Pak trying to divide us, India will fight as one, win as one, says PM

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Updated: Feb 28, 2019 13:59 IST

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday hit out at Pakistan saying it is trying to destablise India using terrorism as a tool to “stop our growth”. PM Modi said it is time to stand united and alert like soldiers who “fight the enemies” at the border.

Without taking name of Pakistan, PM Modi said, “The enemy tries to destabilise us, carries out terror attacks. They want to stop our growth. We all countrymen are standing like a rock to counter their evil designs.”

In apparent reference to the strike by Indian Air Force on Jaish-e-Mohammed’s terror camp in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan in the aftermath of Pulwama terror attack, PM Modi said, “The brave soldiers have displayed their courage on the border and beyond the borders…The world is witnessing our will power.”

Follow latest on India-Pakistan developments here

“India will live as one, India will work as one, India will grow as one, India will fight as one, and India will win as one,” said in his interaction with the BJP party workers through video-conferencing.

The prime minister said it is necessary to ensure that nothing is done to dent the morale of the security forces. PM Modi’s comments come a day after Pakistan violated Indian airspace and attempted to target military establishments.

Also Read | IAF pilot captured by Pakistan is the son of a retired air marshal

The Indian Air Force foiled the Pakistani attempt and also shot down one F-16 fighter jet, whose wreckage fell on the other side of the Line of Control (LoC). In the aerial dogfight, the IAF lost one MiG-21 Bison and one pilot went “missing in action”. The pilot is custody of the Pakistan Army. India has sought immediate release of the IAF pilot.

PM Modi was interacting with, the BJP has claimed, about one crore BJP workers at around 15,000 locations from across the country. (Follow PM Modi’s interaction with BJP workers here)

The BJP went ahead with Modi’s political engagement with the BJP workers despite severe criticism by the opposition parties, which urged the prime minister to put off the video-conferencing programme in the backdrop of heightened tension between India and Pakistan, which has an IAF pilot in its custody.

During his interaction with the BJP workers, PM Modi targeted the opposition parties trying to put up a united front against the ruling coalition in the upcoming Lok Sabha elections.