Rediff On The NeT: Army officers on what went on along the Line of Control this weekend

'They want us to retaliate -- that will help them sabotage the upcoming Indo-Pak talks'

Chindu Sreedharan lately in the Uri sector

The retaliation was bound to come, sooner or later.

As things turned out, it came sooner, on Saturday morning, within less than an hour of the Pakistanis raining shells on selected posts along the Line of Control in Kashmir's Uri sector -- it came when the Indian military temper, dangerously ruffled for over a fortnight under provocative enemy fire, exploded to kill/injure 'at least 60 Pakistani soldiers', demolish two dozen bunkers and 'their entire field defences at many places.'

And now, even after 60 hours, it continues, though at reduced intensity. The Indian army has had 'minimal damage' -- including the loss of an officer and a jawan -- in the 'heaviest exchange of fire in recent times.'

"The whole LoC, right from Siachen, Kargil, Kupwara, Tangdhar and Uri down to Poonch, Rajouri and Jammu was very alive this weekend," a defence spokesman said, "They used heavy weapons, including 82 mm mortars, recoilless guns, 120 mm artillery, rocket launchers and also anti-aircraft guns."

The worst hit were the Uri and Kupwara sectors. "Tangdhar has been quiet since Sunday, except for small-arm fire," the spokesman said, "But Uri and Kupwara are still under shell-attack." The attacked posts include Chaukus, Rustum, Kathi, Ziara, Rhino, Chinar and Baaz.

The firing, a senior army officer in Uri headquarters reveals, has been more pronounced on the trans-Jhelum side. "The artillery duel is very much on," he confirmed, "He (the enemy) is targeting certain selected posts. We are also doing the same."

The shelling started in earnest at around 8.30 am, Saturday morning. The 24 Punjab infantrymen, manning the Uri posts, had initially kept their fingers off the trigger. But past 9 am, they started retaliating.

"It (the shelling) was unprecedentedly heavy. We hit them with everything we got," the officer said, "We fired for effect, not for show -- and we fired plenty."

Twentyfour hours later, the shelling had spread to Kupwara district, with Tanghdar and Keren sectors coming under heavy fire. ("It shelled day and night"). Tanghdar was the luckiest, suffering the least damage.

After the firing on Kargil township in April, this is the first major clash between the two troops. Fortunately, no townships or civilian areas were targeted this time.

Both the Indian casualties occurred in Uri, to the 24 Punjab battalion. "Major Deepinder Bucher had moved up from his original post to another one which dominated Pak bunkers," the officer said, "He was directing a recoilless gun against the Pak line of fire when a 120 mm shell burst near him."

Both the jawan -- Shamsher Singh -- and Bucher had suffered fatal injuries. "But despite this, Bucher continued with the job, refusing evacuation," he said, "Before he succumbed to injuries at around 10 am, he destroyed an enemy bunker, silencing the light machine gun there."

The assessment of Pakistani damage, the officer continued, was based on reports from Indian jawans as well as intercepted Pak radio messages. Besides the reported deaths, over 40 Pakistani soldiers are believed to be injured and 11 bunkers damaged.

For the past couple of weeks, the LoC had been particularly alive, with the Pakistani army substituting heavier guns for their usual small-arm fire. Intelligence sources, in fact, had warned the army about Pak action during the Independence week. The week, however, had seen the Indian side keeping remarkable restraint, even when the Pakistanis resorted to moderate shelling on August 14 and 15 in a quite a few of Uri's 160-odd forward posts. Fortunately, the attacks did not inflict any casualties or serious damage.

"These are desperate attempts on their part to gain ground. Usually, they fire either to provide cover for their infiltrators or to keep alive the Kashmir troubles," the Uri officer said, "This year, they failed in both. At this juncture, they want to get us to retaliate -- that will help them sabotage the upcoming Indo-Pak talks."

After the second round of Indo-Pak foreign secretary-level talks, the army claims to have shown remarkable restraint, even though they say the Pakistanis had 'increased their attacks.'

"Trans-LoC firing in Uri is very frequent, if not a routine. In recent weeks, they had been extremely belligerent, firing indiscriminately," said the officer, "We do not respond to their tidbits. But when we respond, we respond to affect. We give them heavy, thorough, punitive fire."

Army officers, meanwhile, say they are ready to face any 'threat the Pakistanis can throw at us.' "I can't say how long they will continue with this," said an officer, "But our orders are clear: we will pay them back -- casualty for casualty, bunker for bunker, tit for tat!"

EARLIER REPORT:
On the cusp of conflict

Tell us what you think of this report