Indian Minister Vows All Options Against Pakistan
NEW DELHI (Dispatches) -- An Indian minister has called Pakistan as a "rogue state,” saying New Delhi will use all options to overpower Islamabad as tensions fare over a deadly terrorist attack in the disputed region of Kashmir last week.
"We have to act in a manner that this battle has to be decisively won by us because Pakistan is not willing to give up its traditional role in our neighborhood as a rogue state," Indian Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said.
At least 44 Indian paramilitary personnel were killed and dozens more wounded after a bomber rammed an explosive-laden car into a military convoy in Kashmir on February 14.
The Pakistan-based militant group Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM), one of several armed outfits fighting Indian rule over Kashmir, took responsibility for the bombing.
Jaitley accused Pakistan of not acting against perpetrators despite the militant group's admission of responsibility for the attack.
On Friday, Pakistan's army said Islamabad had no intention to initiate war but it would respond to any attack by India with "full force."
Pakistan’s Prime Minister Imran Khan has said Islamabad had nothing to do with the bombing and called for dialogue with India to ease tensions.
He said the Indian government had leveled allegations against Pakistan "without any evidence" and expressed Islamabad’s readiness to cooperate with New Delhi in investigating the bombing.
Pakistan’s Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi on Friday wrote a letter to the United Nations Security Council, accusing India of threatening regional security.
"It is with a sense of urgency that I draw your attention to the deteriorating security situation in our region resulting from Indian belligerence and threats of use of force against Pakistan," the letter said.
"The situation poses a threat to international peace and security," Qureshi said in the letter addressed to UN Security Council president Anatolio Ndong Mba.
Kashmir has been split between India and Pakistan since partition in 1947. Both countries claim all of Kashmir and have fought three wars over the territory.
Indian troops are in constant clashes with armed groups seeking Kashmir’s independence or its merger with Pakistan.
India regularly accuses Pakistan of arming and training militants and allowing them across the restive frontier in an attempt to launch attacks. Pakistan strongly denies the allegation.
"We have to act in a manner that this battle has to be decisively won by us because Pakistan is not willing to give up its traditional role in our neighborhood as a rogue state," Indian Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said.
At least 44 Indian paramilitary personnel were killed and dozens more wounded after a bomber rammed an explosive-laden car into a military convoy in Kashmir on February 14.
The Pakistan-based militant group Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM), one of several armed outfits fighting Indian rule over Kashmir, took responsibility for the bombing.
Jaitley accused Pakistan of not acting against perpetrators despite the militant group's admission of responsibility for the attack.
On Friday, Pakistan's army said Islamabad had no intention to initiate war but it would respond to any attack by India with "full force."
Pakistan’s Prime Minister Imran Khan has said Islamabad had nothing to do with the bombing and called for dialogue with India to ease tensions.
He said the Indian government had leveled allegations against Pakistan "without any evidence" and expressed Islamabad’s readiness to cooperate with New Delhi in investigating the bombing.
Pakistan’s Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi on Friday wrote a letter to the United Nations Security Council, accusing India of threatening regional security.
"It is with a sense of urgency that I draw your attention to the deteriorating security situation in our region resulting from Indian belligerence and threats of use of force against Pakistan," the letter said.
"The situation poses a threat to international peace and security," Qureshi said in the letter addressed to UN Security Council president Anatolio Ndong Mba.
Kashmir has been split between India and Pakistan since partition in 1947. Both countries claim all of Kashmir and have fought three wars over the territory.
Indian troops are in constant clashes with armed groups seeking Kashmir’s independence or its merger with Pakistan.
India regularly accuses Pakistan of arming and training militants and allowing them across the restive frontier in an attempt to launch attacks. Pakistan strongly denies the allegation.