New Delhi: Director General Military Operations (DGMO), Ranbir Singh salutes after the Press Conferences along with External Affairs Spokesperson Vikas Swarup, in New Delhi on Thursday. India conducted Surgical strikes across the Line of Control in Kash

The Indian Army today said it has conducted surgical strikes on terror launch pads across the Line of Control (LoC) in Pakistan, killing several terrorists and causing significant casualties to their hideouts.

Opinion: Indian Army's surgical strikes should make Pakistan think twice before trying another Uri



"The Army has conducted surgical strikes on terror launch pads on the LoC and significant casualties have been caused. The motive of this operation was to hit out at the terrorists who were planning to infiltrate into our territory," Director General of Military Operation (DGMO) Lt General Ranbir Singh said today in a joint press conference with officials from the Ministry of External Affairs.

India's elite para-commandos. (File photo) India's elite para-commandos. (File photo)

The Army said special commandos crossed the LoC last night, conducted the operation in the Pakistan-Occupied Kashmir (PoK) and returned to the Indian side without any casualty. The Air Force was not involved in the surgical strike. The Army has claimed to have killed at least 38.

Also Read: Claims denied: How Pakistan media is treating India's surgical strike



The entire operation was monitored for the entire night by Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar, Army chief General Dalbir Singh Suhag, National Security Advisor Ajit Doval from the Army headquarters in New Delhi.

It was because of this operation that Parrikar and Doval had cancelled their dinner on Wednesday night with the Coast Guard commanders.

NAWAZ SHARIF REACTS



Minutes after India announced on Thursday that it carried out surgical strikes across the LoC on Wednesday night, Sharif denounced what he called was an "unprovoked and naked aggression" by Indian forces.

Radio Pakistan quoted him as saying that the Indian operation led to the death of two Pakistani soldiers.

India Today magazine listed some options for a covert operation. India Today magazine listed some options for a covert operation.

"Our intent for peaceful neighbourhood should not be mistaken as our weakness as our valiant forces are fully capable of defending the territorial integrity of our country," the Prime Minister said.

He said Pakistan can "thwart any evil design made to undermine the sovereignty of Pakistan".

Indian Twitter celebrates 'Modi's punishment for Pakistan', Pakistani Twitter fumes



READ| Nawaz Sharif calls for peace, then praises terrorist in UN speech

"I spoke to the Pakistan DGMO and shared our concerns. I told him that we conducted surgical strikes last night," Lt Gen Singh said.

The Pakistani Army has also admitted that two of its soldiers were killed in an exchange of fire with Indian forces across the LoC in Poonch district of Jammu and Kashmir today.

Earlier today, India responded to unprovoked ceasefire violation by Pakistan on LOC with punitive strikes. Two Pakistani soldiers have been killed in Indian firing.

India had on Tuesday announced that it was pulling out of the SAARC summit scheduled to be held in Islamabad in November after the September 18 cross-border terror attack on an Indian Army base in Uri, Jammu and Kashmir that claimed the lives of 18 Indian soldiers.

PM Modi had said that the Uri attack would not go unavenged.

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10 terrorists gunned down in Uri after Pakistan violates ceasefire again



Days after Uri attack, suspicious bag found near Army unit in Pathankot

Tension between India and Pakistan escalated since the recent attack on an Indian Army camp in Uri in Kashmir which left 19 soldiers dead.

Here is how Pakistan reacted to the attack by Indian Army.

Nawaz Sharif after India's surgical strike: Don't take our peaceful intent for weakness

Moments after Indian Army claimed that it has conducted surgical strikes across LoC, Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif was the first to condemn it. He asserted that Pakistan too is ready with its 'defence'.

Radio Pakistan quoted him as saying that the Indian operation led to the death of two Pakistani soldiers.

"Our intent for peaceful neighbourhood should not be mistaken as our weakness as our valiant forces are fully capable of defending the territorial integrity of our country," the Prime Minister said.

He said Pakistan can "thwart any evil design made to undermine the sovereignty of Pakistan".

How Pakistan media is treating India's surgical strike

After the Indian Army's statement made it to the news, Pakistani media started updating their pages, showing that Pakistani army is denying the claims of Indian Army's surgical strikes.

Watch: All you need to know about the Indian Army's surgical strikes







Sushma Swaraj slammed Pakistan at UNGA

In a short but sharp rebuke to Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif's speech at the United Nations General Assembly, External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj said that Kashmir belongs to India, and Pakistan must stop dreaming about claiming it.

"Jammu and Kashmir belongs to India, stop dreaming about claiming Kashmir," said Sushma Swaraj while addressing the UN General Assembly.

"Terrorism is the biggest violation of human rights. Those criticising India for violating human rights, should first work on their own shortcomings," Swaraj said in her speech at UNGA.

Pitching the idea of working together against terrorism Swaraj said, "We will have to keep aside obligations and differences and work together to fight terrorism. We cannot win the war on terrorism with blame game. Terror strikes across the world is a reminder of where we fall short in countering terrorism."

Uri attack: India shows evidence by identifying handlers, summons Pak envoy Abdul Basit

Earlier in the week, India summoned Pakistani High Commissioner to Delhi Abdul Basit to give him proof of the cross-border origins of the Uri attackers, who killed 19 Indian soldiers earlier this month.

Foreign Secretary S Jaishankar termed the continuing cross-border terror attacks from Pakistan against India as unacceptable as he presented details of the "handlers" behind the Uri army camp attack.

The attackers came from Muzaffarabad, which is the capital of the Pakistan-Occupied Kashmir (PoK), Swarup told Basit as he gave the details of the guides and handlers who helped the four terrorists, who were also killed in the Uri attack.

Modi calls Islamabad sole exporter of terrorism

Prime Minister Narendra Modi earlier gave a strong message to Pakistan, blaming it for exporting terrorism across the globe and impeding economic progress in Asia.

The prime minister said, "We often hear that 21st century will be the century of Asia. Every single country is striving to make 21st century the century of Asia except one. That one country is working to deny Asia this opportunity. It is conspiring to make Asia bloodied by using terrorism."

He further said, "Only one country is exporting terrorism everywhere. It's not a question about India only. This country is exporting terrorism to Afghanistan, Bangladesh and rest of the world."

Watch- Former Army Chief Bikram Singh to India Today: Surgical strikes will force Pakistan to start behaving







Also read:



NIA registers FIR in Uri terror attack, seizes GPS and ammunition from slain terrorists

India slams Pakistan at UN after Uri attack, rakes up human rights violations in Balochistan



</s>The cross-border action inflicted significant casualties, the Indian army's head of operations told reporters in New Delhi, while a senior government official said Indian soldiers had crossed the border to target militant camps.

Pakistan said there had been no such targeted strikes, but some military officers said it had repulsed the Indian troops and returned fire across the Line of Control, the de facto frontier that runs through the disputed Himalayan territory of Kashmir.

The Indian announcement followed through on Prime Minister Narendra Modi's warning that those responsible "would not go unpunished" for a Sept. 18 attack on an Indian army base at Uri, near the frontier, that killed 18 soldiers.

The strikes also raised the possibility of a military escalation between nuclear-armed India and Pakistan that would wreck a 2003 Kashmir ceasefire.

Lt General Ranbir Singh, the Indian army's director general of military operations, said the strikes were launched on Wednesday based on "very specific and credible information that some terrorist units had positioned themselves ... with an aim to carry out infiltration and terrorist strikes".

Singh said he had called his Pakistani counterpart to inform him of the operation.

The top spokesman for the Pakistani military slammed the Indian account of its action as "totally baseless and completely a lie".

"We deny it. There is no such thing on the ground. There is just the incident of the firing last night, which we responded to," Lt General Asim Bajwa told news channel Geo TV.

Pakistan said two of its soldiers had been killed and nine wounded in firing across the Line of Control.

The Indian version of events represents a departure from a traditional policy of strategic restraint in the face of what New Delhi sees as cross-border terrorist acts that it believes are sponsored by the Pakistani state.

"The bigger message is that Pakistan is now on notice that cross-border attacks would be part of our response if there are any more terrorist attacks," said former Indian air vice marshal Manmohan Bahadur.

It also comes at a particularly delicate time for Pakistan, with powerful Army Chief of Staff General Raheel Sharif due to retire shortly and Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif still to decide on a successor.

The Pakistani premier condemned what he called India's "unprovoked and naked aggression" and called a cabinet meeting on Friday to discuss further steps.

Share markets in India and Pakistan fell on India's announcement. India's NSE index was down 1.6 percent at 0958 GMT (5.58 a.m. ET) after falling as much 2.1 percent to its lowest since Aug. 29, while Pakistan's benchmark 100-share index was down 0.12 percent.

India announced its retaliation at a news conference in New Delhi that was hurriedly called, only to be delayed, as Modi chaired a meeting of his cabinet committee on security to be briefed on the operation.

"The prime minister is clear that this is exactly what we should have done," a senior government official told Reuters on condition of anonymity. "Informing the world about the surgical strike was important today."

U.S. National Security Adviser Susan Rice spoke with her Indian counterpart, Ajit Doval, before news of the Indian cross-border operation broke, the White House said.

Rice discussed deepening collaboration between the United States and India on counter-terrorism and urged Pakistan to combat and delegitimise individuals and entities designated by the United Nations as terrorists.

Exchanges of fire took place in the Bhimber, Hot Spring, Kel and Lipa sectors in Pakistan-administered Kashmir, and lasted about six hours, the Pakistani military said earlier.

An Indian army officer in Kashmir said there had been shelling from the Pakistani side of the border into the Nowgam district, near the Line of Control, and the exchange of fire was continuing.

There were no casualties or damage reported on the Indian side of the frontier.

Both India and Pakistan claim Kashmir in full, but govern separate parts, and have fought three wars since independence from Britain in 1947, two of them over Kashmir.

Tension between the South Asian rivals has been high since an Indian crackdown on dissent in Kashmir following the killing by security forces of Burhan Wani, a young separatist leader, in July.

They rose further when New Delhi blamed Pakistan for the Uri attack, which inflicted the heavies toll on the Indian army of any single incident in 14 years.

India has been ratcheting up pressure on Pakistan, seeking to diplomatically isolate it at the U.N. General Assembly in New York and winning expressions of condemnation from the United States, Britain and France over the attack.

China, another of the permanent members of the UN Security Council and a traditional ally of Pakistan, has urged dialogue between the two antagonists.

On Wednesday, officials from several countries said a November summit of a the South Asian regional group due to be held in Islamabad may be called off after India, Bangladesh and Afghanistan said they would not attend.</s>NEW DELHI/ISLAMABAD, (Reuters) – India said today it had conducted “surgical strikes” on suspected militants preparing to infiltrate from Pakistan-ruled Kashmir, making its first direct military response to an attack on an army base it blames on Pakistan.

Pakistan said two of its soldiers had died in exchanges of fire and efforts to repulse Indian troops, but denied that India had made any targeted strikes across the de facto frontier that runs through the disputed Himalayan territory of Kashmir.

The cross-border action inflicted significant casualties, the Indian army’s head of operations told reporters in New Delhi, while a senior government official said Indian soldiers had crossed the border to target militant camps.

The Indian announcement followed through on Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s warning that those responsible “would not go unpunished” for a Sept. 18 attack on an Indian army base at Uri, near the Line of Control, that killed 18 soldiers.

The strikes also raised the possibility of a military escalation between nuclear-armed India and Pakistan that would wreck a 2003 Kashmir ceasefire.

Lt General Ranbir Singh, the Indian army’s director general of military operations, said the strikes were launched on Wednesday based on “very specific and credible information that some terrorist units had positioned themselves … with an aim to carry out infiltration and terrorist strikes”.

Singh said he had called his Pakistani counterpart to inform him of the operation.

The top spokesman for the Pakistani military slammed the Indian account of its action as “totally baseless and completely a lie”.

“We deny it. There is no such thing on the ground. There is just the incident of the firing last night, which we responded to,” Lt General Asim Bajwa told news channel Geo TV.

Pakistan said nine of its soldiers had also been wounded. Neither side’s account could be independently verified.

India’s disclosure of such strikes was unprecedented, said Ajai Sahni of the Institute for Conflict Management in New Delhi, and sent a message not only to his own people but to the international community.

“India expects global support to launch more focused action against Pakistan,” Sahni told Reuters. “There was tremendous pressure on the Indian prime minister to prove that he is ready to take serious action.”

The border clash also comes at a delicate time for Pakistan, with powerful Army Chief of Staff General Raheel Sharif due to retire shortly and Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif still to decide on a successor.

The Pakistani premier condemned what he called India’s “unprovoked and naked aggression” and called a cabinet meeting on Friday to discuss further steps.

Share markets in India and Pakistan fell on India’s announcement. India’s NSE index closed down 1.6 percent after falling as much 2.1 percent to its lowest since Aug. 29, while Pakistan’s benchmark 100-share index was down 0.15 percent.

India announced its retaliation at a news conference in New Delhi that was hurriedly called, only to be delayed, as Modi chaired a meeting of his cabinet committee on security to be briefed on the operation.

“The prime minister is clear that this is exactly what we should have done,” a senior government official told Reuters on condition of anonymity. “Informing the world about the surgical strike was important today.”

U.S. National Security Adviser Susan Rice spoke with her Indian counterpart, Ajit Doval, before news of the Indian cross-border operation broke, the White House said.

Rice discussed deepening collaboration between the United States and India on counter-terrorism and urged Pakistan to combat and delegitimise individuals and entities designated by the United Nations as terrorists.

Exchanges of fire took place in the Bhimber, Hot Spring, Kel and Lipa sectors in Pakistan-administered Kashmir, and lasted about six hours, the Pakistani military said earlier.

An Indian army officer in Kashmir said there had been shelling from the Pakistani side of the border into the Nowgam district, near the Line of Control, and the exchange of fire continued during the day.

There were no casualties or damage reported on the Indian side of the frontier.

Both India and Pakistan claim Kashmir in full, but govern separate parts, and have fought three wars since independence from Britain in 1947, two of them over Kashmir.

Tension between the South Asian rivals has been high since an Indian crackdown on dissent in Kashmir following the killing by security forces of Burhan Wani, a young separatist leader, in July.

They rose further when New Delhi blamed Pakistan for the Uri attack, which inflicted the heaviest toll on the Indian army of any single incident in 14 years.

India has been ratcheting up pressure on Pakistan, seeking to isolate it at the U.N. General Assembly in New York and winning expressions of condemnation from the United States, Britain and France over the attack.

China, another of the five permanent members of the UN Security Council and a traditional ally of Pakistan, has urged dialogue between the two antagonists.

On Wednesday, officials from several countries said a November summit of a the South Asian regional group due to be held in Islamabad may be called off after India, Bangladesh and Afghanistan said they would not attend.</s>India said on Thursday it had conducted “surgical strikes” on suspected militants preparing to infiltrate from Pakistan-ruled Kashmir, making its first direct military response to an attack on an army base it blames on Pakistan.

Pakistan said two of its soldiers had been killed in exchanges of fire and in repulsing an Indian “raid”, but denied India had made any targeted strikes across the de facto frontier that runs through the disputed Himalayan territory of Kashmir.

The cross-border action inflicted significant casualties, the Indian army’s head of operations told reporters in New Delhi, while a senior government official said Indian soldiers had crossed the border to target militant camps.

The announcement followed through on prime minister Narendra Modi’s warning that those India held responsible “would not go unpunished” for a September 18th attack on an Indian army base at Uri, near the Line of Control, that killed 18 soldiers.

The strikes also raised the possibility of a military escalation between nuclear-armed India and Pakistan that would wreck a 2003 Kashmir ceasefire.

Lt Gen Ranbir Singh, the Indian army’s director general of military operations (DGMO), said the strikes were launched on Wednesday based on “very specific and credible information that some terrorist units had positioned themselves . . . with an aim to carry out infiltration and terrorist strikes”.

Lt Gen Singh said he had called his Pakistani counterpart to inform him of the operation, which had ended. India later briefed opposition parties and foreign ambassadors in New Delhi but stopped short of disclosing operational details.

“It would indicate that this was all pretty well organised,” said one diplomat who spoke on condition of anonymity because the briefing by foreign secretary Subrahmanyam Jaishankar was confidential.

Pakistan’s military spokesman slammed the Indian account as “totally baseless and completely a lie”, saying the contact between DGMOs only included communication regarding cross-border firing, which was within existing rules of engagement.

“We deny it. There is no such thing on the ground. There is just the incident of the firing last night, which we responded to,” Lt General Asim Bajwa told news channel Geo TV.

“We have fired in accordance with the rules of engagement We are acting in a responsible way.”

Pakistan said nine of its soldiers had also been wounded. Neither side’s account could be independently verified.

India’s disclosure of such strikes was unprecedented, said Ajai Sahni of the Institute for Conflict Management in New Delhi, and sent a message not only to his own people but to the international community.

“India expects global support to launch more focused action against Pakistan,” Lt Gen Sahni told Reuters. “There was tremendous pressure on the Indian prime minister to prove that he is ready to take serious action.”

The border clash also comes at a delicate time for Pakistan, with powerful army chief of staff Gen Raheel Sharif due to retire shortly and prime minister Nawaz Sharif still to decide on a successor.

The Pakistani premier condemned what he called India’s “unprovoked and naked aggression” and called a cabinet meeting on Friday to discuss further steps.

India announced its retaliation at a news conference in New Delhi that was hurriedly called, only to be delayed, as Mr Modi chaired a meeting of his cabinet committee on security to be briefed on the operation.

“The prime minister is clear that this is exactly what we should have done,” a senior government official said on condition of anonymity. “Informing the world about the surgical strike was important today.”

US national security adviser Susan Rice spoke with her Indian counterpart, Ajit Doval, before news of the Indian cross-border operation broke, the White House said.

Ms Rice discussed deepening collaboration between the United States and India on counter-terrorism and urged Pakistan to combat and delegitimise individuals and entities designated by the United Nations as terrorists.

Both India and Pakistan claim Kashmir in full, but govern separate parts, and have fought three wars since independence from Britain in 1947, two of them over Kashmir.

Tension between the south Asian rivals has been high since an Indian crackdown on dissent in Kashmir following the killing by security forces of Burhan Wani, a young separatist leader, in July.

They rose further when New Delhi blamed Pakistan for the Uri attack, which inflicted the heaviest toll on the Indian army of any single incident in 14 years.

India has been ratcheting up pressure on Pakistan, seeking to isolate it at the UN General Assembly in New York and winning expressions of condemnation from the United States, Britain and France over the attack.

China, another of the five permanent members of the security council and a traditional ally of Pakistan, has urged dialogue between the two antagonists.

On Wednesday, officials from several countries said a November summit of a the south Asian regional group due to be held in Islamabad may be called off after India, Bangladesh and Afghanistan said they would not attend.</s>India said on Thursday it had conducted ‘surgical strikes’ on suspected militants preparing to infiltrate from Pakistan-ruled Kashmir, making its first direct military response to an attack on an army base it blames on Pakistan.

 The cross-border action inflicted significant casualties, the Indian army’s head of operations told reporters in New Delhi.

 Pakistan said there had been no such targeted strikes, but that it had repulsed a raid by Indian troops and returned fire across the Line of Control, the de facto frontier that runs through the disputed territory of Kashmir.

 The Indian announcement followed through on prime minister Narendra Modi’s warning that those responsible ‘would not go unpunished’ for a Sept. 18 attack on an Indian army base at Uri, near the frontier, that killed 18 soldiers.

 The strikes also raised the possibility of a military escalation between nuclear-armed India and Pakistan that would wreck a 2003 Kashmir ceasefire.

 Lieutenant General Ranbir Singh, the Indian army’s director general of military operations, said the strikes were launched on Wednesday based on ‘very specific and credible information that some terrorist units had positioned themselves…with an aim to carry out infiltration and terrorist strikes’.

 Singh said he had called his Pakistani counterpart to inform him of the operation.

 ‘India is doing this only to please their media and public,’ Pakistani defence minister Khawaja Asif replied in a statement.

 ‘If India tries to do this again we will respond forcefully.’

 Pakistan said two of its soldiers had been killed and nine wounded in firing across the de facto border in the Himalayan region.

 The Indian action represents a departure from a traditional policy of strategic restraint in the face of what New Delhi sees as cross-border terrorist acts that it believes are sponsored by the Pakistani state.

 ‘The bigger message is that Pakistan is now on notice that cross-border attacks would be part of our response if there are any more terrorist attacks,’ said former Indian air vice marshal Manmohan Bahadur.

 It also comes at a particularly delicate time for Pakistan, with powerful army chief of staff General Raheel Sharif due to retire shortly and prime minister Nawaz Sharif still to decide on a successor.

 The Pakistani prime minister condemned what he called India’s ‘unprovoked and naked aggression’ and called a cabinet meeting on Friday to discuss further steps.

 The Indian stock market fell heavily on the announcement, with the benchmark NSE Index falling by up to two per cent in Mumbai and a key ‘fear index’ that measures volatility rising to a three-month high.

 India announced its retaliation at a news conference in New Delhi that was hurriedly called, only to be delayed, as Modi chaired a meeting of his cabinet committee on security to be briefed on the operation.

 ‘The prime minister is clear that this is exactly what we should have done,’ a senior government official told Reuters on condition of anonymity. ‘Informing the world about the surgical strike was important today.’

 Exchanges of fire took place in the Bhimber, Hot Spring, Kel and Lipa sectors in Pakistan-administered Kashmir, and lasted about six hours, the Pakistani military said earlier.

 An Indian army officer in Kashmir said there had been shelling from the Pakistani side of the border into the Nowgam district, near the Line of Control, and the exchange of fire was continuing.

 There were no casualties or damage reported on the Indian side of the LoC.

 Both India and Pakistan claim Kashmir in full, but govern separate parts, and have fought three wars since independence from Britain in 1947, two of them over Kashmir.

 Tension between the South Asian rivals has been high since an Indian crackdown on dissent in Kashmir following the killing by security forces of Burhan Wani, a young separatist leader, in July.

 They rose further when New Delhi blamed Pakistan for the Uri attack, which inflicted the heavies toll on the Indian army of any single incident in 14 years.

 India has been ratcheting up pressure on Pakistan, seeking to diplomatically isolate it at the UN General Assembly in New York and winning expressions of condemnation from the United States, Britain and France over the attack.

 China, another of the permanent members of the UN Security Council and a traditional ally of Pakistan, has urged dialogue between the two antagonists.

 On Wednesday, officials from several countries said a November summit of a the South Asian regional group due to be held in Islamabad may be called off after India, Bangladesh and Afghanistan said they would not attend.</s>NEW DELHI/ISLAMABAD (Reuters) - Indian officials said elite troops crossed into Pakistan-ruled Kashmir on Thursday and killed suspected militants preparing to infiltrate and carry out attacks on major cities, in a surprise raid that raised tensions between the nuclear-armed rivals.

An Indian army soldier patrols along a highway on the outskirts of Srinagar, September 29, 2016. REUTERS/Danish Ismail

Pakistan said two of its soldiers were killed in exchanges of fire, but denied India had made any targeted strikes across the de facto frontier that runs through the disputed Himalayan territory.

An Indian military source and a government official said Indian special forces crossed the heavily militarized border by foot just after midnight and hit about half a dozen “launching pads”, where suspected militants were preparing to sneak across.

The official said troops killed militants numbering in the double digits, and that no Indian soldier was killed.

An army official based in Indian-controlled Kashmir said two Indian soldiers were wounded while returning from the raid - one stepped on a landmine and another was shot.

Pakistan also captured an Indian soldier on its side of the border, military officials from both countries said. An Indian army official said the soldier had inadvertently crossed the frontier and had nothing to do with the earlier raids.

Thursday’s strikes mark a rare public announcement by India that it had launched a military operation across its de factor border with Pakistan.

They followed Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s warning that those India held responsible “would not go unpunished” for a Sept. 18 attack on an army base in Uri, near the Line of Control, that killed 18 soldiers.

The strikes raised the possibility of military escalation between the neighbors that could wreck a 2003 Kashmir ceasefire.

India evacuated people from villages within 10 km (six miles) of the de facto border in the Jammu area as a precautionary measure.

Share markets in India and Pakistan fell after India announced the strikes at a hastily called press conference.

In Washington, the White House urged India and Pakistan to avoid escalation.

White House spokesman Josh Earnest said reports indicated the Indian and Pakistani militaries had been in communication with each other and added: “We encourage continued discussions ... to avoid escalation.”

Earnest said Susan Rice, the U.S. national security adviser, had spoken to her Indian counterpart on Wednesday and made clear Washington was “concerned by the danger that cross-border terrorism poses.” He said he could not speak to “any specific coordination” between Delhi and Washington.

Earnest said the United States was also in close contact with Pakistan.

U.S. ambassador to India, Richard Verma, canceled a Washington speaking engagement on Thursday to return to New Delhi. “Obviously it’s a very dynamic situation and he felt it was prudent to go back,” U.S. State Department spokesman John Kirby told a regular news briefing.

Kirby said U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry had spoken to Indian External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj on Tuesday and cautioned then against escalation.

Kirby declined to say whether the United States was informed of the strikes in advance. But at the same time, he said the United States continued to urge action against Pakistan-based militant groups such as Lashkar-e-Taiba, Jaish-e-Mohammed and the Haqqani network.

Lieutenant General Ranbir Singh, the Indian army’s director general of military operations (DGMO), said the strikes were based on “specific and credible information that some terrorist units had positioned themselves ... with an aim to carry out infiltration and terrorist strikes”.

Related Coverage At United Nations, Pakistan flags rising tension with India

Singh said he had called his Pakistani counterpart to inform him of the operation. India later briefed opposition parties, which backed the mission, as well as about 25 foreign envoys, but did not disclose operational details.

“It would indicate that this was all pretty well organized,” said one diplomat, who spoke on condition of anonymity because the briefing by Foreign Secretary Subrahmanyam Jaishankar was confidential.

“A BASELESS LIE”

Pakistan’s military spokesman dismissed the Indian account as “totally baseless”, saying the contact between DGMOs only included communication regarding cross-border firing, which was within existing rules of engagement.

“We deny it. There is no such thing on the ground. There is just the incident of the firing last night, which we responded to,” Lieutenant General Asim Bajwa told Geo TV.

The border clash comes at a delicate time for Pakistan, with powerful Chief of Army Staff General Raheel Sharif to retire soon and Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif still to decide on a successor.

The Pakistani premier condemned India’s “unprovoked and naked aggression” and called a cabinet meeting on Friday to discuss further steps.

Neither side’s accounts could be independently verified. The Indian government official briefed on the operation declined to offer more evidence about how the strikes were carried out or what the militants were planning to do.

India’s disclosure of such strikes was unprecedented, said Ajai Sahni of New Delhi’s Institute for Conflict Management, and sent a message not only to its own people but to the world.

“India expects global support to launch more focused action against Pakistan,” Sahni said. “There was tremendous pressure on the Indian prime minister to prove that he is ready to take serious action.”

Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti warned that the confrontation could be disastrous if urgent steps were not taken to reduce tensions.

“New Delhi and Islamabad must open the channels of communication, realizing the dangerous consequences of any escalation of ongoing confrontation along the borders,” she said.

HEAVY ARTILLERY FIRE

Indian officials said the strike targeted areas close to the Line of Control, where it believes militants congregate for their final briefings before sneaking across the border.

An Indian security source said the operation began with Indian forces firing artillery across the frontier to provide cover for three to four teams of soldiers to cross over at points several km (miles) apart.

The operation was over before sunrise, the official said.

A Pakistani military officer at Chhamb, near the Line of Control, contradicted the Indian version, saying the attack had been repelled.

Both India and Pakistan claim Kashmir in full, but govern separate parts, and have fought three wars since independence from Britain in 1947, two of them over Kashmir.

Tensions have been high since an Indian crackdown on dissent in Kashmir following the killing of a young separatist leader by security forces in July.

Slideshow (3 Images)

They rose further when New Delhi blamed Pakistan for the Uri attack, which inflicted the heaviest toll on the Indian army in a single incident in 14 years.

India, which had already launched a diplomatic drive to isolate Pakistan, said on Wednesday it would boycott a regional summit hosted by Pakistan in November.</s>ISLAMABAD: At least two Pakistan Army soldiers were killed as Indian troops fired across the Line of Control in Azad Jammu and Kashmir, Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) said on Thursday. The Pakistani military confirmed the deaths of its soldiers yet dismissed the Indian claim of 'surgical strikes'.

"There had been cross border fire initiated and conducted by India which is [an] existential phenomenon," said an ISPR statement released shortly after the Indian Director General of Military Operations (DGMO) held a press conference making claims about surgical strikes.

India strikes, Pakistan responds

An exchange of fire between Pakistani and Indian LoC troops began at 2:30am and continued till 8:00am in the Bhimber, Hotspring, Kel and Lipa sectors in Azad Jammu and Kashmir, the ISPR statement said.

"Pakistani troops befittingly responded to Indian unprovoked firing on the LoC."

Defence Minister Khawaja Asif said nine soldiers were injured during the incident, and added that small firearms were used to respond in a "befitting manner".

Shortly after the exchange of fire, the Indian Ministry of External Affairs and Ministry of Defence held a joint press conference in New Delhi in which DGMO Lt Gen Ranbir Singh alleged that surgical strikes were conducted by the Indian army on "terror launch pads along the LoC". The strikes will not continue, he said.

The Indian DGMO claimed that "some terrorist teams had positioned themselves at launchpads along the Line of Control".

"The Indian army conducted surgical strikes last night at these launchpads. Significant casualties have been caused to these terrorists and those who are trying to support them... The operations aimed at neutralising the terrorists have since ceased."

Sources quoted by Indian media alleged that Indian para commandos went 2-3 kilometres into AJK in Mi-17 choppers and destroyed six 'terror camps', killing at least 38 suspected terrorists along with Pakistan Army troops.

Singh said the decision to launch the strikes had been taken after the military determined the launchpads had been set up with "an aim to carry out infiltration and terrorist strikes in Jammu and Kashmir and various other metros in our country."

An Indian military source said the operation was carried out on the Pakistani side of the Line of Control where there were between five and seven infiltration “launchpads”.

“It was a shallow strike. The operation began at around midnight and it was over before sunrise,” this source, who had been briefed by his superiors on the operation, said. “All our men are back. Significant casualties inflicted. Damage assessment still going on.”

A Pakistani military officer at Chhamb, near the LoC, contradicted the Indian version, saying the attack had been repelled. “They ran back, leaving many dead bodies on their side,” this senior officer said.

Read more: Modi’s new battle lines

Military rubbishes notions of surgical strike

The Pakistan military swiftly rubbished notions of a surgical strike.

"The notion of surgical strike linked to alleged terrorists bases is an illusion being deliberately generated by Indian to create false effects," a military statement said.

"This quest by the Indian establishment to create media hype by rebranding cross-border fire as a surgical strike is fabrication of the truth. Pakistan has made it clear that if there is a surgical strike on Pakistani soil, the same will be strongly responded."

The Pakistan Air Force (PAF) said Pakistan’s airspace would be safeguarded at any cost. "PAF is always alert and ready to issue a befitting response to foreign aggression," a spokesperson said.

Indian authorities ordered the evacuation of villages in Punjab near the Pakistan border on Thursday amid fears of retaliation from Islamabad following India’s claim of surgical strikes against “terror launchpads” across the LoC, Hindustan Times reported

'India fooling its own people'

Pakistan, rejecting ‘baseless’ Indian claims that it carried out surgical strikes in Pakistan, condemned unprovoked ceasefire violations across the LoC, Radio Pak reported.

Read more: The terror of war hysteria

Foreign Office Spokesperson Nafees Zakaria said, "India’s falsified, concocted, and irresponsible statements can only escalate the already-fragile security situation in the region."

Zakaria added that India had deliberately escalated tension at the LoC in order to divert attention from the deteriorating situation in held-Kashmir. “India is trying to make fool of its own people and the international community,” he maintained.

Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif strongly condemned the incident, according to Radio Pakistan. "Our intent for a peaceful neighbourhood should not be mistaken as our weakness," the premier said.

National Security Adviser Lt Gen (retd) Nasser Khan Janjua submitted a comprehensive report on the LoC situation to the prime minister, Radio Pakistan reported. Nawaz is also being briefed regularly on the situation along the LoC by security institutions.

Indian High Commissioner summoned

The Foreign Secretary summoned the Indian High Commissioner today and rejected the baseless Indian claim of ‘surgical strikes’.

Unprovoked firing by Indian troops across the LoC was also condemned in the meeting.

“These incidents are a continuation of a pattern of ceasefire violations committed by India”, said the Foreign Secretary.

He added that the armed forces of Pakistan will continue to give a befitting response to any act of aggression.

Soaring tensions

The latest incident of cross-border firing comes as tensions simmer between Pakistan and India over the Kashmir issue.

Last week, India initiated a diplomatic drive to isolate Pakistan after blaming it for the Sept 18 attack on the Uri army camp in IHK which killed 18 soldiers ─ a claim which Pakistan has rejected.

Tensions between the South Asian rivals have been high since an Indian crackdown on dissent in IHK following the killing by Indian forces of Burhan Wani, a young separatist leader, in July.

On Wednesday, India pulled out of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (Saarc) summit scheduled to be held in November in Islamabad. Several other Saarc members followed suit, leading to the postponement of the summit.</s>All you need to know about the surgical strikes conducted by Indian Army.

The Indian Army on Wednesday night conducted surgical strikes on terrorist launch pads across the Line of Control (LoC), confirmed Lt. Gen. Ranbir Singh, Director General of Military Operations (DGMO).

The announcement of the sudden action by the army was made on Thursday by the DGMO, 11 days after the terror strike by Pakistan-based terror outfit JeM on an Indian army camp in Uri in Kashmir on September 18, 2016. Prime Minister Narendra Modi had said that the attackers would not go "unpunished" and that the sacrifice of 18 jawans would not be in vain.

What DGMO said at joint press conference with MEA spokesperson Vikas Swarup

- India carried out 'surgical strikes' on terror launch pads across the Line of Control(LoC) in Jammu and Kashmir on Wednesday night, inflicting 'significant casualties' on terrorists.

- We received very credible and specific information that some terrorist teams had positioned themselves at launch pads along the Line of Control with an aim to carry out infiltration and terrorist strikes in Jammu and Kashmir.

- The strikes were carried out across the LoC.

- The operations were basically focused on ensuring that the terrorists do not succeed in their design of infiltration and carrying out destruction and endangering the lives of citizens of our country.

- Indian armed forces are fully prepared for any contingency that may arise.

- Spoke to the Pakistani Director General of Military Operations and explained India's concerns and also shared with him details of the operation.

What we know of the surgical strikes conducted by the Army: Sources to ANI

- Seven terror launch pads were destroyed by the Army across LoC, Indian Army Special Forces were para-dropped.

- The surgical strikes were carried out between 12:30 am to 4:30 am.

- The location was 500 metres to two kilometres across the LoC.

- The surgical strikes were conducted on Pakistani terror camps belonging to multiple terror groups.

- There were no Indian casualties.

Two Pakistan Army soldiers were killed and nine others were injured in the exchange of fire between the two forces.

What ISPR said about the strike

There has been no surgical strike by India, instead there had been cross-border fire initiated and conducted by India which is existential phenomenon.

The notion of surgical strike linked to alleged terrorists bases is an illusion being deliberately generated by Indian to create false effects.This quest by Indian establishment to create media hype by rebranding cross border fire as surgical strike is fabrication of truth. Pakistan has made it clear that if there is a surgical strike on Pakistani soil, same will be strongly responded.

Who knew about the strike?

PM Modi informed President Pranab Mukherjee, Vice President and former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. The Home Minister informed the Chief Ministers of Punjab, West Bengal, Odisha, CPI-M's Sitaram Yechury and Congress' Ghulam Nabi Azad.

In a sharp plunge, stock market benchmark Sensex tanked by 573 points following the announcement of the surgical strikes. The Sensex plunged 572.89 points, or 2.02%, to 27,719.92, with all sectoral indices led by realty, healthcare, power and metal slumping by up to 5.05%.

On similar lines, the National Stock Exchange index Nifty dropped by 186.90 points, or 2.13%, to 8,558.25.</s>ISLAMABAD/SRINAGAR, India, Sept 30 (Reuters) - Pakistan on Friday "completely rejected" India's claim to have sent troops across its disputed border in Kashmir to kill suspected militants, as India evacuated villages near the frontier amid concerns about a military escalation.

In a rare public announcement of such a raid, India said it had carried out "surgical strikes" on Thursday, sending special forces to kill men preparing to sneak into its territory and attack major cities.

Indian officials said troops had killed militants numbering in the double digits and that its soldiers had returned safely to base before dawn, but declined to provide more evidence of the operation.

Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif maintained that India fired unprovoked from its side of the heavily militarized frontier in the disputed region of Kashmir, the flashpoint for two of three wars between the nuclear-armed neighbors, and killed two soldiers.

"The Cabinet joined the Prime Minister in completely rejecting the Indian claims of carrying out 'surgical strikes'," Sharif's office said in a statement issued after a cabinet meeting on Friday.

It added that the country was ready "to counter any aggressive Indian designs," but gave no further details.

Pakistan also captured an Indian soldier on Thursday on its side of the border, but India said this was unrelated to the raid as the man had inadvertently strayed across the frontier.

Domestic pressure had been building on Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi to retaliate after 19 soldiers were killed in a Sept. 18 attack on an Indian army base in Kashmir that India blames on infiltrators who crossed from Pakistani territory.

A senior leader of Modi's ruling party declared himself satisfied with India's "multi-pronged" response to the attack on the army base.

"For Pakistan, terrorism has come as a cheaper option all these years. Time to make it costly for it," Ram Madhav, national general secretary of the Bharatiya Janata Party, wrote in a column for the Indian Express newspaper.

India has also launched a diplomatic campaign to try and isolate Pakistan. Its decision on Tuesday to boycott a summit of South Asian leaders in November in Islamabad was followed by Afghanistan, Bangladesh and Bhutan expressing their "inability" to attend.

Sri Lanka said on Friday that peace and security were vital for regional cooperation, but stopped short of pulling out.

While India's public and politicians have welcomed the operation, Pakistan greeted New Delhi's version of events with skepticism and ridicule.

Television news channels and newspapers reported only small arms and mortar fire, a relatively routine occurrence on the de facto border.

Pakistan's Express Tribune, an affiliate of the New York Times, led its edition with the headline "'Surgical' farce blows up in India's face."

Pakistani cinemas have stopped screening Indian films in "solidarity" with the armed forces, and after an Indian filmmakers' group banned its members from hiring Pakistani actors. Indian-made Bollywood films are wildly popular in both countries.

India's announcement of the raid on Thursday raised the possibility of military escalation that could wreck a 2003 Kashmir ceasefire.

India evacuated more than 10,000 villagers living near the border, and ordered security forces to upgrade surveillance along the frontier in Jammu and Kashmir state, part of the 3,300-km (2,100 miles) border.

Hundreds of villages were being cleared along a 15 km (9 mile) strip in the lowland region of Jammu and further north on the Line of Control in the Himalayan mountains of Kashmir.

"Our top priority is to move women and children to government buildings, guest houses and marriage halls," said Nirmal Singh, deputy chief minister of Jammu and Kashmir.

"People who have not been able to migrate were instructed not to venture out of their houses early in the morning or late in the night."

Modi's government has been struggling to contain protests on the streets of Kashmir, where more than 80 civilians have been killed and thousands wounded in the last 10 weeks after a young separatist militant was killed by Indian forces.

Pakistan said on Friday that Sharif's special envoys had arrived in Beijing to brief China on the deteriorating situation in Indian-controlled Kashmir. China, a Pakistan ally, expressed its concern, Pakistan's foreign ministry said in a statement.

Farmer Rakesh Singh, 56, who lives in the Arnia sector of Jammu, said his family were among the first to leave home because his village was within range of Pakistan's artillery.

"We suffer the most," he said. "It is nothing new for us."</s>(CNN) Pakistan captured an Indian soldier on its side of the disputed Kashmir border Thursday, Indian officials told CNN, as tensions continue to rise between the two nuclear neighbors.

The soldier inadvertently crossed the border to the Pakistani side of the Line of Control, which divides the Indian and Pakistani-administered portion of Kashmir, said Colonel Rohan Anand, press officer for the Indian Army.

He added that the Indian and Pakistani militaries are in talks for the soldier's release.

The arrest comes at a rocky time for India-Pakistan relations, in the wake of cross-border clashes that left two Pakistani soldiers dead.

The two soldiers were killed along the de-facto border Thursday in what India called "surgical attacks" to foil a "terrorist attack."

Pakistan has insisted that no incursion took place into the territory it controls, saying there had only been an exchange of fire.

The United Nations said it was "following this situation with great concern" and urged both sides to exercise restraint.

The latest flashpoint has unleashed a torrent of fury on social media and impassioned news coverage from both sides of the border.

On Thursday, The Indian Motion Picture Producers Association (IMPPA) asked that all Pakistani artists refrain from working on film projects in India.

Meanwhile, Bollywood films were being pulled in Pakistan. Nadeem Mandviwalla, owner of Mandviwalla Entertainment and shareholder in the largest cinema chain in Pakistan, told CNN that his theaters would temporarily pull all Indian films "until normalcy of relations between the two countries."

Indian Lieutenant General Ranbir Singh told reporters on Thursday the strikes had been based on "specific credible information" that militants were planning to carry out strikes in Indian cities, including Jammu.

"The operations were basically focused to ensure that these terrorists do not succeed in their design of infiltration and carrying out destruction and endangering the lives of citizens in our country," he said.

However, Pakistan's Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif condemned the attack in a statement, calling it "unprovoked and naked aggression" of Indian forces.

He said Pakistan's forces were capable of defending their territory and would stop any "evil design" against their country. "No external force has the capability or capacity to challenge the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Pakistan," he said.

Pakistan's Foreign Ministry said India's claims to have carried out surgical strikes were "baseless" and accusing India of "deliberately" escalating tensions.

It was one of the deadliest attacks to take place on an army base in Kashmir since militant attacks began in the late 1980s, and sparked a furious war of words between India and Pakistan.

Kashmir, a Muslim-majority region, has been disputed territory between India and Pakistan for the past 70 years.

Both of the nuclear-armed countries hold separate parts of it and have fought two wars, in 1947 and 1965, over their claims. They came close to a third, in 1999.

Speaking to CNN on Thursday, a resident of Indian-administered Kashmir, Mushtaq Ahmad Chaudhary, said border residents had not forgotten the horror of having shells and bullets raining down on their communities.

"The latest developments have set in the fear and tension as the deteriorating situation may trigger cross [border] artillery duels [such as] we have witnessed during the 1990s when several villagers were killed and wounded," he said.
The Indian Army claims it conducted surgical strikes on militant camps in Pakistan across the Line of Control, allegedly-killing several suspected militants. However, Pakistan rejects this claim and terms it cross-border firing that killed two of its soldiers.