India will react sharply if another incident like 26/11 occurs: Security expert

 

Security expert Sushant Sareen on Friday said that the role of the Pakistani Army cannot be ignored in connection with the ongoing attacks in Jammu and Kashmir, adding New Delhi's reaction will be severe if another incident like the 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks takes place.

"The [role of the] Pakistani army cannot be ignored from what has happened in the last couple of days in J-K. They are aware that if another incident like 26/11 takes place in India, then the reaction from New Delhi will be extremely severe and there will be no restraining hand," Sareen told ANI.

Sareen was reacting to the four terror attacks that hit Jammu and Kashmir, a state which is in the midst of its five-phase state assembly elections.

Sareen further alleged that the attacks have taken place in order to challenge the legitimacy of the enthusiastic response the people of Jammu and Kashmir have given to the democratic process.

"The kind of turnouts which were there in the J-K elections has spooked the Pakistanis, who were probably not expecting this kind of massive turnout in the elections. Over a period of time, we have seen that after the first phase of assembly election, there has been steady racketing up of violence and the attack in the Uri sector was a part of this violence, essentially to sabotage these elections and to ensure that people don't come out and vote in the next three phases," he said.

Confident that the Indian army would have a measured response to the acts of violence, Sareen stated that the security forces would not carry our reprisal attacks against unarmed civilians.

"The Indian army will have a measured response. Along with the rest of the security forces, they will carry out operations against suspected bases or establishments of the terrorists. The Indian army will not carry out reprisal attacks against unarmed civilians in J-K," he said.

Earlier in the day, Chief of Army Staff, General Dalbir Singh Suhag, met Prime Minister Narendra Modi to brief him on the terror attacks in Jammu and Kashmir. According to reports, General Suhag briefed Prime Minister Modi about the ongoing situation and the army's preparedness for similar challenges ahead.

 

DNA