M Venkaiah Naidu tells Pakistan to make up for past mistakes

He also asserted that the country is safe in the hands of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the Indian Army

Information and Broadcasting Minister M Venkaiah Naidu on Thursday urged Pakistan to "realise" its responsibility and make up for its "folly" in aiding and abetting terrorism against India.

"Pakistan should realise the folly and stop aiding and abetting terrorism," Naidu told reporters here.

The Union minister also asserted that the country is "safe" in the hands of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the Indian Army.

"The country is safe in the hands of Prime Minister and the Indian Army, and that is why, Indians from across the globe are appreciating the operation carried out last night," Naidu pointed out.

He said now that India had shown firmness in dealing with terror and made the surgical strikes, at least now "Pakistan should realise its responsibility to ensure peace in the region".

The remarks come close on the heels of announcement made by Director General of Military Operations (DGMO) Lt Gen Ranbir Singh that the Indian Army carried out surgical strikes against terror launch pads across the Line of Control.

The I&B Minister said the operation carried out by the Indian Army on Wednesday night was in line with the mandate the armed forces were given to "counter and foil" terror strikes against India.

"India has been urging Pakistan that its territories should not be used for terror activities," he said adding that nothing much had, however, happened on that front.

Moreover, Naidu said the promise made by Pakistan in January 2004 during the stint of Atal Bihari Vajpayee that its territories would not be allowed to be misused to support terrorism was also not kept.

"They did not walk the talk and have been aiding, abetting and funding terrorism and supporting them to infiltrate into India," he said.

It is "unfortunate" that Pakistan had chosen to support terrorism, the minister said, pointing out that such actions had only threatened peace not only in the region but across the world.