'Pak provoking us, but jawans' deaths won't be in vain'

Northern Army Commander Lt Gen KT Parnaik today said that the Pakistan army was trying to provoke India by violating the ceasefire agreement along the Line of Control in Poonch district. He said, “The Pakistani army wants unrest along the LoC, but we don’t want unrest LoC because there will then be more infiltration.Pakistan is trying to provoke us.” [caption id=“attachment_589022” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] AFP[/caption] Parnaik said that the Indian army has exercised restraint. “There is much anger and resentment among Indian troops and they need to be guarded. I have appealed to troops to remain calm,” he said. He also alleged that there have been three ceasefires since the flag meet yesterday. “Firing took place during the Army chief’s address,” he said. Heaping praise on Indian soldiers who died on 8 January, Parnaik said, “I want to assure everyone on behalf of the Indian Army that their sacrifices will not go in vain.” Parnaik also categorically denied allegations by Pakistan that the Indian Army raided its posts across the LoC, which provoked its forces to retaliate, leading to the killing of the two Indian soldiers, a Zee News report says. Blaming Pakistan for continuously trying to infiltrate into Indian territories, Parnaik said, “We have stopped such infiltration and it is because of that frustration Pakistan army has been acting like this.” Parnaik said, “We have seen that new Pakistani troops have been moved into forward locations along the LoC. But there is nothing to worry about. We have our troops in place.” When asked if there is possibility of war Parnaik said, “There will be no war, because war is not good for India or Pakistan.”