Uri attack: India-Pakistan ties will never be same again, says Union Minister

New Delhi: Indo-Pak relationship will not be same again and India's patience with the neighbour is running out, Union Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad said on Monday as the government weighs its options following the deadly Uri terror attack.

With voices, including within the BJP, calling for retaliatory action against Pakistan following the Uri terror attack, the Union Law and Information Technology minister said the Modi government will take appropriate action keeping in the mind the national interest.

Asked about reports of India weighing options likes surgical strike in Pakistan territory, he told reports that such matters are not discussed with the media. "Our relationship with Pakistan will not be same again. Our patience is running out. There is a limit to patience. The government will consider strategic and diplomatic options and take a decision," he said.

To a question that Prime Minister Narendra Modi is facing criticism for the gap between his tough rhetoric when BJP was in the opposition and his government's action vis-à-vis Pakistan, Prasad said BJP's policies are in tune with the national interest.

The opposition parties should keep politics away from this matter, he said.

BJP National Secretary Sidharth Nath Singh said the government will do whatever it has to in the national interest and it is serious about the issue. "If something has to be done, it will be done. There is no need to talk about it," he said, adding that it will take action at an appropriate time and has been fully behind Army on such matters.

"Whether to respond to Pakistan diplomatically, economically or by some other means is a decision which the government will take," he said.

Meanwhile, Prime Minister met President Pranab Mukherjee to brief him on the developments related to the Uri terror attack, hours after he discussed the issue with senior ministers and top officials.

Modi went to the Rashtrapati Bhavan this evening and apprised the President of the details related to the attack on the Army camp that took place yesterday, official sources said.

The Prime Minister's meeting with the President came hours after he chaired a meeting on the Uri attack with senior ministerial colleagues top officials.

The meeting was attended by Home Minister Rajnath Singh, Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, NSA Ajit Doval, Army Chief Gen Dalbir Singh, and senior officials of the ministries of Home and Defence.

Modi had yesterday asserted that "those behind this despicable attack will not go unpunished."