India's prime minister Narendra Modi speaks during the celebrations after the victory in Bihar assembly election and by-election in other states at the Bharatiya Janata Party headquarters in New Delhi on November 11, 2020. — AFP photo
Keeping with his practice of spending time with soldiers on Diwali, Indian prime minister Narendra Modi on Saturday addressed troops at Longewala Post in which he asserted that India will give ‘prachand jawab’ (fierce reply) if it is provoked, reports The Hindu online.
Modi said, without naming any country, that the entire world feels troubled by ‘expansionist’ forces and expansionism shows a ‘distorted mindset’ which belongs to 18th century.
‘India believes in policy of understanding others and making them understand but if an attempt to test it is made, then the country will give a fierce reply,’ he asserted. His message comes amid the continuing standoff with China at Ladakh border.
‘No force in the world can prevent our soldiers from protecting our borders,’ he said, adding that India has shown that it has strength and the political will to give a befitting reply to those challenging it.
‘The world now knows that India will not compromise with its interests even one bit,’ he said.
Referring to his custom of celebrating Diwali with soldiers since he assumed office in 2014, Modi said that his resolve to serve and protect the country becomes stronger by spending more time with them.
He also urged troops to innovate, practice yoga and learn an Indian language they don’t know from colleagues.
On the occasion, he recalled the fierce fight the post had witnessed in the 1971 war against Pakistan and paid tributes to Brig Kuldeep Singh Chandpuri, a hero of the battle, saying he became ‘rashtra deep’ with his feat of bravery.
The war was also an example of exemplary coordination among army, navy and air force, he said.
Meanwhile, Pakistan on Saturday unveiled a dossier containing ‘irrefutable evidence’ of India’s sponsorship of terrorism in the country and called on the international community to take notice and make efforts for peace and stability in South Asia, reports Dawn online.
In a joint press conference with Inter-Services Public Relations director general Maj Gen Babar Iftikhar in Islamabad, foreign minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi condemned the recent ceasefire violations by India across the Line of Control and said the purpose of the presser was to show ‘the real face of India’ to the world.
‘The state that used to say that it was the world’s biggest democracy is [now] becoming a rogue state through its activities. We have information and evidence on the basis of which I can say India is fanning state terrorism. India has prepared a plan to destabilise Pakistan,’ Qureshi said.
He said that he had been highlighting India’s activities at different levels and fora but it was time to take the nation and the world community into confidence because he believed further silence was not in the interest of Pakistan and regional stability.
The foreign minister said Pakistanis had faced 19,130 terrorist attacks between 2001 and 2020 and suffered more than 83,000 casualties in the war against terrorism. The country also suffered monetary losses of at least $126 billion.
‘After 9/11, the world saw that Pakistan has become a front-line state. While Pakistan was making sacrifices in ‘blood and treasure’, India was busy laying terrorist networks using its own soil and the spaces in Pakistan’s immediate neighbourhood and beyond.’
‘Today, we have undeniable evidence and we want to show it in the form of this dossier to the nation and the world,’ Qureshi said.
