Surgical strikes: Details of operation were known to select few in govt
New Delhi: The decision to take action against terrorists in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) was taken days after the attack on an Army headquarters in Uri, Jammu and Kashmir, but only the top brass was informed about the details of the surgical strikes carried out on Thursday.
According to a report in The Indian Express, only Prime Minister Narendra Modi, National Security Advisor Ajit Doval, Army Chief General Dalbir Singh and Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar were aware of the operational details of the surgical strike, while other members of the Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS) were informed only after it was over – at a meeting on Thursday.
The members of CCS, which takes decisions on the matters of National Security, had met on September 24 to discuss “broad details of targeting terrorists,” but there was no mention of surgical strikes at the meeting.
“The strike has sent the clear message that the Modi government is not your usual government. We are not orthodox, the Prime Minister doesn’t go by the dos and don’ts of conventional diplomacy,” a top BJP leader was quoted as saying.
India conducted surgical strikes on terror launchpads along the Line of Control in Pakistan in the early hours of Thursday, days after the Uri terror attack that killed 19 soldiers.
The Indian Army made an official announcement about the strikes along the border in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir on Thursday, but did not release any figures on the casualties.
But the Indian Army estimate, "the casualties are substantial and if and when photographs and videos are released, the Army will be able to buttress the claim of success," The Indian Express quoted its sources as saying.
However, the pictures or videos of the strikes are unlikely to be released any time soon as the Centre feels it could complicate the post-strike situation.
The Centre is now monitoring Pakistan Army chief Raheel Sharif’s retirement scheduled in November. The government feels Pakistan’s security establishment might plan a response to the strike before his departure.
