The Chief Minister said the heightened tension in the wake of the Uri attack is set to further vitiate the atmosphere in and around Jammu and Kashmir amid growing strains in Indo-Pak ties.
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However, another attack like the one in Uri that has led to the death of the highest number of soldiers in 17 years is bound to test India’s patience. “During this firefight, all four terrorists have been killed by the Indian Army”. “However, suffice to mention that in the time so far the Indian Army has conducted this operation in an extremely professional and deliberate manner wherein the troops have acted displaying exceptional courage and gallantry in neutralizing the terrorists”, he added.
Following the attack, a hotline contact was established between the directors general of military operations (DGMOs) of India and Pakistan, the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) said in a statement. Militants killed 30 soldiers and their families in a suicide attack in Kaluchak in the Himalayan region in 2002.
Four rebels were killed as the soldiers returned gunfire after the surprise assault before dawn on the base, located near the highly militarized Line of Control dividing Kashmir between India and Pakistan. Evidence gathered at the scene indicated the attackers were foreign and their equipment bore Pakistani markings, he told Reuters news agency.
Singh, the home minister, chaired a crisis meeting in New Delhi and cancelled trips to Russian Federation and the United States.
Amnesty International also asked India to let its representatives visit the valley to assess the situation but instead of allowing it to do so, an Indian court registered a sedition case against the rights group. Some six injured soldiers were airlifted to the army’s base hospital in Srinagar, reports added.
Pakistan remained firm upon its stance and rejected India’s “baseless” and “premature” allegations.
A Kashmir-centric strategy will stay as the focal point of the relationship between India and Pakistan.
Kashmir is divided between India and Pakistan, but is claimed by both in its entirety.
Soldiers have been deployed in Kashmir for decades and now number around 500,000. On 7 September, he called Kashmir “Pakistan’s lifeline” and said, “We shall continue our diplomatic and moral support to the freedom movement at all levels”.
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It is now emphatically clear that Pakistan’s generals are in no mood for peace with India. Tens of thousands of people, mostly civilians, have died in the fighting.
