NIRMALA BACKS ARMY, HINTS J&K CEASEFIRE NOT A FEASIBLE OPTION

NEWDELHI: India’s defence minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Sunday said the Indian Army has to “firmly handle” any terrorist activity that threatens the peace and harmony of Jammu and Kashmir, indicating that a unilateral ceasefire as demanded by state chief minister Mehbooba Mufti was not a feasible option.

To a question on Mehbooba’s call for a unilateral ceasefire in the state during the month of Ramzan and during the Amarnath Yatra, Sitharaman said, “I think it is important to handle J&K affairs with a great deal of sensitivity. The Indian Army will have to make sure that India is a safe country.”

“It has to handle firmly any terrorism which threatens peace and harmony of J&K and the rest of India also. The army’s position is that it has to be firm on terrorism,” she added. HT reported on Saturday that the army was opposed to a unilateral ceasefire because of an increase in the number of militant-initiated strikes in the state.

The minister also dubbed as a “serious disclosure” Pakistan’s ousted PM Nawaz Sharif’s public acknowledgement that militant organisations were active in his country and said it proved India’s position that the handlers of 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks were in Pakistan.

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It is a very serious disclosure... only proves that India’s stand has been right all the way NIRMALA SITHARAMAN, on Nawaz Sharif’s 26/11 remarks