In a strong warning to Pakistan over the Pulwama terror attack, Prime Minister Narendra Modi Friday declared those responsible will pay a "very heavy price" and said the security forces have been given a free hand to decide on the timing, place and nature of their response to the carnage that left 40 CRPF men dead.
As the shock after the Thursday attack by a Jaish suicide bomber resonated across the country with families awaiting the bodies of their loved ones in coffins wrapped in tricolour, Modi said the "blood of the people is boiling", adding the terror outfits and those aiding and abetting them have made a "big mistake".
An IAF transport aircraft brought the coffins to the national capital from Srinagar Friday night and they will be later taken to the homes of the victims.
"A befitting reply will be given to the perpetrators of the heinous attack and their patrons," asserted Modi, a day after the bomber rammed his vehicle laden with explosives into a CRPF bus in a convoy in Jammu and Kashmir's Pulwama district. The Pakistan-based terror group Jaish-e-Mohammed(JeM) claimed responsibility for the attack on the convoy of 78 vehicles in one of the deadliest terror attacks in the border state.
Simultaneously, the government made it clear that India means business with a meeting of Cabinet Committee on Security(CCS) presided by Modi deciding to revoke the Most Favoured Nation(MFN) status to Pakistan. Withdrawal of the MFN status would significantly hit Pakistan's exports to India, which stood at USD 488.5 million (around Rs 3,482.3 crore) in 2017-18, sources said.
After the meeting, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley told reporters that the Ministry of External Affairs(MEA) will take all possible diplomatic steps to isolate Pakistan.
More From This Section
Hours later, the government reached out to the international community, most of whom has univocally condemned the attack by the UN-proscribed JeM, in a major diplomatic offensive against Pakistan.
The MEA held a briefing for envoys of 25 countries, including from the P5 nations -- US, China, Russia, the UK and France -- during which it highlighted Pakistan's role in using terrorism as an instrument of state policy.
Before the briefing, Foreign Secretary Vijay Gokhale summoned Pakistan High Commissioner to India Sohail Mahmood to his South Block office and issued a very strong demarche over the attack and asked Islamabad to take "immediate and verifiable action" against JeM.
According to sources, Indian High Commissioner to Pakistan Ajay Bisaria has also been called to Delhi for consultations in the wake of the horrific attack.
An all party meeting has been convened by the Ministry Of Home Affairs in Delhi on Saturday to take stock of the situation.
Protests against Pakistan broke out in several parts of the country, including in Jammu city where curfew was imposed amid demands for retaliation against Pakistan.
The Central Reserve Police Force(CRPF) said it won't "forget and forgive" but will "avenge" the death of its 40 personnel.
The country's largest paramilitary force put out a tweet from its official handle saying, "We will not forget, we will not forgive."
"We salute our martyrs of Pulwama attack and stand with the families of our martyr brothers. This heinous attack will be avenged."
Asserting that the sacrifices of CRPF soldiers will "not go in vain", he said, "Security forces have been given permission to take decisions about the timing, place and nature of their response... This is an India of new convention and policy,"
Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh called for giving a befitting reply to Pakistan, asserting "the time for peace talks is over and they should be taught a lesson."