New Delhi/Nagpur: The government has decided for now it will NOT release any evidence of the surgical strikes and the damage caused to the terror launch pads in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir, arguing that doing so would push the Pakistan Army into a corner.
Top sources in the government reported that “war is not in India’s interest at this point’ but “that does not, however, mean that we won’t fight and win a war if it is forced upon us’.
Highlighting the diplomatic success of the surgical strikes, sources said that no country has objected to India’s action, including Pakistan’s closest ally, China. Most statements have been in India’s support, including from the Islamic world. The military operations, sources said, were timed after the United Nations General Assembly meeting was over in New York to avoid complications “which would have diverted our attention and diplomatic energies”.
The announcement that Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan would be the chief guest at the next Republic Day celebrations — it was made after the strike ‘” was also part of the government’s diplomatic strategy. Sources said the United States was not informed by the government before the Army carried out the surgical strikes.
The telephone call between National Security Advisor Ajit Doval and his American counterpart, Susan Rice, that morning also did not mention any specific details about the military operations although he dropped adequate hints that some military activity may have taken place on the Line of Control (LoC), sources said.
“We will never be strategically subservient to any country, including the United States. That has been our policy since Nehru’s time; it was what even non-alignment was about. We have worked closely with various world powers over the years, but we will never give up our decisional autonomy,” sources said.
The success of the surgical strikes, sources said, had removed the sense of helplessness that had gripped the country after every previous terror attack. The biggest gain has been the demonstration of national will, along with the decisional autonomy and capability to exercise options, sources said.
