Amid escalating tension between India and its traditional rival Pakistan, Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh on Monday launched a scathing attack on its neighbour saying that Pakistan is not serious in combating terrorism and its entire establishment is engaged in fuelling terrorism in India.
launching one of the most vitriolic attacks on Pakistan after Indian Army’s surgical strike last month in PoK, the Home Minister said that Pakistan has adopted terrorism as a state policy and harbouring terrorism.
“Those who rear snakes would also be bitten,” said Rajnath Singh, in a stern message warning Pakistan against its support to terror outfits.
The Home Minister’s scathing attack on Pakistan comes a day after Prime Minister Narendra Modi dubbed Pakistan as the mothership of terrorism.
“Pakistan is obsessed with some issues and thus, getting isolated in the South Asia and in the global community as well,” said Rajnath Singh while addressing regional editors’ conference here.
Referring to Pakistan’s glorification of killed terrorist, Burhan Wani, Rajnath Singh said that Pakistan is so obsessed with Kashmir that it cannot tell apart a terrorist from a freedom fighter.
Pakistan’s non-serious attitude towards terrorism is the biggest hindrance in the bilateral relationship, said he, adding that if Pakistan wishes, India is ready to help in taking action against terrorists in Pakistan including Pak Occupied Kashmir (PoK).
He said that Pakistan should close down ‘factory of terrorism’ as this will open vistas of development and help in ensuring peace in South Asia.
Mentioning China’s tough stand against terrorism, the Union Minister said that at the BRICS Summit a day before, the participating nations have also strongly condemned “those who shelter terrorism”.
With sentiment against Pakistani artists in India seems to have grown against the backdrop of the Uri attack that had left 19 soldiers dead, Rajnath Singh maintained that there is no hatred towards people of Pakistan. We do not hate people of Pakistan and hate Pakistan-sponsored terrorism only, said he.
Referring to the recent surgical operations, Rajnath Singh said that it was a counter-terror operation. On the increasing politicisation of the surgical strike, he said that there should be no debate on national security issue.
Maintaining that India is one of the top 10 economies and fastest growing economy in the world, he said that efforts are being made to destabilise the country.
Reiterating his Government’s promise of sealing the Indo-Pak border, the Home Minister said that by 2018, India’s frontier with Pakistan will be sealed and secured extensively. There is around 181.85 km stretch in which construction of physical barrier is not feasible due to geographic constraints like riverine, low-lying, creek, marshy etc. areas. In this stretch, advance technology solutions including cameras, sensors, radars, lasers, etc will be deployed, said he
The Home Minister also said that the Border Security Force is also testing the available technologies through pilot projects in Jammu, Punjab and Gujarat.
On Indo-China relations, he said that there are certain perceptional differences regarding the boundaries between India and China, but the relations between the two countries have strengthened and the number of transgression has also reduced under NDA regime.
He said that upto September this year, 170 incidents of incursions were reported while 271 were reported last year, 432 during 2014 during the corresponding time period.
He added, “We have taken steps to have peaceful borders with Myanmar and Nepal. Bangladesh and Myanmar are active borders while the border along China and Pakistan are strategic and sensitive.”
On the issues of fake Indian currency and drugs, Myanmar and Bangladesh are cooperating with India, said he.