The mutilation of Indian soldiers by a Pakistan Army team has led to clamour for retribution. New Delhi wants to salvage its pride by avenging the humiliation on the LoC.
This is not the first time the Pakistan army has resorted to this sort of barbarity. The beheading of Border Security Force (BSF) head constable Prem Sagar and the army’s naib subedar Paramjit Singh, is the third such incident since October last year. Army chief Bipin Rawat met commanders on the LoC on Tuesday and took stock of the situation. The army is weighing options as the government has already declared that Pakistan will be punished appropriately for the inhuman act.
There are several options that will come into play in the days ahead.
Option 1: Imposing costs on Pakistan by a tactical military action on the LoC. The army can destroy the post from where the Pakistan’s Border Action Team (BAT) was launched.
Option 2: India has been using light artillery. It can up the ante by using heavy artillery.
Option 3: Punitive firing can be started all across LoC.
Option 4: Surgical strikes across the LoC inside Pakistan Occupied Kashmir (PoK) on the lines of those carried out in September last year.
Option 5: Air strikes against terror launch pads in Pakistan Occupied Kashmir. It can escalate into a full-scale war.
Option 6: Go for a full-scale war. Look an unlikely scenario.
While all the options are on table, immediate retaliation is often most feasible. The Indian Director General of Military Operations (DGMO) contacted his Pakistan counterpart over the hotline to convey his anguish over the mutilation of bodies of Indian jawans.
Indian DGMO Lt Gen AK Bhatt told his Pakistani counterpart that such dastardly, inhumane acts is beyond any norms of civility and merits unequivocal condemnation and response. The Pakistan Army on Monday had denied that any such incident took place in the Krishnaghati sector.
The Pakistani DGMO sought actionable evidence from India. But the army had responded by assuring that appropriate response will be given to those involved in the attack.
Even Union defence minister Arun Jaitley said that the sacrifice of the two soldiers will not go in vain. Army chief Bipin Rawat told troops on ground that punitive action would be carried out. He interacted with the soldiers and also held detailed meetings with operational commanders. He had flown down to Srinagar on Monday and visited the LoC areas on Tuesday to lift the morale of the soldiers.
Sources said the army’s response could come at a time when Pakistan is least expecting it. Officials said that almost all the 65 ceasefire violations in 2017 by Pakistan have taken place in the 16 Corps region comprising the LoC.
