Cabinet panel to discuss India's response to Uri attack today

BJP MP, VHP demand India attack Pakistan

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Much of the Opposition, including the Congress, on Tuesday issued their support to the government if it were to take any decision in the national interest in the wake of Sunday's terror attack in Uri in which 18 soldiers were killed.

However, the government struggled to rein one of its Members of Parliament and Sangh Parivar affiliates such as the Vishva Hindu Parishad from raising the temperature. In related developments, the Army claimed that two infiltration attempts across the Line of Control in Kashmir were neutralised and 10 terrorists killed. One Indian Army soldier was also killed in the encounter. It said Pakistani troops violated the ceasefire and fired at Indian positions.

Government sources said Prime Minister Narendra Modi will chair a meeting of the Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS) on Wednesday to review the Uri terror attack and decide on the government’s response. The Uri terror attack is also likely to overshadow the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)’s three-day national council meet from Friday in Kozhikode, Kerala.

Meanwhile, Pakistan decided not to send its intelligence chief Aftab Sultan to attend a two-day conference of top security experts of South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (Saarc) in India from Thursday.

In what government sources in New Delhi claimed to be a shot in the arm for its diplomatic strategy, US Secretary of State John Kerry on Tuesday conveyed America’s concern on the terror attack to Pakistani PM Nawaz Sharif. The meeting took place on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly session in New York.

According to a US Department of State spokesperson, Kerry “reiterated the need for Pakistan to prevent all terrorists from using Pakistani territory as safe havens, while commending recent efforts by Pakistani security forces to counter extremist violence.”

Sharif and Kerry “expressed strong concern with recent violence in Kashmir — particularly the army base attack — and the need for all sides to reduce tensions.” Kerry also stressed the need for restraint in nuclear weapons programmes of Pakistan.

Home Minister Rajnath Singh on Tuesday reviewed the security situation in Jammu and Kashmir at a meeting in Delhi with senior officials, including National Security Advisor Ajit Doval and Foreign Secretary S Jaishankar. Minister of State for Home Kiren Rijiju said any retaliatory action from India against terrorists based in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir will be done after examining all relevant issues.

The Opposition Congress, however, came across as more supportive of the government. It said it would support "any meaningful action" by the government in the interest of national security in the wake of the Uri terror attack. Party spokesman R P N Singh, however, said the "flip-flop" of the government on foreign policy has come to "haunt" the country.

While most BJP leaders and government ministers were restrained in their statements on Uri attack, BJP Lok Sabha member R K Singh, a former Union home secretary, said it was time India hit Pakistan in a similar fashion. “Pakistan will not stop until we also hit back and inflict casualty on their side... By physically going there. Then only they will realise and stop," he said.

Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh-affiliated Vishva Hindu Parishad demanded that the government attack Pakistan and capture PoK.