India should leverage all assets to strike Pakistan: Lt Gen Kalita on Pahalgam attack
"India should isolate Pakistan diplomatically, and as the economy of Pakistan is in shambles, India should hit that country economically," said Kalita;
A file image of Lt Gen Rana Pratap Kalita (Retd). (Photo:'X')
Guwahati, Apr 24: India should use all its assets – diplomatic, economic, military and political – to hit out against Pakistan in response to the gruesome killing of 26 civilians in Kashmir, said former GoC-in-C of Eastern Command of the Army, Lt Gen Rana Pratap Kalita (Retd).
Talking to The Assam Tribune, Lt Gen Kalita said that instead of taking any knee-jerk action, the government should launch a well-planned action against Pakistan. He said that India should isolate Pakistan diplomatically, and as the economy of Pakistan is in shambles, India should hit that country economically.
Lt Gen Kalita said that as Pakistan-based terrorists had not hit tourists like yesterday's incident in Pahalgam before, no one perhaps expected such an action. Moreover, in the last couple of years or so, tourism was flourishing in Jammu and Kashmir, and no one expected such a gruesome attack. It is too early to say whether it is a security failure. If there was any intelligence input, there should have been preventive deployment of forces in that area, he added.
Lt Gen Kalita said that as the area where the attack took place is some distance away from the LoC, it would not have been possible for the terrorists to enter India and strike.
The terrorists must have entered India a few days back. It is evident that it was a well-planned attack, and it would not have been possible without the help of local support, shelter and guides, he added. He also said that while launching an operation against the terrorists involved, steps should be taken to nab those involved in providing shelter to the terrorists.
The former Army officer pointed out that in the past also, terrorists struck when some high-profile visits took place. Terrorist strikes took place during the time of the then US President Bill Clinton and even when the then Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee was visiting Pakistan. This time, the terror strike took place during the visit of the US Vice President. He further said that after the abrogation of Article 370, the overall law and order situation improved and tourists started flocking to Kashmir. The terrorists were gradually losing their relevance, which may be one of the reasons which triggered the terrorist action.
