LoC surgical strikes: Pakistan military calls them lies, doesn't want matter to escalate

India has carried out surgical strikes on the Line of Control. The Pakistani Military says that these are lies. This is perhaps a significant statement signalling that the Pakistani military establishment is looking for a face saver, and that it does not want to escalate matters.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has meanwhile briefed former PM Manmohan Singh and will host an all-party meeting later in the day. Rajnath Singh is personally calling up all the chief ministers to apprise them of the operations. PM Modi had earlier this morning chaired a meeting of the Cabinet Committee on Security.

After the ghastly attack on Uri and earlier in Poonch, India has exposed Pakistan globally on the question of terrorism. This comes after India decided to pull out of the SAARC summit in Islamabad, slated to take place in November,

This morning, the US NSA Susan Rice called NSA Ajit Doval and told him that the US expects Pakistan to combat and delegitmise UN designated terror outfits, according to the State department spokesperson.

Meanwhile, the Director General of Military Operations (DGMO) said India will respond at a time and place of their own choosing. The operation was carried out late last night and ended in the wee hours of the morning at about 4.30 am. "There were launch pads at the LoC where terrorists were present waiting to infiltrate the nation and attack areas in Kashmir and metros across the country," the DGMO said while adding that it was based on very specific and credible information that terrorists had positioned themselves at the launch pads close to the LOC.

While information is slowing trickling in, it is understood that the special forces of the Indian Army carried out these strike on multiple terror camps (transients or the last point) a couple of kilometres on the other side of the PoK. And that helicopters were used in some of these operations.

DGMO, in his briefing, while not sharing much details of the operations, had told the media that "there are significant casualties". No Indian security personnel died during the operation.

Over a period of time, Indian intelligence and Army have been able to pin-point specific camps on the other side and the launch pads. While the location of these targets are constantly changing, India agencies had heightened surveillance after the attack in Uri, and that they knew of these camps for almost a week now, according to some reports.

That the Army crossed the LoC and carried out the operation on the other side is significant, for even during the Kargil crisis, the Army had not crossed the LoC .

Meanwhile, Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), the public relations wing of the Pakistani army claims that there were no surgical strikes and that Indian army had engaged in unprovoked cross border firing which resulted in the death of two Pakistani army men. "Pakistani troops befittingly responded to Indian unprovoked firing on the LoC in Bhimber, Hotspring Kel and Lipa sectors," the statement said. Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, too, in a statement, said, "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 our country".