India believes Pakistan will resort to a major strike in J&K using terrorists, but there won’t be an attack by Army regulars. pti

Ajay Banerjee

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, October 11

Buoyed by a “positive signal” from global powers and the international “cold-shoulder” to Pakistan, following the September 29 strikes by the Indian Army across the Line of Control (LoC) to target terror  camps in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK), the Indian security establishment has devised a “three-S” formula to respond to terror threat originating from across the border.“Speed, Skills and Surprise” will form the fulcrum of the “three-S” formula. The “skills” shall include stealth and training to carry out responses in future as the security establishment knows that cross-LoC raid or strike at multiple locations cannot be repeated after every terror attack in India.Pakistan’s “low-cost” option of waging a proxy war by sending terrorists to India can no more remain viable in the long run; the unpredictability that will be factored in the “three-S” formula, would  be a deterrent, a source told The Tribune.Within hours of the cross-LoC strikes, Russia, China and the US made it clear that they “stood by” New Delhi’s response. While China asked both sides to scale down tension and resort to dialogue, the US and Russia, in separate statements, called on Pakistan to end terrorism originating from its soil.On September 30, Moscow said, “We expect that the Pakistan government should take effective steps in order to stop activities of terrorist groups in the territory of the country.”US National Security Adviser Susan Rice called on Pakistan “to take effective action to combat and de-legitimise United Nations-designated terrorist individuals and entities, including Lashkar-e-Toiba, Jaish-e-Mohammad, and their affiliates.”Within India, an assessment within the security establishment is that Pakistan will attempt to retaliate through terror strikes even as citizens in its own country have questioned the wisdom of engaging with India.New Delhi believes Pakistan will resort to a major strike in Jammu and Kashmir using terrorists, but there won’t be an attack by Pakistan Army regulars. India’s response to such a strike will depend on the nature of the attack, but so far it’s almost certain that “no war” looms on the horizon unless Pakistan is hell-bent on taking on the economic and military might of India.