On the first anniversary of India's surgical strikes across the Line of Control (LoC), which destroyed several terror launchpads supported by the Pakistan Army, the Indian Army expressed confidence that it can take similar action again, if needed.
Top Army officers said the strikes did send a message across and that Pakistan was well aware that similar action could be repeated.
"Surgical strikes were conducted to drive home the point that we can go across and strike. We wanted to convey this message," Lieutenant General Devraj Anbu, who heads the Northern Command, told DNA. Last year's action, which took place on the intervening night of September 28 and 29, had changed the dynamics on ground, and launching more such assaults would be much easier now.
"It took a lot of planning to carry out last year's strikes. After the success, the situation has changed. If required, such raids can be launched quickly by the Special Forces. The response time is lesser now," an Army source said.
Currently, nearly 14 active terror launchpads across the LoC are under the radar of the Indian Army. The terror launchpads identified as highly active include Balakot, Garhi Habibullah, Batrasi, Mashar-e-Akshah, Abdullah bin Mausam, Dalai, Chela Bandi, Kotli, Dungi, Gulpar, Barali, and Mandakuli.
"The strikes were meant to send a message. They have understood and these things will follow, if required," Army Chief General Bipin Rawat had said recently. He had added that the Army was fortunate that there were no casualties in last year's operation.
The Army sources said the morale of the troops on teh ground has been high since the strikes. The counter-terror operations since then have been of high impact, targetting the top leadership of terror outfits in Jammu and Kashmir. The total casualties till now stand at 157, going past last year's tally of 150. Also, between 2013 and 2015, 136 terrorists were killed.
Most of the killings took place following the unrest in Kashmir, after the killing of Hizbul Mujahideen Commander Burhan Wani, in July last year. There have 472 incidents of ceasefire violation on LoC this year, by Pakistan. While 291 terrorists attempted infiltration, 50 were killed and 80 were successful in getting in.
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