Pakistan in denial mode again, rejects killing of Indian soldiers

Zee Media Bureau New Delhi: In a reaction which can be said to be hackneyed and following a similar pattern, Pakistan on Tuesday rejected killing of Indian soldiers on the LoC. "Pakistan rejects the allegations carried by some sections of the Indian media of an attack across the LoC in the Poonch sector in which five Indian soldiers were claimed to have been killed. These are baseless and unfounded allegations," Foreign Office spokesman Aizaz Chaudhry said. "Our military authorities have confirmed that there had been no exchange of fire that could have resulted in such an incident," he said in a statement. Pakistan is committed to the ceasefire agreement of 2003, which is "an important Confidence-Building Measure and should be respected in letter and spirit", Chaudhry said. Islamabad further called for "abiding by and strengthening existing military mechanisms to ensure that such ill-founded reports that have the potential of vitiating the atmosphere, are avoided". Meanwhile, India today had lodged a strong protest over the killings and had summoned Pakistan’s Deputy High Commissioner Mansoor Ahmed Khan. Khan was summoned by Joint Secretary in Ministry of External Affairs Rudrendra Tandon in South Block and delivered a strong diplomatic message, sources said. Pakistani troops had opened fire along in Poonch sector of Jammu and Kashmir on Monday night. A Junior Commissioned Officer and four soldiers were killed and another soldier was injured when the Pakistani troops ambushed the six-member Indian patrol.

In the Lok Sabha, Defence Minister AK Antony said a strong message has been sent to Pakistan. He further asserted that the Indian Army was ready to take all necessary steps. According to sources, 15-20 Pakistani soldiers of 101 Mujahideen Regiment, aided by a few terrorists, attacked the Sarla post on the Indian side of the LoC. The Pakistani Armymen reportedly intruded 500 metres into the Indian side of LoC past midnight. With PTI inputs