Punitive strikes on Pak posts

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, May 23

The Indian Army today said it had carried out "punitive fire assaults" on Pakistan army posts across the Line of Control, targeting locations aiding infiltration of terrorists into India, even as Army Chief General Bipin Rawat called it  the "new normal" military benchmark along the LoC.

The Army released a video of the firing carried out on May 9, destroying a Pakistani post facing the Nowshera sector in Jammu and Kashmir.

Anti-tank guided missiles and rocket-launchers were used in the operation.

Maj General Ashok Narula, Additional Director General of Public Information, a wing under the Military Intelligence, said as part of counter-insurgency operations, a “punitive fire assault” had been launched. The Pakistan army had been helping infiltrators by firing at Indian Army positions and targeting villages close to the LoC.

Maj Gen Narula said: "As part of our counter-terrorism operations, punitive fire assaults across the LoC are being undertaken... Our actions in the Nowshera sector have caused some damage to Pakistan’s army posts supporting infiltrations. This is part of our overall strategy to counter terrorism."

EDIT:  Gogoi & fire assaults 

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Hours after the Army made the announcement, the Army Chief, in an exclusive chat with The Tribune, made it clear all Pakistani posts along LoC that aided and abetted infiltration of terrorists into India would be targeted by the Army.  "Such retorts from our side will keep happening. 

The Pak army posts abet infiltration by giving cover fire. This makes our troops duck for cover and then retaliate, allowing a temporarily lull which is used by terrorists to sneak past," said General Rawat.

He along with Defence Minister Arun Jaitley had reviewed the strategy along the LoC in Srinagar last week.

"We are fighting terrorism and these guys (Pak Army) are aiding it," the General said.

On change in deployment patterns in counter-insurgency operations, General Rawat said: "I have asked the commanders to make deployment dynamic. The enemy should keep guessing. We have to be unpredictable."

He said the ongoing proxy war in Kashmir would continue and to counter it, the protective gear of the troops was being improved. The first lot of new bulletproof jackets and helmets had arrived and the LoC fence was being upgraded with sensors, he added.

Just four days after the operation, Maj Gen Asif Ghafoor of the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) - the public relations wing of the Pakistan forces - tweeted: "Any misadventure by the Indian Army across the LoC will be a miscalculation and shall be responded to with full force".

After the video proof today, Major General Ghafoor changed his line on Twitter, saying: "Indian claims of destroying Pakistani post along Line of Control in Naushera Sector are false (sic)".

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Read more:

Congress backs Army action, but questions video release

Pak rejects India’s claims of destroying its posts along LoC

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Video shows destruction

The Army has released a video of the May 9 firing, showing destruction of a 

Pakistani post facing the Nowshera sector in Jammu and Kashmir. This is the first time that the Army has released such a video

It’s ceasefire violation: Pak

New Delhi: Pakistan High Commissioner to India Abdul Basit, in a television interview on Tuesday , said if the reports of Indian Army targeting Pakistani posts were true, it amounted to ceasefire 

violation. Basit said the attacks established two things — the ‘centrality of the Jammu and Kashmir dispute’ between the two countries and that the LoC remains volatile despite the 2003 ceasefire. It was important to ensure that such things did not happen, he said

Cong questions publicity

It is great feel. Good for all Indians to see visuals of Army smashing Pak. I fully support action but is it wise to lose deniability and ambiguity? Abhishek Manu Singhvi, cong