GUWAHATI, Oct 4 - There has been a paradigm shift in the policy of the Government of India on the issue of dealing with terrorism and if any terrorist kills an Indian citizen, he will have be ready to face the toughest possible action. Meanwhile, all the possible outcomes were examined carefully before launching the recent surgical operation against terrorists in the Pakistan occupied Kashmir (PoK).
Talking to The Assam Tribune, highly placed sources in the Government of India said, �gone are the days when terrorists attacked Indians and the government�s response were mere statements condemning the attacks. From now on, if any terrorist attacks Indian citizens, he will have to be ready to face the strongest possible action. Even if a terrorist escapes to a foreign country after inflicting pain on any Indian citizen, he would not be able to escape unharmed.�
Sources said that the recent surgical operation was unique as for the first time, the Government of India decided to launch such a major offensive to prove its point to the terrorists. The government is ready to face any eventuality following the strike as all the possible scenarios of such an attack were thoroughly examined before taking the �calculated risk�, which came off well. Sources pointed out that though India had earlier carried out such an operation in Myanmar, there was a major difference. The insurgents attacked in Myanmar by the Indian security forces were not getting any direct help from the Government of Myanmar, but it is now a well established fact that the terrorists in PoK were getting support from the Pakistan Army.
Official sources further pointed out that the surgical strike was not against a country by the Indian Army, but was a clinical operation against terrorists using the territory as safe sanctuaries. As there was no civilian casualty and India could prove that only terrorists were killed in the attack, Pakistan is not in a position to raise the issue in the international forum. In fact, India has been able to get diplomatic support from different countries for the offensive launched against terrorists. Moreover, India always considers the PoK as an Indian territory under illegal occupation by Pakistan and �we can always claim that we had launched an operation against terrorists in our own country. Legally, Pakistan also cannot claim the PoK as its territory and they can only say that it is an area under their occupation.�
Sources also warned that following the change of policy of the government, even if any member of militant outfits of the Northeast indulges in killing of Indian citizens and escapes to a foreign country, India would try its best to hit him in foreign land, if necessary. In the past, the Centre started talks with insurgents involved in large scale killings of innocents, but when the NDFB(S) indulged in killings of innocents, the Centre made it clear that there would be no talk with the outfit and launched a full scale operation against its members. Similar situation would continue and no one would be allowed to go scot free after killing an Indian citizen, sources added.
