Surgical strikes: Abdul Basit receives threats, Pak asks India to provide security

Sources said that the necessary details have been shared with MEA.

Islamabad: Hours after surgical strikes were carried out by India at seven terror camps in Pakistan, High Commissioner Abdul Basit said that he had received threatening calls, warning him to leave India along with his team.

Sources close to Basit said that the necessary details have been shared with Ministry of External Affairs (MEA).

Moreover, Basit said that he has requested the Indian government to provide security to all members of Pakistan High Commissioner as well as their families under Vienna convention.

Earlier, India carried out surgical strikes on terror launchpads across the Line of Control (LoC) in Jammu and Kashmir late on Wednesday night to thwart attacks on some of its biggest cities.

The Defence establishment said there were "significant casualties" among terrorists and among those who were trying to support them.

“Pakistan is guilty of increasing infiltration by terrorists along the Line of Control in Jammu and Kashmir and even the recently captured terrorists have confessed to their training and arming in Pakistan. The Global positioning systems (GPS) recovered from them established their Pakistani connect,” said Lt General Ranbir Singh, Director General of Military Operations (DGMO), at a hurriedly called news conference on Thursday during which External affairs ministry spokesman Vikas Swarup was also present.

These surgical strikes are the first major military action taken by India against Pakistan after the Uri attack in which 18 soldiers were killed as terrorists from Pakistan crossed into an Army camp earlier this month. Prime Minister Narendra Modi had pledged that the attack would not go unpunished.

A surgical strike is a swift attack undertaken by military on specific targets with the aim to neutralise them while ensuring minimum collateral damage to the surrounding areas and civilians, and a subsequent return to primary positions. It also prevents escalation to a full-blown war.

These attacks can be carried out via air raids, airdropping special operation teams or a ground operation. All three Indian armed forces have their separate special ops teams. It requires detailed and extensive planning to carry out surgical strikes and achieve the objective. External intelligence is vital to carry out these strikes.