"Brain dead" Yashwant Sinha slams govt. policy towards Pak, hints at "war-like-situation"

In the wake of the deadly Lashkar attack in Pampore in which eight CRPF personnel were martyred, former union minister and senior BJP leader Yashwant Sinha on Sunday alleged that India's current policy with Pakistan was a complete failure and called on the Narendra Modi-led government to take action against the hostile neighbour or continue to face attacks like Pathankot and Pampore.

Speaking to ANI here, the former finance minister stated that the continuous assaults on the Indian defence, which has resulted in the deaths of several personnel, have given birth to a war-like situation between India and Pakistan.

"When these numbers of our people are being slaughtered, it's a clear open attack on India by Pakistan. It is with great distress that I am saying that our government's policy towards Pakistan has failed. There are still many leaders, who will call for cordiality with Pakistan saying they are 'bechara'. They are not 'bechara', they have been attacking us for years and now, they are targeting our defence personnel head on," Sinha said.

Calling on the Centre to muster courage and make Pakistan accountable for all they have done, Sinha said that there was absolutely no reason for India to be afraid.

"If we never question Pakistan and keep 'bowing down' to them then attacks like those in Pathankot and Pampore will continue. After incidents like Pathankot, we bang our chests and weep and then forget about it," he added.

Stating the time has come to teach Pakistan a lesson, Sinha said, "If they have nuclear weapons, so do we. For the government, I am under the category of brain dead as I do not even have the status to give an opinion. But I have continuously opposed this government's policy towards Pakistan."

Hitting out at the Pakistan High Commissioner for his casual reaction on the Pampore attack, the senior BJP leader asserted that Abdul Basit's statement calling to focus on their 'Iftar party' instead was against all norms of diplomacy and was highly objectionable.

"Earlier also, I had asked our government to declare the Pakistan High Commission as persona non grata, that means that we do not accept them and that they should go back to Pakistan. But this High Commissioner to still remain on India's soil is just not right," Sinha added.

Basit on Saturday shrugged off the question on the attack and said that one should instead focus on the Iftaar celebrations in the Pakistan High Commission.

"It's the month of Ramzaan, let's focus on this Iftaar party. The issue of Jammu and Kashmir is a disputed issue between India and Pakistan. It's an issue, which needs to be solved. We hope we will sit and discuss on the issue and find a solution. Let's have the Iftaar party and enjoy ourselves," he told the media.

Saturday's attack was the fourth one on the security forces in Jammu and Kashmir this month. At least 17 security personnel were killed and several others injured in the last three major strikes along the Jammu-Srinagar Highway during the period.

Officials say infiltration has dramatically gone up compared to the previous year with more than 50 terrorists crossing the border in the last five months. Last year, there was zero infiltration in the first four months.