The Army said on Tuesday that it would retaliate against the Pakistani forces at a time and place of its choosing for the killing and beheading of two jawans along the Line of Control on Monday.
Many in the establishment, however, hoped for an early political intervention to stem the downward spiral in India-Pakistan relations.
Speaking at an event on Tuesday, Vice-Chief of the Army Staff Lt. Gen. Sarath Chand said what the Army would do could not be discussed in public. “We will do it at the time and place of our choosing,” he said.
Pinning the onus of the attack on the Pakistan Army, the Vice-Chief said, “They said today their forces have not done it. Then who has done it? They have done it and they have to take responsibility and face the consequences.”
While exchange of fire continued through the day, officials said a major payback would take some time.
“Local action will go on, a major retaliation will be a well-thought-out one. It will take time,” a source said.
Naib Subedar Paramjit Singh from Tarn Taran in Punjab and head constable Prem Singh of the BSF from Deoria in U.P. were killed and their bodies mutilated on Monday by a Pakistani Border Action Team squad. The two soldiers were part of a patrol team.
Usually, the response after such incidents is an immediate assault, using small arms and concentrated mortar fire, on the adversary’s posts that aided in the incident, while various broader options are debated. In November, after a similar incident, the Army launched a large-scale fire assault on Pakistan Army posts deemed responsible and pulverised them with heavy mortar fire. A similar action could follow.
Synergised action
While the cycle of strikes and counter-strikes continues, experts and veterans called for a synergised action. “What is needed is a synergised and focussed action to raise the cost for Pakistan in all domains,” said Lt. Gen. Vinod Bhatia, former Director-General of Military Operations and Director, Centre for Joint Warfare Studies.
He said these were high-visibility attacks and the Pakistani Army was trying to send a message both “internally and also to us”.
“There is an established pattern. Every time there is a political move, there is an incident,” Lt. Gen. Bhatia stated, pointing to the upcoming summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation in June. While anger dominated discussions, many in the security establishment are calling for political responses to ensure that the situation did not go out of hand.
A senior Army officer said the government also needed to activate its political and diplomatic influences to contain such irresponsible actions of Pakistan and to stabilise the Kashmir situation. “Ultimately, we are losing men unnecessarily,” he said.
“If the summer situation should not get out of control, then the border and Kashmir cannot be left to just the security forces,” an intelligence officer said.
Recently, an Army Commander told The Hindu that while the immediate response should be by the military, the broader action must be political.
Anti-Pak. slogans at last journey
Strong anti-Pakistan sentiments marked the last journey of slain BSF Head Constable Prem Sagar as his body arrived in Uttar Pradesh and was taken to his native Takenpur village, about 40 km from the district headquarters here on Tuesday. Anti-Pakistan slogans were raised as the IAF chopper, carrying the soldier’s body, landed at the Police Lines ground in the evening.
Placed in an ambulance of the district hospital, the body was taken in a cavalcade. Uttar Pradesh Minister Surya Pratap Shahi and senior administrative officers were present. People lined the route to pay a tearful farewell to the brave heart who was beheaded by Pakistani forces in the Poonch sector.
