Indian army chief says surgical strikes were a message to Pakistan

KARACHI: Indian army chief General Bipin Rawat on Monday repeated his last year claim of so-called surgical strikes across border, saying it was a massage to Pakistan. He further claimed to carry out again if it is necessary, Indian media reported.

During his media talks, Indian army chief on Monday evening said that the strikes would be repeated if other side prompts, adding that apart from surgical strikes there were also other measures of counteraction.

On September 29, India claimed to have conducted surgical strikes in Azad Kashmir, saying that several terrorists were killed in the military action conducted inside Pakistani territory.

The claims were not only rebuffed by Pakistan and the international media, but they also prompted demands from some Indian political leaders for New Delhi to substantiate it with evidence.

The Modi government drew criticism after the Pakistani military took a bus full of local and international journalists to the border area in order to show them the ground facts.

Furthermore, the United Nations said its mission tasked with monitoring the ceasefire line between India and Pakistan "has not directly observed" any cross-border surgical strike as claimed by India.

The UN Military Observer Group in India and Pakistan (UNMOGIP) "has not directly observed any firing across the LoC related to the latest incident," Stephane Dujarric, spokesperson for UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon told reporters days after the Indian claims.
Having been failed to substantiate the claims, Indian Premier Narendra Modi later barred his party members from commenting on the matter.