Good Pakistan is denying surgical strikes, India must carry out more

After days of speculation over what India will do after the Uri attack, which claimed the lives of 19 soldiers, the answer has come. In a press conference, the Director General of Military Operations (DGMO) announced that India conducted a "surgical strike" on multiple terror launchpads across the Line of Control (LoC).

The strike was conducted by the special forces of the Indian Army who were dropped by helicopter for the operation. Up to 38 terrorists, with and without uniform, were killed.

The well planned and executed operation was preceded by nearly a week of drone and satellite surveillance of the launchpads. Reports say there is drone and camera footage of the operation which will probably be released in due course and it should be for the "psychological operation" value it carries.

This is not the first time the Indian Army has conducted operations across the LoC. Covert operations have always been undertaken at various times to achieve tactical objectives. What was different this time is that India announced such an operation after it took place.

It marks a significant change in policy and it's a political decision to send a message across, both to Pakistan which continues its terror campaign against India unabated, and also to the people of India who have been demanding action against Pakistan.

Special forces are a vital part of militaries worldwide. It allows for covert action deep inside enemy territory to achieve various objectives. One of the most famous operation is the Israeli operation in Entebbe in Uganda in 1976 when it rescued hostages after an Air France plane was hijacked.

There were calls in India for such an operation after Indian Airlines flight IC814 was hijacked, which resulted in the release of Maulana Masood Azhar along with two other terrorists. Masood Azhar's group Jaish-e-Mohammed is behind the Uri attack as also many attacks in the past, including the Pathankot attack and Parliament attack.

A recent "famous" successful special forces operation was the one conducted by US Navy Seals to kill Osama bin Laden in Abbotabad in Pakistan.

Special forces' operations are increasingly being used by western militaries. The US has deployed its special forces in as many as 135 countries. Special ops allow militaries to carry out strikes without diplomatic ramifications.

In many cases, such as the Abbotabad raid, it was made sure that the intended target was indeed there and neutralised along with avoiding collateral damage. These operations are never announced unless there is a political message to be conveyed, which is why India announced its surgical strike across the LoC.

The US has extensively deployed its special forces in Syria and Iraq to fight the ISIS while not having a large number of "boots on the grounds". They are used to kill terrorist leaders and disrupt their network.

Coming back to the operation conducted by India, the announcement is a well thought out escalatory move. It puts the onus on Pakistan to respond and that response will put it in a spot.

India informed Pakistan's DGMO that such an operation took place and that 38 terrorists were killed. Pakistan cannot aggressively respond to this as it will face international criticism. If Pakistan does not react, it will face problems at home especially from the large number of terrorists organisations that it has propped.

The immediate reaction from Pakistan was interesting. The Pakistan Army's media wing, ISPR, denied any surgical strike took place while Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif condemned the strike as naked aggression.

It is possible Sharif is trying to get back at the hugely popular Army chief General Raheel Sharif who is looking for an extension of term. Pakistan's defence minister confirmed the killing of two Pakistan armymen in the "attack". ISPR maintains that only cross-border firing took place which resulted in the killing of the two soldiers.

Pakistan is denying the attack even as reports say India has drone and camera footage from the special forces of the operation. India should release this footage after carefully reviewing it so that it can show the people of Pakistan the lies it is fed by its Army.

The denial represents that Pakistan does not want an escalation with India. After all the nuclear sabre-rattling Pakistan did, warning against any military operation, the overt announcement of the strike has meant India has finally called Pakistan's nuclear bluff which it used as a cover to keep running its terror campaign with impunity.

The denial by Pakistan's Army is also to save face domestically and allows India to undertake more such operations and announce publicly and test the Pakistanis. They cannot use their much vaunted tactical nuclear weapons to deter special forces' operations. At best they can resort to artillery fire across the LoC.

The international reaction or the lack of it shows that the hard work done by PM Narendra Modi and his team is paying off. There is little sympathy for terrorism across the world after a spate of global terror attacks and more so with Pakistan, which is increasingly recognised as the epicentre of terror. There is a Bill in the US Congress to declare Pakistan a terrorist state.

The US response to the Indian strike has been tacitly welcoming and supportive. White House spokesman Josh Earnest, when asked about the strike, said: "The US is firmly committed to our partnership with India and to our joint efforts to combat terrorism.''

He also said: ''The US continues to be concerned by the danger that cross-border terrorism poses to the region and we fully expect Pakistan to combat and delegitimise UN-designated terrorist groups.''

Pakistan has not received any support from what it calls higher than mountain, deeper than ocean and sweeter than honey friend, China. Or it's benefactor, Saudi Arabia or Turkey.

It should be a norm to neutralise terrorists before they infiltrate across the LoC. It will not only ensure there will be no loss of lives, civil or military on our side, but also send a message that India will come down hard on terrorism and is proactive.

The danger of losing special forces during an operation will remain. India should look to enhance its special operations' capability so that it can strike deeper within enemy territory.

The recent op was about 3km behind enemy line. Capabilities such as drones, electronic warfare equipment, communication equipment, satellite reconnaissance etc. have to be strengthened. India exercises with the US special forces regularly and we can learn a lot from them and also acquire their ultra modern equipment.

There was of course a domestic political message behind the strike as well - to assuage the rising feeling that the Modi government was not doing anything to punish Pakistan after numerous terror attacks and the feeling that it was no different from the previous UPA government.

However, it will be a shame if this strike is just a one-off incident meant to address the domestic audience, as fighting terror is a continuous process and the enemy should know there will be costs.

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