Truth about Pulwama Attack and India’s Surgical Strikes Unmasked
By Sajjad Shaukat
Indian Prime Minister Nerendar Modi’s extremist party-Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) had got a land sliding triumph in the Indian elections 2014 on the basis of anti-Muslim and anti-Pakistan slogans. Therefore, since the Prime Minister Modi came to power, he has been implementing anti-Muslim and anti-Pakistan agenda with the support of fanatic coalition outfits.
By acting upon the same strategy, Modi-led entities planned the terror attack in the Pulwama district of the Indian Occupied Kashmir (IoK) on February 14, this year, where at least 44 Indian soldiers were killed when a suicide bomber rammed a car into a convoy of the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF).
Next day, India’s Prime Minister Modi blamed Pakistan for the Pulwama terror attack and warned of a strong response.
The banned Islamist militant group Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) claimed responsibility soon after the assault.
Without any investigation and evidence Indian high officials and media started accusing Islamabad, saying that the attackers had come from Pakistan to stage the assault.
Very tension escalated rapidly between India and Pakistan when on February 27, this year, in response to the Indian so-called pre-emptive air strike near the town of Balakot, close to the border with Pakistan’s sector of Kashmir, Pakistan Air Force (PAF) shot down two Indian Air Force (IAF) fighter jets and launched aerial strikes at six targets in the IoK.
Addressing a press conference on the same day, Director General of Pakistan Army’s media wing, the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), Maj-Gen. Asif Ghafoor said that Pakistan Air Force have conducted aerial strikes across the Line of Control (LoC) from Pakistani airspace and shot down two Indian aircraft. One of the two Indian air force pilots was taken into custody.
Regarding Indian surgical strike, Maj-Gen. Asif Ghafoor explained: “There are only mud-brick homes. There is no madrassas. There isn’t even a concrete house…Two of the dried mud structures were damaged in the explosions…No one has been killed, no one has been seriously hurt…Indian planes crossed into the Muzafarabad sector of Pakistani-side of Kashmir…Pakistan scrambled its warplanes and the Indian jets released their payload in haste near Balakot.”
Afterwards, journalists visited the targeted site of Balakot and Islamabad also released a video which exposed the false statements of New Delhi that IAF fighters targeted the camp of Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) and killed 350 militants.
In the aftermath of the false flag terror attack at Pulwama, truth about India’s surgical strikes unmasked, when India top civil and military leaders failed in providing any evidence in this respect.
Besides foreign media, Indian opposition parties and leaders of the Indian Held Kashmir (IHK), including retired military officers criticized Prime Minister Modi in failing to supply any proof that of 350 militants JeM) were killed.
Speaking to the Indian media regarding Pulwama assault, former Chief Minister of the IHK, Farooq Abdullah said: “I was saddened to hear about the deaths of the soldiers…Don’t blame Pakistan because local people are joining Kashmiri fight” [War of liberation].
Meanwhile, Islamabad released the Indian captured Indian pilot Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman as a gesture of peace. It resulted into diplomatic victory of Pakistan over New Delhi. But, Prime Minister Modi has directed the Indian security forces to accelerate atrocities in the IOK and shelling across the LoC to target Pakistan’s security forces. Many innocent persons have so far been martyred inside Pakistani side of Kashmir, while Pakistan Army is giving a matching response. The main purpose of the Modi-led ruling party BJP is to obtain various nefarious designs, especially to suppress the Kashmiris’ war of liberation and to win the general elections 2019 at the cost of Pakistan. On the other side, Western media and their high officials are insisting upon the settlement of the Kashmir issue. Notably, the elections which will be held in 7 phases have started in India on April 11 this year and will continue till May.
In this context, without bothering for nuclear war, in the aftermath of the terror attack in Pulwama, by creating jingoism in India, Indian extremist government of the BJP has been deliberately increasing war hysteria against Pakistan by continuing threatening diplomacy against Islamabad as part of the election- stunt.
However, the myth of Indian surgical strike was further exposed, when DG of ISPR General Asif Ghaffor, while referring to the statement of Indian India’s External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj who admitted on April 18, this year that no Pakistani soldier or citizen died in the air strike carried out by IAF across the border in Balakot, stated on April 19, 2019: “After India finally admitted that their so-called air strike carried on February 26 in Balakot caused no deaths and casualties…Hopefully, so will be about other false Indian claims [such as] surgical strike of 2016, denial of shooting down of two Indian Air Force [IAF] jets by Pakistan Air Force and claims about F16…Better late than never.”
It is notable that continuing false flag operations, on Setember18, 2016, India staged the drama of the terror attack in the Indian Occupied Kashmir (IOK) at a military base in Uri, close to the LoC with Pakistan.
After the Uri episode, without any investigation, India’s top civil and military officials, including their media started propaganda against Pakistan by accusing that the militants who targeted the Uri base came from Pakistan’s side of Azad Kashmir and the banned Lashkar-e-Taiba controlled by Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) were involved in it. Under the mask of the Uri base attack, India created war-hysteria against Pakistan and started mobilization of troops near the LoC, while claiming surgical strikes on the Azad Kashmir.
But, the myth of Indian surgical strikes of 2016 was exposed, when in a statement, the then DG of ISPR Lt. Gen, Asim Saleem Bajwa said, “The notion of surgical strike linked to alleged terrorists bases is an illusion being deliberately generated by India to create false effects. This quest by Indian establishment to create media hype by rebranding cross border fire as surgical strike is a fabrication of truth.” He repeatedly stated that Pakistani troops have been giving equal response to Indian unprovoked firing across the LoC.
Differences also arose between the Indian civil and military leadership—as to how cover the falsehood. In this connection, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and country’s Army Chief Gen. Dalbir Singh had decided to prepare a ‘fake video’ of surgical strikes so as to pacify the Indian public, media and the opposition parties. However, New Delhi could not prove any proof in that regard.
It is mentionable that Former Mizoram Governor Aziz Qureshi also pointed out on April 14, this year that Pulwama attack was planned by Modi to win elections. H elaborated: “Over 40 soldiers were killed in the deadly suicide attack on a CRPF convoy in Pulwama that came barely two months before the elections…You planned the attack to get another chance. But people understand this. If Modi Ji wanted to put crown on his head by killing 42 soldiers, people of the country won’t allow that. Following the attack, India conducted an air strike on Jaish-e-Mohammed terror camps inside Pakistani territory. The strike, that came days ahead of the Lok Sabha elections, became a political issue with the prime minister asking first time voters to dedicate their vote to the martyrs of Pulwama attack and soldiers who carried out the attack…Pakistan failed to divide India on the religious lines in the last 70 years. But it is being made possible in the last five years because of Modi and BJP chief Amit Shah duo who have filled poison in the minds of the people”.
Nevertheless, taking cognizance of Indian war-mongering diplomacy, Pakistan’s armed forces are still on high alert especially along the LoC and are prepared to deal with any Indian aggression.
Nonetheless, despite the fact that truth about Pulwama attack and India’s surgical strikes has been unmasked, but, to divert the attention of the international community from the Indian security forces’ state terrorism which has been accelerated on the innocent Kashmiris and to avoid the settlement of Kashmir issue with Pakistan, during the ongoing elections, the fanatic P.M. Modi can take the risk of conventional war with Pakistan, which could be culminated into nuclear war.
Sajjad Shaukat writes on international affairs and is author of the book: US vs Islamic Militants, Invisible Balance of Power: Dangerous Shift in International Relations
Email: sajjad_logic@yahoo.com
