In a stern warning to Pakistan, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Monday said India can launch a strike across the border, if the need arises, adding that the country was not what it used to be before and was becoming stronger day by day.

Raksha Mantri said when terrorists from across the border, in Pakistan, attacked Pulwama, Prime Minister Narendra Modi “did not even take 10 minutes” to take a decision to send jawans to the other side to eliminate them. Addressing the National Security Conclave in Jammu, Singh said, “After Uri and Pulwama attacks, the PM didn’t take even 10 minutes to take a decision and our jawans went across the border to eliminate the terrorists. We successfully sent a message to the world that India is no longer what it used to be. If the need arises, India can launch an attack across the border.”

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The Defence Minister added that once “peace” returns to Jammu and Kashmir, Armed Forces Special Power Act (AFSPA) will be removed from the Union Territory.

“We have controlled the problem of insurgency in the Northeast and our government has also been successful in controlling left-wing extremism. Today, AFSPA has been removed from the majority of the Northeast. I am waiting for the day when permanent peace will be restored in Jammu and Kashmir and AFSPA will be removed from here as well,” Singh said.

He added that India’s prestige and stature have increased on the world stage under Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

“Under the PM Modi-led government, India’s stature in the world has been further elevated. Earlier, when India used to say something at international forums, it was not taken so seriously. But now, the world listens carefully to what India says,” Raksha Mantri added.

Further hitting out at Pakistan, he said the illegal occupation of Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) does not give the country a locus standi on the region.
“A unanimous resolution has been passed in the Parliament regarding PoK — that it is an inalienable part of India. Not one but at least three proposals in this regard have now been passed in the Parliament,” he said.