Stung by the deadliest ever attack on the Army in Jammu and Kashmir, DGMO Lt Gen Ranbir Singh today called up his counterpart in Pakistan expressing “serious concerns” over Pakistani markings found on the equipment used by four “foreign” terrorists suspected to be belonging to Pakistan-based terror group JeM.
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The two countries have fought two of their three wars since independence from Britain in 1947 over Kashmir, which is divided between them along a de facto border known as the “Line of Control”.
While Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif arrived in NY to raise Pakistan’s Kashmir agenda at the 71st United Nations General Assembly, India is getting prepped to raise the deadly Uri attack in the same platform.
“Pointing fingers at Pakistan has become a traditional tendency of India after each terrorist attack”, the Dawn quoted Pakistan Foreign Office spokesperson Nafees Zakaria as saying. Home Minister Rajnath Singh directly accused Pakistan of the attack in his tweets. “I am deeply disappointed with Pakistan’s continued and direct support to terrorism and terrorist groups”, he tweeted.
Senior Indian journalist and commentator Shekhar Gupta said Pakistan would be “delusional” to think that India would not respond.
CNN has reached out to Singh and a government spokesman for comment. Meanwhile, External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj will expose Pakistan’s backing and support for terrorism in India and rest of South Asia, apart from highlighting Pakistan’s occupation of Gilgit and Baltistan.
He said Indian involvement in terror financing in Pakistan has been exposed by the Indian spy Kulbhavashan Yadev arrested in Pakistan revealing that India had been financing terrorist activities in Balochistan, Karachi and other areas.
Recent unrest in Kashmir has been led largely by local young men angry at the heavy military presence in the region. Instead, it sought to enlist Pakistani help to isolate or name the non-state actor behind that attack. “We reject these claims”.
Vohra recalled his directions earlier this year, after the Pathankot terror attack, for a multi-agency security audit being carried out by all the security forces and other concerned agencies to identify and fill up every existing gap for ensuring an effective and prompt counter-terror response on all fronts. “Unfortunately, people in Jammu and Kashmir, who are already mired in an agonising situation shall have to bear the maximum brunt of the fresh attempts being made to step up violence and trigger fresh bloodshed in the State”, she said.
Singh cancelled his upcoming trips to Russian Federation and the United States and said that he had apprised Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi of the attack. While militant cadres in Kashmir were dominated out largely by Pakistani infiltrators since the past decade, the number of homegrown militants have shot up in the past two years.
Government forces fired tear-gas shells last Saturday to disperse stone-throwing protesters, triggering more clashes in at least half a dozen places across Srinagar and parts of the Himalayan valley.
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Sunday’s attack was one of the bloodiest on soldiers since an armed rebellion against Indian rule erupted in 1989.
