LoC tension: NSA briefs Sushma, Jaitley

NSA Shiv Shankar Menon on Tuesday briefed senior BJP leaders Sushma Swaraj and Arun Jaitley on the situation on the LoC even as India took a tough stance against Pakistan over the killing and mutilation of two of its soldiers.

Zeenews Bureau

New Delhi: National Security Adviser (NSA) Shiv Shankar Menon on Tuesday briefed senior BJP leaders Sushma Swaraj and Arun Jaitley on the situation on the Line of Control (LoC) and assured government’s appropriate response to Pakistan over the brutal killing of two Indian soldiers. According to reports, NSA arrived at the residence of Sushma Swaraj, the Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha, where he briefed the two senior BJP leaders about the government’s stand on the brutal killing of two Indian soldiers’ by the Pakistan troops recently. During the meeting, which lasted for about 60 minutes, the two BJP leaders sought an explanation from Menon over the government’s slow response to Pakistan in the aftermath of the ceasefire violation and soldiers’ killing. The meeting between the NSA and senior BJP leaders came a day after Army Chief Gen Bikram Singh said that his forces "reserve the right to retaliate". Army Chief’s statement came after a strong protest was lodged with the Pakistan Army at the flag meeting along the LoC, which divides Jammu and Kashmir between the two countries. Pakistan has categorically denied the charge. The January 8 killing of Lance Naik Sudhakar Singh and Lance Naik Hemraj - who was decapitated - in the Mendhar sector in Poonch district of Jammu and Kashmir by Pakistani troops was a "gruesome and an unpardonable act", Army Chief said. Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) president Nitin Gadkari, Sushma Swaraj and party leader Rajnath Singh met the family of Lance Naik Hemraj earlier in his home town Mathura in Uttar Pradesh. Gadkari demanded that the government should "isolate" Pakistan. "The Pakistani government is provoking people with what they are doing," he told reporters, demanding an apology. "The government should isolate Pakistan as the incident has disturbed not just the family of the slain martyrs but also every Indian," he added. With PTI Inputs