New Delhi, Jan 15 (IBNS): Indian foreign minister Salman Khurshid on Tuesday said that Pakistan's "brazen denial" and "lack of proper response" to the killing and beheading of two Indian soldiers by Pakistani troops along the border last week will not be ignored.
Lashing out at Pakistani in a strongly-worded statement, Khurshid said that the incident and its subsequent tackling by the country would surely affect bilateral relations.
The External Affairs Minister reiterated Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's comment that there will not be "business as usual" with Pakistan following the latest offensives by the neighbouring country.
"It should not be felt that the brazen denial and the lack of a proper response from the Government of Pakistan to our repeated demarches on this incident will be ignored and that bilateral relations could be unaffected or that there will be business as usual," Khurshid said.
"Such actions by the Pakistan army, which are in contravention of all norms of international conduct, not only constitute a grave provocation but lead us to draw appropriate conclusions about Pakistan’s seriousness in pursuing normalisation of relations with India," he added.
Ties between the two nuclear-armed neighbours deteriorated last week over border firing and killing of two Indian soldiers, including the beheading of one of the martyrs by Pakistani troops.
Pakistan has, however, denied its soldiers killed or beheaded any Indian soldiers.
Two Pakistani soldiers also died, reports said.
Full text of the statement:
The recent incident of the killing of two Indian soldiers in the Mendhar sector and the barbaric mutilation of their bodies has been condemned in the strongest possible terms. Government has deplored this grave provocation and repugnant act of the Pakistan army and called on the Government of Pakistan to carry out a proper investigation of this unacceptable action and ensure that this does not recur. This was immediately conveyed by our Director General Military Operations to his Pakistani counterpart after this incident and reiterated during the Brigadier level Flag Meeting held at Chakan da Bagh yesterday. Foreign Secretary had summoned the Pakistan High Commissioner on January 09, a day after this heinous incident and lodged a strong protest on the actions of the Pakistan army.
It should not be felt that the brazen denial and the lack of a proper response from the Government of Pakistan to our repeated demarches on this incident will be ignored and that bilateral relations could be unaffected or that there will be business as usual. Such actions by the Pakistan army, which are in contravention of all norms of international conduct, not only constitute a grave provocation but lead us to draw appropriate conclusions about Pakistan’s seriousness in pursuing normalisation of relations with India.
