Antony faces ire, Centre under fire

Aug 07, 2013

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New Delhi: Defence minister A.K. Antony’s statement on killing of five Indian soldiers in Poonch on Tuesday sparked of a controversy because he described the intruders as “terrorists along with persons dressed in Pakistan Army uniform” while an Army spokesman said “soldiers from Pak Army” were involved.
Making a suo motu statement in both the Houses of Parliament, Antony said an Indian Army patrol, comprising one Non-Commissioned Officer and five other ranks, was “ambushed on our side” of the LoC in Poonch sector of Jammu and Kashmir. “The ambush was carried out by approximately 20 heavily-armed terrorists along with persons dressed in Pakistan army uniform,” he said.
Antony’s remarks about involvement of terrorists in the attack triggered angry reactions in Parliament by opposition parties, which said it amounted to giving an “escape route” to Pakistan which already claims that its army is not involved. Leader of the Opposition in Rajya Sabha Arun Jaitley termed Antony’s statement as “ambiguous” and took a dig, saying that he hoped it was a “typographical error”.

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