BBC Online :
India has warned Pakistan of heavy retaliation if it does not stop “unprovoked firing” in Kashmir.
Defence Minister Arun Jaitley said India would make it “unaffordable” for Pakistan if the attacks continued. These are the strongest comments yet from India’s government on the recent escalation of tension.
At least 19 people have been reportedly killed as troops continue to exchange fire in some of the worst violence in the disputed region in a decade. Of those killed since violence began last Friday, 11 are on the Pakistani side while eight are on the Indian side.
Both sides have accused each other of starting the hostilities. A ceasefire agreed in 2003 remains in place, but the nuclear-armed neighbours often accuse each other of violating it. Both sides continued to exchange fire on Wednesday night, and Indian officials said eight people, including three soldiers, had sustained “minor injuries”.
“If Pakistan persists with this adventurism, our forces will make the cost of this adventurism unaffordable for it,” Jaitley told reporters in Delhi. “Pakistan should stop this unprovoked firing and shelling if it wants peace on the border,” he added. Asked about the reasons for the surge in violence, Jaitley said it “is an effort [by Pakistan] to precipitate tension for both domestic and international reasons”, without giving more details.
He said the firing by Pakistani troops was a “cover to enable infiltration [by Pakistan-based militants]” into the Indian side.
Jaitely said Indian troops had killed a large number of “infiltrators” from Pakistan after the recent floods in Indian Kashmir – “there is a connection between the firing and infiltration”. When asked about the timing of the recent hostilities, Jaitley said: “Why now? [This question] should be asked across the border, not me.”
The latest round of hostilities come just months after India’s new Prime Minister Narendra Modi invited his Pakistani counterpart Nawaz Sharif to his inauguration. But relations have deteriorated since then. In August, India cancelled talks with Pakistan after accusing it of interfering in its internal affairs.
And last month, Modi, in his first speech at the UN, said he wanted peace talks with Pakistan but insisted it must create an “appropriate atmosphere”.
India has warned Pakistan of heavy retaliation if it does not stop “unprovoked firing” in Kashmir.
Defence Minister Arun Jaitley said India would make it “unaffordable” for Pakistan if the attacks continued. These are the strongest comments yet from India’s government on the recent escalation of tension.
At least 19 people have been reportedly killed as troops continue to exchange fire in some of the worst violence in the disputed region in a decade. Of those killed since violence began last Friday, 11 are on the Pakistani side while eight are on the Indian side.
Both sides have accused each other of starting the hostilities. A ceasefire agreed in 2003 remains in place, but the nuclear-armed neighbours often accuse each other of violating it. Both sides continued to exchange fire on Wednesday night, and Indian officials said eight people, including three soldiers, had sustained “minor injuries”.
“If Pakistan persists with this adventurism, our forces will make the cost of this adventurism unaffordable for it,” Jaitley told reporters in Delhi. “Pakistan should stop this unprovoked firing and shelling if it wants peace on the border,” he added. Asked about the reasons for the surge in violence, Jaitley said it “is an effort [by Pakistan] to precipitate tension for both domestic and international reasons”, without giving more details.
He said the firing by Pakistani troops was a “cover to enable infiltration [by Pakistan-based militants]” into the Indian side.
Jaitely said Indian troops had killed a large number of “infiltrators” from Pakistan after the recent floods in Indian Kashmir – “there is a connection between the firing and infiltration”. When asked about the timing of the recent hostilities, Jaitley said: “Why now? [This question] should be asked across the border, not me.”
The latest round of hostilities come just months after India’s new Prime Minister Narendra Modi invited his Pakistani counterpart Nawaz Sharif to his inauguration. But relations have deteriorated since then. In August, India cancelled talks with Pakistan after accusing it of interfering in its internal affairs.
And last month, Modi, in his first speech at the UN, said he wanted peace talks with Pakistan but insisted it must create an “appropriate atmosphere”.
