India needs to act decisively with Pak: Congress

Condemning Pakistan forces for mutilating bodies of two Indian soldiers who were killed in a ceasefire violation in Jammu and Kashmir's Krishna Ghati sector, the Congress Party on Tuesday said India needs to act decisively, adding that in order to retaliate the government needs to go to extreme extent.

"Pakistan is violating all international understandings and conventions between two neighbours. If this is the attitude of Pakistan, then I think the future is going to be very serious. India will be forced, even though India does not want that to happen, to act decisively," Congress leader P.C. Chacko told ANI.

He further said that there is no other alternative to the kind of provocation Pakistan is creating on the border these days.

"To retaliate this provocation, we may have to go to an extreme extent. I think Pakistan is inviting trouble for itself," he added.

Meanwhile, another Congress leader Randeep Surjewala said that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) needs to take a stand and take action as promised.

"In Jammu and Kashmir alone, over 200 soldiers have made sacrifice, 91 civilians have been killed and 1343 times Pakistan has committed border ceasefire violation. When will this government wake up? Does it not show a lack of policy or direction on part of this government and a lack of credible, political and responsible leadership on part of the BJP government?" he asked.

Surjewala further said that the seriousness can be seen from the fact that the nation does not have a regular Defence Minister and the charge has been given additionally to the Finance Minister.

"All these questions need to be answered for people of this country demand answer," he asserted.

The Pakistani soldiers along with their Border Action Team (BAT), which include trained border inhabitants, launched a joint attack yesterday.

They first fired rockets and followed this up with firing from automatic weapons, near Kranti Post located in Poonch's Krishna Ghati Sector around 8.30 a.m.

The Pakistanis then crossed the LoC, entered 200 meters into Indian Territory, and attacked a joint patrol of the Army and Border Security Force (BSF), heading towards a nearby post.

Defence Minister Arun Jaitley termed the mutilation a "reprehensible and an inhuman act" and said such acts don't even take place "during war let alone peace."

The attack triggered a major exchange of fire on the LoC and Indian troops resorted to small arms fire and mortar shelling, said an Army official.

The deceased personnel were identified as Border Security Force (BSF) head constable Prem Sagar of the 200 Battalion and the Army's Naik Subedar Paramjit Singh of 22 Sikh Regiment. Another BSF jawan was also injured.

Meanwhile, the Pakistan Army denied the alleged ceasefire violation or the mutilation of bodies.

"Pakistan Army did not commit any ceasefire violation on LoC as alleged by India. The Indian blame of mutilating Indian soldiers is also false," M. Nafees Zakaria, spokesperson of Pakistan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs tweeted.

The fresh attack from Pakistan comes just a day after its chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa visited the LoC in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir where he pledged support "to the rightful political struggle of Kashmiris.