The Pakistani attack on an Indian Army area domination patrol in Poonch could have been planned over a month if not more, say Indian Army sources. The sources said that it's likely the movement of the patrol, its total numbers and the weapons it carried was closely monitored from Pakistani observation posts.

A day after the Poonch ceasefire violation, sources said that some lapses may have been noticed by Pakistan and the attack was planned accordingly. The sources suggested an internal inquiry could determine where the fault lies. But there's no doubt this will impact in a number of ways, they said.

The Indian Army is expected to increase the size of such patrols and their weapons. But that implies cutting down on the number of jawans manning static posts - which means less troops to monitor infiltration routes as there are only that many men in a battalion. This could lead to more infiltrators slipping in.

There are some who believe a retaliatory strike should have been carried out almost immediately. But for whatever reason this was not done. Meanwhile, the United Nations on Thursday urged India and Pakistan to respect the ceasefire and "de-escalate" tensions over the recent cross-border firings through dialogue.

The attack on the Indian soldiers has raised concerns over Indo-Pak bilateral relations, with the Indian Army calling it a significant breach of ceasefire. Hina Rabbani Khar's call for a UN-led third party probe into the brutal killing of Indian soldiers has sparked off an angry response in India. Indian diplomats claim this is Pakistan's attempt to internationalise the issue.

In last about one month, Pakistan Army has violated the ceasefire agreement nearly a dozen times. Most of these firing incidents were in Rajouri, Uri and Keran sector to help infiltration attempts, Army officials said.