Army says blasted Pak posts, releases video of operation

NEW DELHI: The Indian army said on Tuesday it has fired at and damaged Pakistani posts along their de-facto border as part of counter-insurgency operations to stop militants from crossing into India.

In a rare move, the army also released what it said was a video of the military action that showed heavy artillery blasting temporary bunkers and shelters on a tree-covered mountain. The video was shot in Jammu’s Naushera sector on May 9, army officials told HT.

“Punitive fire assaults across the Line of Control are being undertaken by the Indian army,” said Major General Ashok Narula, who heads the army’s public information wing. He did not give dates. Pakistan military spokesman Maj Gen Asif Ghafoor called the Indian claim “false”.

Narula told journalists the aim of the military action was to “bring down the number of terrorists in Jammu and Kashmir so that youths are not adversely influenced by terrorists from across.”

The development came three weeks after the beheading of two Indian soldiers by a rogue border action team (BAT) of Pakistan army. The Indian army at the time had promised a response at a time and place of its choosing.

The assault is also the latest escalation in tensions along the LoC, the volatile de-facto border militants use to sneak into India, often under cover fire from the Pakistani army.

“Pak Army has been providing support to armed infiltrators by engaging our forward troops... At times they have not even hesitated to target villages in proximity to the LoC,” Narula said.

“Locations aiding infiltration of terrorists are being targeted and destroyed to deny advantage to terrorists thus curbing infiltration attempts,” the officer said. Army sources said the weapons used against Pakistani posts included artillery guns, mortars, rockets, anti-tank missiles and grenades. Defence minister Arun Jaitley said the army was taking pre-emptive and measured actions to counter terrorism in Kashmir and disengage Pakistani posts supporting infiltration attempts.

Pak Army has been providing support to armed infiltrators by engaging our forward troops... At times they have not even hesitated to target villages in proximity to the LoC ASHOK NARULA, Major General

In September, India carried out what the government termed “surgical strikes” across the LoC and destroyed several militant launch pads in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir.

The latest strike on Pakistani posts was launched from inside India.

“Infiltrations are likely to increase with melting of snow and the opening of passes. Operations like Naugam where four terrorists were neutralised on 20-21 May are the instances.

This calls for even more pro-active counter-terrorism operations,” Narula said, referring to a usual pattern of increased militant activity in summer.

Kashmir has been on the boil since the death of Hizbul militant Burhan Wani last July, with more than 100 civilians killed in street protests and clashes with security personnel.

A number of large foreign funds have flagged “persisting religious conflicts” and the “Kashmir dispute” as potential risks to their investments in India.

The benchmark BSE index slipped about 90 points in the last 30 minutes of trade on Tuesday, a fall some analysts attributed to the announcement of Indian military action against Pakistani posts.

The index closed at 30,365.