The Ministry of External Affairs on Wednesday summoned Pakistan High Commissioner Abdul Basit to register its outrage against the mutilation of two Indian soldiers who had been killed, for which India holds Pakistan’s troops responsible. The soldiers were killed in Kashmir’s Krishna Ghati sector in Poonch near the Line of Control.
Foreign Secretary S Jaishankar summoned the Pakistani official to the ministry’s headquarters on Raisina Hill. He told Basit that the attack on Monday was preceded by covering fire from Pakistani posts in Battal sector.
“Blood samples of the Indian soldiers that have been collected and the trail of blood on Roza Nala clearly shows that the killers returned across the Line of Control,” MEA spokesperson Gopal Baglay said while briefing the media on Wednesday. India has been a victim of cross-border terrorism for four decades, Baglay added. Basit did not respond to questions from the media.
“Foreign secretary conveyed India’s outrage at the killing and the barbaric act of mutilation of the bodies of the two Indian soldiers on May 1, 2017 by Pakistan Army personnel,” a statement released by the Ministry of External Affairs said.
Meanwhile, Union Minister Arun Jaitley on Wednesday said Pakistan’s denial of the incident had “no credibility”. “This can not happen without protection or participation of the Pakistani Army itself,’ Jaitley said while addressing the media.
Pakistan Defence Minister Khawaja M Asif had dismissed India’s claims as “baseless” and said it was an attempt by the Indian Army to divert attention from the Kashmir crisis and “demonise” the Pakistan Army. While India has vowed to “respond appropriately” to the attacks, Pakistan has demanded “actionable evidence” from New Delhi for alleging that its forces had killed two Indian soldiers and mutilated their bodies. Pakistan’s Director General of Military Operations General Shahid Shamshad Mirza had spoken to his Indian counterpart on the phone, the Pakistan Army said.
The incident was reported following heavy firing at two Indian forward posts at Kerni on Monday. One of the troops who died was an Indian Army soldier and the other was a Border Security Force jawan.
Defence Minister Arun Jaitley had called it a “reprehensible and inhumane act” and promised retaliation from the Indian armed forces. Congress Spokesperson Anand Sharma had attacked the central government for its policies on Kashmir.
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