In a stern warning to Pakistan, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Tuesday said that it cannot be business as usual after the brutal beheading of an Indian soldier on the Line of Control in Poonch sector in Jammu and Kashmir last week.
In his first comments after the January 8 killing of two Indian soldiers on the LoC by Pakistani Army regulars who also beheaded one of them, Dr. Singh stressed that those responsible for the barbaric act of beheading of Lance Naik Hemraj should be brought to book. He expressed hope that Pakistan would realise this.
"After this barbaric act there cannot be business as usual (with Pakistan),’’ Dr. Singh said while responding to questions by journalists here at the Army Day reception, hosted by the Army Chief General Bikram Singh.
When it was pointed out to him that Pakistan remained in a denial mode on the cross-LoC raid and ambush of Indian soldiers, the Prime Minister said: "We will keep on trying".
Asked about the options vis-a-vis Pakistan, he said that these could not be discussed in the open. Dr. Singh’s comments came a day after the Army Chief gave a tough message to Pakistan, saying that India reserved its right to retaliate at a time and place of its choosing.
It's Barbaric says Khurshid
External Affairs Minister Salman Khurshid also told journalists that India has taken a "very firm position" with Pakistan on the issue of beheading an Indian soldier. He said the was "totally unacceptable and barbaric.’’
Asked about Monday’s Flag Meeting between India and Pakistan on the LoC, Mr. Khurshid said: "We may not be happy with the outcome but the process is still on.’’
The Prime Minister had spoken to senior BJP leaders Sushma Swaraj and Arun Jaitley on Monday and assured them of keeping the Opposition in loop about decisions relating to Pakistan. The BJP had criticised the Prime Minister for his silence on the issue and not sending a strong message to Pakistan.
According to PTI reports, after his tough talk at the Army Day reception, Dr. Singh met President Pranab Mukherjee and briefed him on the situation.
Keywords: India-Pakistan border tension, Cross-LoC firing, Indian soldier beheading, Manmohan Singh warning, visa-on-arrival
Before and after it is the same Pak; to think otherwise is being naive on the part of India as
proved by Pak again and again.
It is just political posturing. A weak prime minister found it to be a golden and god sent opportunity to divert people attention from all the corruption charges his government is facing. He will try to benefit the most from the situation that has arisen from the border incident.
A very question above...whether India will ever learn? Yes, I think we need to know as public what this means..The jingoism which it certainly has been in the media needs to be curtailed and sensible approach is what is needed. The answer to this question is quite clear if you wish to find an answer in it as a responsible peace loving citizen - incidents of this type happen often and will continue to happen no matter what - and I will say even after the Kashmir issue has been resolved amicably which I can tell you is not going to happen for another 100 or so years. Why? Because both parties are at fault and if we are find peace let these things be treated as isolated incidents and best resolved by localised negotiations and serious talking - don't make a nationalistic jingoistic issue if you REALLY want peace
What have pakistani senior citizens have to do with violence in border?
It was not very long after the Mumbai attacks that Prime Minister, Dr Manmohan
Singh in the joint communique with Pakistan Prime Minister Mr Yousaf Raza Gilani
at Sharm el Sheikh said that action on terrorism should not be linked to the
Composite Dialogue process and these should not be bracketed. The whole
country was aghast to hear about this, more specifically the families of victims,the
commandos and the security personnel who lost their lives fighting with the ten
terrorists sent by Pakistan. Even now, in his belated reaction after the beheading of
our martyr by Pakistan across the LOC on our side, Dr Manmohan Singh is simply
saying "No business as usual" and his minister Mr Manish Tiwari chiding Ms
Sushma Swaraj for demanding decisive counter action by India, calling it
"jingoism". The earliest the UPA is thrown out of power, it will be for the good of
the country. It has failed the country in all fronts.
These are just hollow words from a very weak PM. Due to vote-bank politics, the govt will soon be inviting and shaking hands with Pakistan ministers. The same happened after 26/11 Mumbai terror strike. Will India never learn? They need to treat pakistan with an iron fist.
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