SFs asked not to fire first at Pak, retaliate without counting bullets: Rajnath

Agency
Amaravati: Accusing Pakistan of trying to destablise India by sending terrorists across the border, Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh said security forces in Jammu and Kashmir have been asked not to fire first, but to retaliate without counting the bullets, if provoked.
“It (Pakistan) is our neighbour, so don’t fire first. But if even one bullet comes from that side, then dont take count of the bullets (fired in retaliation),” he said in his directive to the Armed forces.
Addressing a public meeting at Guntur, Singh said Pakistan has not been desisting from sending terrorists into the country,but India was taking ‘swift action’ against terrorism.
“Pakistan is trying to destabilise us by sending terrorists. But I would like to compliment our Army jawans, security forces and Jammu and Kashmir police.
All three are acting in mutual coordination and are engaged in wiping out terrorists daily and are succeeding,” he said.
Earlier, addressing commandos of the elite counter-terror force National Security Guard on their 34th raising day at Gurgaon, Singh said security forces have exhibited excellent coordination and ensured that there has been no major terror attack in the hinterland since the 2008 Mumbai strike.
He made a reference to recent attacks in New York and London where vehicles were used to run over and kill a number of people.
“The ‘do it yourself’ and ‘lone wolf’ kind of terror attacks are a major challenge for us and for security agencies,” Singh said at the NSG garrison in Manesar.
“We will have to prepare accordingly and keep changing and updating our tactics to counter these threats,” he added.
Terror is not limited to a country but affects the entire world population, Singh asserted.
Social media has helped in propagating their ideology, he added.
Complimenting the NSG and other security forces and agencies of the country for ensuring that there has not been any major incident in the hinterland since 2008, he said they have achieved successes in thwarting terror or insurgency bids “except” in Jammu and Kashmir.
“We have now deployed one unit of the NSG in Jammu and Kashmir for operations,” Singh said.
The minister also asked state police forces to develop counter-terror capabilities of their forces as they are the “first responders” when an attack takes place.
The NSG was raised in 1984 as a federal contingency force. Apart from rendering the specialised tasks of counter-terror and counter-hijack operations, it also guards 13 high-risk VVIPs in the country, including the Union home minister.