India, however, played down Islamabad’s latest move of suspending the trans-LoC bus service. “Our understanding is that because of local circumstances, gates could not be opened on the Pakistani side and, therefore, the bus and trucks could not go...our officials are in talks with the Pakistani side,” MEA spokesman Syed Akbaruddin said. 

On the summoning of the Indian envoy in Islamabad, he said: “Sabharwal was issued a note verbale on an incident which is said to have occurred on January 10.” The Indian High Commissioner told Pakistan Foreign Secretary Jalil Abbas Jilani that Indian troops had only resorted to ‘controlled response’ to the ‘unprovoked’ firing by the Pakistan Army yesterday. The Indian envoy also stressed the need for maintaining the sanctity of the LoC and adherence to the Simla Agreement for resolving bilateral issues. 

New Delhi reiterated that it saw no role for the UN Military Observer Group in India and Pakistan in bilateral issues between India and Pakistan.

Asked why India was keen on extending the hand of friendship to Pakistan despite provocations from the other side, Akbaruddin said: “Neighbours are not going to go away...ultimately, we have to resolve our issues with Pakistan bilaterally.” 

Earlier, Antony while talking to reporters on the sidelines of defence function, said, "We will take every step to protect our interests and of our soldiers and the prestige of the Indian armed forces”. A source confirmed that Antony was quite clear that the be-heading of an Indian soldier would not to be tolerated. 

“It is not an isolated incident, infiltration attempts are increasing from the last one year. Ceasefire violations are also increasing. The tragic, provocative action two days back, was a turning point,” Antony said. The minister has taken a tough posture that relations with Pakistan cannot be at the cost of the prestige of the Indian soldiers, said sources.