India on Wednesday said it has "actionable evidence" of the Pakistan Army's involvement in the mutilation of two Indian soldiers' bodies. The collected blood samples of the slain personnel and a blood trail clearly showed that Pakistani soldiers returned beyond Line of Control after committing the crime.
The actionable evidence was given to Pakistani High Commissioner Abdul Basit by Foreign Secretary S. Jaishankar, who summoned him to the Foreign Office and conveyed India's outrage over the barbaric act.
Jaishankar demanded that Pakistan takes appropriate action against the soldiers and commanders responsible for it.
"The blood samples of the Indian soldiers that have been collected and the trail of blood on Roza Nala (the attack site) clearly shows that the killers returned across the Line of Control (LoC). They returned to PoK from where they came," External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Gopal Baglay told the media on the meeting the Foreign Secretary had with Basit.
"There is a clear trail of blood. It is an indication that people who came from across the LoC went back to PoK (Pakistan-occupied Kashmir)," the spokesperson said.
"It is significant that the attack was preceded by covering fire from Pakistani posts in Battal sector in the vicinity of village Battal. Blood samples of the Indian soldiers that have been collected and the trail of blood Roza Nala clearly shows that the killers returned across the Line of Control. The Indian side has sufficient evidence that this act was committed by personnel of the Pakistan Army who crossed the Line of Control in the Krishna Ghati sector," Baglay said.
He said India has demanded that Pakistan take immediate action against its soldiers and commanders responsible for this heinous act.
Army's Naib Subedar Paramjeet Singh and the BSF's Head Constable Prem Sagar were killed and their bodies mutilated in Krishna Ghati sector of Poonch district of Jammu and Kashmir on Monday. India says that a Border Action Team (BAT) of Pakistan was behind the incident close to the Line of Control.
Asked repeatedly whether the blood samples and the trail included blood of Pakistani soldiers and how the government was sure these belonged to the Indian personnel, the spokesperson repeated the written formulation on the involvement of Pakistani soldiers on their return to PoK.
"Nobody is disputing this. One, the incident and two, we have told the High Commissioner that we have enough evidence. It was obvious that they returned to where they came from," Baglay said.
Providing "actionable evidence" of the involvement of the Pakistan Army, Jaishankar said that the attack on the Indian soldiers was "preceded by covering fire from Pakistani posts in Battal sector (in the vicinity of village Battal)".
Baglay said the High Commissioner denied the Pakistan Army was involved in the mutilation incident but gave an assurance that he would convey India's outrage to his government.
"It was conveyed that the government considers this as a strong act of provocation and in contravention to all norms of civilised conduct," the spokesperson said.
Asked whether India would reconsider the Most Favoured Nation (MFN) status given to Pakistan in the wake of the mutilation incident, Baglay said it was given under obligation to the WTO.
Similarly, asked whether India would review the Indus Waters Treaty, he said the treaty which was signed in 1960 is handled by the Permanent Indus Commission.
The spokesperson once again ruled out any third party involvement in attempts to resolve the Kashmir issue. He said there is no ambiguity on India's policy that the issue should be resolved between India and Pakistan bilaterally.
He was replying to a question on India's stand on the suggestion of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan for a multilateral dialogue on resolving the Kashmir issue.
--IANS
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