'Change in policy' towards Pakistan, will be given stern message: MoS Defence (IANS Interview)

Underlining the perception that it will not be business as usual with Pakistan after Sunday's Uri terror attack, Union Minister of State for Defence Subhash Ramrao Bhamre said India has "changed its policy" towards its western neighbour.

He also said Pakistan will be given a "stern message" in the wake of the terror attack that left 18 Indian soldiers dead and 30 injured.

"I can assure the nation that the culprits will not be spared, we have made it clear that they will be given a befitting reply," Bhamre said in an interview to IANS, adding that an appropriate response was being discussed at a "very high level".

"Prime Minister Narendra Modi has also made it clear that it was a heinous crime and that the perpetrators will not go unpunished," he added.

"Pakistan has a history of fomenting trouble in Jammu and Kashmir... In spite of this, we tried to resolve the issue peacefully, but we have realised that Pakistan is not sincere towards peace... We (Government of India) have changed our policy," said Bhamre.

Bhamre, who described the September 18 attack as a "cowardly act", noted that the government has already initiated moves to convince the international community to "isolate" Islamabad diplomatically on the issue of terrorism, adding the "message to Islamabad should go from the global community".

"Sushmaji (External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj) is likely to raise the issue in the UN General Assembly," he added.

"Even the United States some time ago agreed that Pakistan is a haven for terrorism. If this is so why not isolate it? That's our policy today after the Uri attack. So, why not give a stern message to Pakistan," Bhamre told IANS.

The US last month said that it had consistently raised its concerns at the highest level of government in Pakistan on the need to deny safe haven to extremists.

Bhamre admitted there is a lot of "anguish" in the country over the dastardly terror strike which the Army has blamed on the Pakistan-based Jaish-e-Mohammad outfit.

(Nirendra Dev can be contacted at nirendra.n@ians.in)

--IANS

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