Lieutenant-General Ranbir Singh, the Indian army’s director-general of military operations, told reporters in New Delhi that yesterday’s attack bore the hallmarks of Pakistan-based militant group Jaish-e-Mohammed.
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INDIA appears to be blaming Pakistan for the terror attack on a key army base in Uri, Kashmir, on Sunday, said to be the deadliest so far in recent years.
Modi refrained from saying who was to blame for the bloodbath but Singh did not mince words.
Pakistan Foreign Office spokesperson Nafees Zakaria in an interview to a TV channel said that the Indian allegations against Pakistan are “totally baseless and irresponsible”.
Some Indian politicians and army veterans have called for a muscular response to the assault, including air strikes on training camps on the Pakistan side of the Line of Control that divides Kashmir.
They will be accorded a state funeral, he said, addingjawans from Jharkhand have never remained behind in makingsacrifices for the country.
India claims Pakistan has been supporting a violent secessionist movement in Kashmir.
They reportedly hurled 17 grenades in just three minutes on the tents where soldiers were asleep. The brigade headquarters was in the middle of an operational handover, with one infantry battalion moving in as another was about to leave. Huge columns of black smoke billowed from the camp into the sky.
Key BJP ally Shiv Sena while needling Modi on the Uri attack said if he does not have the “courage to strike Pakistan” like the United States did to eliminate Osama Bin Laden, there is no use of building an worldwide image. “17 soldiers make the supreme sacrifice”, the command posted on Twitter. This caused a massive fire as the flames also engulfed fuel tanks where some soldiers were refilling diesel in barrels.
Seventeen soldiers died in the raid.
India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi in his response labelled the attack “cowardly” and vowed retribution against those responsible.
National Security Advisor Ajit Doval held a meeting on Sunday morning, which involved the top Army and intelligence officials. Pakistani authorities said there are no safe havens for terrorists in that province. One soldier succumbed to his injuries on Monday, taking the death toll to 18. “Retribution should be quick and severe”.
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Earlier the Army Chief also visited Uri to get a first-hand account where the Commanders briefed him on the latest situation on ground.
