India says ready for more 'surgical strikes'

Indian Air Force (IAF) is ready for full spectrum operation but any decision on surgical strike involving the air force has to be taken by the government.

This was stated by the Air Chief Marshal B S Dhanoa here on Thursday.

Dhanoa also said that the IAF was capable of effectively countering any threat from China and Pakistan simultaneously in a two-front war, and indicated existing tension between Chinese and Indian troops in Dokalam.

Asked about concerns over Pakistan's tactical nuclear weapons and whether the IAF would be able to disarm Islamabad of its nuclear arsenals if necessary, Dhanoa said his force had the capability of locating, fixing and striking across the border.

Asserting that the IAF was capable of a two-front war to counter China and Pakistan, he, however, said the possibility of such a scenario was "low". At the same time he added that India's response had to be based on the enemy's capability as intentions could change overnight.

"We need a strength of 42 squadrons to carry out full spectrum operations in a two-front (war) scenario. It does not mean that we are not capable of fighting a two-front (war) as we speak. We have a plan B," Dhanoa said.

Army chief Gen Bipin Rawat had said last month that the country should be prepared for a two-front war, insisting that China had started "flexing its muscles", while there seemed to be no scope for a reconciliation with Pakistan whose military and polity saw an adversary in India.

Currently, the IAF has 33 fighter squadrons and Dhanoa said the force would get the authorised strength of 42 fighter squadrons by 2032.

Asked whether the IAF was ready for a surgical strike across the border, he said it was ready to deal with any challenge and a call on such an operation would have to be taken by the government.

"Surgical strike is a decision that has to be taken by the government. The IAF has the capability to carry out the full spectrum of air operations," he said.

He said a war-like situation may arise if the IAF crossed the border.

On whether the IAF provided any support to the Army for the surgical strike last year and during the Dokalam face-off, the IAF chief said, "Whatever was asked from the air force was provided". He refused to share further details.

The IAF chief, however, said no air force assets were involved during the Myanmar operation and the surgical strike across the LoC in Jammu and Kashmir last year.

"The IAF is prepared to fight at a short notice in full synergy with the other two sister services should the need arise," he said, adding that the force was in a high state of readiness to fight a war.

About a possible confrontation with China, he said India's air power was "adequate". At the same time, he talked about what China could or could not do from Tibet.

"Our capability is adequate," he said.

Noting that the Chinese troops were currently present in the Chumbi Valley in the Dokalam Plateau, the IAF chief said a peaceful resolution of the issue would be in the interest of both the countries.

"The two sides are not in a physical face-off as we speak. However, their forces in Chumbi Valley are still deployed and I expect them to withdraw as their exercise in the area gets over," Dhanoa told reporters ahead of IAF Day, which is marked on October 8.Indian and Chinese troops were locked in an over two- month-long standoff after India stopped the construction of a road by China in Dokalam in the Sikkim sector on June 16.

Pak Warns India Against Surgical Strikes

Meanwhile, Pakistan's Foreign Minister Khawaja Asif Thurday warned India against carrying out surgical strike or targeting its nuclear installations, saying if that happens nobody should expect restraint from his country.

Referring to the statement of India's Air Chief Marshal B S Dhanoa that the Indian armed forces are ready for a full spectrum operation, Asif said Pakistan wants to live in peace and harmony with its neighbours.

But if India carries out any surgical strike in Pakistan or strikes at its nuclear installations "nobody should expect restraint from us", he warned.

Speaking at the US Institute of Peace, a Washington-based think-tank, Asif said the "relationship with India is at a lowest ebb at the moment". Responding to a question on India, he said, "sadly India did not respond" to Pakistani efforts to improve relationship. "What is going on in Kashmir is the biggest roadblock to normalisation to talks," Asif said.

The Pakistani Foreign Minister asked the US not to treat his country as a "whipping boy" and said Washington has already lost the war in Afghanistan and is only trying to salvage the situation in the war-torn nation. Asif, who is here as part of efforts to rebuild bilateral ties frayed after President Donald Trump accused Pakistan of sheltering terror groups, said his meetings with Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and National Security Advisor H R McMaster were good.

"Was not bad," Asif quipped, giving a sense of his talks with top leadership of the Trump administration, which has been seeking accountability from Islamabad in the war against terrorism including continued presence of terror safe havens in Pakistan. Asif in a way acknowledged that the madrasas were training ground for terrorists. "These madrasas were nurseries for American jihad in Afghanistan. People who took those decisions will burn to hell. We are actually living in hell because of that decision," he said, adding that Pakistan is paying the price of such a decision.

"The meeting went well with Tillerson and McMaster (meeting) was good. (It) was not bad," Asif said, noting that the two countries need to pursue contacts with each other. He favoured adopting an approach of talks and exchange of views more vigorously. The US, he said, is focusing solely on safe haven allegations or blaming Pakistan for what they have not achieved in Afghanistan. "There are many more dimension of what is going on in Afghanistan," he said.

"A corrupt government in Kabul, increasing narcotics trade, the Afghan Army selling arms to the Taliban, losing terrorist and bringing Daesh (ISIS) to Afghanistan," he said. "Let's see this conflict in its entirety, in totality. Do not treat Pakistan like a whipping boy. That's not acceptable. We want to cooperate with the US. We are the direct beneficiary of peace and stability in Afghanistan," he said.