NEW DELHI (Islamweb & News Agencies) - India said Monday anyone challenging its national security will face tough consequences, as tensions rose with nuclear rival Pakistan over last week's bloody suicide attack on the Indian parliament.
Islamabad threatened to respond strongly if attacked, as a top Indian government minister said all options were open including Indian strikes on guerrilla bases in Pakistan.
Indian police investigators have blamed Pakistan-based guerrilla groups and intelligence services for the attack last Thursday in which five assailants, who India says were Pakistan-based Kashmiri separatists, killed eight people with guns and grenades. The five were later killed by Indian forces.
Heightening tensions, Indian defense officials in Indian-ruled Jammu and Kashmir state said Monday that Pakistan had moved troops close to the military control line dividing the disputed Himalayan region between the two hostile neighbors and that Indian troops were on high alert.
Pakistani regular troops have moved forward, a senior defense official told Reuters in the state's winter capital of Jammu. ``They have also built up their strike formations and moved their reserves close to the border,'' the official said.
Indian Foreign Minister Jaswant Singh told reporters that senior ministers discussed the security situation including reports of Pakistani troop movements.
The main opposition Congress Party said it would fully support the coalition government's efforts to put down what it called terrorism. Advani is due to make a statement in parliament Tuesday.