Pak trying to defame India after IAF air strikes: Rajnath

Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh Wednesday said the Indian Air Force (IAF) air strike on terror camps in Pakistan was carried out with caution and no civilian was hurt in it, but the neighbouring country wants to defame India nevertheless.

India has given a befitting reply to the neighbouring country, Singh said and reiterated that Kashmir will always be a part of India and no power in the world can separate it from the country.

Addressing a convention of BJP workers in Bilaspur town of Chhattisgarh, he said, "Two days back, our forces gave a befitting reply to Pakistan, which has been trying to destabilise India".

"Prime Minister Narendra Modi has assured that we will not let the country be subjugated. Our government will do whatever is required but will not let Mother India bow her head," he said.

"In the air strike, neither the Pakistani civilians were hurt nor the Pakistan Army was targeted. Our Air Force soldiers carried out the strike with caution. Despite this, Pakistan has been trying to defame India," he said.

The BJP-led NDA government is not a weak regime, Singh said. India is no more a weak country, rather it has become strong," he added.

India had earlier told Pakistan it could seek help from India if it was unable to root out terrorism on its own, he said. But the neighbouring country was never ready for it, he added.

"India had told Pakistan several times that terrorism was being nourished on their soil. Pakistan has been giving shelter to terrorists. However, Pakistan's prime minister used to say that his country was also a victim of terrorism.

"If you are a victim of terrorism, what have you done to root out the menace from your soil. The Pakistan PM has no answer for it," he said.

In an apparent reference to separatists in Kashmir, Singh said some forces are getting money from Pakistan and work on the direction of the neighbouring country.

"Now such forces will not be tolerated. They have been preventing the development of Kashmir which was once known as India's paradise.