Indian Army weighs fitting reply to LoC beheading. Here are its options

The options: attacks by ground forces on Pak posts, strikes by aircraft, missiles or artillery guns

The army has begun weighing its options to retaliate against Pakistani forces on the Line of Control (LoC), after their troops, employing jihadi extremists, killed and beheaded two Indian soldiers near Poonch on Monday, top generals said.

Business Standard learns the incident took place when an Indian patrol of 8-10 soldiers was checking the border fence, a perilous task involving physically moving along the fence, very close to the LoC, to check that it has not been cut or its electronic sensors damaged.

According to the modus operandi of Pakistani troops on forward LoC posts, the exposed patrol first came under intense fire from automatic weapons, which Pakistani soldiers had stealthily deployed in temporary positions, just across the LoC.

With two Indian jawans injured in the firing, a “border action team (BAT)”, comprising jihadi fighters, darted across the LoC to the border fence. Covered by the Pakistan army’s firing, the jihadis killed the two jawans, beheaded them, and returned to their side of the LoC, bearing the heads as trophies.

The employment of a BAT is a well-rehearsed Pakistani tactic that creates deniability by using jihadis to cross into the Indian side. If any jihadis are killed or captured, the Pakistan army disowns it as an infiltration attempt. Regular soldiers remain on their side of the LoC, firing on Indian posts and patrols to cover the BAT's move.

A range of retaliatory measures are being weighed by India’s generals, including attacks by ground forces on Pakistani posts, or strikes by aircraft, missiles or massed artillery guns. Read more

Rajnath Singh's visit to Jammu valley: Do not expect much

Rajnath Singh's visit to Jammu valley: Do not expect much

Rajnath Singh has begun his 2-day visit to the Jammu valley where he is likely to meet a cross section of people and review the prevailing situation that is yet to come back to normalcy. So should one expect a lot of change in the ground situation post this visit. It all depends on what kind of message he is ready to send.

He is after all, the Home Minister of the country. All paramilitary forces report to him. These are the very forces that are the target of hatred and rage in the state. So won’t Singh be a bit conflicted? Isn’t what Kashmir needs right now the healing touch? A soothing, gentle presence that offers to be a bridge between the Chief Minister and the mobs?

ALSO READ: Combined effort needed to fight out terrorism: Rajnath Singh

ALSO READ: Modi meets J&K politicians, reaches out to Kashmiris

PM Modi indulging in 'self-praise' instead of solving Kashmir issue: Samajwadi Party

Taking a dig at Prime Minister Narendra Modi over his Independence Day address, theSamajwadi Party (SP) on Wednesday said the former had indulged in self-praise instead of solving the Kashmir unrest issue.

Speaking to ANI, Samajwadi Party leader Abu Azmi said the Centre should sit and talk with the people of Kashmir, social organisations and the members of the Hurriyat.

"Pakistan's interference is increasing due to the Kashmir issue. It is a serious matter and threat for the nation. Instead of solving the problem, the Prime Minister indulges in self-praise for one-and-a-half-hour," he added.

Azmi said it should be the first priority of all the political parties to bring peace in the Valley.

"If the Prime Minister indulges in self-praise, then how will the problems of the nation end? It is the responsibility of all the political parties to bring peace to the Valley. It should be our first priority," he added.(more)

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Asking the right questions on Kashmir

Asking the right questions on Kashmir

My landlord in Patiala, Chief Manager with the State Bank of Patiala, a jovial Sikh once narrated the story of another Sardar who got so fed up with the cops stopping his scooter in Patiala all the time to check for weapons or explosives that he got the lid of his side dicky taken off completely to allow any and every cop a look-in. This was during the terrible days in the 1980s when the Khalistani movement was at its peak and Punjab police (predominantly Sikh) was one of the major targets. Hindu traders and businessmen (and many others no doubt) were also targeted, but they had the option of migrating out of Punjab and settling in Haryana or other states which many of them did, suffering big setbacks though.

The story (or perhaps the legend) of Burhan Wani — parts of it narrated in gushing tone by some — is somewhat similar but involves a little more than getting a scooter modified. Wani decided to wage war against the Indian state and became the poster boy of new Kashmiri militancy; shedding masks and aliases, embracing social media and becoming ‘cool’ for Kashmiri youth. The arrival of the new militancy wave has been reported in media for a long time and the warning signs have been visible.

His death has sparked violent protests in the valley, with police stations being torched, public property destroyed, policemen attacked with intent to kill, paramilitary camps attacked by violent mobs. At the last count, 21 people had died. According to reports, the forces timed Wani’s encounter after the by-election in Anantnag where CM and PDP leader Mehbooba Mufti was contesting and won. Read more.