Tanda (Akhnoor), January 15
Amidst escalating tension between India and Pakistan along the 776-km Line of Control (LoC) following brutal killings of two Indian soldiers by Pakistani troops on January 8 in Mendhar sector of Poonch district, the GOC-in-C, Northern Command, Lt Gen KT Parnaik today said the Indian Army has a “definite plan” to strike back but not in haste.

“We have definite plans to retaliate but not in haste and anger. We will retaliate at the time and place of our own choice,” Lt Gen Parnaik told the media after an investiture ceremony here this afternoon.

There is a lot of anger and resentment among troops because of the barbaric act of Pakistan troops, who killed two of our soldiers, mutilated their bodies and decapitated one of them, he added.

“There is no war-like situation on the LoC and war is in nobody’s interest. Only tactical arrangements have been put in place but we will certainly retaliate at the time and place of our own choice,” he replied to a query.

Gen Parnaik said even after the Brigadier-level flag meeting at Chakan-da-Bagh in Poonch district yesterday, Pakistan violated truce deal five times — once in Uri sector and thrice in Mendhar sector and once in KG sector — prompting a “calibrated and measured” response by the Indian Army. He said the Indian troops did not cross the border in Uri sector on January 6 as claimed by Pakistan.

“The LoC is sacrosanct for us. There are no orders to my men to cross the LoC despite the gravest provocation by Pak troops in Mendhar. It’s another bluff by Pakistan”, he said.

The Northern Army Commander attributed truce violations and the killing two soldiers in Mendhar to sheer frustration on the part of Pakistan, which in the past couple of years has failed to fuel insurgency in the state.

He ruled out the possibilities of People’s Liberation Army helping Pak Army with weapons in PoK.

Gen Parnaik said that Indian Army has noticed some movement of Pak troops and weapons on other side of the LoC in Mendhar sector.

“They are not reinforcements but adjustments and we have sufficient troops there to meet any situation,” he said.

Parnaik put the number of terror camps in PoK at 43 and terrorists in these camps over 2,500. “The ISI has moved 400 to 500 of them in various launch pads close to the border to infiltrate into Jammu and Kashmir,” he said.