New Delhi: Indians across the length and breadth of the country, especially the kin of the martyrs of the dastardly Uri terror attacks, on Thursday hailed the Indian Army's surgical strikes across the Line Of Control (LoC) in Pakistan Occupied Kashmir, which dismantled at least seven terror launch pads, and expressed supreme satisfaction over India's appropriate response to Pakistan.
According to news agency ANI, the news that the Indian Army had carried out surgical strikes on terror launch pads across the Line of Control was received with relief by kin of the martyrs of the Uri terror attack.
Bihar: People celebrate in Patna after Indian Army conducts surgical strikes in Pakistan territory. #SurgicalStrike pic.twitter.com/OHaNcz0bp1
— ANI (@ANI_news) September 29, 2016
"I'm really happy that the Indian Army took the initiative and conducted these strikes," ANI quoted Aarti - the daughter of martyred jawan SK Vidyarthi as saying.
Vidyarthi's wife also weighed in on the Army's response to the Uri attack, saying that Wednesday night's strikes were "good," but also that she would have been happier if they'd had been carried out before before.
The widow of Lance Naik Rajesh Kumar Yadav (from Ballia, Uttar Pradesh) expressed similar sentiments.
She said that if India had responded this way to previous terror attacks, her husband might still be at her side. While the news of Wednesday's strike wouldn't alleviate her pain, it did give her satisfaction, she said.
Lance Naik Rajesh's mother said the news gave her relief. Even though she wasn't going to get her son back, somebody else's son wouldn't have to face the same fate, she said.
Residents of Devpura village in Uttar Pradesh's Ghazipur district - the home of fallen jawan Harendra Yadav - welcomed news of the Indian Army's strikes by jubilantly crying "Bharat Mata ki Jai!" and "Jab tak Suraj chaand rahega, harendra tumhaara naam rahega!"
Harendra's father said he was relieved that his son's death had been avenged. The jawan's brother said Prime Minister Modi had responded to the Uri attack exactly as he'd been expected to, and expressed hope that Pakistan would receive the same kind of response in times to come.
Meanwhile, the Indians across the nation celebrated the development and cheered the Indian Army's befitting response to Pakistan.
Celebration at BJP office in Mumbai after Indian Army conduct surgical strikes on Pak territory pic.twitter.com/LhW8sgDje5
— ANI (@ANI_news) September 29, 2016
Protests and sloganeering against Pakistan were also held at various places ioncluding the national capital.
"Doodh maango kheer denge, Kashmir maango cheer denge" slogan raised during celebration for Indian Army's surgical strikes on Pak territory pic.twitter.com/05nAdE9dqH
— ANI (@ANI_news) September 29, 2016
Sending a clear message to Pakistan in the wake of the Uri attack, the government declared on Thursday that the special armed forces carried out surgical strikes on terrorist launch pads across the Line of Control on Wednesday night, inflicting heavy casualties.
Sources said that the operation was a combination of heliborne and ground forces, and seven terror launch pads were destroyed in the strike across LoC.
The sources said the operation began at around mid-night last night and ended at around 4:30 am. The terror launch pads targeted were in the range of 2 to 3 km from the Line of Control(LoC) and were under surveillance for over one week, the sources said.
The operation by the Indian Army has left Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif rattled. Pakistan has dismissed as "fabrication of truth" India's claim that it has conducted a military operation across the LoC, terming it as a "quest" by India to create media hype by rebranding cross-border fire as a surgical strike.
Eleven days after terrorists killed 18 Indian soldiers in Jammu and Kashmir, Indian Special Forces targeted "some terrorist teams" positioned at launch pads on the LoC, Lt Gen Ranbir Singh, the Director General Military Operations (DGMO), told the media here. External Affairs Ministry spokesman Vikas Swarup was also present at the press conference.
