As the country still is divided over the veracity of the surgical strikes carried out on September 28 across the Line of Control with the Congress saying it carried out similar strikes earlier, former National Security Adviser Shiv Shankar Menon has said he does not regret not publicising the news of such strikes carried out along the Line of Control in 2011.
In an interview to The Hindu, Menon said, “Covert operations, are intended to tackle infiltrations and ceasefire violations, “not to manage public opinion at home”.
He added that he had no regrets about not announcing previous strikes, as they had different “goals” in mind.
In the interview to the The Hindu, Menon went on to dismiss the term “surgical strikes” as belonging to the Cold War era and said the Uri attacks have been handled “as well as can be expected”. He said it was more appropriate to call the operations tactical strikes, “designed to keep or restore peace” along the LoC.
According to the figures released by the ministry of home affairs in Parliament last year, in 2014 and 2015, the numbers were 222 and 121 respectively.
Since the unrest in the Kashmir valley started after the killing of Hizbul Mujahideen commander Burhan Wani on 8 July, there has been a 33 per cent increase in infiltration attempts, police sources say.
Image: Former National Security Adviser Shiv Shankar Menon.
