Pakistani Army treating PoK inhabitants brutally: Parrikar

Panaji, Oct 12: Kashmiris should be made aware of the brutal atrocities committed by the Pakistan army on civilians in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK), Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar has said.

Parrikar accused the country's western neighbour of continuing to push terrorists into India and said its role as a breeder of terror should be exposed before a global audience.

Parrikar, who was speaking during a public interaction meet late on Sunday evening near here, also hinted that the National Democratic Alliance government had Pakistan worried.

"We need to bring it to their (Kashmiris) notice. How brutally the Pakistan army is treating the population in PoK? I don't know after that if they will ever think of Pakistan because they are proud people. They have to be told that their brothers, and sisters, who are also a part of India, are being brutally treated," he said.

The defence minister said that India had to adopt a multi-pronged strategy with regard to Pakistan, one that included brute force vis-a-vis dealing with terror as well as political tact.

You find kids being murdered, butchered in Peshawar. You find people going to mosques for prayers being killed. Killing is almost everywhere in Pakistan. I think these are poisonous fruits, seeds of which were sown by them. They should realise that the hate India campaign will not provide any solution, he said.

Parrikar also said that Pakistan continues to send terrorists into India using cross-border firing as a decoy.

"Most of the times, the ceasfire violation is to ensure that some terrorists are pushed into Indian side. This is a cover up..." he said.

Asked whether the troika of Narendra Modi as prime minister, Manohar Parrikar as Defence Minister and Ajit Doval as National Security Advisor could have had Pakistan worried, the former Goa chief minister said: "I think some aspects should be understood by symptoms. The worry can be seen on their faces and when they talk. I don't have to explain anything beyond that."

IANS