Heavily-armed suspected militants killed 17 Indian soldiers in a pre-dawn raid today an army base in India-held Kashmir (IHK), the worst such attack for years in the disputed Himalayan region.
Advertisement
India blamed Pakistan for the attack and called for its global isolation.
Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) chief Lalu Prasad went on to take a dig at Prime Minister Narendra Modi and said: “Soldiers are dying due to the failure and negligence of Modi; where is his 56-inch chest now”.
Gen Ranbir Singh said he had spoken to his Pakistan counterpart and “conveyed our serious concerns” over cross border terrorism and the Uri attack – one of the deadliest in almost three decades of militancy in Jammu and Kashmir. “A country, that is Pakistan, is focusing on how to disturb Jammu and Kashmir”, he said. Bajwa reiterated that no infiltration was allowed from the Pakistani soil because of “water-tight arrangements” in place on both sides of LoC and the Working Boundary.
A militant attack on an army camp in Uri in December 2014 saw at least nine members of the security forces killed.
Meanwhile, Home Minister Rajnath Singh today postponed his scheduled visit to Russian Federation and the United States.
In a tweet, Congress Vice President Rahul Gandhi “condemned” the militant attack and said: “My heartfelt condolences to the families of the bravehearts martyred in the attack”. Hinting at Jaish-e-Mohammad’s role behind the Uri attack, India’s Director General Military Operations (DGMO) Lt. Gen. Ranbir Singh also asserted that the evil designs would get a befitting reply. It may be recalled that in the last one week itself, three such attempts were foiled in Kupwara Sector when four terrorists were killed and another group of four terrorists was eliminated in Poonch. “Pakistan is a terrorist state and it should be identified and isolated as such”, the minister tweeted.
Advertisement
The attack has since become a major diplomatic incident between India and Pakistan, which also claims Kashmir. The big question now is how will India respond? After initial progress, an attempt to conduct a joint investigation into the air base attack lost momentum and a tentative peace dialogue has stalled.
