
He said the struggle of the IHK people was completely indigenous. The present situation along the LoC, he added, was an Indian attempt to divert the attention of the world forums from the situation in the IHK, especially at the time of UN General Assembly session.
Meanwhile, a report in a Japanese magazine ‘The Diplomat’ said the Indian Army doesn’t have the capability of surgical strikes inside Pakistan.
The report said in the long scheme of things, New Delhi’s decision to make a media spectacle of the Indian Army’s so-called strike across the LoC may turn out to be an imprudent one. Far from testing the Pakistan military’s threshold of escalation, it may have unwittingly served to lower it. It said the ball is in Pakistan’s court now and not playing is not an option.
The report said Pakistan’s air defence is very strong, while the Indian forces lack weapons needed for the surgical strikes. It said surgical strikes in a sensitive place like Kashmir are impossible in the presence of advanced Pakistani missile system.