LoC tension live: Jaitley says India will make Pakistan’s adventurism unaffordable

Defence minister Arun Jaitley is out of hospital and is all guns blazing against Pakistan.

In comments to the media, his first official interaction since being discharged from AIIMS, Jaitley decried ‘unprovoked’ firing from Pakistan along the Line of Control, and said that Indian forces would be forced to give a ‘befitting’ reply that would make the cost of Pakistan’s ‘adventurism’ too high.

“Pakistan, with these attacks, has clearly been the aggressor”, Jaitley said, adding that our armed forces have only one option: to respond adequately and defend our territories”.

The defence minister also ruled out talks with Pakistan until the firing stopped, and said that there was a connection between increased firing and infiltration bids from across the border.

In the face of continued firing along the Line of Control, Indian union home ministerRajnath Singh has assured media that PM Modi ‘will not let the nation down’.

“The PM is closely monitoring the situation along the border”, Singh said in comments to the media. “He doesn’t need to say anything on this as our jawans are giving a befitting reply to Pakistan. We are very satisfied with the response we have been getting”.

PM Modi has been busy on the campaign trail in both Maharashtra and Haryana, but has reportedly been kept briefed on the situation in the border areas.

In his first comments on the incident he told media that ‘everything will be fine soon’.

At least five people were injured in overnight shelling by Pakistan Rangers on the international border in Jammu and Kashmir, police said.

“Five civilians have been injured in Pakistani shelling during the night. Two people were injured in Ramgarh sector of Samba district while three injured in Kanachak area of Akhnoor sector of Jammu district,” a police officer told IANS.

All the injured have been shifted to government medical college (GMC) hospital in Jammu city.

With these injuries, the total number of injured in Pakistani shelling has gone up to 60.

Three BSF jawans have been injured due to Pakistani shelling in the RS Pura sector, according to the latest reports coming in.

The incident had taken place at about 6.15 am today, according to a report on Times Now.

In addition to the jawans, five civilians were also injured in overnight firing along the border.

India and Pakistan have sparred at the UN over ceasefire violations along the LoC with India making it clear that its armed forces are “fully ready” to respond to “provocation”.

India also said that the onus of creating a positive environment for normalisation of relations is on Pakistan.

War of words between the two countries over the situation at the Line of Control took place on Tuesday at the UN General Assembly where India said that it was a “matter of deep regret” that Pakistan violated the ceasefire, in which eight people were killed and several others injured.

“It is a matter of deep regret that Pakistan has violated the ceasefire and their unprovoked firing has led to loss of civilian lives on Indian side…Firing on innocent civilians by Pakistan will only hamper normalisation of relations.

“The onus of creating a positive environment is on Pakistan which is utterly failing to do so,” senior official at the Indian Mission to the UN, Devesh Uttam said on Tuesday in his right of reply to Pakistan’s remarks, further adding that India rejected all untenable and unsolicited remarks made by Pakistan.

The death toll in the firing after escalation of ceasefire violations by Pakistan for over a week rose to eight with the killing of a woman identified as Shukuntla Devi and her daughter-in-law Poli Devi. Fifteen more people have been injured in the firing taking to 75 the number of injured so far, officials said.

Government sources also said that India will continue to respond to Pakistan on the ceasefire violations according to the situation along the border and there won’t be any flag meetings.

If one thought Prime Minister Narendra Modi‘s stance that the firing along the Indo-Pak border would end soon, it certainly doesn’t seem so.

Overnight, Pakistan has targetted seven Indian sectors that include 60 BSP border posts along the International Border, leaving three injured in Kanachak, news channelNDTV reported.

With the government coming under attack from the opposition parties over its handling of the string of ceasefire violations by Pakistan, Prime Minister Modi had said “everything will be fine soon” on the border.