P. Stobdan, former diplomat and scholar at the Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses, said that the worldwide alignment of powers provided a mix of opportunity and challenges that New Delhi could use to retaliate against Pakistan.
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The attack comes two years after militants had carried out a similar type of attack at Mohra in the same area.
The terrorists lobbed grenades at tents and barracks housing soldiers, before opening fire with automatic weapons.
According to preliminary reports, the attackers belong to the Jaish-e-Muhammed (JeM). Most of the dead soldiers were from the Bihar Regiment.
The army is probing whether the militants had advance information about the turnover. It’s possible somebody had passed the information on.
“India will not be cowed down by such attacks”.
“We salute all those martyred in Uri”.
Cross-border shelling had been routine here in the 1990s but the area has largely been calm since the 2002 ceasefire between India and Pakistan.
The terrorists were then challenged by the Army personnel. There have been a total of 17 casualties. “About 14 of our men died in the fire that broke out in the shelters”. He did not say what these “items” were.
The four heavily-armed terrorists managed to enter an army administrative installation in Uri and launched attack with incendiary ammunition.
The entrance to the camp and the road leading to it had been sealed, giving a desolate look to the camp.
After returning to the capital, Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar said he instructed the Army to take firm action against those responsible.
Diplomats said a major challenge in crafting a suitable response to Pakistan was its ability to use its nuclear umbrella as a shield for unconventional warfare with India. Smoke rose from the compound, set in mountainous terrain. On the road’s right side, the Jhelum flows into PoK. Parrikar was also briefed about the security grid along the Line of Control and the hinterland also covering the deployment and employment of the additional forces that have been recently inducted into the Valley. The Kaman Bridge, which separates the two Kashmirs, is 18km from here and the militants are unlikely to have taken this longer route.
Sources in the security establishment said many options are under consideration including surgical action at a tactical level on the LoC.
The gap between the fence and the LoC ranges between 100 metres at some places to several kilometres at others, thanks to Pakistan’s objections.
Mr Varadarajan said the spectre of armed confrontation between the two nuclear powers was created to draw attention to the issue. He was scheduled to leave for Russian Federation on 18 September 2016 night for a four-day bilateral visit and later to the US on 26 September for a six-day tour to attend the Indo-US Homeland Security Dialogue. “They may have crossed the LoC last night and reached the camp before dawn”. Sharif is expected to raise the Kashmir unrest issue at the meeting. “Like Prime Minister said that the ones behind these attacks will not be spared”, said Jaitley.
Former chief minister Omar Abdullah tweeted: “If the reports are correct and 13 of the 17 fatalities are because of burns, it’s a crying shame that fire retardant tents aren’t the norm!”
Asserting that the sacrifice of the soldiers, who lost their lives in the terrorist attack in Jammu and Kashmir’s Uri Sector will not go in vain, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Sunday said that India will give a befitting reply to Pakistan and it will have to bear the brunt. Tens of thousands of people, mostly civilians, have died in the fighting.
Mukherjee strongly condemned the “outrageous terrorist attack” at Uri which left 17 soldiers dead and many others injured.
Aziz also stated that Pakistan strongly endorses the agreement of heads of state and government in Venezuela to undertake measures to oppose “attempts to equate legitimate struggle for self-determination and national liberation with terrorism”.
May their (the soldiers’) souls rest in peace. “Prayers for speedy recovery of the injured”.
In a sign that Sunday’s attack would further worsen the India-Pakistan relations, Jitendra Singh, the Minister of State in the Prime Minister’s Office, said: “Not responding to such terror attacks will be cowardice”.
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“Uri attack, this is my old headquarters”.
