Surgical strike is only one of the options through which we stop infiltration, he said. (File Photo)Army’s Northern Command Chief Lieutenant General Ranbir Singh on Saturday lauded the 2016 surgical strikes, after (retired) Lt General DS Hooda, who oversaw the operations, contended that the “overhype” of the strikes did not help and that “it is not good” when “military operations get politicised”.
Singh said the surgical strikes were a successful tactical operation that conveyed a clear message to Pakistan to stop any misadventure along the Line of Control (LoC).
Hooda, who was the Northern Army Commander in September 2016 when Indian troops carried out the strikes on terror launch pads along the Line of Control in the wake of the Uri attack, has said there was an “attempt to keep a purely military operation in the political domain by selective leaks of videos, photographs etc”. Responding to a question from the audience, Hooda said in hindsight, it would have been better had the strikes been done secretly.
Singh, the then Director General of Military Operations (DGMO) who had announced the operation at a press conference, refused to comment on the politicisation of the operation. “From military point of view, these were successful tactical operations, which conveyed a very strategic message and the Indian Army was able to convey a very clear message to Pakistan that should they not stop any kind of misadventure along the LoC, they shall be given befitting reply,” Singh told reporters here on the sidelines of his visit to Sainik School, his alma mater.
He further said surgical strike is only one of the options through which we stop infiltration, adding that the armed forces have a range of options and they are being analysed at all times and the best course of action is put into effect.
