There were arguments for and against a retaliatory military action, even a “punitive counter attack”, as many military analysts are demanding.
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“France remains at India’s side in the combat against terrorism”.
The Defence Minister and the Army Chief had visited Kashmir after the terror attack on Sunday.
Reacting to the Uri attack, foreign ministry spokesperson Lu Kang said: “We are shocked by this attack…”
The valley has been restive since the July 8 killing of militant commander Burhan Wani, with the nearly unending protests resulting in close to 90 deaths, including that of three policemen, and over 11,000 injuries.
The minister said the entire world had realised that Pakistan sponsors terrorism and shelters terrorists, which not only poses dangers to India but also to peace and humanity the world over.
“However, based on data gathered by monitoring coded jihadist communications around Uri in the hours after the attack began, both the Intelligence Bureau and the Indian Army’s Srinagar-based XV corps are believed to have told the Government they assess the Lashkar-e-Taiba may have had a role in the strike”, reads the Express report. It further added that Pakistani security officials were confident that the Uri attack was “Pathankot-like stage drama to trumpet its terrorism mantra against Pakistan…”
India was ranked fifth in the world in terms of military strength, according to a 2015 assessment by Credit Suisse based on data from Stockholm International Peace Research Institute and Global Firepower, compared to 11th for Pakistan.
The meeting assessed the ground situation in bordering areas in states like Jammu and Kashmir, Punjab and Gujarat.
The killing of 17 soldiers by militants in Jammu and Kashmir and New Delhi’s reaction have taken Pakistan-India relations to an “unstable phase”, a Pakistani daily said on Monday.
India will have to respond and punish the perpetrators of the terrorist attack and “can no more take it lying down”, he said.
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The UN is preparing to hold its annual general assembly in NY, where Kashmir is likely to be on the agenda.
