Daily Times

ISLAMABAD/MUZAFFARABAD: Pakistan on Thursday rubbished Indian claims of conducting a “surgical strike” in Azad Kashmir, with the military saying that the notion of surgical strike linked to alleged terrorists bases is an illusion being deliberately generated by India to create false effects.

The statement comes amid reports claiming that the Pakistan Army captured an Indian soldier, while more than a dozen others were killed in the episode of firing across the Line of Control (LoC).

“This quest by the Indian establishment to create media hype by re-branding cross-border fire as a surgical strike is fabrication of the truth. Pakistan has made it clear that if there is a surgical strike on Pakistani soil, the same will be strongly responded [to],” the media wing of the Pakistan Army said.

The military said that India violated the ceasefire agreement once again on the LoC and two Pakistani soldiers embraced martyrdom, while nine were injured due to the unprovoked firing of Indian forces.

An Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) statement on Thursday said that an exchange of fire between Pakistani and Indian troops began at 2:30am and continued until 8am in the Bhimber, Hotspring, Kel and Lipa sectors in Azad Kashmir.

ISPR Director General Lieutenant General Asim Salim Bajwa told the media that the Indian army on Wednesday night started unprovoked firing on the Pakistani side. He said that the Pakistan Army responded in a befitting way and destroyed three Indian checkposts. “How is it possible that a country goes for surgical strike and we were unaware of it?” Bajwa said, adding that these were tactics of the Indian army and their media was doing propaganda. “The allegations of infiltration are totally baseless and uncalled for. We did not support such steps, nor is it the state policy of Pakistan.”

“We have verified the facts and found nothing substantial in the Indian claim,” he said. To a question, he said that the Pakistan armed forces enjoyed full backing and prayers of the entire nation. “We have been achieving successes in the ongoing strides against terrorism, and with the same spirit and zeal, any aggression from across [the border] will be responded [to].”

Meanwhile, confusion over the custody of the soldier persists, as neither Indian nor Pakistani officials are issuing any official statements on the matter. “It is confirmed one soldier from 37 Rashtriya Rifles with weapons has inadvertently crossed over to the Pakistan side of the Line of Control,” an Indian army official said in New Delhi, according to Reuters.

He said that such incidents – of people crossing the frontier by mistake – have happened in the past from both sides and those who strayed are returned.

According to Reuters, two officials based in Pakistan’s Chhamb’s sector said the Indian soldier with weapons was captured at 13:30 local time.

Earlier, sources had said a 22-year-old Indian soldier by the name Chandu Babulal Chohan was taken into custody by Pakistani forces. However, there is as yet no official confirmation of this claim.

Shortly after the exchange of fire, the Indian Ministry of External Affairs and Ministry of Defence held a joint press conference in New Delhi in which DGMO Lt Gen Ranbir Singh alleged that surgical strikes were conducted by the Indian army on “terror launch pads along the LoC”. The strikes will not continue, he said. The Indian DGMO claimed that some teams had positioned themselves at the launch pads along the LoC.

On the other hand, Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif has strongly condemned the unprovoked aggression by Indian forces that resulted in the martyrdom of two Pakistani soldiers.

According to a spokesman for the premier, Nawaz Shaif paid rich tribute to the martyred soldiers and said that “our intent for peaceful neighbourhood should not be mistaken as our weakness, as our valiant forces are fully capable of defending the territorial integrity of the country and can thwart any evil design made to undermine the sovereignty of Pakistan”.