India on Wednesday demanded from Pakistan to live up to its public commitment to refrain from supporting and sponsoring terrorism.
The strongly worded demand comes after the attack on an Indian army base in the Uri sector of India-held Kashmir (IHK) and was conveyed by Vikas Swarap, spokesperson of Ministry of External Affairs (MEA).
We demand that Pakistan lives up to its public commitment to refrain from supporting & sponsoring terrorism against India #UriAttack pic.twitter.com/fytV5fcgl2
— Vikas Swarup (@MEAIndia) September 21, 2016
Indian Foreign Secretary S Jaishankar summoned the Pakistan High Commissioner in New Delhi Abdul Basit earlier today to lodge a protest against what India claims to be cross-border terrorism.
“Pakistan had made a solemn commitment in January 2004 to not allow its soil or territory under its control to be used for terrorism against India,” said the Indian demarche.
The demarche added that the “growing violation of this undertaking is a matter of very serious concern”.
The Indian MEA also claimed that there have been at least 17 cases of armed men crossing over the LoC to carry out attacks in India, which were interdicted and resulted in the deaths of 31 terrorists.
In addition, the MEA also alleged it had recovered various items in recent incidents which point to the alleged Pakistani-origin of the attackers.
- GPS from the bodies of the alleged terrorists which include the coordinates and indicate the time and location of the infiltration point
- Grenades with alleged Pakistani markings
- Communication matrix sheets
- Communication equipment
- Other stores made allegedly in Pakistan
India has conveyed to Pakistan, in the protest lodged with Basit that it is also willing to share fingerprints and DNA of the attackers killed in Uri and Poonch sectors if Pakistan would be willing to investigate the attacks.
“We now expect a response from the Government of Pakistan,” said the demarche.
China endorses Pakistan’s stance on Kashmir
Chinese Premier Li Keqiang assured that China would continue to support Pakistan’s stance on Kashmir.
Li Keqiang, while meeting Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif on the sidelines of UN General Assembly, said: “We support Pakistan and we will speak for Pakistan at every forum.”
China attached great importance to Pakistan’s position on Kashmir and said, “Pakistan itself was a victim of terrorism”.
The Chinese premier hoped that there would be a better understanding of Pakistani position on Kashmir by the international community.
Nawaz showed his satisfaction on the state of Pak-China relations and welcomed the statement of China on the atrocities being committed in Indian occupied Kashmir.
Chinese counterpart expressed the hope that situation between India and Pakistan would not escalate.
He said China was ready to play a constructive role in the improvement of relations between Pakistan and India.
Attack and allegations
Heavily armed suspected militants killed 17 Indian soldiers in a pre-dawn raid earlier this week on an army base in India-held Kashmir (IHK), the worst such attack for years in the disputed Himalayan region.
The ‘militants’ first attacked a frontline base close to the Line of Control (LoC) before moving onto the brigade headquarters at Uri.
Four suspected militants were also killed during the gunbattle with Indian security forces.
Pakistan rejected Indian allegations regarding involvement in the terrorist attack on brigade headquarters in Uri area of IHK.
“Pointing fingers at Pakistan has become a traditional tendency of India after each terrorist attack,” said Foreign Office spokesperson Nafees Zakaria.
Pakistan’s Director General Military Operations (DGMO) also refuted Indian allegation of involvement in Uri base attack saying the claim is “unfounded and premature”.
He asked his Indian counterpart to provide actionable intelligence if any.
