Indian Army chief's provocative statements are regrettable: Pak

Islamabad: Hours after Indian Army chief Gen Bikram Singh warned against any ceasefire violations on the LoC, the Pakistani military today said such “provocative” statements were counterproductive. A statement issued by the Pakistani military’s media wing claimed Singh’s statement was “contrary to the facts on ground”. [caption id=“attachment_1337909” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  AFP[/caption] “Such accusation and provocative statements are regrettable and counterproductive,” the statement quoted chief military spokesman Maj Gen Asim Bajwa as saying. The Pakistan Army respects the ceasefire agreement put in place along the Line of Control (LoC) in 2003 “in letter and spirit”, it said. “After the meeting between the Directors General of Military Operations (DGMOs) on December 24, 2013, the situation along the LoC has improved considerably,” it added. In a warning to Pakistan, Singh had today said India would respond in equal measure if Pakistan breaks any rules. He revealed that 10 Pakistani soldiers were killed in a recent military action. He rejected the perception that the Indian military had not retaliated against the beheading of its soldiers by Pakistani troops last year. “Let me assure you that action has been taken…If I can invite the attention to the Geo TV report on December 23 which talked of their one officer and nine jawans being killed with 12-13 being wounded. This has happened due to firing of your soldiers on ground,” he said while addressing the annual Army Day news conference in New Delhi. Referring to repeated ceasefire violations by Pakistan on the LoC, Singh said, “It depends, if rules are followed by our neighbours, we follow the rules. If rules are broken, then obviously we cannot stick to the rules. Even we are going to break the rules.” PTI