Stop meddling in India's affairs: Rajnath to Pak

Sending a clear message to Pakistan to stop meddling in India's affairs, Home Minister Rajnath Singh today said the neighbouring country must stop its nefarious activities if it wants its "own welfare".

"If Pakistan wants its own welfare, then it must stop meddling in the affairs of other countries. It must stop all its nefarious activities aimed towards India," he said addressing a Jan Kalyan Parv in Jammu.

Giving a strong warning to those who want to harm India's pride, integrity and sovereignty, he said that the country would give a befitting reply to such people.

"Those who want to harm the pride, integrity and sovereignty of the country will be given a befitting reply. We trust our army, our paramilitary and our forces. No question can be raised on their integrity and love for the country," he said.

Singh said India always extended a hand of friendship towards its neighbouring countries including Pakistan, but Pakistan always resorted to backstabbing.

"Former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee extended a hand of friendship towards Pakistan, but it stabbed in the back. Then when Prime Minister Narendra Modi took over the office a year ago, he invited all the heads of the state of the neighbouring countries to the swearing-in ceremony including the Pakistan Prime Minister," he said.

He said that Pakistan must think over its actions as it has not been reciprocating the positive response of India towards it.

He said the government had given open orders to the armed forces especially the BSF to respond with all its might to any aggression from across the border.

"In October last year, Pakistan resorted to unprovoked ceasefire violation. I saw on television that five of our citizens have died. I asked the Director General, BSF, to make sure that we are not the first to open fire. But if we are fired at from across the border, then Pakistani side must get a befitting reply with full might," he said.

Singh said that it was the response from the Indian side that Pakistan was forced to go to the United Nations to request it to intervene and ask India to stop firing on them.

He said that India strongly believes that every country in the world must progress and India believes in living in communal harmony.

"There are 72 sects in Islam and there is no other country in the world except India where all of them live together. The first church in the world was constructed in Kerala some 2000 years ago. The Parsi community got so much of respect in this country and Jews say that India was the only country in the world where they were not persecuted," he said.