'Ghus Ke Maarenge': Rajnath Singh's Stern Message to Pakistan on Cross-Border Terrorism | News18 Interview

The government will give a befitting reply to any terrorist who tries to disturb peace in India, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh said in an exclusive conversation with Network18 Group Editor-in-Chief Rahul Joshi on Friday, sending a strong message to Pakistan.

“If he [terrorist] flees to Pakistan, we will follow him and take him down on Pakistani soil. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has spoken the truth… India has the capability and Pakistan has also started understanding that,” Singh said when asked about a report in UK newspaper The Guardian that claimed the Indian government ordered assassinations in Pakistan as part of a wider strategy to eliminate terrorists on foreign soil.

The foreign ministry, in its response to ‘The Guardian’, has denied the claims made by the paper, reiterating an earlier statement that they were “false and malicious anti-India propaganda”. The ministry emphasised a previous denial made by India’s foreign minister S Jaishankar that targeted killings in other countries were “not the government of India’s policy”.

Singh, in the interview, said: “India wants to maintain cordial relations with its neighbour. Look at our history. We have never attacked any country or even occupied an inch of territory of any other country. This is India’s character.” However, “if someone tries intimidating India by fomenting terror on our soil, they will not be spared”, he added.

‘PoK Integral Part of India’

Speaking on Pakistan-occupied-Kashmir, Singh said the “region was, is and will always remain an integral part of India”.

“Be assured that the people of PoK will themselves demand that they be with India. You must have seen that there were a few demonstrations there since they want to merge with India. After the abrogation of Article 370, normalcy has returned to Kashmir and development has been fast-tracked.

View on AFSPA

The defence minister, while speaking to CNN-News18, said it was almost time for AFSPA to be revoked in the Valley but the Home Ministry would take the final decision on the same.

In an interview with the JK Media Group a few days ago, Home Minister Amit Shah had also said: “We will also think of revoking AFSPA.”

AFSPA gives armed forces personnel, operating in disturbed areas, sweeping powers to search, arrest and to open fire if they deem it necessary for “the maintenance of public order”.

He had also said the government has plans to pull back troops in the Union Territory (UT) and leave law and order to the Jammu and Kashmir Police alone.

“Soon the police of Jammu and Kashmir will take care of law and order, and the troops will be withdrawn gradually. We have made a blueprint for seven years, and we working on strengthening the police of Jammu and Kashmir. Most of the violent incidents are handled by the police since they are at the forefront, and the central forces support them. Therefore, a change in the culture can be witnessed,” he said, adding that earlier, the UT’s police were not trusted, but today they are leading the operations.

Arunachal Pradesh

Singh, when asked about the Opposition’s continuous questioning on China staking claim to Arunachal Pradesh, said the bloc should “self introspect and not think about us. We are doing what is right”.

“Arunachal Pradesh was a part of India, is a part of India and will always belong to India,” he said.

Asked if the government will do whatever needs to be done to ensure this, he said: “Absolutely.”