Govt supports Army action along LoC: Jaitley
Union Defence Minister Arun Jaitley today said that the government fully backed the action taken by Indian Army along the Line of Control (LoC) in striking Pakistan Army posts. The Minister said that such actions will bring peace in Jammu and Kashmir.
“Government supports the actions of Indian Army across LoC. Such actions are needed to ensure peace in J&K,” Jaitley said in a tweet. “Indian Army is taking pre-emptive and measured actions to counter terrorism in valley and disengage Pak posts across LoC supporting infiltration,” he said in another tweet.
The Indian Army on Tuesday said it has attacked Pakistani military posts and inflicted “some damage” along the Line of Control in Jammu and Kashmir in a recent “punitive assault” as part of counter-terror strategy to stop cross-border militant incursion.
However, Pakistan Army on Tuesday denied claims by the Indian Army that the latter had carried out an ‘operation’ on Pakistani posts along the Line of Control (LoC).
“Indian claims of destroying Pakistani post along LoC in Naushera Sector and firing by Pakistan Army on civilians across LoC are false,” Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) Director General Maj Gen Asif Ghafoor said in a tweet.
Indian army had claimed that it had recently carried out “punitive fire assaults” on Pakistan’s posts along the LoC in a bid to prevent “infiltrators” from entering India.
A heavily edited video was also circulated widely in Indian media to ‘substantiate’ the claim. “Pakistani army has been providing full support to infiltrators by engaging Indian Army posts,” the daily quoted Indian Army Maj Gen Ashok Narula as saying in a briefing.
Earlier this month, the Indian army claimed that Pakistani forces fired rockets and mortars at two Indian posts along the LoC and mutilated the bodies of two Indian soldiers. “In an unsoldierly act by the Pakistan Army the bodies of two of our soldiers in the patrol were mutilated,” the Indian Army claimed in a statement, adding that the “despicable act will be appropriately responded”.
However, Pakistan Army had refused those claims saying Pakistani soldiers would never disrespect another soldier, even if they were Indian. “Indian blame of mutilating Indian soldiers’ bodies are also false,” an ISPR statement released at the time said.
KV Correspondent
