Second anniversary of 2016 “surgical
strikes” and a look back
Anil Bhat
To
mark the second anniversary of the surgical strikes against terror camps across
the Line of Control (LoC) and to showcase the courage, valour and sacrifice of
Armed Forces in general and Special Forces in particular , a massive exhibition
of Indian Armed Forces weapons and equipment named ‘Parakram Parv’ was held on
the lawns of India Gate, New Delhi, from 28 to 30 September 2018. Open to general
public, the visitors got the opportunity to see captured weapons used by
terrorists, military equipment like artillery guns and small arms, while
military bands and noted singers performed at the venue. Versions of this were
organized at 53 locations in 51 cities across the country.
The
term “surgical” believed to have been coined by someone in the government to
make it sound sensational may be misleading to general public. In fact, these
strikes were simultaneous surprise raids by night deep into enemy territory on
eight/nine Pakistan army posts, spread over a stretch of over 200 kms along the
Line of Control, which were launch pads for inducting terrorists into Jammu and
Kashmir to attack various targets. Based on very reliable real time information,
this operation was launched after meticulous planning, painstaking preparation and close coordination. Executed by
Indian Army’s Special Forces troops, with their characteristic guts and calmness, the modus of the attack was a combination
of a preponderance of accurate firepower, stealthy advance with ‘boots on the
ground’ to the objectives, hit hard and fast and most crucial de-induct. That all
this was achieved without suffering
casualties was a combination of professionalism and good luck.
If any comparison is to made, these
strikes were like US Special Forces Operation Geronimo/Neptune Spear launched
to kill Osama bin Laden, multiplied eight/nine times and without the use of
helicopters or artillery.
The Indian Army’s then Director
General Military Operations (DGMO), Lt Gen Ranbir Singh, presently GOC-in-C,
Northern Coomand, had said, “the motive of this operation was to hit out at the
terrorists who were planning to infiltrate into our territory…..Indian armed
forces are ready for any contingency. ….I spoke to the Pak DGMO, shared our
concerns and told him that we conducted surgical strikes last night….. As of
now, we have no plans of further operations.” He had however added that if
necessary, more such operations could be undertaken.
While initially Pak Army was
reported to have denied the Indian Army operation altogether, the Inter
Services Public Relations (ISPR) is later reported to have said that Indian
Army troops entered three kilometers and that the exchange of fire began at
2.30 am and continued till 8 am, in which “Pakistani troops befittingly
responded to Indian unprovoked firing on the LoC in Bhimber, Hotspring Kel and
Lipa sectors.” The ISPR stated that only two Pakistan army soldiers were killed
in routine cross border firing and released the photographs of the two dead
soldiers, While 53 terrorists were killed and a lesser number of Pak Army
personnel killed and wounded, on 26 September 2016, news reports citing
intelligence sources from Pakistan indicated that 16-17 terror training camps
of Lashkar-e-Taiyyaba, Jaish-e-Mohammed and the Hizbul Mujahideen were shifted
from their current locations after the Uri attack and relocated in
Pakistan-occupied Kashmir with the help of the Pakistani army and the
Inter-services Intelligence (ISI). Of these, four were terror camps operating
from Mansehra and Muzaffarabad. If so, then all the more credit to Northern
Command and its units for the results achieved.
In India, the news of these strikes,
coming ten days after the dastardly attack on an Indian Army unit in Uri on 19
September 2016, as well as many acts of
war by Pak army supported terrorists, their ‘border action teams’ (of
Pak army soldiers and terrorists), barbaric mutilations of Indian soldiers
etc., was met with a great sense of long overdue satisfaction and thumping
approval by the general public, serving and retired servicemen, political
parties and even foreign countries .
However, within just a couple of
days, some political parties, particularly the Congress , which, quite
obviously driven by a deep sense of jealousy/frustration, drastically changed
the narrative. Beginning from a demand for the government to prove the veracity
of the strikes by releasing photographs, the Congress then claimed that there
was nothing unprecedented about these strikes, as such actions had often been
initiated by its government, which has always been known for reacting with
least or nil resistance/retaliation/always not wanting to “raise the level of
confrontation”. Soon afterward, the discourse began to degenerate to
disgraceful levels and atrocious terminology, like fake encounter, “khoon ki
dalaali” (brokerage of blood) by none other than the number two of the
Congress, Rahul Gandhi. Following the Army’s announcement of the successful
strikes and having initially praised Prime Minister Narendra Modi ‘s
leadership, extending his support and the party’s cooperation, the same Rahul
Gandhi freaked out into attacking PM Modi and was reported to have uttered:
“Jinhone Hindustan ke liye surgical strike kiye hain, unke khoon ke peeche
aap chhupe hain. Unki aap dalali kar rahe ho.” (You are hiding behind the blood
of soldiers who carried out the surgical strikes for India. You are exploiting
their sacrifices).
During the 2004 - 2014 Congress/UPA
tenures, the government’s official responses to attacks by Pak army supported
terrorists or border action teams (BAT, a mix of Pak army and terrorists),
which infiltrated as far inside Indian territory as Samba military station and
attacked Indian Army units, or as horrendous as mutilating and beheading Indian
Army soldiers, were usually tepid or lacking in being categorical/precise. If
there was any sanction by the government for effective punitive action by the
Army, there was never any such indication. And whatever actions the Army took
did not involve crossing the Line of Control or the International Boundary.
Following the massacre of Indian Army
personnel and their family members, including children, by Pakistani terrorists
on 14 May 2002, the Army did not wait for any sanction/approval or not from the
government but responded by pounding some Pak army border posts. That is when the then US Ambassador Robert Blackwill raised an alarm of the
conflagration between “two
nuclear armed nations” and issued an advisory for US tourists planning trips to
India. Also, photographs of American diplomats and their families embarking on
flights were much publicized. This was a smart ploy because actually these
diplomats and families were routinely leaving for trips back home as children’s
school vacation began. Whenever borders of friendly countries were crossed in
pursuit of terrorists as was done in the North East, it was with much
diplomatic tact and wording.
Hence the 28- 29 September 2016
strikes were different as they involved deep ingress into enemy/adversary
territory and very obviously with full governmental approval. However, there is
also a dichotomy there as not all of the BJP Government’s responses to
Pakistani terrorist attacks have been the same or steady. Be that as it may,
the fact remains that the advent of BJP in 2014 made Pak army quite livid and it
upped the ante in Kashmir Valley only to find Indian Army’s and security forces
responses more forceful. And with Pakistan’s economic plight being precarious
and its global reputation descending , Pak army seems to be feeling the pinch
of Indian Army’s offensives. An indication was Pak army chief Qamar Javed
Bajwa’s recent reported unprecedented overtures for “peace talks”, but without
actually letting up on supporting its terrorists on the ground. That is because
like many of his predecessors, Bajwa too nurses delusions that its lies/deceit will work.
Now, coming to the reactions of the celebration of the September 2016
strikes. Some Indian Army veterans have expressed their reservations. Former Army Chief Gen
Shankar Roychowdhury clearly stated that when there already is Vijay Divas
(victory day) observed every 16 December for valour and sacrifices in all wars/
conflicts/operations, these strikes too are should be included in the same,
which is a valid point.
Army
Chief General Bipin Rawat, reportedly stated, While he believed there is a need
for one more strike, “….it is a weapon of surprise. Let it remain a
surprise."
Interacting with this writer, Lt Gen Vinod Bhatia
(Retd), heading the Centre for Joint Warfare Studies, stated, “…celebrating the surgical strikes akin to a
Vijay Diwas is to foreclose the option of carrying out any further surgical
strikes.”
While the option of repeating such strikes must be
kept open and exercised at a time and place of our choosing, it must be
remembered any amount of such strikes will only cause some attrition. To hit
hard at terrorism in the Kashmir Valley, the separatists must be disabled, not
mollycoddled.
The
author, a strategic analyst, is a former Defence Ministry spokesperson. He can
be contacted at wordsword02@yahoo.com
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