Pak denial of beheading of soldiers not credible: Jaitley

India on Wednesday rubbished Pakistan’s claim that its military was not involved in mutilating the bodies of two Indian soldiers at the Line of Control, asserting the denial of the “barbaric act” carried no credibility.

Defence Minister Arun Jaitley, while replying to a question on India’s possible response to Pakistan’s action, said, “Have faith in your army”.

Jaitley said cover fire was provided to those who killed and mutilated the bodies of the two soldiers and Pakistan helped the perpetrators escape.

“The denial itself carries no credibility because the entire gamut of circumstances clearly indicates that this barbaric act of first killing two of our soldiers and then mutilating their bodies has been carried out with the active participation of the (Pakistani) army,” he told reporters.

He said such an act cannot be carried out without the “protection, participation or the actual indulgence” of the army.

“The fact that cover firing was provided to those who carried out this act..... they are helped to escape, in such a heavily guarded border where posts are within few metres of each other, this cannot happen without the protection or the participation or the actual indulgence of the army,” the defence minister said.

Naib Subedar Paramjeet Singh and Border Security Force Head Constable Prem Sagar were slain by Pakistan’s Border Action Team after sneaking 250 metres into the Indian territory in Poonch district of Jammu and Kashmir on May 1.

Indian Director General of Military Operations Lt Gen A K Bhatt had yesterday conveyed to his Pakistan counterpart that such a “dastardly and inhuman act” was beyond any norms of civility and merited “unequivocal condemnation and response”.