Uri attack: India summons Pakistani envoy

Foreign Secretary S. Jaishankar on Wednesday summoned Pakistani High Commissioner Abdul Basit here following Sunday's cross-border terror attack on an army base at Uri in Jammu and Kashmir in which 18 Indian soldiers lost their lives.

According to a statement issued by the External Affairs Ministry, Basit was reminded that the Pakistan government "had made a solemn commitment in January 2004 to not allow its soil or territory under its control to be used for terrorism against India".

"The persistent and growing violation of this undertaking is a matter of very serious concern," the statement said.

"The latest terrorist attack in Uri only underlines that the infrastructure of terrorism in Pakistan remains active. We demand that Pakistan lives up to its public commitment to refrain from supporting and sponsoring terrorism against India."

India has blamed the Pakistan-based Jaish-e-Mohammed terrorist outfit for the early morning attacks.

The statement said that beginning with the cross-border terror attack in January this year, there have been continuous attempts by armed terrorists to cross the Line of Control (LoC) and International Boundary in order to carry out attacks in India.

"Seventeen such attempts have been interdicted at or around the LoC, resulting in the elimination of 31 terrorists and preventing their intended acts of terrorism," it said, adding that Jaishankar also reminded Basit that even as he spoke two engagements at the LoC were ongoing.

The statement also listed the items recovered from the terrorists, including GPS, with coordinates that indicate the point and time of infiltration across the LoC and the subsequent route to the terror attack site; grenades with Pakistani markings; communication matrix sheets; communication equipment; and other stores made in Pakistan, including food, medicines and clothes.

"If the government of Pakistan wishes to investigate these cross-border attacks, India is ready to provide finger prints and DNA samples of terrorists killed in the Uri and Poonch incidents," it stated.

"We now expect a response from the government of Pakistan," it added.

--IANS

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