Days after surgical strikes, the Air Force chief said operation to avenge Uri not yet over
Highlights
- Surgical strikes carried out across Line of Control last week
- Surgical strikes were seen as direct military response for Uri attack
- Situation still "live", says Air Force Chief Arup Raha
Days after Indian soldiers crossed the Line of Control to target terrorists in Pakistan-Occupied Kashmir, Arup Raha, the chief of the air force, said India's response to the Uri attack in which 19 soldiers were killed isn't over.
"Things are still live, it would not be right for me give a perspective now," Air Chief Marshal Raha told reporters today. The Air Chief refused to take any question on the surgical strikes which took place late Wednesday night.
Special forces with elite para commandos crossed the Line of Control to target seven staging areas where terrorists were prepping to infiltrate India and attack major cities, the army revealed hours after the cross-border action ended. Sources said Indian soldiers travelled between 500 metres and 2 kms from the de facto border to inflict vast damage on the terrorist launch pads.
India has also mounted a diplomatic offensive to isolate Pakistan globally while moving to review crucial water-sharing and trade agreements that would place Islamabad under pressure.
The surgical strikes were seen as direct military response for the attack on September 18 by Pakistani terrorists on an army base in Uri in Kashmir, in which 19 soldiers were killed. Prime Minister Narendra Modi had vowed the assault, the worst on the army in the Kashmir region in over a decade, would not go unpunished.
Pakistan has flatly refuted that Indian soldiers crossed the Line of Control. In the last 24 hours, politicians Arvind Kejriwal and P Chidambaram and Sanjay Nirupam of the Congress have said the government should share evidence of the action, inciting a strong reprimand from the ruling BJP for questioning the army's claims and accomplishments while furthering Pakistan's "false propaganda."