LoC mutilations to further escalate India-Pakistan tensions

Three soldiers from 57 Rashtriya Rifles were in the lead of a counter-infiltration patrol when it was ambushed by terrorists and the body of 25-year old Rifleman Prabhu Singh  from Rajasthan was found mutilated in the Machil sector of Kupwara district in north Kashmir.

Beheading has since been and continuous to be the handiwork of Islamic State jihadists but Pakistan Border Action teams have also carried out such attacks in the past.

Beheading has since been and continuous to be the handiwork of Islamic State jihadists.There has also  been a liaison between outfits of Pakistani terrorists and Islamic State jihadists and there is every possibility of infiltration by the ISIS fighters into the web of Pakistani terror outfits. ISIS have shown their considerable presence in Afghanistan through attacks, in Pakistan and there were many incidents where ISIS flags were waved in Kashmir. 

Pakistan is not in favour of initiating a war with India and its Army is therefore not officially responding to the surgical strikes but it continues to provide cover fire to the terrorists for infiltration in Jammu and Kashmir to harass Indian forces and as a face saving measure .

Indian government should carefully observe and analyse  if such happenings in Afghanistan, Pakistan and in Jammu and Kashmir are isolated or appear to be linked or in the alternative an active axis has been formed by the ISIS in these countries which can be very harmful for this region. 

Chief of Army Staff happens to be in China for discussing terrorist activities emanating from Pakistan in various forms. 

Manohar taking to tweet on the beheading of Army Jawan has not gone down well with media as the sentiments are that these things need to be addressed officially and not through social networking sites which are actually meant for marketing purposes. 

While trying to appreciate Defence Minister, Modi termed Parrikar to the likes of Ratan in the court of Mughal emperor Akbar.  However need to realize that the basic responsibility of defence minister and the Army chief is to ensure minimum casualty of the armed forces where they have been found miserably lacking. 

This escalation and the surge in ceasefire violations that crossed 450 along the LOC and IB after the surgical strikes has diminished chances of reviving talks with Pakistan’s Sartaj Aziz who is set to land in Amritsar for Heart of Asia Conference on Afghanistan.

Article Courtesy : Arti Bali, Senior Journalist & Analyst.