'Ceasefire violations by Pak have increased'

New Delhi, Sep 4: Army Chief General Deepak Kapoor on Friday, Sep 4, said that if Pakistan tries to disrupt the peace and tranquility in Kashmir and violates the ceasefire, India would not hesitate to retaliate.

Talking to reporters here, General Kapoor said, "Pakistan will be able to tell whether they want to maintain ceasefire but as far as their intention are concerned, whenever ceasefire is violated we will definitely retaliate. We try to follow restraint as far as possible but if there is a violation automatically at some stage there will be retaliation from our side."

He also said infiltration from Pakistan is on the rise with the winters setting in but added that Indian troops at the border are alert.

"The attempts of ceasefire violation have increased because this enables infiltration to be carried out when the firing is on and can be used as a diversionary tactic. Their attempt is to infiltrate more and more people during ceasefire violations but we understand their tactics and take appropriate steps," he added.

Earlier, General Kapoor had said that Pakistan was going beyond the degree of deterrence needed for its own protection, if reports of its nuclear weapons stockpile were true and this was a cause of concern for India.

Since Jul 2009, 30 people have been killed in firefights along a military Line of Control and 14 infiltration attempts have been made, double than last year during the same period.

ANI