Guest Column | The Elephant Strikes Back

Lt Gen. Vinod Bhatia (retd)

On the intervening night of September 28 and 29, Prime Minister Narendra Modi demonstrated an unprecedented politico-military will executing punitive strikes across the Line of Control (LC) in Pakistan Occupied Kashmir (POK).

In a swift, well planned, coordinated and flawlessly executed special operation, troops of Parachute Regiment (Special Forces) carried out surgical strikes at multiple terrorist launchpads, indicating a paradigm shift in India’s strategic resolve and policy in fighting Pakistan sponsored terror.

It has been over a quarter of a century that Pakistan has waged a proxy war against India, employing terror as a state policy. In Jammu and Kashmir alone, since the advent of Pakistan engineered terrorism in 1989, 14,700 civilians have lost their lives, 6,200 security forces personnel have been martyred and over 23,000 terrorist eliminated. There have been high visibility, high profile and effective terror strikes in most major cities including Mumbai 26/11 and the attack on the Indian Parliament among others. As India never responded in the military domain, it emboldened Pakistan to intensify the ‘Low Cost High Affect’ war.

The terror strike on the Army Camp at Uri on 18 September 2016, just 6 km from the LC wherein 20 soldiers have been martyred, is the proverbial last straw for a tolerant people of India. The anger and anguish spread across the entire length and breadth of the country, specially so as it came after another high visibility attack on the Pathankot air force base in January. The Lakshman rekha had been crossed and the public sentiment needed to be assuaged.

The Modi-led NDA government has invested a considerable amount of political capital in improving relations with Pakistan. However, Pakistan responded in the old tried and trusted way by perpetuating terror strikes in India. It is obvious that the Pakistan army, which drives the India policy, is not too happy with the political efforts of seeking solutions. The meeting between the two Prime Minister at Ufa on July 15 was followed by a terrorist strike at Gurdaspur on 28 July 2016.

Again Prime Minister Modi’s outreach to his counterpart by way a surprise stopover at Lahore on 25 December 2015 was paid back by a terror attack at the Pathankot Air Base. But the terrorist strike at Uri, crossed the Lakshman rekha. Diplomatic and economic offensive alone have not yielded results over the years and it has emboldened Pakistan to perpetuate more and more terror attacks not only in Kashmir but across the country from Mumbai to Delhi and Bengaluru to Pune.

The military option finally exercised has raised the bar. Pakistan can no longer perpetuate terror strikes in India with impunity; the costs have been raised as India for once has synergised all elements