Guarding the borders: The challenge India faces in 2018

Securing the borders will be a key focus for India this year. The Indian Army has gained a major advantage in Jammu and Kashmir and during the year 2018, the challenge would be to ensure that there is no let up in terms of security.

To ensure that Pakistan does not have an upper hand, the Union Government has chalked out a plan to secure the border and also give the forces a free hand.

The Indian government has given the Army a free hand to carry out more strikes across the Line of Control. In addition to this Union Home Ministry has prepared a document which speaks of enhanced border security in 2018.

The Army has been told to take its call and not wait for government orders while carrying out a strike across the LoC. It may be recalled that the Army had carried out a successful strike across the LoC and killed three Pakistan soldiers.

The free hand was given in the wake of the increasing number of ceasefire violations by Pakistan. The scale of the ceasefire violations has shot up. In 2017 alone there were 770 odd such violations when compared to the 228 in 2016. Border security would be crucial for India in 2018, the Home Ministry document says.

With the Army's "Operation Clean Up," being a major success there are hardly any foot soldiers and commanders left on the ground. This has prompted Pakistan to up the ante, the Home Ministry document also said.

An official explained that the strike along the LoC was planned in quick time. We had hardly three days to plan the operation. However, the soldiers were ready to avenge the death of their colleagues.

The soldiers of the Indian Army equipped with Improvised Explosive Devices, light machine guns and assault rifles moved 500 metres into the LoC before launching the strike.

While one team planted the IEDs, another launched an attack with the assault rifles and light machine guns. The operation lasted around 45 minutes in which 3. Pakistani soldiers were killed. The operation involved 'selective targeting' and no Indian soldier was injured in the attack.

OneIndia News