Suggesting that India was not considering de-escalation yet, top commanders of the armed forces on Thursday assured the nation that the three services were in a “heightened state of alert” and ready to give a befitting response to any misadventure by Pakistan.
At a joint press conference, they also made it clear that India would target terror camps in Pakistan as long as the neighbouring country continued to harbour terrorists.
This was the first time that top representatives of the three services held a media briefing in the wake of India’s air strikes on the biggest terror training camp of Jaish-e-Mohammed’s (JeM) at Balakot in Pakistan’s Khyber Pakhthunkhwa on Tuesday. Present at the briefing were Air Vice Marshal R G K Kapoor from the IAF, Maj Gen Surinder Mahal from the Indian Army and Rear Admiral Dalbir Singh Gujral from the Indian Navy.
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The Air Force officer also dismissed Pakistan’s claim that it’s Air Force had not used the F-16 aircraft when it targeted military installations in India on Wednesday. The wreckage of AARAM missile, which could be carried only by F-16, had been recovered from Poonch in India, he added. AVM Kapoor said Pakistan had made many other factually incorrect statements with regard to the face-off with India during the past two days.
AVM Kapoor said Pakistan wanted to target multiple military installations on the Indian side. Their plans were foiled by an alert India Air Force (IAF). He said the IAF was fully vigilant and ready to meet any eventuality.
Maj Gen Mahal said the Pakistan Army had resorted to unprovoked firing at several places along the Line of Control (LoC) on Tuesday soon after India’s strike on JeM terror camp. He said there had been as many as 35 ceasefire violations by Pakistan since Tuesday.
On Pakistan’s call for de-escalation, he said it was Pakistan which had targeted India’s military installations. ‘’The escalation has been done by Pakistan…if it provokes us any further, we are prepared,’’ he added.
The Navy officer said the Indian Navy was deployed in a high state of readiness on surface, under the sea and in the air to defeat any misadventure by Pakistan in the maritime domain.