Rajnath Singh said if Pakistan's intention is clear, it should act decisively against cross-border terrorism
Defense Minister Rajnath Singh. File pic
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh has asserted that Pakistan should end terrorism emanating from its soil and if the country feels it is not capable of doing so, it can take India's help. In an interview with ANI, Rajnath Singh stressed that if Pakistan tries to destabilise India using terrorism, it will have to bear the consequences.
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India has repeatedly emphasised that it will not tolerate cross-border terrorism and it cannot keep aside terrorism to improve ties with Islamabad. New Delhi has also said the onus is on Islamabad to create a conducive atmosphere in which there is no terror, hostility or violence.
Rajnath Singh said if Pakistan's intention is clear, it should act decisively against cross-border terrorism. "If Pakistan attempts to destabilize India through terrorism, it will have to face the consequences. Pakistan needs to control terrorism. If Pakistan thinks that it is not capable of controlling it, if they feel they are not capable, then India is a neighbour, if they want to take India's help, they should. India is ready to provide all assistance to combat terrorism," he said.
"They are our neighbours, and if their intention is clear that terrorism should end, they should do that themselves or take help from India...we both can end terrorism. But this is their call, I am just giving a suggestion," he added.
Asked about his 'Ghus Ke Maarenge' remarks made in a recent TV interview, Rajnath Singh said that India will do everything to combat terrorism. "We won't allow terrorists to operate within Indian borders. We will do everything to stop it," he said. Asked if such action can be taken across the border, he said "let's see what happens".
India had carried out surgical strikes on terror launch pads across Line of Control in September 2016 days after the terror attack in Uri in Jammu and Kashmir. India had carried out aerial strikes on a terror camp in Pakistan in February 2019 following the Pulwama terror attack.
Asked about muscular policy and if statements of BJP leaders were getting aggressive during the campaign for Lok Sabha elections, he said the BJP-led NDA government's role has never been aggressive. "We have a balanced approach on every issue," he said.
Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath had on April 7 said that the country was capable and equipped to deal with all internal and external security threats while ensuring the safety of all citizens.
"We don't know how credible The Guardian report is, but the new India knows how to protect its citizens and international borders. In 1952, the Congress inflicted a deep wound on the country's heart by extending certain constitutional privileges to (the erstwhile state of) Jammu and Kashmir under Article 370. However, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah corrected the historic blunder by abrogating Article 370, as it put an end to terrorism in J-K forever," Yogi Adityanath had said in a rally in Rajasthan's Bharatpur.
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