*Essential to control infiltrations: Army
Sanjeev Pargal
JAMMU, May 23: Indian Army has taken major “pro-active” and “punitive action” against Pakistani troops and infiltrating militants along Line of Control (LoC) in Nowshera sector of Rajouri district decimating nearly dozen posts and bunkers of the enemy and eliminating about a dozen Pakistani troops and militants, present inside the posts.
The big counter-terrorism strike was necessitated to neutralize the militants well in advance before they could enter into the Indian territory to launch terror attacks while the posts were destroyed for giving shelter to militants and trying to aid and abet their infiltration into this side.
Sources told the Excelsior that a total of six strikes were carried out targeting Pakistani army posts and bunkers across Nowshera sector of Rajouri district, which had witnessed massive exchange of mortar shelling and firing between two hostile neighbours last week, after developing “very reliable” and “specific inputs” about presence of four to six militants inside Pakistani army posts, from where they had to be launched into the Indian side.
Sources said the six strikes were undertaken very aggressively and with clear intentions not only to target the infiltrators but also the Pakistani troops, who had given them shelter inside their posts and had to open firing on Indian posts to facilitate infiltration by the militants.
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Though there was no official word on the weapons used in carrying out the strikes against Pakistani targets, sources said anti-material rifles (AMRs), anti-tank guided missiles (ATGMs), Recoilless guns, automatic grenade launchers and rocket launchers were used by the troops to hit Pakistani posts and the militants hiding there.
“The targets were hit very accurately and nearly a dozen Pakistani posts and bunkers were decimated in the strikes,” sources said.
Though the Army didn’t mention number of posts destroyed in the “punitive fire assaults”, or the total casualties suffered by the enemy troops and militants, sources said four to six militants and almost an equal number of Pakistani troops could have been eliminated in the fierce attack, which was undertaken by the Indian troops to teach the militants and their abettors a lesson.
An official statement issued by the Army said: “we want peace and tranquility in Jammu and Kashmir. For this purpose, it is essential that the infiltrations along Line of Control are controlled, which is required to bring down the number of terrorists in J&K so that youth are not adversely influenced by terrorists from across.
“A recent action by our troops in Nowshera sector has caused damage to the Pakistani army posts, which were supporting infiltrations. This is part of our overall strategy to counter terrorism”.
Asserting that infiltrations are likely to increase with melting of snow and opening of passes, the Army statement said the operations like Nowgam, where four terrorists were neutralized on the May 20 and 21 are the instances. This, it added, “called for even more pro-active counter-terrorism operations”.
The statement said “punitive fire assaults” across LoC were undertaken by the Army as part of “counter-terrorism operations”
“Pakistan army has been providing support to armed infiltrators by engaging our forward troops from their weapon emplacements and pill-boxes closer to the LoC. At times, they have not hesitated to target villages in the proximity of LoC. As part of our counter-terrorism strategy and to ensure that infiltration is curbed and initiative remained with us, the Indian Army pro-actively dominated LoC. While doing so, locations aiding infiltration of terrorists are being targeted and destroyed to deny advantage to terrorists, thus, curbing infiltration attempts,” the Army statement said.
Army also released a video of the military action which showed some structures in a forested area crumbling in a heap under the impact of repeated shelling.
Sources said the strike was a message to Pakistan that it will take stronger action with increased frequency against any infiltration attempts from across the border.
The 22-second video showed concrete structures being reduced to rubble amid plumes of smoke and balls of fire.
Sources said the punitive Army action came few days after mutilation of two Indian soldiers at Krishna Ghati along LoC in Poonch district, which showed aggression being adopted by the Army in neutralizing militants well before they could carry out infiltration bids into the Indian side.
They didn’t rule out more such “pre-emptive measures” by the troops along LoC in targeting infiltrators and Pakistani posts, which encouraged the intrusion attempts.
Nowshera sector had been at the centre-stage of heavy mortar shelling and firing by the Pakistani troops and effective retaliation by the Indian Army last week in which three civilians including a woman and a girl child were killed on this side while Pakistan was reported to have suffered heavy casualties and damage.
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