‘Another surgical strike a possibility’

The Army and the intelligence agencies were seriously considering to breach the LoC as, following the Pulwama attack on 26 August. This option gained more currency as Pakistan sent a special team of militants who killed eight men in uniform including four CRPF men.

On the recommendations of the security agencies, India summoned the acting high commissioner of Pakistan and issued a demarche over the infiltration by a group of Jaish-e-Muhammad militants who killed and engaged the security forces for a long time.

Lieutenant General Devraj Anbu, General Officer Commanding-in-Chief of the Northern Command, said during a press briefing that they could breach the LoC again, if required. He said that the surgical strikes were carried out last year across the border to convey the message to Pakistan that the LoC can be breached whenever the need arises. The Army and the intelligence agencies have raised an alarm over the pattern of Pakistan sending highly motivated and trained groups of twos and threes through the Jammu border to carry out Fidayeen attacks in Kashmir to disturb the security operation being carried out by the Army in South Kashmir. Many news agencies reported that the Army was seriously mulling the option to go for a second surgical strike if there was another attack in Kashmir on the pattern of the Pulwama Police Lines attack.

The Central government and the Army’s top brass are waiting for a positive response from Pakistan after a demarche was issued on such infiltrations to them through the acting Pakistan high commissioner. Although “Operation All Out” is still going on in South Kashmir, the militant attack on the police lines of Pulwama has definitely deferred some of the anti-militancy operations in South Kashmir.