As India initiates a series of aggressive diplomatic actions such as suspension of the Indus Water Treaty and that of visa services for Pakistani nationals, the government is considering a range of retaliatory military options, including capabilities that allow New Delhi to strike back from within the country’s borders. In a deadly terrorist attack Tuesday in Pahalgam, a marquee tourist spot in Jammu and Kashmir, 26 people were killed. On Thursday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi promised retribution and said, “India will identify, track and punish every terrorist and their backers” and would “pursue them to the ends of the earth”. A top source in the government told The Indian Express, “There will be military retaliation and we are prepared. We are discussing the nature of the strike… Since 2019, we have taken a series of measures to modernise our weapons. We have the option of targeting the terrorists from within our territory.” On February 14, 2019, a Jaish-e-Muhammad terrorist rammed an explosives-laden car into a convoy of the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) in Pulwama. This led the Indian Air Force to launch a surgical strike in Balakot a few days later. Lt General DS Hooda (Retired), former General Officer Commanding-in-Chief of the Northern Command, said both options (a ground operation and aerial strike) are still on the table. “At this stage, the government has taken some pretty strong steps, particularly regarding the Indus Water Treaty. But I wouldn't at this stage completely rule out the military option.” “In fact, some targets can be taken out even from your side of the Line of Control. There is the use of attack drones that can be made. I know the Air Force has some attack drones,” said Lt Gen Hooda (retd), who was the Northern Army Commander when the 2016 surgical strikes across the Line of Control in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir were conducted. “But it isn't as if the use of ground forces is completely ruled out. You can use it in different ways. You can have different kinds of targets,” he said. While he acknowledged that the Line of Control is “heavily guarded”, the terrain is such that “you can find, you can find some vulnerable points, vulnerable targets”. “I wouldn't completely rule out,” he said at an Idea Exchange conversation with The Indian Express. Insisting that Pakistan’s role is undeniable in the Pahalgam attack, the government sources pointed out that “it has so much to do with Pakistan Army Chief General Asim Munir” and his interests. The assessment of the government and security agencies is that the Pahalgam attack was probably part of “General Munir’s attempt to gain popularity and create divisions among communities in India in the backdrop of an economic crisis and internal disturbances in Pakistan”, the sources said. Sources said efforts are “in progress” to ascertain the identities and details of terrorists who picked their targets on the basis of their religion. Sources also pointed out that Prime Minister Narendra Modi has given a strong indication India will retaliate. Addressing a rally in Bihar on Thursday, Modi had said, “Ab aatankiyon ki bachi kuchi zameen ko bhi mitti mein milane ka samay aa gaya hai (the time has come to raze whatever is left of the haven of terrorists)… India’s spirit will never be broken by terrorism.”
