Diplomacyindia.com

New Delhi, Sep 19 (IANS) India reserves the right to respond to cross-border terror strikes “at a place and time of our choosing”, the Army said on Monday, a day after a terror attack on a military base in Jammu and Kashmir, blamed on Pakistan, left 18 soldiers dead.

The Director General Military Operation (DGMO), Lt. Gen. Ranbir Singh, told reporters here that the Army had recovered more articles from the possession of the four fidayeen attackers who were killed in a gunfight after they attacked the army camp in Uri, close to the Line of Control (LoC).

He said the Army has the desired capability to respond to “such blatant acts of aggression and violence”.

Ranbir Singh said after conducting a detailed search of the area in and around the military complex at Uri, the Army operation was called off.

Giving details of the weapons recovered from the dead militants, the DGMO said these included 39 Under Barrel Grenade Launcher grenades, five hand grenades, two radio sets, two GPS devices, two map sheets, two matrix sheets and “large quantities of food and medicines with Pakistani markings on them”.

Ranbir Singh said there was a marked increase in infiltration attempts by terrorists in comparison to the past three-four years.

He said the Army has foiled 17 infiltration bids from across the Line of Control with Pakistan in 2016.

“Of a total of 110 terrorists eliminated in J&K, 31 have been killed while they were attempting to cross the Line of Control. It actually indicates a desperate attempt from across the Line of Control to infiltrate more terrorists into Kashmir with a view to create disturbance and foment unrest in our area,” the DGMO said.

He said earlier the Army had thwarted infiltration attempts in Poonch on September 11.

Ranbir Singh said the Indian Army has displayed considerable restraint while handling “the terrorist situation both along the Line of Control and in hinterland.”

“We have the desired capability to respond to such blatant acts of aggression and violence as deemed appropriate by us. We reserve the right to respond to any act of the adversary at a place and time of our choosing,” he said.