NEW DELHI/ISLAMABAD: With cross-border firing threatening to mar their nascent peace overtures, India on Thursday warned Pakistan that while it still stood by the Ufa sentiment, unprovoked firing from across the border would evoke an effective and forceful retaliation by Indian troops.

The warning was delivered by foreign secretary S Jaishankar after a high-level review meeting on Pakistan in which foreign minister Sushma Swaraj, home minister Rajnath Singh and their defence counterpart Manohar Parikkar participated.

“We remain committed to steps that contribute to ensuring peace and tranquillity on the border,” said Jaishankar.

“However, there should be no doubt that any unprovoked firing from Pakistan would meet with an effective and forceful response from our forces. Nor will we let down our guard against infiltration and cross-border terrorism," he said.

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While he did not see the cross-border firing impacting the peace measures the two sides announced in Ufa last week, including an NSA-level dialogue, the top diplomat conceded the situation had worsened in the past two days. NSA Ajit Doval, in fact, has spoken three times to Pakistan high commissioner to ensure the firing ended.

The review meeting was held after protest and counter protest by both sides in which both countries accused each other of resorting to unprovoked firing. Pakistan claimed that the firing had killed four civilians on its side of the border. Responding to Pakistan's allegation that an Indian drone flew into its airspace, Jaishankar said it was a Chinese drone available off the shelf.

According to Jaishankar, Pakistan resorted to unprovoked firing in the Akhnoor sector on July 15 around 8.15am. The DIG, BSF, in Jammu sought to make telephonic contact with sector commander Sialkot four times but got no response. When the firing didn't stop, a little over three hours later, NSA Doval spoke to Pakistan high commissioner Abdul Basit asking him to ensure the firing stopped. Basit got back to him in the evening but said it was India which was responsible for the unprovoked firing and raised the issue of an "Indian" drone flying into Pakistan airspace.

Doval sought to know from Basit why Pakistan had not then protested unprovoked firing by India. While he offered to check the allegation related to a drone, he pointed out this was unrelated to maintaining peace and tranquillity on the border.

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Emphasizing on the seriousness of the unprovoked Pakistani firing, Doval warned that India would retaliate if it continued. “Accordingly, Wednesday night, our forces retaliated," said Jaishankar, adding that Basit spoke to the NSA next morning mentioning that there had been casualties and damage on the Pakistani side.

Pakistan summoned Indian high commissioner TCA Raghavan Thursday morning not just to protest ceasefire violations by India but also its airspace intrusion by an alleged Indian drone and apparently an offensive helicopter manoeuvre by Indian forces on July 12 close to the LoC. The chopper manoeuvre, Raghavan said, had taken place at a safe and well accepted distance from the LoC and had led to the neutralization of three terrorists.

"The fact that this is being raised four days after it took place speaks for itself," he said.

A statement issued by Pakistan’s foreign office said that foreign secretary Aizaz Chaudhry lodged a "strong protest" with Indian high commissioner TCA Raghavan over air space violation near Bhimber along the LoC on Wednesday as an Indian "spy drone" intruded into Pakistani territory.

Separately, Pakistan’s military claimed that unprovoked firing by the Border Security Force on Thursday left three civilians dead and injured five in Sialkot's Chaprar sector, whereas another person was killed in firing from across the line of control in Rawalakot's Neza Pir sector.

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The Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), Pakistani army’s media arm, said those killed in Sialkot were identified as Ghulam Mustafa, Rahat and Muhammad Boota, while Zarina Bibi, 18, was killed in Rawalakot.

The foreign office said in a statement that at the Neza Pir sector near LoC, the Indian side started unprovoked firing at midnight on 16 July 2015 while at the Working Boundary, Chaprar sector, the Indian BSF started fire at 01.25am which lasted until 5am.

“The Pakistani troops while exercising restraint also responded,” the statement said.

