Anticipating 'Physical Raid' Along LoC, Pakistan Army On Alert Ahead Of 2016 Surgical Strike Anniversary
anticipating 'physical raid' along loc, pakistan army on alert ahead of 2016 surgical strike anniversary
Islamabad: Pakistan remembers the Indian Army's surgical strike on terror camps close to the Line of Control (LoC) in 2016 and the attack on the Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) stronghold in Balakot by the Indian Air Force (IAF) three years later. With the intensity of terror attacks inspired by Pakistan government-supported organisations like the Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) and the JeM, the Pakistan Army and Air Force are apprehensive of another cross-LoC strike by India.
A large number of military formations were placed on high alert a few days ago. They are:
Two battalions, including the 649 Mujahid Battalion in Baroh and the 65 Frontier Force in Tandar as well as a brigade.
- 23 Infantry Division, headquartered in Jhelum
- 10 Corps, headquartered in Chaklala and responsible for Pakistan occupied Kashmir (PoK)
- 4 Corps headquartered in Lahore
- 5 Corps headquartered in Karachi
The Pakistan Air Force (PAF) is also on high alert. The formations involved are 27 Wing, 5 Wing and 50 Wing.
The apprehensions are about different kinds of retaliatory action by Indian security forces. The Pakistan Army and PAF believe there could be a "physical raid" across the LoC or retaliatory firing from the Indian side of the LoC. Which is why the high alert persists.
Meanwhile, intelligence reports talk of terrorists, primarily of the LeT and the JeM, trained and armed, waiting across the LoC to infiltrate and attack security forces, minorities in Jammu and Kashmir and pilgrims.