Modi toughens stand, says no talks with Pakistan till firing continues in J&K

In the wake of intensifying ceasefire violations along the border in Jammu and Kashmir, India has cleared that no talks with Pakistan will be held unless it stops cross-border firing. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has reportedly told the National Security Advisor that there’ll be no question of succumbing to Pakistan’s tactics, and the armed forces and border security forces will continue to have a free hand in dealing with it. [caption id=“attachment_1747503” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Reuters[/caption] CNN-IBN quoted sources as saying that the PM said there is no question of engaging in talks with Pakistan while the firing is on. Meanwhile, Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi made the most of the opportunity to criticise the government’s handling of the situation. “During his campaign he promised a tough stand against Pakistan,” he said, asking what had happened to that promise. The Congress Vice President noted that Modi had found it easy to make the promises but found it difficult to deliver on them. Two women of a family were today killed and 15 others injured in heavy mortar shelling and firing by Pakistani troops, taking the death toll to eight in the continued ceasefire violations by Pakistan for more than a week. Pakistani Rangers targeted 50 border out posts (BoPs) and 35 hamlets overnight along the 192-km boundary. The escalation has triggered an exodus, with 16,000 people moving to safer areas from border villages. Over 70 people have been injured in the ceasefire violations by Pakistan, including 15 today. Pakistani Rangers target Chillary village along IB in Samba district around 0730 hours today. In the mortar shelling, Shukuntla Devi and her daughter-in-law Poli Devi were killed while their husbands along with two children of Poli were injured, Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP), Samba, Anil Mangotra said. All the inhabitants of village with a population 1,700 have fled from border hamlet to safety. Along the Line of Control (LoC), the firing stopped last night in Mendhar & Poonch sectors after Indian forces gave a befitting reply, defence officials said. Among the 15 injured today, three were BSF jawans. All of them have been shifted to Government Medical College (GMC) hospital, the SSP said. With inputs from PTI