Congress MP Shashi Tharoor ignited a controversy with his remark that India’s first cross-Line of Control (LoC) surgical strike occurred in 2016, The Indian Army’s records seem to support Tharoor’s assertion, while, the Congress party quickly distanced itself from his statement.
According to Tharoor, the Uri strike in September 2016 marked a significant shift in India’s approach, where the country breached the Line of Control (LoC) between India and Pakistan to conduct a surgical strike on a terror base. He further noted that the Balakot strike in February 2019 took it a step further, crossing not only the LoC but also the international border to target terrorist headquarters.
He stated, “What has changed in recent years is that the terrorists have also realised they will have a price to pay, on that, let there be no doubt. When, for the first time, India breached the Line of Control between India and Pakistan to conduct a surgical strike on a terror base, a launch pad – the Uri strike in September 2015. That was already something we had not done before. Even during the Kargil War, we had not crossed the Line of Control; in Uri, we did, and then came the attack in Pulwama in January 2019.”
#WATCH | Panama City | Congress MP Shashi Tharoor says, “What has changed in recent years is that the terrorists have also realised they will have a price to pay, on that, let there be no doubt. When, for the first time, India breached the Line of Control between India and… pic.twitter.com/XxPqyZVy1c — ANI (@ANI) May 28, 2025
In 2016, Lt Gen Ranbir Singh, the then-Army Northern Command Chief, stated that the September 2016 surgical strikes were a “first” of their kind.
“Army does not have any data pertaining to surgical strikes if carried out before September 29, 2016,” the RTI reply said, News 18 reported.
In Panama, Tharoor further highlighted India’s military actions, referencing an ‘operation Sindoor’ in which the Indian Armed Forces targeted nine terrorist locations.
“This time, we have gone beyond both of those. We have not only gone beyond the Line of Control and the international border. We have struck at the Punjabi heartland of Pakistan by hitting terror bases, training centres, terror headquarters in nine places,” Tharoor said.
Tharoor led one of the seven teams during the all-party delegation visit.
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