Director General Military Operations on Sunday said that at least 35 Pakistani army personnel were killed on the Line of Control (LoC) between May 7 and 10. He added that there would be more casualties, which are being assessed, since the Indian army used heavier weapons in response to air intrusions by the neighbouring country’s army.
“There are various means to ascertain (the loss of lives). There is information from various agencies. From the Line of Control (LoC), there are other ways to determine the effects. I mentioned 35-40 on the Line of Control. Please remember that once Operation Sindoor was launched, the responses of the Pakistan Army were also on the Indian Army or the Indian Armed Forces infrastructure,” Ghai told reporters in a press conference.
“Our targets were terror-oriented, and later, once they launched air intrusions and air operations on our infrastructure, we used heavier weapons, and there would have been casualties, but those are still being assessed,” he added.
The DGMO said that some of the air fields and dumps witnessed repeated attacks in waves from the air, which were prevented by the armed forces.
“Some of the air fields and dumps saw repeated attacks in waves from the air. All were thwarted. The Pakistan Army has reported to have lost approximately 35 to 40 personnel in artillery and small arms firing on the Line of Control between May 7 and 10,” Ghai said.
He further stated that the armed forces practised caution not to target civilian establishments and remained bound by self-imposed restrictions to target only terrorists. Ghai added that some of the terror camps were in PoK while others were located in Punjab province in Pakistan.
The DGMO said that Muridke, a city in Sheikhupura district of Pakistan’s Punjab, has been the hub of Lashkar-e-Taiba, which has bred infamous characters such as Ajmal Kasab and David Headley, accused in the 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks.
“There was also a term of reference and our own binding self-imposed restriction to target only terrorists and thus, prevent collateral damage. There were nine camps you are now familiar with, which were confirmed by our various intelligence agencies to be inhabited. Some of these were in PoJK, while there were others that were located in the Punjab Province in Pakistan. Nefarious places such as Muridke, the hub centre of the Lashkar-e-Taiba, have over the years bred infamous characters such as Ajmal Kasab and the likes of David Headley,” Ghai added. (ANI)
