Ummid Assistant

Applications open for Manmohan scholarship at Cambridge

Opportunities for Indian students in US

Welcome Guest! You are here: Home » International

India lodges strong protest at flag meeting

Won’t remain passive when attacked, says Army chief

Monday January 14, 2013 09:18:59 PM, IANS

Related articles

Indian, Pakistani armies to meet Monday over LoC clashes

The Indian and Pakistani armies will have a "flag meeting" Monday, after Pakistani troops opened fresh fire at Indian border posts in Jammu and Kashmir, officials »

IAF chief talks tough, government stresses diplomacy

Amid border tensions, Indian doctors aid Pakistani patients

New Delhi/Jammu: India Monday took a tough stance against Pakistan over the killing and mutilation of two of its soldiers with its army chief asserting that his forces "reserve the right to retaliate" and a strong protest being lodged at the flag meeting along the Line of Control (LoC) in Jammu and Kashmir's Poonch district.

The brigadier-level flag meeting was held at Chakan da Bagh on the LoC, about 250 km northwest of Jammu.

The Jan 8 killing of Lance Naik Sudhakar Singh and Lance Naik Hemraj - who was decapitated and his head taken away - in the Mendhar sector in Poonch district of Jammu and Kashmir by Pakistani troops was a "gruesome and an unpardonable act", army chief General Bikram Singh said.

He added: I expect my commanders on the LoC to be aggressive and offensive."

Asked about Indian Air Force Chief Marshal N.A.K. Browne's remarks that India may have to look for "some other options for compliance" if Pakistan continues to violate the ceasefire, Gen. Singh said that Browne alluded to "diplomatic and economic options". Gen. Singh said the operation would be dealt by the army at a tactical level.

After the flag meeting, Northern Command spokesperson Lt. Col. Rajesh Kalia said in a statement: "Our representative expressed our grave concern over the barbaric act by Pakistani troops in the recent ambush of our patrol in Mendhar Sector. The Indian army raised a strong protest against the heinous mutilation of our deceased soldier's bodies... it was against the tenets of the Geneva Convention as also in contravention to all established norms of soldierly behaviour."

The statement added: "Such a dastardly and cowardly act is totally unacceptable and is a premeditated attempt to undermine the ceasefire agreement of 2003, which can lead to further escalation. Repetition of such acts will not be tolerated."

"The Pakistani delegation leader denied their involvement in the incident and reiterated the false and fabricated allegations that our (Indian) troops crossed the Line of Control and killed one Pakistani soldier and injured another," the statement said.

Earlier Monday, Gen. Singh termed as "pre-planned and pre-meditated" Pakistan's aggression along the LoC.

The army chief said it was possible that the Pakistani army used terrorists as it had done in the past. He said he was not ruling out the involvement of terrorist group Lashkar-e-Toiba founder Hafiz Saeed in the Jan 8 killing of the two Indian soldiers.

Acknowledging there may have been lapses that led to this incident, Gen. Singh said "an immediate inquiry will impact morale of soldiers and that corrective action will be taken later".

"The firing from Pakistan is a manifestation of their frustration. Their troops are not moving forward but we are watching," he said.

"What they (Pakistan) have done is against the ethics of soldiering. My heart goes out to the families of soldiers who were killed and whose bodies were mutilated. It's a gruesome and unpardonable act. Beheading of soldiers is not acceptable," Gen. Bikram Singh told reporters here on the eve of Army Day Monday.

"We will uphold the ceasefire as long as it is maintained. We reserve the right to retaliate at the time and place of our choosing."

He added that pressure needed to be exerted on Pakistan so the severed head of Hemraj was returned. "This has to be done through diplomatic levels," he said.

Gen. Singh said the incursion by the Pakistani army required meticulous planning as there had to be an element of surprise and firepower. He added that it would have taken at least seven to eight days to plan the incursion.

Hemraj's wife and kin had been fasting in their village near Mathura in Uttar Pradesh, demanding that the severed head of her husband be brought back. They called off the fast after Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav visited them Monday.

This is the third incident in the last 13 years. In May 2000, an Indian army soldier was beheaded by Pakistani troops along the LoC. Last July, two Indian troopers were decapitated by Pakistani soldiers.

Ten ceasefire violations by Pakistan have taken place this year. In 2012, the number was 117 and 61 in 2011. Shelling by Pakistan across the LoC is mainly to provide cover to infiltrating militants.




 






 

Home | Top of the Page

Comments

Note: By posting your comments here you agree to the terms and conditions of www.ummid.com

Comments powered by DISQUS

i

I

More Headlines

Girl gang-raped, thrown out of vehicle in Bengal

India concerned at South Africa suspending buffalo meat imports

Dilip-Saira return after performing Umrah, want to do Haj together

Technology will change the face of education: BITS vice chancellor

Army chief against diluting AFSPA

Telangana state will soon be a reality, say ministers

European media: From India shining to India tarnished

It was a police action, not riot: Maharashtra legislator

Assam's silk village: Weaving does not pay

Hyderabad police arrest Swami Kamlananda for hate speech

 

Top Stories

It was a police action, not riot: Maharashtra legislator

Police fired with intention to kill, blame Dhule riot victims; allege the police of involving in looting and beating women

“If the government thinks that the police aggression was justified, it should announce that whenever and wherever in the country such a thing would happen, the police would act with  »

Dhule Riots: Now Dy Mayor, Muslim councilors threaten to resign

Upset by son's death in Dhule firing, Dy Tahsildar to resign from post

 

  Most Read

Indian, Pakistani armies to meet Monday over LoC clashes

The Indian and Pakistani armies will have a "flag meeting" Monday, after Pakistani troops opened fresh fire at Indian border posts in Jammu and Kashmir, officials said Sunday. »

IAF chief talks tough, government stresses diplomacy

Amid border tensions, Indian doctors aid Pakistani patients

Hyderabad police arrest Swami Kamlananda for hate speech

The Special Investigation Team (SIT) of Hyderabad police took him into custody with regard to the cases booked against him in Mir Chowk and Dabeerpura police stations in the old city. The cases were  »

Owaisi gets jail for 14 days, pulled up by judge

 

  News Pick

Dilip-Saira return after performing Umrah, want to do Haj together

Saira Banu is extremely joyous after performing Umrah in Saudi Arabia with her husband and Bollywood thespian Dilip Kumar and says now she wishes they get an opportunity to go for Haj  »

India concerned at South Africa suspending buffalo meat imports

India Monday voiced concern to South Africa at the suspension of frozen boneless buffalo meat imports from the country. Commerce Minister Anand Sharma told South African Minister of Trade and Industry, Rob Davies,  »

European media: From India shining to India tarnished

The dire situation of Indian women is now under the spotlight in European media and daily incidents of violence are being reported with alacrity along with statistics and analyses to show India's disastrous record in ensuring women's rights.  »

Indian origin Canadian Muslim woman wins Queen Elizabeth Jubilee Medal

Volunteering for community help decades ago, a Canadian Muslim in Ontario’s city of Mississauga has  »

 

Picture of the Day

President Pranab Mukherjee, Union Minister for Communications and Information Technology Kapil Sibal, Union Minister for Minority Affairs K. Rahman Khan and other dignitaries at the release of the Commemorative Postage Stamp on Shaikhul Hind’s “Silk Letter Movement” & 60th Session of Shaikhul Hind’s Silk Letter Movement Centenary, in New Delhi on January 11, 2013.

 

Recommend the story to your friends

 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

RSS  |  Contact us

 

| Quick links

News

 

Subscribe to

Ummid Assistant

 

National

Science & Technology

RSS

Scholarships

About us

International

Health

Twitter

Government Schemes

Feedback

Regional

History

Facebook

Education

Register

Politics

Opinion

Newsletter

Contact us

Business

The Funny Side

Education & Career

     

 

 

Ummid.com: Disclaimer | Terms of Use | Advertise with us | Link Exchange

Ummid.com is part of the Awaz Multimedia & Publications providing World News, News Analysis and Feature Articles on Education, Health. Politics, Technology, Sports, Entertainment, Industry etc. The articles or the views displayed on this website are for public information and in no way describe the editorial views. The users are entitled to use this site subject to the terms and conditions mentioned.

© 2012 Awaz Multimedia & Publications. All rights reserved.