GUWAHATI: S S Khaplang faction of National Socialist Council of Nagaland (NSCN-K) on Wednesday dismissed the Army’s claim that it had inflicted “heavy damage” on the militants during Tuesday’s surgical strikes at two locations on the Indo-Myanmar border.
“The unsubstantiated claim of cross-border raid by the Indian Army is a conspiracy at the highest political-military-intelligence level of the Government of India to coerce Myanmar government to act against NSCN-K and also to exude confidence on her demoralised and frustrated soldiers deployed along Indo-Naga-Myanmar border,” the NSCN-K said in a statement on Wednesday evening.
“The zealous effort of the Government of India to garner popular public opinion to justify the demonic and inhuman AFSPA (Armed Forces Special Powers Act) is the reason behind all these desperate bogus operation, which never happened,” it added.
The Naga insurgent group, which operates from Myanmarese soil, said branding the NSCN-K as a terror group would be “self- mockery as no legitimate representative government ever signs an official ceasefire pact with a terror group or would admit the terror problem as that of political”.
Pointing out that the “Naga issue” had been acknowledged as a political one by successive Indian political leaders in the last six decades, the NSCN-K said no drastic change of stance by the Central government could relegate the issue. The Army had on Tuesday had said the operation was carried out by the 21 para (special forces) with support from IAF. It claimed that two militant camps were destroyed in the raids. Meanwhile, “welcoming” the Army’s action on the insurgents, Assam Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi said this would help to bring lasting peace to the region.
“The Chief Minister said the Army’s offensive on the insurgent outfits would also help in protecting the territorial integrity of our country. He said that the Army action would send the right signal to all elements planning to carry out subversive activities,” the Chief Minister’s Office said in a release.