New Delhi:

Two days after Defence Minister AK Antony's statement blaming "20 heavily armed terrorists along with persons dressed in Pakistan Army uniforms" for the attack on an Indian patrol at the Line of Control (LoC) in Poonch in which five soldiers were killed led to a huge political storm, he finally admitted in Parliament that the attackers were indeed Pakistani Army soldiers.

Faced with an aggressive Opposition and trying to the douse the fire over the faux pas over two sets of press releases by the Indian Army, which the opposition alleged was done to provide an escape route to Pakistan, Antony made a statement in the Lok Sabha on Thursday blaming the Pakistani Army for the "brutal and unprovoked attack" on the Indian patrol. He added that the Pakistani Army was actively involved in all such incidents taking place on the LoC.

"The brutal and unprovoked attack on Indian patrol on our side of the Line of Control on August 6, 2013 outraged us all. When I reported the incident to the House it was government's obligation then to report the facts as we knew at that point of time and my statement was based on the available information. Since then the Chief of Army Staff has visited the area and gone into the details of the matter. It is now clear that specialist troops of Pakistan Army were involved in this attack when a group from Pakistan occupied Kashmir set across the LC and killed our brave jawans," said the Defence Minister.

"We all know that nothing happens from the Pakistan side of the line of Control without support, assistance and facilitation and often direct involvement of the Pakistan Army. Those in Pakistan who are responsible for this tragedy and the brutal killing of our two soldiers earlier this year should not go unpunished. Pakistan should also show determined action to dismantle the terrorist networks, organisations and infrastructure and show tangible movement on bringing those responsible for the Mumbai terrorist attack in November 2008 to justice quickly," he added.

Antony told Pakistan that such incidents will hit India-Pakistan relations and warned it to not doubt the capacity of Indian armed forces.

"Naturally these incidents will have consequences on our behaviour on the LoC/ LC and for our behaviour with Pakistan. Our restraint should not be taken for granted nor should the capacity of our armed forces or resolve of the government to uphold the sanctity of the Line of Control never be doubted," said the Defence Minister with MPs voicing their approval.

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) backed Antony's new stand in the Lok Sabha while insisting that the party is not playing politics with national security.

"I am thankful to the Defence Minister for correcting his mistake. The BJP was not playing politics but was trying to correct the error committed by the Defence Minister. We support his statement that the attack was carried by Pakistani Army. We support your statement. And, the House in one voice is telling Pakistan that they can't take India for granted," said Sushma Swaraj, the BJP MP and Leader of Opposition.