New Delhi: The Indian Army on Tuesday told the Pakistani military that mutilating bodies of two soldiers was a “dastardly and inhuman act” which called for a response and unequivocal condemnation.
India’s Director General of Military Operations (DGMO) spoke to his Pakistan counterpart and expressed “grave concern” about the killing and beheading of two soldiers by Pakistan in the Krishna Ghati sector of Poonch in Jammu and Kashmir on Monday.
The hotline contact between the DGMOs of Pakistan and India was established at 11.30 am, Geo News reported.
“The DGMO of the Indian Army conveyed that such a dastardly and inhuman act is beyond any norms of civility and merits unequivocal condemnation and response,” the Army said in a statement.
The DGMO also conveyed to his Pakistani counterpart that “full fire” support was provided by the Pakistani Army post located in the vicinity of the incident site.
The Army said the DGMO also conveyed India’s concerns about the presence of Border Action Team (BAT) training camps in close vicinity of the Line of Control in Pakistan-Occupied Kashmir.
The Indian Army has already vowed an “appropriate” response to the “despicable act”.
The Pakistan Army has denied that it was involved in the attack. “Indian counterpart was told that there has been no ceasefire violation from Pakistan side or mutilation of Indian soldiers’ bodies. Indian authorities were told that there is unnecessary media hype following the allegations,” the Army said.
Defence Minister Arun Jaitley had said on Monday that the “sacrifice (of the two killed) will not go in vain” and the Indian armed forces will react “appropriately” to the “inhuman act” of the Pakistani troops.
“This is a reprehensible and an inhuman act. Such attacks don’t even take place during war, let alone during peace time. Bodies of soldiers being mutilated is an extreme form of barbaric act. The whole country has full faith in our armed forces which will react appropriately to the act,” the defence minister said.
A junior commissioned officer (JCO) and a Border Security Force head constable were killed and their bodies mutilated by the Pakistan army team which sneaked about 250 metres into the Indian territory along the Line of Control (LoC) in the Poonch district of Jammu and Kashmir.
The soldiers killed were Naib Subedar Paramjeet Singh of 22 Sikh Infantry and Head Constable Prem Sagar of 200th Battalion of BSF.
PTI