Indians suffer heavy casualties in attack on Pakistani Post
ISLAMABAD, Aug 23 (Associated Press of Pakistan): Pakistan Friday termed the use of Indian air force in an attack on its post in Northern Kashmir as "highly escalatory" and said Pakistani Army successfully defended the post causing heavy casualties to the enemy.
"The very act of using the Indian air force is highly irresponsible and escalatory act," DG-ISPR Major General Rashid Qureshi told a press conference here.
Qureshi said the Indian army late lastnight launched an unprovoked attack on a post in Gultari sector.
The vigilant Pakistan army observing the enemy engaged them causing very heavy causalities to the Indians, he said.
All efforts by the Indian's to reinforce their attack was frustrated by accurate Pakistani fire, said DG ISPR.
" Unable to make any headway, despite losing dozens of personnel, the Indians in their frustration resorted to a highly escalatory act by bombing the area using the Indian Air Force," he said.
Gen. Qureshi said, despite the Indian Armed Forces desperate efforts they continued to be pinned down unable to move or extricate. "Pakistan Army suffered no damage," said the DG.
Pakistan army, he said was under instruction to fire upon in self-defence as the firing had always been started by the Indian army.
Responding to a question, Gen. Qureshi said, given that the attack was carried out at night, he could not give the accurate make of the aircraft used.
However, he said, the Indians have been known to flying Mirage-2000 aircraft over the area in the past which lie at a very high altitude of about 17000 feet above the sea-level.
Gen. Qureshi said four to five Indian aircraft carried out sorties during the attack on the post on the LoC.
Responding to a question regarding the attack, he recalled that Indian army and the government took a decision to mass their troops on the borders with Pakistan and were since there for about eight months.
"The frustration is setting into the Indian army because nobody understand why this escalation or massing of troops has taken place," he added.
He pointed out a number of incidents where the Indian forces had actually rebelled against their own Commanding Officers.
Gen. Qureshi said, the frustration is setting in the Indian army as their government has not been able to justify the increased state of alert and the number of troops they have deployed on the border.
He said, the Indian army was under pressure and there were psychological effects on the Indian forces. "The Indian Government perhaps finds no face-saving deescalation which should have taken place."
Moreover, while referring to the ongoing visit of US Under Secretary Richard Armitage, he said the Indian government had been in the habit of raising escalation or stage-managing an incident to justify their massive army build-up on the borders with Pakistan during such high-profile visits of foreign diplomats.
Gen. Qureshi said he was not aware of any contact at the level of DGMOs (Director General Military Operations). However, he said,"in case of occurrence of such incident, there is an effort to get in contact."
The DG-ISPR, nevertheless, stated that they had been observing a pattern in the past two-three weeks that whenever Indians get beating, they neither report in the press nor contact Pakistan.
About the details of casualties, he said it was in excess of dozen figure, based on the bodies and number of wounded observed by Pakistan Army. "What we are talking about is in excess of double figure," he added.
Gen. Qureshi said, he was sure that as in the past, the Indians would admit the loss they suffered in the attack.
About the current situation, he said, there was intermittent fire by the Indians and efforts to take away dead bodies of their soldiers which they were finding difficult in the face of accurate Pakistani fire.
Asked how many force the Indian used in the attack, DG-ISPR said that he would not be able to give an accurate figure but added, the movement of about 70 or so soldiers was observed before the attack.
To a question, he said, since the post attacked was right on the LoC, "one doesn't have to penetrate deep into Pakistan airspace to bomb that area."
Gen. Qureshi said Pakistan considered the aspect of use of air force in the attack as " highly irresponsible and highly escalatory."
Pakistan, he said, would bring this latest act of aggression into the notice of the international community and the United Nations.
He said, as a policy, Pakistan has exercised maximum restraint.
He said the Indians were quite clear that in case of such skirmishes they always ended up suffering tremendous casualties "and I am sure that this point has been driven home time and again."
However, Gen. Qureshi said, Pakistan was fully prepared to successfully defend the motherland and response to this attack was the indication of its state of preparedness.
Responding to a question, Gen. Qureshi said, he was confident that there was no infiltration across the border.
However, he said, the Indians were under tremendous pressure from the world community who were questioning the huge deployment of their forces on the borders when nothing was happening on the LoC.
He said, the international community was also pressurizing India to start a dialogue on Kashmir. Gen. Qureshi said, through this attack, the Indians were trying to convince and justify the world why they still maintain such a massive deployment of troops. "However, this is counter-productive."
He said, over the last few weeks, India has been trying to establish or capture new posts from where they could either look into the Northern Areas of Pakistani side or dominate this terrain.
Such an effort was made in the last week of July, beginning August.
According to the Indian repots, he said, the Indian army removed a Commanding officer of light infantry battlation for carrying out an operation at a "grevious" cost to the Indians.
At least eleven Indian soldiers, according to the Indians, were killed in that operation.
Gen. Qrueshi said when Pakistan protested the attack on their post, the Indians said they had suffered very little casualities.
Their Corps GOC 'Patankar' said there were only three casualites, but later he admitted having lost many dead and many wounded, the DG added."
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