‘India is ready to help ‘incapable’ Pakistan, but….’: Rajnath Singh’s stern warning over cross-border terrorism

Union Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Thursday repeated his stern warning to Pakistan over cross-border terrorism and said India is ready to help the Shehbaz Sharif-led country if they feel 'incapable’ in dealing with the menace of terrorism. 

In an interview with ANI, the Union Defence Minister also warned that Pakistan would have to suffer consequences if Islamabad tries to destabilise India using terrorism.

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Rajnath Singh said Pakistan is our neighbour and if they want, New Delhi is ready to provide all assistance to combat terrorism. 

"If Pakistan thinks that it is not capable of controlling it, if they feel they are not capable, then India is a neighbour, if they want to take India's help, they should. India is ready to provide all assistance to combat terrorism," ANI quoted the Defence Minister as saying.

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"They are our neighbours, and if their intention is clear that terrorism should end, they should do that themselves or take help from India...we both can end terrorism. But this is their call, I am just giving a suggestion," the minister further told ANI.

Emphasising that the Modi government won't allow terrorists to operate within, the defence minister said, the government will do everything to stop the terrorists.

"We won't allow terrorists to operate within Indian borders. We will do everything to stop it," Singh said adding that “India will do everything to combat terrorism.”

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When asked if such action could be taken across the border, the defence minister said, "we will see what happens".

During the interview, when the Defence Minister was asked if the BJP leaders were getting aggressive during the campaign for Lok Sabha elections, Singh denied it and said the BJP-led NDA government's role has never been aggressive, but balanced. 

“We have a balanced approach on every issue,” Singh said.