Three Pakistani soldiers were killed in a cross-border raid by Indian Army on a temporary post across the Line of Control (LoC) on Monday. The raids come just two days after four soldiers of a patrol team were killed in an ambush by Pakistan.
“It was a local tactical level action decided by the local commanders. It was a short distance raid about 200-300 metres inside the LoC on a patrol team at a temporary post,” a senior officer said on Monday.
A Major and three soldiers were killed in Cease-Fire Violation (CFV) and ambush by the Pakistan army along the LoC at Rajouri in the Pir Panjal Valley on Saturday. The personnel — Major Moharkar Prafulla Ambadas, Lance Naik Gurmail Singh, Sepoy Gurmeet Singh and Sepoy Pargat Singh — were from 2 Sikh Regiment and posted in Chingus area of Rajouri.
Pakistan protests
Pakistan summoned India’s acting Deputy High Commissioner to protest the “unprovoked” firing by the Indian Army that killed three soldiers. However, the Foreign Office in a statement denied reports that the Indian Army commandos had crossed the LoC and smashed a post.
Monday evening’s raid was carried out by a small team of four to five Ghatak commandos of the Poonch Brigade under 25 Division around 6 p.m. Usually in such raids, there is heavy firing before and after to provide cover to the strike team.
Explosions are also carried out to create distraction and gain time.
‘Tit-for-tat action’
“It was a tit-for-tat action involving selective targeting. We were waiting for an opportunity to strike back. Such raids generally do not last very long,” the officer said.
There were at least three confirmed casualties with one other personnel injured. However, intelligence sources suggest there could be more casualties as a patrol team typically consists of eight to ten personnel. After the raid, there was heavy firing on both sides; intermittent firing was still continuing at the time of filing this report.
Army sources, however, said the action was not a “surgical strike” but a “local tactical operation” and such incidents keep happening. The decision is usually taken on the ground and may go up to the level of a Brigadier, the sources said.
Another officer said the raid was intended to send a message to Pakistan that India would strike back if they resort to such things. The Pakistani army’s Border Action Teams (BAT) are known to carry out such cross-border raids on patrol teams and posts close to the LoC.
“The Indian Army continues to exploit the fleeting opportunities as long as Pakistan keeps targeting us,” the officer added.
There has been a significant increase in CFV this year along the LoC with over 800 incidents reported compared with 228 last year.
There are several temporary posts ahead of Unit locations closer to the LoC on either side. The targeted personnel belong to the 59 Baluch Regiment which is under 2 PoK Brigade of the Pakistan Army, also called the Rawlakot Brigade.
Pak. denial
The Pakistan Foreign Office in its statement said, “The false claims by India about the alleged cross-LoC adventures are a figment of their imagination and counter-productive for peace and tranquillity on the LoC,” it said.
“The Indian actions got a befitting response from the Pakistani side and their guns were silenced,” it claimed
The Foreign Office spokesperson said Director General (SA & SAARC) Mohammad Faisal had summoned India’s acting deputy high commissioner and “condemned the unprovoked ceasefire violations” by Indian forces in the Rakhchikri sector.
He claimed that the firing “provided a cover for the planting of IEDs by non-state actors”, resulting in the death of three soldiers.
Faisal urged the Indian side to “respect the 2003 Ceasefire arrangement; investigate this and other incidents of ceasefire violations; instruct the Indian forces to respect the ceasefire, in letter and spirit and maintain peace on the LoC.”