Omar questions centre for its response on killing of Indian soldiers in Ladakh face-off

Srinagar, Jun 17 :Reacting to the killing of 20 Indian soldiers, including an officer, during a violent clash with Chinese troops in eastern Ladakh’s Galwan Valley on Monday night, former J&K chief minister Omar Abdullah questioned the dual policy of India while dealing with China and Pakistan on the border.Condoling to the families of the Indian Army officers and soldiers, who laid down their lives in the line of duty in Ladakh, Mr Abdullah asked why the Indian leadership is not speaking out on the killings of its soldiers in Ladakh at the hands of a much stronger force without appearing weak or reckless.
Mr Abdullah, who is the National Conference (NC) Vice president, said herein lies the problem with a very public ownership, in a marked departure from previous governments, of the surgical strikes after Uri and Pulwama. “How does one react to soldiers deaths in Ladakh at the hands of a much stronger force without appearing weak or reckless?” Mr Abdullah wrote on micro-blogging site twitter.
He also prayed for the safe return of all those yet unaccounted for. “Its been a terrible day for the armed forces today. My heartfelt condolences to the families of those officers & jawans who laid down their lives in the line of duty in Ladakh today. Prayers for the safe return of all those yet unaccounted for,” he added.
India and China have been engaged in a stand-off for over a month, after China advanced its troops along the LAC and transgressed it at multiple locations in Eastern Ladakh.
Following the standoff in eastern Ladakh, the two sides have deployed additional troops along the LAC, the de-facto Sino-India border, in North Sikkim, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand and Arunachal Pradesh.
Both the sides had held a series of talks in the last few days to resolve the row.However, on Tuesday, 20 Indian jawans were killed during a violent clash with Chinese troops in eastern Ladakh’s Galwan Valley on Monday night.