Sending a strong message to Pakistan, Foreign Secretary S Jaishankar on Thursday said, “We remain committed to steps that contribute to peace on the border, but we will not let our guard down.” “It should be clear that any unprovoked firing will be met with an effective and forceful response from our side,” he said.
In a media briefing soon after Home Minister Rajnath Singh called an urgent meeting with External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj and Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar to review the overall situation in the wake of fresh ceasefire violations by Pakistan along the border in Jammu and Kashmir.
Talking about the alleged Indian drone that Pakistan claimed to have shot down, Jaishankar said, “The photograph of the drone suggests that it is not of Indian design.”
Jaishankar also said that Pakistan violated ceasefire multiple times in the course of the last two days. He went on to add that Pakistan did not respond on the issue, despite India raising the problem several times.
The latest developments come barely a week after Prime Ministers of India and Pakistan met in Russia breaking the deadlock and deciding to re-engage.
The two neighbours, however, were back to a blame game over ceasefire violations with both sides lodging protests.
While India lodged protests with Pakistan both in New Delhi and in Islamabad, the Pakistan Foreign Office summoned Indian High Commissioner and lodged a strong protest over “air space violation” by an alleged Indian “spy” drone near the Line of Control and “ceasefire violation”.
Along the border in Jammu and Kashmir, Pakistani Rangers on Thursday indulged in heavy firing and mortar shelling on five border outposts and some villages in Jammu district which left four persons injured, a day after a woman was killed in the ceasefire violations prompting India to lodge protests with Pakistan.
There have been a total of nine ceasefire violations during July.
The latest round of ceasefire violations come ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s scheduled visit to Jammu Friday to attend the centenary celebrations of former state Finance Minister Girdhari Lal Dogra.
Source from India Defence News.
