By Mubasshir Mushtaq and Aamir Latif
NEW DELHI / ISLAMABAD
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi said Thursday the “enemy” had now realized that “old habits” would no longer be tolerated as he reiterated his government’s tough stand in the ongoing cross border confrontation with Pakistan.
Addressing an election rally in Baramati town in India’s western state of Maharashtra late afternoon, Modi said "today, when bullets are being fired on the border, it is the enemy that is screaming."
"The enemy has realised that times have changed and their old habits will not be tolerated," he said.
The prime minister also hit out at his political opponents, who had accused him of going soft on Pakistan.
Earlier Thursday, Indian Defense Minister Arun Jaitley accused Pakistan of cross border "adventurism."
“Pakistan is the aggressor, but it must realize that our deterrence will be credible. If Pakistan persists with this adventurism, our forces will make the cost of this adventurism unaffordable,” Jaitley told reporters.
“India is never an aggressor, it is a responsible state, but it has a paramount duty to protect its people,” he said.
He added that peace talks between the two countries could not resume under the present conditions.
Meanwhile, Pakistan military said three more civilians on its side were killed Thursday by “unprovoked” Indian border forces’ firing.
The spate of cross border attacks between the two nuclear-armed countries has been ongoing since the last five days.
The latest civilian casualties on the Pakistani side put the death toll at 13; all victims were killed in northeastern Pakistan’s Sialkot district, the Pakistan military's official media wing, the Inter-Services Public Relations said.
Both countries have accused each other of initiating "unprovoked" firing across the Line of Control, a de facto border which divides the Himalayan region of Kashmir between Pakistan and India.
Pakistani Defense Minister Khawaja Asif said Thursday Pakistan was fully capable of responding to Indian shelling on its eastern borders in a “befitting manner.” However, it did not want to escalate tensions.
In a statement, Asif said: “We do not want the situation on the borders of two nuclear neighbors to escalate into confrontation. India must demonstrate caution and behave with responsibility.”
The on going fighting has killed at least 20 people on both sides, according to Indian and Pakistani officials.
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