Pak kills 5 jawans, India talks all day
7 Aug 2013 5:33 AM IST
The Pakistani attack at the Line of Control near Poonch in which five Indian soldiers were killed and one injured saw Parliament erupting in furore on Tuesday. The day also saw Congress-led UPA government facing a tough time in Parliament with the Opposition blaming the Centre for not doing enough to deal with such attacks on Indian posts along the LoC.
‘The ambush was carried out by approximately 20 heavily armed terrorists along with persons dressed in Pakistan Army uniforms,’ said defence minister AK Antony in Parliament. Antony’s 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.
‘When the minister says something so ambiguous like “people dressed in army uniforms” it gives Pakistan a route of escape, you are almost giving an opportunity to Pakistan to say that non-state actors were involved in the incident,’ said Leader of Opposition, Rajya Sabha, Arun Jaitley.
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.’ Congress president Sonia Gandhi, however, stepped in for some damage control and urged the government to take appropriate measures. ‘The Indian nation cannot be cowed down by such blatant acts of deceit,’ said Congress president.
The BJP was also of the view that India should modulate its foreign policy to give a clear message to Pakistan that these kinds of attacks will not be tolerated. Jaitley also reminded the government that Pakistan has carried out such ghastly activities in the past, ‘These incidents are not taking place in isolation, earlier this year you had soldiers being beheaded and then Sarabjit Singh was killed in a Pakistani prison. Two days ago, there was bomb blast outside the Indian consulate in Jalalabad (Afghanistan). You have had a series of cross borders terrorism incidents and these incidents have increased,’ said Jaitley.
Cornering the government, SP chief Mulayam Singh questioned why we are not able to stop these attacks. ‘Our five soldiers have been killed on the LoC, our army is not weak. What has been done in response to the provocative action by Pakistan troops in Poonch sector of Jammu and Kashmir,’ said Yadav. The SP leader also added that neither Pakistan nor China could be trusted, as both were aggressive. SP general secretary Ram Gopal Yadav in Rajya Sabha said that this kind of attitude of the political leadership was breaking the morale of the armed forces. ‘What proof do you have that terrorists have killed (Indian troops)? Every time Pakistan says its army is not involved,’
he said.
‘The ambush was carried out by approximately 20 heavily armed terrorists along with persons dressed in Pakistan Army uniforms,’ said defence minister AK Antony in Parliament. Antony’s 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.
‘When the minister says something so ambiguous like “people dressed in army uniforms” it gives Pakistan a route of escape, you are almost giving an opportunity to Pakistan to say that non-state actors were involved in the incident,’ said Leader of Opposition, Rajya Sabha, Arun Jaitley.
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.’ Congress president Sonia Gandhi, however, stepped in for some damage control and urged the government to take appropriate measures. ‘The Indian nation cannot be cowed down by such blatant acts of deceit,’ said Congress president.
The BJP was also of the view that India should modulate its foreign policy to give a clear message to Pakistan that these kinds of attacks will not be tolerated. Jaitley also reminded the government that Pakistan has carried out such ghastly activities in the past, ‘These incidents are not taking place in isolation, earlier this year you had soldiers being beheaded and then Sarabjit Singh was killed in a Pakistani prison. Two days ago, there was bomb blast outside the Indian consulate in Jalalabad (Afghanistan). You have had a series of cross borders terrorism incidents and these incidents have increased,’ said Jaitley.
Cornering the government, SP chief Mulayam Singh questioned why we are not able to stop these attacks. ‘Our five soldiers have been killed on the LoC, our army is not weak. What has been done in response to the provocative action by Pakistan troops in Poonch sector of Jammu and Kashmir,’ said Yadav. The SP leader also added that neither Pakistan nor China could be trusted, as both were aggressive. SP general secretary Ram Gopal Yadav in Rajya Sabha said that this kind of attitude of the political leadership was breaking the morale of the armed forces. ‘What proof do you have that terrorists have killed (Indian troops)? Every time Pakistan says its army is not involved,’
he said.
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