Chief Ministers of various states congratulate army; Mehbooba cautions Centre

New Delhi [India], Sept. 29 (ANI): Chief Ministers of various states on Thursday expressed their support to the Central Government and the Indian Army for conducting out surgical strikes last night on terrorists' launch pads across the Line of Control (LoC) to neutralise terrorists planning to infiltrate into Indian territory, however, Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti expressed grave concern over the escalation of the situation along the border in Jammu and Kashmir. Cautioning the Centre, Mufti said, "The confrontation could lead to a "disaster of epic proportions if urgent steps are not taken to bring down the heightened tensions in the region. New Delhi and Islamabad must open the channels of communication realising the dangerous consequences of any escalation of ongoing confrontation along the borders." Asserting that there is simply no alternative to talks, Mehbooba said, "The history is witness that even after having fought two wars, India and Pakistan had to time and again come back to the negotiating table to resolve their issues. It will be in the interest of both the countries to solve their problems through the bilateral framework as it is the only way forward given the dicey parameters of international power politics." On the contrary, her deputy Dr Nirmal Singh said, "We hope that Pakistan will learn something from this incident, as India is now not going to tolerate all these nonsense anymore." Lauding the army's effort, Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan told ANI, "We are really proud of our army and whole nation supports them." "Surgical strikes by Army on terror launch pads demonstrates India's strong will to fight terrorism under the leadership of PM @narendramodi. Entire country stands firmly united with our armed forces. We are proud of our armed forces (sic)," he tweeted. Chhattisgarh Chief Minsiter Raman Singh told ANI, "This was not just a surgical strike, but a warning to Pakistan that we will not tolerate any more terror attacks." "I congratulate the brave Indian soldiers and the army leadership for giving a befitting reply to terrorists across LOC. This decisive action amply demonstrates Hon. PM @narendramodi ji's iron will and comittment to safeguard India (sic)," he tweeted. Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal tweeted: "Bharat Mata ki jai. The entire country is with the Indian Army." "We sincerely congratulate the Central Government and our brave armed forces for the decisive action taken against terrorism," tweeted Nitish Kumar NitishKumar. However, Rajasthan Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje said in a tweet, "Facing vagaries of nature, fearlessly protecting our Borders and our Honour-take a bow, Indian Army! You are our Pride." "Welcoming #SurgicalStrikes carried out by the army against terrorists. Congratulating the swift response of Central Govt & our Army," tweeted Haryana Chief Minister manohar Lal Khattar. Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis tweeted, "@narendramodi ji has shown that we're a strong nation &don't tolerate terrorism. Entire nation is proud of #IndianArmy &PM #ModiPunishesPak (sic)." CMO Goa tweeted Goa Chief Minister Laxmikant Parsekar as saying, "Congratulations to Indian Army , @narendramodi , @manoharparrikar on the successful counter terrorism operation. Goa Salutes the valour of Indian Army for this brave and courageous act." "Congratulations to the Indian Army for #SurgicalStrikes to safeguard our nation. We should strongly condemn any act of terror," said N Chandrababu Naidu in atweet. "#IndianArmy congratulations), we are standing with the Indian Army #SurgicalStrike," tweeted Uttarakhand Chief Minister Harish Rawat. Asam Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal said in a tweet, "Salute to Indian Army for the successful #SurgicalStrike. Congratulations to Hon'ble PM Shri @narendramodi ji for this determined action (sic)." Addressing a press conference here, Director General of Military Operations Lieutenant General Ranbir Singh said "significant casualty was caused to terrorists during the operation". Lt. Gen. Singh said, "Based on very credible and specific information which we received yesterday that some terrorist teams had positioned themselves at launch pads along the Line of Control with an aim to carry out infiltration and terrorist strikes in Jammu and Kashmir and in various other metros in our country, the Indian army conducted surgical strikes last night at these launch pads." "The operations were basically focused to ensure that these terrorists do not succeed in their design of infiltration and carrying out destruction and endangering the lives of citizens of our country. During these counter terrorist operations, significant casualties have been caused to the terrorists and those who are trying to support them. The operations aimed at neutralizing the terrorists have since ceased. We do not have any plans for continuation of further operations. However the Indian armed forces are fully prepared for any contingency that may arise," he added. "I have just spoken to the Pakistani Director General of Military Operations and explained our concerns and also shared with him the operations we had conducted last night. It is India's intention to maintain peace and tranquillity in the region, but we can certainly not allow the terrorists to operate across the Line of Control with impunity and attack the citizens of our country," he said. The DGMO said, "It has been a matter of serious concern that there has been continuing and increasing infiltration by terrorists across the Line of Control in Jammu and Kashmir. This is reflected in the terrorist attacks at Poonch and Uri on September 11-18, respectively. Almost 20 infiltration attempts have been foiled by the Indian Army successfully during this year. During these terrorist attacks and infiltration attempts we have recovered items including Global Positioning Systems and stores which have had Pakistani markings." (ANI)