Surgical strike 2.0: Army veterans hail IAF strike, calls Pak's bluffs

(From Left to right) Retired Air Marshal Bhushan Ghokhale, Lt. General Dr D B Shekatkar

The Indian Air Force conducted an airstrike against terror camps across the LoC at the wee hours of Tuesday in retaliation to the February 14 suicide bombing in Kashmir, when 40 CRPF Jawans attended martyrdom. A very large number of JeM terrorists, trainers, senior commanders and groups of jihadis who have been trained for fidayeen action were eliminated in the air strike on terror camps run by Jaish-e-Muhammad.

75-year-old retired Lt. General Dr D B Shekatkar, who has served in the 1965 and 1971 wars, spoke to mid-day at length after the IAF strikes. He said that the strike was the apt answer for the Pulwama attack that killed more than 40 Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) jawans.

Shekatkar said, "With today's surgical strike India has given a strong message to Pakistan and we have shown the world that we can also utilise our full force if required. Pakistan did not leave any choice for us. They refused to earn from their mistakes. In spite of surgical strikes in Uri, they continued with their terror activities. Today's airstrike will make them think thrice before attacking India."

When asked about why the Dassault Mirage 2000 was used in this operation, Shekatkar said, "Surgical strike carried out in Pakistan is not against citizen but against terror outfits in Pakistan. The Mirage aircraft is designed to carry out operations in mountainous areas within a short duration. The operation was carried out at terror outfit's stronghold in Pok."

The Lt. general also appealed that the surgical strikes must not be made into a political issue and opposition leaders should not use it for political gains. He pointed out that 10 years ago when terrorist Ajmal Kasab attacked Mumbai, the government did not react strongly. As a result, the terror outfits in Pakistan were encouraged to carry out more terror activities in India.

Talking about Pakistan's Prime Minister Imran Khan's leadership, Shekatkar said, "Imran Khan may be a good sportsman but not a political leader. He is Pakistan defence's puppet. Pakistani citizens must question the leadership and its democracy."

71-year-old Retired Air Marshal Bhushan Ghokhale congratulated the IAF for striking across LoC. He said, "It was well-executed teamwork. It's really commendable work done by them. We have targeted the terror outfit area and eliminated them. Pakistan has been a safe haven for terror outfits and with this surgical strike we have sent a message that giving shelter to terrorists will invite more attacks in their country."

Ghokale also said, "The air strike was the need of the hour. India must stand together and our integrity is our strength."

He also said that today's surgical strike is a tribute to yesterday's India's War Memorial."Such activities are called as 'Hot pursuit' activity at the International level since we did not target any military or civilian of Pakistan but we targetted the workshop of terror outfit operating in Pakistan. This is not the first time a surgical strike has happened in Pakistan. In the past, the American army killed Osama Bin Laden in Abbottabad in Pakistan."

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