Antony, in a shift, blames killings on Pakistan Army

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After Wednesday’s uproar in Parliament, defence minister A.K. Antony on Thursday significantly altered his earlier statement and squarely blamed the Pakistan Army for the killing of five Indian soldiers in the Poonch sector, saying “it is now clear that specialist troops of the Pakistan Army were involved in this attack”, and warning Pakistan that “this incident will have consequences on our behaviour on the Line of Control and for our relations with Pakistan”. The term “specialist troops” seems to be an obvious reference to the Pakistan Army’s border action team commandos of the Special Services Group who are believed to have participated in the ambush.
Mr Antony’s earlier statement on Tuesday had merely said that some of the attackers “were dressed in Pakistan Army uniforms”. But a controversy had erupted, with the Opposition targeting the government in Parliament after the Army’s original statement on Tuesday — that has now proved to be correct — had named soldiers of the Pakistan Army as being among the attackers. The BJP had wanted to know why Mr Antony on Tuesday had not named the Pakistan Army directly. But on Thursday, Leader of the Opposition Sushma Swaraj welcomed Mr Antony’s revised statement, saying she was happy that the defence minister had “accepted his mistake” and rectified it. “The Opposition supports your statement and we have been successful in saying in one voice that Pakistan cannot resort to such acts,” she said.
Speculation was rife that the draft of Mr Antony’s statement on Thursday was prepared in consultation with both the Army Chief and the national security adviser. The Indian Army may now adopt a more aggressive stance on the LoC, and may retaliate at a time, place and manner of its choosing. The Army is likely to hit back hard in case of any further provocation by the Pakistan Army. The Army is also likely to order an inquiry into any lapses in standard operating procedures that led to the casualties on Tuesday. The attack by Pakistani troops is understood to have been planned several days in advance.
On Thursday, the defence minister told Parliament: “The brutal and unprovoked attack on an Indian patrol on our side of the Line of Control on August 6, 2013 outraged us all. When I reported the incident to the House, it was the government’s obligation to report the facts as we knew them at that point of time, and my statement was based on the available information. Since then the Chief of the Army Staff has visited the area and gone into details of the matter. It is now clear that specialist troops of the Pakistan Army were involved in this attack when a group from Pakistan-occupied Kashmir side crossed the LoC and killed our brave jawans. We all know that nothing happens from the Pakistan side of the Line of Control without support, assistance, facilitation and often direct involvement of the Pakistan Army.”
Mr Antony further said: “Naturally, this incident will have consequences on our behaviour on the Line of Control and for our relations with Pakistan. Our restraint should not be taken for granted; nor should the capacity of our armed forces and resolve of the Government to uphold the sanctity of the LoC ever be doubted.”
The minister added: “Those in Pakistan who are responsible for this tragedy and the brutal killing of two soldiers earlier this year should not go unpunished. Pakistan should also show determined action to dismantle terrorist networks, organisations and infrastructure and show tangible movement on bringing those responsible for the Mumbai terrorist attack in November 2008 to justice quickly.”
Army Chief Gen. Bikram Singh is learnt to have extensively briefed Mr Antony on the conclusions drawn from the ambush. It purportedly took place during the “turnover” period of Indian troops at the LoC that takes place once every two to three years, when a new battalion is being inducted while the current one is de-inducted. Also, patrolling procedures may have got predictable, making the ambush easy for Pakistani troops. It will also be probed whether Indian soldiers had the time to fire back in self-defence.
The Army’s original statement — issued from Jammu Tuesday — had directly blamed the Pakistan Army and had clearly said its soldiers were ambushed by “20 heavily-armed terrorists along with soldiers of the Pakistan Army”. However, the Army later said the phrase “armed terrorists along with soldiers of the Pakistan Army” was amended to “armed terrorists along with persons dressed in Pakistan Army uniforms”. This amended statement was in line with the defence minister’s statement on Tuesday, setting off a political storm in Parliament on Wednesday. The defence minister had said on Tuesday that the “ambush was carried out by approximately 20 heavily-armed terrorists along with persons dressed in Pakistan Army uniforms”.
Thursday’s fresh statement by the minister in the Lok Sabha ensured peace with the main Opposition, which expressed happiness that he had “accepted his mistake” and rectified it. The BJP had targeted Mr Antony, alleging he had given a clean chit to the Pakistan Army and should apologise. It paralysed Parliament for the past two days. Soon after the new statement, Ms Swaraj took on the Congress, suggesting those who had accused the BJP of playing politics over the killing of five soldiers were wrong. They should know her party was trying to get corrected the defence minister’s statement on Tuesday, she added. Ms Swaraj said the Opposition wanted to express the commitment of the nation on the issue and send a message to Pakistan that it cannot commit such acts again. Mr Antony acknowledged her remarks with folded hands.
While Ms Swaraj signalled the issue was over for the BJP, its NDA ally, the Shiv Sena, voiced dissatisfaction with Mr Antony’s statement. Sena leader Anant Geete said India could not hold talks with Pakistan in such a situation. Mr Antony was to make the same statement in the Rajya Sabha, but soon after he started reading it amid a din, the House was adjourned by deputy chairman P.J. Kurien in view of the uproar.
Sources in the Indian security establishment said on Thursday that the Special Services Group (SSG) commandos of the Pakistan Army could have been part of the Border Action Team (BAT) that carried out the ambush and killing of five Indian soldiers across the LoC in the Poonch sector. Defence minister A.K. Antony’s statement that “specialist troops of the Pakistan Army were involved in this attack” appears to be a clear reference to the role played by the SSG commandos in the BAT, sources said.
The Pakistan Army's SSG comprises seven battalions and four companies which include the “Musa” company that carries out operations in riverine areas. The SSG is believed to have been involved in the killing of two Indian soldiers in the Mendhar sector as well in January this year.