New Delhi, Dec 31 (IANS) The Indian Army must retaliate with “double the force” if Pakistani military fires on the Jammu and Kashmir border, Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar has said.
The minister told journalists Tuesday night that Indian troops do not breach the 2003 ceasefire between India and Pakistan in Jammu and Kashmir.
“I would say, don’t agitate, react appropriately but without holding yourself back. When something happens, retaliate with double the force,” he said.
“If terrorists attack any defence establishment, the instruction is (to) neutralise them without losing any men,” he added.
The minister’s response came as a soldier was injured when Pakistani forces Tuesday fired at Indian positions along the Line of Control (LoC) in Jammu and Kashmir’s Pallanwalla sector.
Parrikar, however, said that the number of border firing incidents had fallen along the LoC.
“(This) has come down along the LoC. It had increased along the (international border). But even that has gone down in the last two months compared to last year,” he said.
The LoC and the international border divide Jammu and Kashmir between India and Pakistan. Pakistan controls the northern third of the state, and India the southern two-third.
