There's no U-turn: Nirmala Sitharaman

New Delhi: Defence minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Tuesday said the Army will continue to respect the Ramzan ceasefire in Jammu and Kashmir but asserted that no unprovoked attack from across the border will go unanswered as the forces have been given the right to hit back. 

“The ceasefire will have to be contextualised. The home minister’s announcement of ceasefire even as we want to honour it, does not exclude the possibility of the Army hitting back whenever there is an unprovoked attack,” she said, adding, “There is no U-turn” in dealing with cross-border firing. 

The defence minister said the Army was given the right to adequately respond to any cross border attacks or unprovoked firing. 

Notwithstanding India’s announcement of Ramzan ceasefire and talks between the Director General of Military Operations of the two countries, there have been incidents of cross border firing along the Line of Control and International Border in Jammu and Kashmir and nearly a dozen grenade attacks by militants within a week in the Valley. 

“It is our duty to keep our borders safe. We shall be alert and ensure that no unprovoked attacks go without us responding. It is the duty of the defence ministry and the forces to keep India safe,” Sitharaman said. 

She was responding to questions on the firing along the Indo-Pak border despite the two sides agreeing for a truce. Sitharaman said the Army was taken on board before the home ministry announced the ceasefire in the troubled state. Replying to another question, she said it is not her ministry's role to determine whether the ongoing Ramzan ceasefire in Jammu and Kashmir has been successful or not.  “We honour the ceasefire. We have been given room to hit back when there is unprovoked attack. The defence ministry’s role is not to assess whether ceasefire in the Valley has been successful or not,” she said.