Soldiers mutilated: India to pick place, time to strike back

New Delhi: Pakistan will have to face the consequences of mutilating bodies of two Indian soldiers and the Army will respond to the dastardly act at a time and place of its choosing, Vice-Chief of Army Staff Sarath Chand said on Tuesday.

“I do not want to say what we will do. Instead of speaking, we will focus on our action at a time and place of our choosing,” he told reporters.

“They (Pakistani army) have said it was not done by their forces. Then who did it? Their people came to our area and did it. They will have to take responsibility and face the consequences for it,” Gen. Chand said.

Earlier in the day, India termed it a “dastardly and inhuman act” and warned Pakistan of an "unequivocal response" to the beheading of its two soldiers, a charge rejected by Islamabad which sought "actionable evidence" from New Delhi to back its claim.

As the families of slain Naib Subedar Paramjeet Singh and BSF Head Constable Prem Singh bid a tearful farewell to them, anguish and indignation prevailed across the country, plunging the relations between the two nations to a new low and reviving calls for a "befitting reply".

India's Director General of Military Operations (DGMO) Lt Gen A K Bhatt spoke to his Pakistani counterpart to express his "grave concern" over the killing and beheading of the two soldiers in the Krishna Ghati sector of Poonch in Jammu and Kashmir.

"The DGMO of the Indian Army conveyed that such a dastardly and inhuman act is beyond any norms of civility and merits unequivocal condemnation and response," the Indian Army said in a statement.

The DGMO conveyed to his Pakistani counterpart that "full fire" support was provided by the Pakistani Army post located close to where the incident took place.

The army said the DGMO also conveyed India's concern about the presence of Border Action Team (BAT) training camps in close vicinity of the Line of Control (LoC) in Pakistan-Occupied Kashmir.

Discussing the issue during the hotline contact between the two DGMOs, the Pakistan Army asked India to produce "actionable evidence" on its claim that a Pakistani special forces team had sneaked across the LoC and beheaded the two Indian security personnel.

"Pakistan rejected India's allegations of ceasefire violation and mutilation of bodies of Indian soldiers," the army statement said.

"The Pakistan army is a professional military outfit and upholds the highest standards of conduct. Allegations of mutilation are an Indian attempt to divert the attention of world from situation within the Kashmir valley," Pakistan DGMO Maj Gen Sahir Shamshad Mirza claimed.

The denials had little impact at Vainpoin village in Punjab, where 42-year-old Paramjeet Singh was laid to rest with full military honours.

As buglers sounded the "last post" and his body, wrapped in the tricolour, was brought for cremation, his relatives insisted that they be shown the body. Finally, the ceremony went ahead after civil and army officials intervened.

His wife Paramjit Kaur demanded that the Centre give a "free hand" to the army so that Pakistan is taught a lesson. "Our government had once said that if Pakistan kills or beheads our one soldier, as many as ten enemy soldiers will meet the same fate, but what is happening now? If the government cannot teach Pakistan a lesson, then they should allow me to take revenge of my husband's killing," she said.

While "shaheed Paramjeet amar rahe" cries echoed in the air so did slogans "Pakistan murdabad".

Pakistani flags were also burnt at some places in Punjab, including at Ludhiana, where protesters demanded that Pakistan should be paid back in the same coin.

Defence Minister Arun Jaitley had a meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi during which the beheading issue is understood to have figured. However, there was no official word on it.