Shiv Sena takes on Pakistan, says 'time for action, not dialogue'

Advocating that talks are not the solution to the current crisis in Kashmir, Shiv Sena leader Sanjay Raut on Sunday condemned the terror attack in Uri and said it is high time that India initiates a strong retaliatory action against Pakistan.

Raut said the attack in Uri was well-planned and thought out by Pakistan, adding the Shiv Sena does not consider it a terrorist attack.

"Only four people come and attack our Army headquarters. 17 of our soldiers are killed and martyred. This is a major setback for the country. Till date, there had not been such a big attack on our soldiers," he told ANI.

The Shiv Sena leader further said that dialogue is not the solution to end this crisis.

"It is time for action and not mere warnings. We did nothing post the Pathankot attack, we do not respond to what happens in Kashmir time and again. We just talk and Pakistan takes action from the front," Raut said.

"When there were small attacks like this during the Congress regime, we used to say that that if one of our soldiers is killed or beheaded then we will chop off the heads of ten Pakistani soldiers. Did we forget all this (after coming to power)?" he asked.

India has blamed Pakistan for the terrorist attack at an army camp in Uri, Jammu and Kashmir, that claimed the lives of 17 soldiers.

Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh has expressed his heartfelt condolences to the families of the martyred soldiers and said those behind this terror incident would be brought to justice.

"Pakistan is a terrorist state and it should be identified and isolated as such," he said in a series of tweets.

The Home Minister also spoke to Jammu and Kashmir Governor NN Vohra and Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti and was apprised of the overall situation.

Earlier, he held a high-level meeting in New Delhi and reviewed the security situation in Jammu and Kashmir.

Hinting at Jaish-e-Mohammad's role behind the Uri terror attack, Director General Military Operations (DGMO) Lt Gen Ranbir Singh has asserted that the evil designs would get a befitting reply.

"The killed terrorists were all foreign terrorists and as per the initial reports, they belong to Jaish-e-Mohammad. Along with the terrorists, we recovered four AK-47 rifles, four under barrel grenade launchers, a large number of grenades and other war-like stores," Lt Gen Singh said.

Lt Gen Singh said the terrorists opened fire with incendiary ammunition along with the automatic fire of small arms which led to the tents and some temporary shelters located inside the army camp catching fire.

He also added that the operation for the clearance of the entire complex is still in progress along with a very deliberate and a methodical search in and around the military complex at Uri.

"As such complete details of the operation are not yet available. However, suffice to mention that in the time so far the Indian Army has conducted this operation in an extremely professional and deliberate manner wherein the troops have acted displaying exceptional courage and gallantry in neutralizing the terrorists," he added.

Lt. Gen Singh said the items recovered from the slain terrorists had Pakistani markings, adding he has conveyed India's serious concerns about the same with Pakistan Director General of Military operation General Raheel Sharif.

Lt. Gen Singh further said Chief of Army Staff Dalbir Singh has visited the site of the operation to take on the ground assessment and he was briefed by all unit and formation commanders there.

All four terrorists have been killed in what has emerged as a worse attack than the one on the Pathankot air base earlier in January this year in which seven army men were killed.