60 Indian troops killed at LoC since Feb

RAWALPINDI: The Pakistan Army has killed more than 60 Indian soldiers during firing at the Line of Control (LoC) since February 27, Director General Inter Services Public Relations (ISPR) Maj Gen Asif Ghafoor said on Saturday.

On February 27, the Pakistan Air Force (PAF) had shot down two Indian aircraft which had violated Pakistan’s airspace. An Indian pilot was also arrested but he was later released by Pakistan as a goodwill gesture.

Tweeting from his personal account, Gen Asif Ghafoor said many Indian troops were also injured and their bunkers destroyed by the Pakistani forces since the February tit-for-tat airstrikes.

“Since 27 Feb 19 Pak Army has killed over 60 Indian soldiers on LoC besides injuring many & destroying their bunkers. Artillery gun positions also damaged forced to relocate. 2 IAF Jets shot down by PAF, 2 helis met fratricide under fear. Indian Navy under deterrence," he wrote.

He noted that since February the PAF had downed two Indian Air Force jets, two Indian helicopters had "met fratricide under fear" and the Indian navy was "under deterrence". His tweet was accompanied by the hashtag #CostForCDS.

CDS is a proposed position for the combined head of the Indian armed forces or point person of government on the three services.

Indian Army Chief General Bipin Rawat is frontrunner and he is trying to make it to the post by promoting war hysteria against Pakistan and getting his men killed and military hardware damaged at the Line of Control.

In a statement on Friday, General Asif said the Indian army chief was reputedly provoking war through his irresponsible statements endangering regional peace for electioneering of his political masters. "From fake surgical strike to-date, his only success has been to turn the Indian army into a rogue force and get them killed," he said on twitter. He said General Bipin Rawat’s statement coupled with the blood of innocent people on hands, losses to Indian forces at the hands of Pakistan armed forces, heli crashes due to so-called technical fault cum fratricide just to become Indian CDS was actually at the cost of professional military ethos.