Response to Pulwama attack: Precision air strikes the favoured option

NEW DELHI: The armed forces have stepped up military pressure along the volatile Line of Control in the aftermath of the Pulwama terror attack, with Pakistan army too raising its alert levels, but the dominant feeling is that the government needs to seriously consider options for limited cross-border strikes to compel Islamabad to change its behaviour.

The military options, short of going to war, could range from 'shallow' ground-based attacks and occupation of some heights along the LoC to restricted but precision air strikes against 'non-state targets' in PoK, senior military officers said. There is growing agreement in the security establishment that carefully-calibrated airborne strikes are among the most viable and effective options to teach a lesson to Pakistan, with the ground-based 'surgical strikes' of September 2016 having somewhat lost their element of surprise.


Fighters like Sukhoi-30MKIs, Mirage-2000s and Jaguars, armed with 'smart' glide bombs and missiles, can be used to take out some terror camps and launch pads near the LoC from 'stand-off ranges' without even crossing into Pakistani airspace. "Preparation time for such air strikes is minimal," said an officer on the condition of anonymity.

Then, the 90-km Smerch multiple-launch rocket systems and the 290-km BrahMos supersonic cruise missiles can be used to target Pakistani army posts, terror camps, launch pads and staging areas.

But exercising any such coercive option will require political will to risk retaliation and escalation, with Pakistan clearly being no military pushover.

“There are a host of military options available depending on the time, place and kind of weapon system to be used without crossing the threshold. The aim would be to target the terror infrastructure in PoK, not the Pakistan heartland or its citizens,” said another officer.

Officers contend the use of hard military options against terror-training camps, even though many of them may be makeshift, will send an unequivocal message to Pakistan, and is a risk worth taking because the diplomatic offensive against Pakistan has failed to deliver the goods. “Pulwama is a big tragedy. But it was coming, and Pakistan’s hand is all over it. How long will we continue to take hits? We have to seriously start looking at some hard-kinetic options,” said Lt Gen D S Hooda (retd), who oversaw the “surgical strikes” in 2016 as the Northern Command chief.

“Diplomacy with Pakistan is not working, with China backing it to the hilt. One surgical strike in three years is not going to change Pakistan’s attitude… India needs a consistent, long-term strategy, with options in the military sphere not being ruled out,” he added.

But some in the security establishment also struck a word of caution. The use of any air or missile strike on Pakistani territory, backed as it will have to be with troop mobilisation on the ground, is bound to be escalatory as well as lead to collateral damage in the absence of hard intelligence and target coordinates.

“Virtually the entire air defence machinery of Pakistan is geared towards India. Things can easily spin out of control. Does India want a full-blown war with Pakistan, which has often threatened first use of nuclear weapons?” asked an officer.