India to up ante against Pak, isolate it globally

Sources said, the decision was taken after a meeting held by Prime Minister Narendra Modi at his 7 Race Course Road residence with his senior ministers to shape the government’s response to Sunday’s terror attack, in which 18 soldiers were killed.

A swift, surgical strike on terror camps in Pakistan- occupied Kashmir(PoK) were among the options that figured in the speculation but experts also cautioned against the consequences and damages that an escalation could pose if it went out of hand. 

Home Minister Rajnath Singh, Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, National Security Advisor Ajit Doval, Army Chief General Dalbir Singh Suhag were among those who attended the meeting.

Earlier in the day, Home Minister Rajnath Singh reviewed the security situation in Jammu and Kashmir and the border areas of the State. The Army top brass also briefed the Prime Minister on the prevailing ground situation in Kashmir in wake of the deadly attack, official sources said.

Meanwhile, India is also set to raise the deadly Uri attack at the 71st United Nations General Assembly and highlight Pakistan’s involvement in the deadly terror strike. According to sources, External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj would highlight Pakistan’s involvement during her address scheduled for the 26th of this month.

Pakistan, on the other hand, lashed out at Indian authorities, claiming that the Uri attack was “staged” as it shifted focus from the Kashmir unrest.  

However, weapons with Pakistani markings, GPS trackers that the terrorists carried showed they had started from Pakistan and other evidence, retrieved from the scene of the attack have helped the Indian establishment to conclusively establish the Pak-connection. Lieutenant General Ranbir Singh, India’s Director General of Military Operations has alleged Jaish-e-Mohammad’s hand in the assault.

The army believes that the four terrorists had possibly infiltrated through two locations at the Line of Control (LoC), through either Churunda, located at a height, or Islamabad Nallah, which flows in and out of India. The locations are just six to seven kilometers from the base.

They also believe that the terrorists who were in army fatigues had possibly arrived near the base either on Saturday night or during the early hours of Sunday. The terrorists had arrived near the base through the nullah near it. They entered the base after cutting through the fence around it. The terrorists opened fire at the toilet area at about 5.15 am on Sunday. They then opened fire at the tents, located about 150 meters away from the toilets.  The storage facility for the arms also caught fire.

An assessment of the losses is being made. Barrels of diesel and kerosene located near the MT (Mechanical Transport area, where vehicles are parked) and the kitchen also caught fire.  When the diesel dump exploded, the smog and the subsequent explosion disoriented the terrorists and they headed towards the soldiers’ barracks.