NEW DELHI – A day after India rejected Pakistani allegations that BSF soldiers had opened fire on Rangers who had come for a flag meeting in the Jammu sector, External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj sent a detailed letter to her Pakistani counterpart Sartaj Aziz on the events of December 31st, reported PTI on Saturday.
In her written response to a letter sent by Aziz on Friday, Swaraj said “We cannot accept any of the contentions made in your letter.” Swaraj went on to say that a BSF patrol had come under fire from a Pakistani border post in the area, which had resulted in the death of one Indian jawan, and serious injuries to another, and that had led to Indian troops opening “defensive fire”.
Swaraj said “that at no stage did the Indian side seek any platoon level contact under a white flag as was suggested in the communication.” Swaraj also said that despite Indian messages “consistently” calling for firing to stop, Pakistani commanders continued to fire on Indian border posts till the evening of December 31, 2014. Swaraj said India had “always adhered by the mechanisms that have been evolved to ensure peace and tranquillity on the International Border and Line of Control and would continue to do so.”
