Defence Minister Arun Jaitley accompanied by Chief of the Army Staff Gen Dalbir Singh Suhag, visiting the Western Army Command in Amritsar on Monday
Terming the repeated ceasefire violations on the Line of Control and International Border as "deliberate", Defence Minister Arun Jaitley today said Pakistan and "powers within" clearly do not want ties with India to be normal.
"It is clear that there is deliberate ceasefire violation from Pakistan side. Earlier, it was only on the Line of Control (LoC) but now it is also on the International Border," he told reporters after visiting forward areas of Punjab border with Pakistan.
There have been 11 ceasefire violations by Pakistani troops along LoC and the International Border in Jammu region in last 10 days.
"It is obvious that Pakistan and the powers within don't want the ties between the two countries to be normal," Mr Jaitley added.
His remarks came as India cancelled talks with Pakistan scheduled for next week in Islamabad, stating that "Pakistan's continued efforts to interfere in Indian internal affairs are unacceptable."
After his visit to the forward posts, Mr Jaitley said, "Our jawans are fully prepared to respond to any ceasefire violations by Pakistan."
In Amritsar for a day, he visited the Kasowal BN enclave in Dera Baba Nanak sector and interacted with jawans of the Army and Border Security Force.
The Defence Minister also said there was a need to "step up procurements" and the government has been speeding up the decisions in this regard in the last two-three months.
An Army release in Chandigarh said the Defence Minister motivated the troops and announced incentives for those deployed on the forward posts.
Mr Jaitley was accompanied by Army Chief Gen Dalbir Singh Suhag, Western Army Commander Lt Gen K J Singh and 11 Corps Commander Lt General N P Singh Hira.