Hitting out at the NDA government for "highest ceasefire violations" along Indo-Pak border during its rule, Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sahba Gulam Nabi Azad today said even the surgical strikes failed to give respite to people along the border.
"Since the NDA government came, there has been a large number of ceasefire violations and these are the highest as compared to past two-and-a-half-years", Azad told reporters at GMC hospital here after visitingthe shelling-hit people.
"Central government keeps harping a lot and gives threats to Pakistan, but there is no positive result on the ground, instead people are paying the cost of those threats on the borderline in Jammu, Kathua, Samba, Rajouri and Poonch", he said.
The senior Congress leader said "Government should be practical, it should desist from rhetoric on TV Channels. Let it ask the families of those people who were killed orinjured or their animals perished or those dislodged from their homes in Pakistani firing and shelling".
Asked whether the surgical strikes has rattled Pakistan, he said, "I don't know...Surgical strikes were aimed to give respite to the people but even after the strikes, there is no respite..."
Asked whether it was a wrong decision to go for surgical strikes, he said," I don't know. I want to say the government is not wrong so far as the surgical strikes are concerned... It is the job of the army and ...Its prerogative to conduct surgical strikes".
"I don't think any political party should be discredited or some party should take credit of it. So far as my party is concerned, we are in favour of surgical strikes, we support the surgical strikes", Azad said.
About security forces giving befitting reply to Pakistan in which their posts have been decimated, he said "I am very happy that our government and the security forces are giving befitting reply and the entire country is behind our security forces".
"All political parties in the country are behind our security forces. Entire might of 125 crore population is behind the security forces of our country", he said.
"I came from New Delhi and met the people at the hospital who have been injured in the Pakistani firing, ...I will visit the border belt to oversee the problems faced by the people," the former J-K Chief Minister said.
"There is a huge loss to the civilians due to border skirmishes on the two sides, we are sad at the loss of lives of our soldiers and the civilians in Pakistani firing and shelling. There is not only loss of life to the humans but also to animals and damage caused to the property is huge", he added.
"This is the peak time for harvesting of crops in Jammu, Kathua and Samba up to Poonch and Rajouri, people are in agriculture fields... And during this period firing is taking place... Apartfrom loss of life or property, it is loss of economy also", he said.
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