Foreign Secretary S Jaishankar on Wednesday summoned Pakistan High Commissioner Abdul Basit to his office in South Block and handed him a list of things recovered from the terrorists killed in operations in Uri and Poonch. All these things had a clear evidence of involvement of Pakistani citizens. The Foreign Secretary said that in case Pakistan is interested in investigating the matter, India can also provide finger prints and DNA samples.
While seeking a response from Islamabad, Jaishankar in a tough message told Basit that “we demand Pakistan lives up to its public commitment to refrain from supporting and sponsoring terrorism against India.”
“Foreign Secretary Jaishankar called in High Commissioner of Pakistan Abdul Basit today and reminded him that the Government of Pakistan 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 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,” the Ministry of External Affairs said in a statement.
Jaishankar flagged that this year, beginning with the Pathankot airbase attack, there have been continuous attempts by armed terrorists to cross the loC and International Border 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. The Foreign Secretary also reminded him that even as he spoke two engagements at the line of Control were ongoing.
“In the recent incidents, we have recovered a number of items that include: GPS from the bodies of terrorists 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. We now expect a response from the Government of Pakistan,” the Government said.