Always alert: How Indian Army was set to hit Pakistan

New Delhi, Aug 20: From an aerial raid to a conventional war. The Indian Army had kept all its options open after the Balakot strike on a Jaish-e-Mohammad facility.

The Balakot strike was carried out in the aftermath of the Pulwama attack in which a JeM bomber blew himself up, following which 40 CRPF jawans were martyred.

The Indian Army had finalised contracts to procure ammunition worth Rs 11,000 crore after the Uri terror attack in September 2016, and it has received 95 per cent of the total order.

The Army has also finalised 33 contracts worth Rs 7,000 crore for procuring critical armaments while another set of purchases at a cost of Rs 9,000 crore is at an advanced stage.

Post the Balakot strike, India was expecting a major retaliation from Pakistan. The Army informed the government, that it was fully ready to deal with any sort of offensive by Pakistan. A source told OneIndia that the preparedness was very high and the Army had upped its ante in the aftermath of the Uri attack.

In March last year, the vice chiefs of the three services were granted additional financial powers to carry out specific procurement to ensure operational preparedness.

In the wake of the Pulwama terror attack, the government granted emergency powers to the three services to procure weapons and military hardware to enhance their operational preparedness along the border with Pakistan.

The government also relaxed certain rules to cut delays in a military purchase like allowing the three services to procure required weapons and equipment from a single vendor.

In the wake of Pakistan's sharp reaction to India's decisions on Jammu and Kashmir, the Army has been put on high alert along the Line of Control.

The Indian Army was prepared for conventional warfare with Pakistan which would have included going inside Pakistan, PTI reported while quoting sources.

The Army chief informed the government about the preparedness of his force when it was considering various options, including carrying out an aerial raid, to punish Pakistan for the Pulwama terror attack.

General Bipin Rawat, at a closed door interaction with a group of retiring Army officials on Monday, said the force was combat ready for any hostilities from Pakistan Army after the Balakot strikes, the sources said.

Explaining General Rawat's comments, a military official said what the Army chief meant was that the Indian Army was ready to take the battle into Pakistan.