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At least 50 Pak soldiers killed as India strikes back
At least 50 Pakistani soldiers, including some officers, were killed or wounded and dozens of bunkers and heavy weapons destroyed in retaliatory firing by Indian troops in Uri sector.
Addressing the media on Monday afternoon near the Line of Control in the Uri sector, Brigadier Jasbir Lidder, commander of the Uri brigade,
said, ''We lost two soldiers, including a major, and three civilians were injured due to the Pakistani firing.''
He said the attacks, which was initiated by Pakistani troops on August
15, intensified on Friday and Saturday when they used heavy artillery guns.
Brigadier Lidder said, ''Initially we observed maximum restraint and
did not retaliate. But when there were casualties on this side, we
had to shoot back.''
In reply to a question, he said, ''The toll could be much more as a number of ambulances were pressed into service by the Pakistanis to take away the bodies.''
He said eight or 10 Pakistani bunkers and two big weapons were destroyed. ''Even we lost some bunkers and one heavy weapon due to the shelling,'' he said.
Brigadier Lidder said, ''We are in total command of the situation
and our forces are every ready to meet the enemy's challenge.''
As the firing continued for the fourth consecutive day on Monday in Keran and Uri sectors of the Kashmir valley, Union Home Secretary K Padmanabhiah flew to Srinagar on Monday morning following media reports that nearly 50 Pakistani troops were killed.
Defence Minister Mulayam Singh Yadav said India would give a befitting reply if its unity and integrity was threatened even as security along the Line of Control was beefed up.
Speaking to Rediff On The Net on Monday morning, a Srinagar-based defence spokesman said the two Indian soldiers died in heavy shelling by Pakistani troops at Uri. Major Deepinder Bucher was on patrol duty along with a non-commissioned officer when the two were hit by a 120 mm shell.
''The Pakistani troops shelled the villages of Tangdar and Keran, resulting in minor damage to some pockets,'' the spokesman said.
The Pakistani attack came on the heels of Prime Minister Inder Kumar Gujral's visit to Kashmir last week. ''Pakistan's generals and the Inter-Service Intelligence agency are trying to vitiate the atmosphere as the foreign minister-level talks between the two countries are scheduled for next month.''
The sources said the second reason for the unusually heavy unprovoked firing was to ''keep the pot boiling'' in Jammu and Kashmir to ensure that it continued to hog international headlines. Another reason was that such unprovoked firing provides a cover to infiltrating armed militants. Such tactics are resorted to at this time of the year as the mountain passes are not snow-bound and it is ideal for militants to sneak in, the sources said.
''The Indian army cannot be expected to remain a mute spectator to such acts of provocation as we have to safeguard life and property of our population and maintain security of our borders,'' the spokesman added.
Asked if firing continued in Uri sector and Keran in Kupwara, defence sources said, ''Though the intensity of the firing has come down it continued intermittently.... The Indian forces are also returning the fire.''
However, an Indian spokesman sought to play down the
exchange of heavy firing. ''These things are happening on the border and they are happening every year,'' he said.
Meanwhile, Pakistan has reportedly denied that any exchange of
fire took place in the past two days and that 50 Pakistani soldiers
had been killed.
Islamabad also accused India of sabotaging the second round of foreign secretary-level talks between the two neighbours by firing across the ceasefire line in Kashmir.
A Pakistani defence ministry spokesman alleged that three
civilians were seriously injured on Sunday when Indian troops fired
heavy artillery and mortars for the second day.
Three sub-sectors of the LoC -- Chakothi, Sankh and Pando -- are the the worst-hit areas, he said.
This is the second major incident this year in which heavy to medium machine guns were used. In April, Pakistani troops resorted to unprovoked firing in the Kargil sector of Ladakh region. This sparked large-scale migration from several towns after Pakistani shells hit civilian areas.
Meanwhile, Indian security forces cordoned off a village near Mansbal on the outskirts of Srinagar on Sunday morning to
nab militants and their sympathisers.
A spokesman said that when house-to-house searches were going on, militants fired upon troops with automatic weapons. The troops immediately returned the fire and in the fierce encounter four militants were killed.
Mukhtar Ahmad in Srinagar with UNI reports
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