New Delhi: The Indian Army’s Director General of Military Operations (DGMO) on Thursday provided clear information on the surgical strikes conducted across the Line of Control (LoC) in response to the Uri attack from Pakistan.
According to a report, in the spectrum of military options available to the Army this was the most plausible, and the most expected. Moreover, the information was handled in a highly professional way, which is a departure from the past.
India correctly assessed that the threshold of Pakistani red lines would be higher than that affected a surgical operation across the LoC, former commander of the Srinagar-based 15 Corps writes in a newspaper. Moreover, seven strikes instead of just one or two added to the credibility of the operation.
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What is a surgical strike in military terms? It is an operation where trained troops rapidly move into enemy territory and head for a selected objective, to target it and are not diverted by any other opportunities that may arise until the identified objective is neutralised.
It can be carried out stealthily, or with the use of precision strikes by long-range weapons. Such weapons may be used if the element of surprise is lost during the operation. But a fire assault by long-range weapons would not be construed as a surgical strike in the subcontinental sense. For the US though, using drones to strike targets in far-off countries is seen as an acceptable example of a surgical strike.
Ground incursions to a depth of maximum 3-4 km must have been made during the operations, said the report. Deeper operations would require helicopter transportation where chances of sustaining heavy casualties are high.
Intelligence on terrorist concentrations in the pre-winter season is usually available with the Army and has been used well in this attack.
Pakistan has so far rubbished the strikes, but this could just be a strategy to buy time for assessing the situation. The Pakistani establishment was likely taken by surprise at the strikes, but is likely to retaliate in some way. It could be in the garb of a terror strike by Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) or the United Jihad Council (UJC) or other such terror groups.
India-Pakistan is the hybrid form of conflict which requires a hybrid response. But apart from diplomatic and economic measures, using the military option is also necessary to complete such a response, said the report. The PM needs to be complimented for his decision and handling of the response, the report in the Times of India adds.
However, a strong follow-up is now required. India must stay ahead of Pakistan diplomatically in order to achieve a measure of long-term success, says the report.
