Poonch, Jammu and Kashmir:
Two weeks after India launched ‘Operation Sindoor’ against terror bases in Pakistan, NDTV reached a high-altitude army post that sits on the Line of Control in Jammu and Kashmir’s Poonch and overlooks a hill, which is part of Pakistan-occupied Kashmir. The hill housed several terror launchpads that were hit hard by the Indian Army with artillery, shoulder-mounted missiles and mortar fire during the operation.
The Indian Army post, situated at an altitude of more than 10,000 feet, also came under intense firing due to its proximity to Pakistani bunkers, an odd 100 metres away.
A colonel, who can’t be named because of the security protocols at this stage, told NDTV that on the intervening night of May 6 and 7, Pakistan fired two mortar bombs at the Poonch post, which were retaliated by the army “within three minutes” in a befitting manner.
“On the intervening night of 6th and 7th May, we had two mortar bombs fired by the enemy in this exact place where you are standing right now. Within three minutes of our receiving fire from the enemy, we destroyed the enemy’s 13 posts (bunkers) with a pre-coordinated fire plan. The timing was just three minutes,” he told NDTV’s Vishnu Som.
“Every jawan knew the word given by the commander and the higher headquarters, (they knew) which weapon they had to fire and for how long to inflict maximum casualties on the enemy,” he said.
On May 7, India woke up to the news of “focused, measured and non-escalatory” strikes of the Armed Forces on the terrorist infrastructure in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir. Nine terror launchpads were targeted within 25 minutes in the operation. The mission was named ‘Operation Sindoor’ – a codename to avenge the widows of the April 22 Pahalgam terror attack, wherein 26 civilians – all men – were killed in cold blood by terrorists.
What followed was a wave of Pakistani attacks using drones and other munitions, which were “repulsed” by the Indian forces.
After four days of fighting, India and Pakistan reached a ceasefire on May 10. However, it was breached by Pakistan just hours later. The breach of agreement was followed with a stern warning by the Armed Forces the next day, asserting India would retaliate “fiercely” to any violation in future.
Senior officers have told NDTV that they remain on a very high state of alert in case of any provocation from Pakistan, for example, a ceasefire violation.
“I want to assure you that the mistake that the enemy made on the intervening night of 6th and 7th of May, they have been punished in a manner that they will think 100 times before committing something like this again,” the colonel said.
Meanwhile, India is sending all-party delegations to the capitals of various countries to explain its position on terrorism emanating from Pakistan against the backdrop of the Pahalgam terror attack and ‘Operation Sindoor’.
Fifty-one political leaders, parliamentarians and former ministers cutting across party lines will be part of the seven delegations.
