Pak kills 5 jawans

Storm in Parliament, Oppn blasts govt for being soft

• Pak troops along with 20-heavily armed terrorists carry out attack in Poonch on Tuesday, one Indian jawan survives
• It comes just after bomb attack on Indian consulate in Jalalabad
• In January, Pakistanis killed two jawans, beheaded one
• Pakistani side indulges in 57 ceasefire violations so far in 2013

India summons Pak envoy, lodges strong protest
Incident puts Indo-Pak dialogue in serious jeopardy, Oppn wants talks called off
PMs of two countries slated to meet at UN in September

Anita Saluja

New Delhi: Five Indian soldiers were killed and one soldier injured in the wee hours of Tuesday in the ambush carried out by Pakistani soldiers with approximately 20 heavily-armed terrorists. The injured soldier survived, as he was hiding behind a bush, whose testimony on the entire incident will be crucial. The Indian soldiers were on patrol duty along the Line of Control (LoC) in Chakandabad area of Poonch, 200 km south of Srinagar. The government summoned the Pakistani Deputy High Commissioner to the South Block and lodged a strong protest.

This comes after two Indian jawans were killed in January this year, with one of them being beheaded and the recent bombing at the Indian Consulate-General in Jalalabad in Afghanistan. This is also ominous, as the NATO forces are set to pull out from Afghanistan in 2014. The number of infiltration attempts from Pakistan doubled this year, in comparison to the corresponding period in 2012. There have been 57 ceasefire violations this year, which is 80 per cent more than the violations over last year.

India and Pakistan are set to resume dialogue, as Prime Ministers of the two countries are slated to meet on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly in New York in September-end. However, the latest incident may impact the peace process. In a statement in both Houses of Parliament, Union Defence Minister A K Antony said, “We strongly condemn this unprovoked incident. Government of India has lodged strong protest with the Government of Pakistan through diplomatic channels.

I assure the House that our Army is fully ready to take all necessary steps to uphold the sanctity of LoC. Government of India conveys its condolences to the families of the martyrs, who made the supreme sacrifice in the line of duty.” Antony went on to assert that the Indian Army successfully eliminated 19 hardcore terrorists in the recent months of July and August along the Line of Control (LoC) and in the hinterland in Jammu & Kashmir. “The effective counter-infiltrations grid on the Line of Control has ensured that 17 infiltration bids were foiled this year,” he said. In the Rajya Sabha, the Minister came under attack for his ambiguous statement and during clarifications, he was sharply criticised by Opposition.

Responding to criticisms, Antony said this was a statement of a responsible Government. On the demand as to what would be Government response, Antony said that Indian response would depend on the “signals and actions” coming from Pakistan. The Government would like to see how Pakistan will respond to Mumbai terror attacks on 26/11 and he vowed to take all steps necessary to protect the sanctity of the LoC.

The BJP was quick to seize on the wording in the Defence Minister’s statement. Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha Arun Jaitley took strong objection to the Defence Minister’s reference, “The ambush was carried out by approximately 20 heavily-armed terrorists along with persons dressed in Pakistan Army uniforms.”

Jaitley said that it was deliberately done to give Pakistan the route of escape. Former External Affairs Minister and senior BJP leader Yashwant Sinha was more direct and blunt, when he said, “The Government should clarify – is the Congress with Pakistan or India?” Raising the pitch, Yashwant Sinha wanted Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to cancel his meeting with his Pakistani counterpart Nawaz Sharif in New York in September.

There cannot be any talks till Pakistan agrees to abide by its assurance contained in the Joint Statement between the then Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee and the then Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf on January 6, 2004, that Pakistani soil will not be allowed to be used to support terrorism in any manner against India.

Arun Jaitley said the distinction between the State Actors and Non-State Actors has been obliterated. He said there is increase in terror across the Line of Control with Pakistan and incursions on the Line of Actual Control with China have been on the rise. “We cannot make a spectacle of ourselves in the world that we are the willing recipients of such attacks,” he said. Demanding that India cannot lower its guard, he called for a befitting reply to Pak, leaving it to the wisdom of the Government on how it should respond.