The Indian Army on Friday denied Pakistani media reports and video clips that several of its soldiers were killed by its forces during the surgical strikes against terrorist launch pads across the line of Control (loC) in Pakistan occupied Kashmir (PoK) on Thursday and said the pictures were “morphed.”
Maintaining that the pre-dawn military action was successful and without any casualties, Army sources rubbished video footage and reports in some Pakistani television channels claiming that eight Indian soldiers were killed and one captured alive. Maintaining that the footage was “morphed” and “absolutely fake,” officials termed such reports as “black propaganda.”
Officials also said the Indian Army never disrespects its soldiers by not accepting their martyrdom and added that if casualties had happened, the Army would have admitted it. This was in apparent reference to the Pakistan Army not accepting the bodies of their soldiers killed during the Kargil conflict in 1999.
The clarification came even as various leaders of Pakistan issued contradictory statements on Thursday after India announced that it had carried out surgical strikes. Islamabad first claimed there were no surgical strikes and the announcement was made to “make a fool of its own people (Indians).” Moreover, while admitting that two Pakistani soldiers were killed, Defence Minister Khawaja Asif said the Indian Army opened up “small arms fire” from across the loC.
later, Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif while condemning “the unprovoked and naked aggression of the Indian forces” said the Pakistani armed forces were ready to defend the country. Indian High Commissioner to Pakistan Gautam Bambawale was also summoned by Pakistani authorities to protest over “unprovoked firing” by India.
The Indian Army also said a soldier of 37 Rashtriya Rifles (RR) with his weapon had inadvertently crossed over to the Pakistani side of the loC in Mendhar sector on Thursday. He was identified as Chandu Babulal Chohan hailing from Maharashtra.
The Indian Director-General of Military Operations (DGMO) lieutenant-General Ranbir Singh informed his Pakistani counterpart about the incident on the hotline on Thursday afternoon. Efforts were now on to bring back the soldier, officials said. They also clarified the soldier was not part of the surgical strike teams.
Meanwhile, one more soldier, who was critically injured in the Uri attack, died of his wounds on Friday taking the death toll to 19. The soldier was undergoing treatment at the Army’s Research and Referral
Hospital here. Terrorists had stormed an Army camp in Uri on September 18 killing 18 soldiers. The four militants of Jaish-e-Mohammad were killed in retaliatory action by the Army.