India unites in grief for Kashmir dead
PAKISTAN DENIES INVOLVEMENT AS MODI BLAMES ‘NEIGHBOUR’
Mourners around India yesterday paid tribute to the 49 soldiers killed in a suicide bombing in Kashmir as the government began efforts to garner diplomatic support to ‘isolate’ Pakistan on the international stage.
The paramilitary troops were killed on Thursday as explosives packed in a van ripped through a convoy transporting 2,500 soldiers in Pulwama. India has accused Pakistan of harbouring the militants behind the attack.
An all-party meeting chaired by Federal Home Minister Rajnath Singh in Parliament passed a resolution condemning the February 14 Pulwama attack. “We strongly condemn the dastardly terror act in Pulwama in Jammu and Kashmir in which lives of 40 [Thursday’s immediate figure] brave jawans of CRPF [Central Reserve Police Force] were lost. We, along with all our countrymen, stand with their families in this hour of grief,” the resolution passed at the meet called by the Centre, stated.
Foreign Secretary Vijay Gokhale met some 25 ambassadors as India weighs its options following the attack.
US National Security Adviser John Bolton telephoned Indian counterpart Ajit Doval to express his outrage at the attack. A statement from the foreign ministry said the two vowed to work together to ensure Pakistan ceases to be a safe haven for terrorist organisations.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi said that terror groups who perpetrated the attack cannot hide and “will be punished”. Modi said that now, “the neighbouring country” has become synonymous with terror. “It has sheltered terrorism, but today it is on the verge of bankruptcy.”
Meanwhile, Pakistan Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi said he was saddened by India’s ‘knee-jerk reaction’ levelling allegations without sharing any proof or evidence against Pakistan. He said the world knows Pakistan is not involved in the recent attack in Pulwama.
India hikes customs duty
India yesterday hiked the customs duty to 200 per cent on all goods imported from Pakistan, following revocation of the ‘most-favoured nation’ status in the aftermath of the attack.
Thousands of mourners across India attended funerals yesterday for some of the 49 soldiers killed in a suicide bombing in Indian-administered Kashmir as a round-the-clock curfew remained in force in part of the restive region.
The paramilitary troops were killed on Thursday as explosives packed in a van ripped through a convoy transporting 2,500 soldiers in the Himalayan region — the deadliest attack in a threedecade-old armed conflict.
TV stations showed coffins wrapped in Indian flags being carried by thousands of people across their hometowns, such as Gaya in the east and Unnao in the north, after the bodies were flown to New Delhi late on Friday where Prime Minister Narendra Modi laid a wreath.
India has accused Pakistan of harbouring the militants behind the attack, which has sparked nationwide outrage and some public calls for war against the nucleararmed rival to avenge the killings.
Two buses of the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) in the 78-vehicle convoy were targeted by the bomber on a key highway in the Pulwama district, just outside the main city of Srinagar.
The Pakistan-based Islamist group Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) claimed responsibility, and the vehicle was driven by a known local militant named Aadil Ahmad, alias Waqas Commando. The powerful blast reduced one of the buses to a heap of mangled debris. Pictures showed bodies and body parts strewn all over the highway.
‘Faith and pride in soldiers’
“I feel proud of the martyrdom of my son. I expect the government of India to avenge the killings,” Brish Soreng, father of one of the soldiers, told reporters.
India is garnering diplomatic support after the attack and has vowed to “isolate” Pakistan diplomatically in the international community, saying it has “incontrovertible evidence” of Islamabad’s role. Pakistan has rejected the allegations.
US National Security Advisor John Bolton called his Indian counterpart Ajit Doval, promising to work with India to “ensure that Pakistan ceases to be a safe haven for JeM and terrorist groups that target India, the US and others in the region,” according to a readout released by India’s Foreign Ministry yesterday.
Modi said yesterday that terror groups who perpetrated the Pulwama attack, that left 49 CRPF troopers dead, cannot hide and “will be punished” as the security forces have been given a “free hand” to tackle them. Paying tributes to two CRPF troopers from Maharashtra — Nitin Rathod and Sanjay Rajput from Buldhana — and others killed in the deadly attack on Thursday, Modi said the country has “complete faith and pride” in our soldiers and security forces and their sacrifices will not go in vain. “Wherever the terror groups and the perpetrators may hide, our security forces will flush them out and punish them,” Modi said amid cheers from the gathering of farmers and women.
When and how to accomplish this has been left to the security forces, he said but appealed to the people of the country to be “patient” and repose confidence in the armed forces “as the terror perpetrators shall not be spared at any cost”.
Without naming Pakistan, Modi said that now, “the neighbouring country” has become synonymous with terror. “It has sheltered terrorism, but today it is on the verge of bankruptcy.”
Meanwhile, a retired Indian military commander, Lt General D.S. Hooda, said yesterday that while “some kind of limited (military) strike (against Pakistan) is more than likely”, he hopes for
I feel proud of the martyrdom of my son. I expect the government of India to avenge the killings.” Brish Soreng | Father of one of the slain soldiers
Wherever the perpetrators may hide, our security forces will flush them out and punish them.” Narendra Modi | Prime Minister of India
“rethinking and reconciliation” from all sides in the conflict. The former general, who had commanded the Indian Army’s northern command in charge of the frontier with Pakistan in Kashmir and counterinsurgency operations, oversaw India’s “surgical strikes” in September 2016 after militants attacked a military base in the frontier town of Uri near the highly militarised Line of Control in Indian-controlled Kashmir.