Everything will be fine soon: Narendra Modi on LoC firing

New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday said “everything will be fine soon” on the Pakistan border as government officials asserted that India is giving a “massive” reply to “totally unprovoked” shelling by Pakistan and will continue to do so unless the other side stops.

Top government officials said talks can take place if Pakistan is sincere but made it clear that India will not accept any third-party intervention, including by the UN, which has been approached by Pakistan.

“Everything will be fine soon,” Modi said when asked about the ceasefire violations by Pakistan. He was attending the ‘At Home’ event organized by Indian Air Force chief Arup Raha on the occasion of Air Force Day.

Modi did not speak further but top government officials said India will not give in to “coercive diplomacy” by Pakistan and will respond strongly to Pakistani shelling.

Meanwhile, five civilians were killed and thousands took refuge in camps in Kashmir on Wednesday after some of the most intense fighting between the two countries. Nine Pakistani and eight Indian civilians have been killed since fighting erupted more than week ago.

“We are all concerned and want an early solution to it (the fighting),” Air Force chief Raha told reporters. “We don’t want to let the issue become serious.”

Contending that India is giving a “massive” response to the Pakistani action which was “totally unprovoked,” government officials cited media reports in Pakistan to say that 35 people have been killed in the last two days on the Pakistani side on Monday and Tuesday.

The officials noted that there was no independent confirmation of this casualty.

“Pakistan should stop... We are only protecting our sovereignty,” the officials said, adding “we did not escalate the situation and we are not going to scale down.”

When pointed out that it could be a prolonged affair, they said India is ready for long haul unless Pakistan stops. India feels that Pakistan resorted to this action to “raise the temperature” and bring Kashmir issue into focus after repeated setbacks.

Pakistan had tried to raise the issue at the UN, which did not succeed, and now it might by trying to escalate the situation to draw the world attention, the officials said.

Union minister of state for home affairs Kiren Rijiju said there won’t be any flag meetings. “According to the situation, there is not going to be any flag meeting because our forces are responding appropriately. We will see whatever outcome is there,” he said.

The government had on Tuesday said that it would observe Pakistan’s “behaviour” in the coming days before taking a decision on flag meetings.

Addressing a series of rallies in Karnal, Faridabad and Kaithal, Union home minister Rajnath Singh assured people living in the border villages of Jammu and Kashmir that they would soon return to their homes as “misadventure” from the Pakistani side will be responded adequately.

“The situation in India has changed and Pakistan should understand this,” he said. He lauded the role of BSF and Army in giving a befitting reply to Pakistan.

About the migration of people from bordering villages of the state, Singh said, “No one will have to leave. People who reside at the border will return and remain there. I wish to assure people that BSF and Army are responding appropriately and I would like to commend them for the same.”

Some 18,000 Indian civilians have fled their homes in the lowlands around Jammu to escape the fighting.

Meanwhile, Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif called an 10 October meeting of his top security advisers.

Sharif’s administration hasn’t had direct contact with India’s government since the shooting began, Sartaj Aziz, Pakistan’s adviser on foreign affairs, said on Wednesday in a phone interview. Pakistan will decide its next course of action after the meeting, he said.

Representatives of the United Nations Military Observer Group in India and Pakistan have yet to visit the territory, according to a Pakistani military official.

Reuters contributed to this story.