STRIKE MEASURED: EXPERTS

Backing India, US think tank puts onus for escalation squarely on Pakistan

Washington, Sept. 30: The Indian surgical strikes inside Pakistanoccupied Kashmir (PoK) against terrorist planning to sneak into India were “carefully measured”, a top American think tank said on Friday, adding the onus for escalation lies purely on Pakistan.

“This Indian response was indeed coming. Both as a signal to Pakistan and as reassurance for Indian domestic audiences. Modi could not let the outrage at Uri go unanswered,” Ashley Tellis of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, a top American think tank said.

“The Indian action was carefully measured: striking at terrorist launchpads was meant to signal that India has not lost its freedom to retaliate, but puts the onus of further escalation on Pakistan,” Tellis said.

Tellis said the US will, counsel restraint, but unless the administration is willing to turn the screws on Pakistan — which is unlikely— India will be guided by its own interests, not American pleas for forbearance.

“I think Pakistan has its hands full right now, it is unlikely to respond to the Indian action militarily, but the larger subconventional war against India will continue,” Tellis said.

Rick Rossow from the Centre for Strategic and International Studies recalled that the hint of such strikes as a possible tool last year, when the Indian Army initiated an attack against militants in Myanmar.

“India has also shown other new tools in its confrontation with Pakistan, such as withdrawing from the upcoming Saarc summit, building stronger ties with other South Asian nations, and using closer security ties with the US as a hook to press for reduced military cooperation with Pakistan,” he said.

“This will likely keep Islamabad on its toes, though when employing new tools in such a struggle, clear messaging is key so both sides know the others’ intentions.

According to him, following recent provocations that India has linked to Pakistan-based militant groups, the Modi government has employed a different set of tools to respond to these incitements.

— PTI Villagers living in the border village of Pul Kanjari near Attari migrating with their luggage on Friday to a safer location, as a precautionary measure following India’s surgical strikes in PoK.