‘Indian troops never engage in such acts’
Sanjeev Pargal
JAMMU, July 25: Army today charged Pakistani troops with shelling educational institutions and targeting innocent school children and staff, an act which Indian Army will never do as it only target the Army’s defence locations.
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Army’s Vice Chief Lt Gen Sarath Chand made these remarks, which gained significance as last week Pakistani troops had targeted three educational institutions in Nowshera sector of Rajouri district along the LoC in which 261 students and staff members had very narrow escape and they had to be evacuated in bullet-proof bunkers amidst heavy shelling and firing by Pakistan.
“Pakistan army has shelled our schools, which is not something we would do. When we retaliate, we assure Pakistan military is targeted,’’ Lt Gen Chand said in media chat with reporters and address at inaugural function of AMICON-2017, a two day conference organized by the Army and Confederation of Indian Industry in the Union capital.
“It is unfortunate that Pakistan army has stooped too low and was trying to cause casualties among innocent school children,’’ the Army Vice Chief regretted.
Castigating Pakistan army for unprecedented act of targeting directly the civilian population including the school children, Lt Gen Sarath Chand said the Indian troops have always exercised restraint and hit only defence locations of Pakistan and that too to silence their guns from targeting our forward areas, civilian population and students.
Lt Gen Chand said that Pakistan even shelled a school, and continued to do so while Indian Army was engaged in evacuation of school children and staff from the building.
“This is unheard of,’’ he added.
Defending the Indian Army, the General said even when our troops retaliate, they ensured that only the Pakistani military, its bunkers and defence establishments were targeted.
Referring to the military stand-off between India and Pakistan after a terror attack on Parliament in 2001, the Army Vice Chief said that “despite wanting to go across to take punitive action against the neighbour behind it”, India did not go ahead because the edge it had was “considered inadequate”.
Describing Pakistan as “a smaller nation with a smaller economy”, he said: “this was why it undertake a “low-intensity conflict” to keep India engaged rather than waging a full-fledged war.’’
This, he added, suits Pakistan’s “all-weather friend”, China.
The borders of India and Pakistan have been witnessing an increasing number of ceasefire violations in recent months, with civilians on the Indian side often being targeted by Pakistani forces, especially in the Poonch and Rajouri areas.
Lt Gen Chand said China is expanding its influence across the Himalayas in India’s neighbourhood and is bound to be a “threat” in the coming years.
He downplayed Army chief Bipin Rawat’s comment that the Indian Army was “ready for a two and a half front war”, stating that Gen Rawat “never meant to whip up a war hysteria” but was merely stating that India needed to pay more attention to its security.
Last month, the Chinese military had described Rawat’s remarks as “irresponsible”, and asked him to “stop clamouring for war”.
Lt Gen Chand’s remarks follow a month-long standoff between Indian and Chinese troops at the two nations’ trijunction with Bhutan.
“China is expanding its influence across the Himalayas into our neighbourhood despite being an economy five times the size (of India), (with) such a large standing Army, and despite having the Himalayas between us, it is bound to be a threat for us in the years ahead,” he added.
He said a large part of the Chinese defence expenditure was “undeclared”.
He also asserted that India needed to pay more attention to security in view of the existing scenario, and said military strength was essential for providing the security needed for economic development.
“You are aware of the tensions building up on our borders near Sikkim. You are aware of the trans-border engagements we are having. Last week alone, we lost seven lives. You are also aware of the insurgencies taking place in various parts of the country,” Lt Gen Chand said.
Meanwhile, Indian Army will be celebrating ‘Kargil Vijay Diwas’ at Drass tomorrow.
Northern Army Commander Lt Gen Dev Raj Anbu will be joined by top Army Commanders at Drass including General Officers Commanding (GOCs) of various formations in the celebrations.
Official sources said the Army will pay tributes to martyrs of Kargil war with Pakistan, which was fought between May and July 1999 after which Indian Army had successfully re-captured all Kargil heights by throwing out the Pakistan army regulars, killing and injuring a number of them. July 26 is celebrated as Kargil Vijay Diwas every year.
India shares Line of Control (LoC) with Pakistan in Kargil and Line of Actual Control (LAC) with China in Leh. While no major incident has occurred along LoC with Pakistan in Kargil after 1999 war, the transgressions by the Chinese troops have come down considerably in Leh during the past three years.
However, Indian troops have been maintaining strict surveillance along LAC with China in all five States including Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Sikkim and Arunachal Pradesh following standoff between the two countries at Dokalam in Sikkim for the past about a month.
Nowshera and some other sectors in twin border districts of Rajouri and Poonch have been witnessing heavy exchange of mortar shelling and firing between India and Pakistan in which Army and civilians have suffered casualties while the educational institutions were closed for about a week now in areas located closed to the LoC especially in Nowshera, Manjakote and Balakote.
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