Indian army’s fitting reply to Pakistan’s Pahalgam massacre
(Anita Saluja)
It is a Proud Moment for India as we have avenged the death of 26 innocent lives, brutally killed by the Pakistan terrorists. It took us a fortnight to take the kinetic action, as it was not one attack but 9 surgical strikes that our Defence Forces were planning at their training camps. Eventually, the cost of the sindoor of each of the Hindu widows in the Pahalgam attack, has been taken care of by our Brave Soldiers.
The message must be clear to the Pakistani establishment that India knows how to retaliate. We are far ahead in military might, but owing to our sensitivities, we exercise caution & patience.
Right in the aftermath of the Pahalgam tragedy, Prime Minister Narendra Modi was seething with anger, declaring to the distressed citizens that Pakistan will have to pay a heavy price that they could never imagine.
Yes, Pakistan was in panic, knowing that Modi will not sit quiet, but with as many as 9 surgical strikes with accurate precision, razing down the headquarters, hide-outs & the training camps of the Lashkar-e-Taiba, Hizbul Mujahideen and Jaishe-e-Mohammad at one go, is an incredible task of our Defence forces. The toll of the dead must be in heavy numbers, with the kin and family members of Azhar Masood and Hafiz Sayeed also being killed.
India has proved not only to Pakistan but also to the global community that where there is a will, there is a way. They couldn’t have been spectators to the outrageous killings of their civilians and by showing precision at their targeted goals, they have succeeded in killing only the terrorists. No military targets, or civilians, have been harmed. It was imperative for India to teach the lesson to the enemy, which was never tired of breaching the ceasefire violations. Even after the recent surgical strikes, it reverted to shelling across the LoC, taking lives of innocent civilians.
The bold & brave kinetic move by the Defence forces should act as a deterrence to Pakistan Army, but it looks unlikely. However, by acting with precision, India has conveyed that it can bring down the remaining 12 terrorist camps in Pakistan. In the aftermath of Uri attack in 2016 and Pulwama attack in 2019, India had just crossed the LoC, but now, they went deep inside Punjab and PoK to strike them down from their hide-outs.
The global community, too, has comprehended that India will not be a silent spectator, or be at the receiving-end from the terrorists any longer. Now, the ball is in Pakistan’s court, whether they want to escalate the war or realise their mistake. From few casualties, they will face thousands of more dead bodies, if they don’t restrain themselves. A full-fledged war against India will only bleed them further, with no gains.
Prime Minister Modi has shown already that we can hit them hard not only militarily but economically and diplomatically, too. The bankrupt Pakistan has already been shown the mirror, whether by putting in abeyance the Indus Water Treaty, shutting air and naval space for them, urging upon the financial institutions like ADB (Asian Development Bank) to squeeze its funds and asking the Western nations to put Islamabad in the Grey List of Financial Action Task Force (FATF).
Pakistan was in the grey list of FATF for several years and it was only in 2023, when its name was removed from it. FATF earlier accused Pakistan of failing to choke funding of terror activities on its soil and also to curb money laundering. India is again engaged with European nations to include Pakistan in the grey list.
It was not India, but Pakistan, which had, in fact, initiated the war-like situation by killing the tourists, who had come to Pahalgam for enjoyment. They wanted to create communal tension in Kashmir by killing the tourists from one community, but ironically, the country got more united than ever before with the Muslims coming forward to save the victims and holding candlelight marches, condemning the crime, declaring that “not in our name.”
All the Opposition parties are rallying behind Prime Minister Modi, who has proved that his chest is indeed 56 inches! Though diplomatically, India had apprised the friendly nations like the United States, Russia and Israel, it wanted to exercise caution and act on its own. By targeting the pointed targets of the terrorists, it has displayed its military valour and sensitivity towards humanity. India had to avenge the killings at any cost and this was the best way to do so.
At the UNSC, all the countries had come forward to condemn Pakistan and grilled them for sheltering LeT. The member-countries had stood behind India, with even China remaining silent. By exercising restraint at our end by not targeting civilians, there is no reason why any country will not support India for protecting its own citizens.
Prime Minister Modi has the full support of the 140-crore people, who are standing by him like a rock. They know that he has the capability of taking appropriate decisions at an appropriate time.
What next? It will be better for Pakistan to keep quiet and stop harbouring terrorists on its soil. If not, it will have to pay a heavy price or face the consequence of a fourth surgical strike, where the remaining shelters of the terrorists will also be razed to the ground. Enough is Enough!
(Writer is Delhi-based Senior Journalist, Political Analyst and Commentator. Views are personal.)
