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"The Indian Army shall conduct immediate retaliatory fire assaults every time any such incidents are committed by Pakistan along the LoC and the international border," External Affairs Minister Jaswant Singh told reporters after a meeting of the Cabinet Committee on Security chaired by Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee.
Asked whether Sunday's decision meant that India was preparing for war with Pakistan in the wake of continued cross-border terrorism, Singh said, "You are reading what you have to read, I do what I have to do."
Asked if any 'surgical strikes' were contemplated in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir, he said, "I do not discuss plans of the armed forces. I do not comment on the imaginative reporting in the media."
Maintaining that a "unified command" structure had become imperative in view of terrorist strikes on paramilitary installations, Singh said, "As paramilitary forces are also guarding the border, one authority has to take over the responsibility of guarding the border along the International Border and the Line of Control."
Bringing the paramilitary forces along the border under the control of the army and the coast guard under the navy was part of "standard operating procedure", he said.
The move came a day after India decided to ask Pakistan to recall its high commissioner, Ashraf Jehangir Qazi, accusing Islamabad of continuing to aid and abet terrorism and infiltration in the country.
Singh, however, said paramilitary force personnel carrying out internal security duties would not be under the operational command of the army.
"[A] direction regarding placing of paramilitary forces under the army and coast guard under the navy will be issued tomorrow [on Monday]," he said.
Asked about withdrawal of Pakistan's 'most favoured nation' trade status, Singh said, "The issue came up for discussion, but a decision could not be taken as the commerce minister [Murasoli Maran] was out of the country." He said a decision would be taken only after his return.
He termed reports about India backing off from the Indus Waters Treaty as mere speculation. "The issue did not come up for discussion at the CCS meeting," he said.
To a question about more diplomatic measures against Pakistan, Singh said, "If there are any measures, they will be shared with the media from time to time."
Asked if he had had any contact with the United States state department on Sunday, Singh said, "Not on Sunday."
Observing that rumours are usually rife in such circumstances, he appealed to journalists to sift the facts while reporting.
The minister said Sunday's attack on an army camp in Udhampur district of Jammu & Kashmir, in which four security force personnel were killed, was also discussed at the CCS meeting, which lasted more than two hours.
He said the Srinagar-based 15 Corps and Jammu-based 16 Corps carried out 'befitting assaults' on the intervening night of May 17 and 18 causing heavy damage on the Pakistani side.
The meeting, which reviewed the situation on the border and in Jammu & Kashmir, was attended by Home Minister Lal Kishenchand Advani, Defence Minister George Fernandes, Jaswant Singh, Finance Minister Yashwant Sinha and the Centre's interlocutor on Kashmir, Krishen Chandra Pant.
National Security Adviser Brajesh Mishra, Intelligence Bureau Director K P Singh, Army chief General S Padmanabhan, Navy chief Admiral Madhvendra Singh and air force vice-chief Air Marshal S G Inamdar were also present.
PTI
Terror Strikes in Jammu: The complete coverage
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