Army Hands Over Evidence Of Surgical Strikes To The Government. Will It Be Released?

Union Minister of State for Home Affairs Hansraj Ahir has said the army has handed over the video footage of the surgical strikes conducted on the Pakistani side of the Line of Control (LoC) to the government.

Ahir’s remarks followed demands by members of some opposition parties that the government should release evidence of the surgical strikes to counter Pakistan's claims that the operation never took place.

The announcement was made following a Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS) meeting in which the prime minister was informed about the presence of over 100 terrorists across the LoC waiting to infiltrate into Kashmir.

Meanwhile, Home Minister Rajnath Singh on Friday (30 September) held meetings with the chiefs of important central security forces, including the National Security Guard (NSG) and Central Industrial Security Force (CISF).

Earlier today, media reports claimed that the army had given a green signal for the release of video footage of the surgical strike. According to the Economic Times, top officials from the army have said the army wants the government to release the evidence to dislodge Pakistan’s misleading campaign that claims otherwise.

An unplanned meeting of the CCS, Rajnath Singh’s meeting with NSG and CISF chiefs and the army’s decision to hand over the evidence to the government seem to indicate that we are heading towards a possible revelation.

A question, however, remains: How will the government deal with the rogue state's propaganda machine, occasionally called Inter-Services Public Relations?