A gun salute to honour soldiers killed by Pakistanis at the Line of Control
New Delhi: Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif has tried to ease tensions with India by urging both sides to work swiftly to shore up a 10-year ceasefire threatened by recent attacks, but sources say New Delhi is clear that it can't be "business as usual" after the killing of five Indian jawans in Jammu and Kashmir by terrorists backed by the Pakistani Army earlier this week.
Mr Sharif said he was "looking forward to meeting Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in New York", on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly, but sources in New Delhi say the government will make no commitment about the meeting for now.
India is also likely to delay its response to Islamabad's proposal for talks on the dispute over Sir Creek and a barrage project on the river Jhelum in Kashmir. These were meant to be secretary level talks later this month but sources say it looks unlikely with no dates finalised till now.
Sources said Pakistan will have to effectively demonstrate its commitment to curbing attacks in India.
The Pakistan Prime Minister had in a statement expressed his sadness over the loss of life and said it was "imperative" for India and Pakistan to take "effective steps to ensure and restore" the truce.
He made the remarks shortly after Defence Minister AK Antony for the first time directly accused Pakistan's army of involvement in the ambush that killed five Indian soldiers at the Line of Control in Jammu and Kashmir on Monday night. The minister said "specialist Pakistani troops" were behind the attack.
"We all know nothing happens from Pakistan side of the Line of Control without support, assistance, facilitation and often, direct involvement of the Pakistan Army," Mr Antony said.
He also warned, "Our restraint should not be taken for granted; nor should the capacity of our Armed Forces..."
(Read full text of AK Antony's statement in Lok Sabha) The strongly-worded statement was in response to a controversy after his first statement in Parliament after the killings, which the opposition said let Pakistan off the hook.