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

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.

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