India talks tough after ceasefire violations by Pakistan

A week after the Prime Ministers of India and Pakistan met on the sidelines of the SCO summit at Ufa, the relations between the two estranged nuclear-armed neighbours seem to be strained once again with the latest round of incidents at the Line of Control in Kashmir. Pakistan accused India of sending spy drones across the border, which ended up being shot down by the armed forces. It also alleged India fired across the borders with aggressive manoeuvres of helicopters at the LOC by the Indian army on July 11. India responded by saying that the firing began from the Pakistan side.

India vehemently refuted allegations, saying the drone that was shot down was not of an Indian design and seemed to be more like a Chinese make which was more used for commercial purposes and India did not use such type of drones in its military, since it is very easily identifiable. India’s Foreign Secretary S. Jaishankar took a measured but tough stand. “We remain committed to steps that will help peace and tranquillity along the LoC and the International Border”. He also added, “”But let me be very clear, if there is unprovoked firing or attempts at infiltration, it will meet forceful retaliation,” he warned.

Mr Jaishankar also made it clear that no date has been fixed for the meeting of the National Security Advisors between both countries, which was a joint commitment by both countries at Ufa. Pakistan had summoned India’s High Commissioner T.C.A Raghavan to register a strong protest. India, on the other hand, sought an explanation from Pakistan’s High Commissioner to India Abdul Basit.

The allegations and counter allegations by both sides continue to be traded, while some of the diplomatic measures away from the public eye seemed to have failed for which the Indian government received a lot of flak from the opposition. It seems the euphoria generated by the Ufa meeting is dissipating fast, and the two estranged neighbours are back to the familiar territory of allegations and counter allegations.

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