Sharif govt must show more sincerity, says Rajnath

 Union Home minister Rajnath Singh believes that the Nawaz Sharif government will have to exhibit more sincerity for restoring cordial relations than restraining troops from setting the guns blazing at the border. The “onus lies with Pakistan” which has been repeatedly violating the ceasefire at least in the last fortnight.

On his last leg of a whirlwind tour of Maharastra before campaigning ends on Monday, Rajnath told an election rally “the onus lies with Pakistan if they want better relations since it was they who violated the ceasefire”. 

“They have been provoking for last couple of years. Earlier they said that ‘non-state actors’ were involved when shocking beheading of a soldier took place at the Jammu and Kashmir border,” he recalled. So far, the former BJP chief has held about 16 rallies.

The home minister’s stern language sidestepped the fact that on Friday, Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, after chairing a National Security Committee (NSC) meeting, had sought de-escalation of the firing to bring back sanctity of the border.

His reported statement, however, was also laced with a veiled threat, that is; Pakistan’s desire for peace should not be misunderstood.

On the reduced scale of firing in the last 24 hours at the Intenational Border in Jammu region, Singh said at the poll rallies that it happened because of our overpowering response, for “they have realised that they will have to pay a heavy price for any adventurism at the fence”. 

The Pakistani guns, however, have not fallen silent completely as BSF and Army continue to report stray bursts of fire from the across the fence, including 20 minutes of action on Friday night.

Throughout his two-day tour of western Maharastra, Rajnath Singh attempted to stoke emotions and nationalism by referring to the more than befitting reply jawans were giving to Pakistan’s heavy shelling that led to causalties.