In a firm step against Pakistan for its continued cross-border terrorism, India’s Foreign Secretary S. Jaishankar today summoned Pakistani envoy Abdul Basit and served him a "strong demarche".
External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Vikas Swarup took to microblogging website Twitter to inform about the same. He tweeted, "Foreign Secretary Jaishankar called in Pak HC Basit today, issued strong demarche on continuing cross border terrorism from Pakistan.”
The demarche stated that Pakistani national Bahadur Ali alias Abu Saifullah was arrested by Indian authorities in Jammu and Kashmir on July 25 along with weapons, including an AK-47 rifle, live rounds of ammunition, grenades and grenade launcher, as well as sophisticated communication equipment and other material of Pakistani and international origin.
It said Bahadur Ali, born on December 17, 1995, is son of Mohammed Haneef, a resident of Jia Bagga village in the Lahore district of Pakistan's Punjab province.
“Bahadur Ali has confessed to our authorities that after training in Lashkar-e-Toiba camps, he was infiltrated into India,” the demarche said.
“He was thereafter in touch with 'operations room' of LeT, receiving instructions to attack Indian security personnel and carry out terrorist attacks in India.”
The demarche said India “strongly protests against the continued infiltration from Pakistan of trained terrorists with instructions to carry out attacks”.
It also said that Bahadur Ali wrote to the Pakistan High Commission in New Delhi seeking legal aid and assistance to meet his family.
“We are prepared to grant the Pakistan High Commission consular access to Bahadur Ali,” the demarche concluded.
(With IANS inputs)
