NEW DELHI: The two units of elite Special Forces of the Indian Army that went inside PoK and carried out surgical strike on terror launch pads will be awarded on Republic day. Awarding of troops involved in cross-border strike is seen as New Delhi’s riposte to Islamabad’s constant denial of any such strike in its territory.
Para units of Special Forces 4 and 9, responsible for carrying out September 29th surgical strike have been selected for the ‘unit citation’ from the Army Chief. Unit citation is the highest appreciation for a unit for its all-round operational performance including number of killings and less casualties on its side. The Indian Army has selected its 14 units including five from Rashtriya Rifles, two Rajputs and one each from Assam Regiment and Sikh light infantry for this year’s Unit Citation.
Surgical strike was India’s first open submission of its generally covert operations in the enemy’s territory against terror infrastructure. In fact, Modi government has decided to start this year’s Republic Day parade with marching contingent of Bihar regiment, to pay tribute to martyrs of Uri attack as 6 Bihar regiment lost 17 of its soldiers in pre-dawn fidayeen attack in Uri.
Army headquarters decision to include contingent of Bihar regiment was subsequently approved by the ministry of defence, as a tribute to the regiment. An officer in the Defence Ministry said that including both regiment’s marching contingent in the parade is in solidarity with the families of jawans who lost their lives.