* DM giving escape route to Pak: MPs
NEW DELHI, Aug 6:Government today said the killing of five Indian soldiers on the Line of Control was carried out by “terrorists along with persons dressed in Pakistan Army uniform”, triggering strong reactions from political parties which said it amounted to giving “escape route” to Pakistan.
Members cutting across party lines expressed anger in Parliament over this morning’s incident, prompting Defence Minister A K Antony to assert that India will take “necessary steps” to uphold the sanctity of the LoC and give a response which will be based on “signals” and “actions” by Pakistan.
Most of the political parties, including BJP, Left, SP, JD(U), Shiv Sena and BSP in both the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha demanded a “befitting reply” to Pakistan over the provocative act in Poonch sector of Jammu and Kashmir.
There were also demands that Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh should not meet his Pakistan counterpart Nawaz Sharif in New York next month on the sidelines of UN General Assembly as is planned.
Making suo motu statement in both the Houses, Antony said the attack was carried out on the Indian side of the LoC.
An Indian Army patrol, comprising one Non-Commissioned Officer and five other ranks, was “ambushed on our side” of the LoC in Poonch sector of Jammu and Kashmir, he said.
“The ambush was carried out by approximately 20 heavily-armed terrorists along with persons dressed in Pakistan army uniform,” he said.
“In the ensuing firefight, five Indian soldiers were martyred and one soldier was injured,” he said.
Strongly condemning the “unprovoked incident”, Antony said, “I assure the House that our Army is fully ready to take all necessary steps to uphold the sanctity of LoC.”
He said the “morale of armed forces is very high” and they are capable of handling the situation.
His remarks about involvement of terrorists in the attack triggered angry reactions by political parties, which said it amounted to giving an “escape route” to Pakistan which already claims that its Army is not responsible.
However, Antony stuck to his version, saying “my statement is based on confirmed reports received till the time I made the statement…At this stage we don’t want to jump to any conclusion.”
India has lodged a strong protest with the Pakistan Government through diplomatic channels, Antony said, adding Government conveys its condolences to the families of the martyrs who made the supreme sacrifice in the line of duty.
Replying to demands for retaliation, he said, “India is a responsible country” and a unity among political parties would be the “strongest answer to our enemies”.
He said the capabilities of the armed forces are being strengthened and their morale is very high.
His statement came after anger being expressed by parties with some like BJP and Samajwadi Party questioning as to why the Government was feeling “completely helpless” in the face of repeated aggression by Pakistan.
The incident could cast a shadow on the resumption of the Indo-Pak dialogue process. Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh and his Pakistani counterpart Nawaz Sharif are slated to meet in New York next month on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly session, sources said.
The dialogue process was put on hold following the beheading of an Indian soldier and another soldier’s body found mutilated following the January 8 attack by Pakistani troops in the Poonch sector.
Meanwhile, India today summoned Pakistan Deputy High Commissioner and lodged a strong protest over killing of five Indian soldiers along the Line of Control in the Poonch sector.
Pakistan Deputy High Commissioner Mansoor Ahmed Khan was summoned by Joint Secretary in Ministry of External Affairs Rudrendra Tandon in South Block and delivered a strong diplomatic message, sources said.
Strongly condemning the killing of five Indian soldiers by Pakistani Army in Jammu and Kashmir’s Poonch Sector, Union Minister Farooq Abdullah today said it will affect the normalisation of ties between the two nations.
He also said such incidents would affect the dialogue process.
“It will affect the normalisation of relationship. People of India will not want that our soldiers keep on dying and we keep on talking about friendship…Both cannot go on at the same time,” Abdullah told reporters outside Parliament House.
Observing that the hand of friendship cannot be extended from one side only, he said, “Pakistan has to stop the killings of Indian soldiers. The dialogue process cannot resume if such a situation continues.”
After the incident, Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh talked to Defence Minister A K Antony. The Army chief had briefed the Defence Minister early in the morning about the incident, they said.
Sources said the Prime Minister was kept informed about the developments since the morning. He spoke to Antony and asked him to ensure that the families of the victims are taken care of.
Congress President Sonia Gandhi today said India would not be cowed down by the “deceitful” killing of five of its soldiers by Pakistan along the LoC and asked the Government to take “appropriate” measures.
Expressing deep grief and shock over the incident in Jammu & Kashmir, she said that the entire Congress party as indeed the entire country stands by the families of the martyred soldiers.
Gandhi said the Indian nation could “not be cowed down” by such “blatant acts of deceit” and urged the Government to take appropriate steps.
Expressing grief over the killing of Indian soldiers by Pakistani troops, Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi today accused the Centre of being lax in securing the borders.
“Dastardly ambush by Pakistan last night in the Chakan-da- Bagh area of Poonch leading to death of 5 Indian soldiers is unacceptable,” Modi tweeted.
“From China’s intrusions to Pakistan’s ambushes- UPA Government has been absolutely lax in securing Indian borders. When will Centre wake up?” Modi wrote on the micro-blogging site twitter.
“My heartfelt condolences to the families of the brave soldiers who laid down their lives in Poonch,” he tweeted.
BJP leader Yashwant Sinha even questioned whether the Congress was serious in dealing with Pakistan sternly.
In the Rajya Sabha, Leader of the Opposition Arun Jaitley said Antony’s contention that the attack was carried out by “persons dressed in Pakistan Army uniform” provides “an escape route” to Pakistan which has always been in a state of denial, even in Kargil where it said ‘non-State actors’ were involved.
Demanding a “befitting reply”, he said there is a “need to modulate our foreign policy to send a message to Pakistan that these kinds of attacks will not be tolerated.” He also mentioned repeated incursions by Chinese troops and wanted to know what the Government was doing.
Referring to the plans for organising a meeting of the Prime Minister with Sharif in New York, the BJP leader said the Government should not forget that the country’s interest is supreme.
Taking a dig at pro-talks elements who say “dialogue with Pakistan should be uninterrupted and uninterruptible”, Jaitley said, “our pursuit against terrorism should be uninterrupted and uninterruptible”.
Talking about peace overtures by Sharif recently, he doubted whether Pakistan will “walk the talk” as he said “some people felt enthusiastic when new Pak Prime Minister expressed desire to have peace with India. But is he in control of Pakistan. Who is in control of Pakistan is a big question.”
He emphasised that India must not lower its guard and not take things lying down.
Samajwadi Party, which extends outside support to the UPA Government, was critical of the Government in handling Chinese intrusions and repeated ceasefire violations by Pakistan.
Raising the issue in Lok Sabha, SP chief Mulayam Singh Yadav said neither Pakistan nor China can be trusted, as both were aggressive towards India.
“Our five soldiers have been killed on the LoC. Our Army is not weak,” he said, questioning what had been done in response to the provocative action by Pakistan troops in Poonch sector of Jammu and Kashmir.
“This is a matter of national unity, national security and self-confidence. Tell us why we are not able to stop these attacks,” said Yadav, a former Defence Minister.
In the Upper House, Ram Gopal Yadav (SP) said, “Our leadership is not capable to put across its views strongly to China and Pakistan.”
He said such an attitude of the political leadership was breaking the morale of the armed forces.
He said by claiming that terrorists and men wearing Pakistan Army uniform attacked the Indian troops, “you have given an escape route to Pakistan for dialogue. What proof do you have that terrorists have killed (Indian troops)? Every time Pakistan says its army is not involved,” Yadav said.
Senior BJP leader Murli Manohar Joshi asked the Government to explain in Parliament the steps it has taken to protect Indian boundaries.
“We demand that the Government should clarify in Parliament the steps it is taking to stop attacks on Indian soldiers,” he said.
Former Defence Minister and senior BJP leader Jaswant Singh condemned the killings, saying, “It is a matter of greater concern.”
Pakistani troops entered Indian territory along the Line of Control in the Poonch sector in Jammu and Kashmir past midnight and ambushed a patrol killing five Indian soldiers and injuring one.
BJP leader Venkaiah Naidu demanded a statement from Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh on the issue of killing of five Indian soldiers.
“This is part of the Pakistan’s strategy. Pakistan is doing it consciously. This is their state policy to encourage terrorism in our country,” he said.
“Prime Minister should give statement on the issue in Parliament on the issue and whatever suggestions come from the House, a strategy should be finalised accordingly,” Naidu added.
Attacking the UPA Government, he said, “Pakistan is aiding and funding terrorist movement here. But our Government does not have any strategy to tackle this. Government has not done anything so far. Unless government takes it seriously, Pakistan will continue to do it.”
Condemning the incident, BJP spokesperson Ravi Shankar Prasad asked how many more Indian soldiers to be sacrificed?
“BJP condemns the incident. We would like to ask the Government how many more brave Indian soldiers need to sacrificed? Prasad asked.
“We have always maintained that Government should take up these issues seriously. Pakistan talks about track I and track II policy and their soldiers are attacking our soldiers,” he said.
Referring to China, Prasad said, “There are also reports that China has launched cyber attack on our cyber installations. This is unfortunate. India should take it seriously.”
Another BJP spokesperson Shahnawaj Hussain said the incident reflects a total failure on the part of the Government.
“It is a total failure of the Government. Government should respond to Pakistan in the same language which Pakistan understands,” Hussain said.
Making a scathing attack on the Government, BJP MP Vinay Katiyar said, “It has become a habit of Pakistan soldiers to kill our soldiers. It seems they enjoy doing this. Except lodging our protests, we are not been able to do anything. It is affecting the morale of our soldiers. India should decide its future course of action.”
Describing the incident as “unfortunate”, Congress leader Karan Singh said, “This is an unfortunate incident. Very often firing takes place to facilitate infiltration.”
Jammu and Kashmir Congress leader Saif-ud-din Soz said these kinds of incident will not be any help for Pakistan also.
“In the last two-three months there are repeated firing incidents. It is a sad incident. Government is responding continuously to the situation by stating that this will not be tolerated. These kind of incidents will not be helpful for Pakistan also. This is not acceptable. The border incident is a warning for Nawaz Sharif also,” Soz said.
However, Congress MP Mani Shankar Iyer maintained that despite the incident, dialogue process should not be discontinued.
“I do not believe in stopping dialogue. The important thing about the dialogue is whatever you want to say there is no restriction on it. Unilateral statement is not the way forward,” he said. (PTI)
Follow our WhatsApp channel