By Aarti Tikoo Singh

New Delhi, Dec 19 (IANS): Three days after Pakistani Border Action Team (BAT) troops not only killed but mutilated an Indian soldier's body, along the Line of Control (LoC) in Jammu and Kashmir, Islamabad on Thursday intensified its war rhetoric against India.

In a tweet issued by its official media wing ISPR, Pakistan Army warned India against any "misadventure or aggression". Director General ISPR Major General Asif Ghafoor said that Pakistan's armed forces shall "befittingly respond" to Indian attacks.

Pakistan Army's offensive statement came a day after Indian Army chief General Bipin Rawat hinted that India will have to prepare for escalation along the Line of Control, which has already witnessed heavy firing since the revocation of special status of Jammu and Kashmir state in August.

"The situation along the LoC can escalate anytime. We have to be prepared for the spiralling of the escalatory mix," Gen Rawat had said adding that the Army is maintaining a high level of operational readiness, with detailed plans chalked out to cater for different contingencies.

Calling General Rawat's fact of matter statement as "provocative", Ghafoor alleged that it was an effort by India "to divert world attention from wide spread protests" against the Citizenship Act.

Pakistan has been attempting BAT actions frequently, Army sources said adding that the Indian troops had thwarted several of them. There have been around 3,000 ceasefire violations along the LoC.

It is the highest since 2003. The frequency of ceasefire violations went up at an alarming rate after a Jaish-e-Mohammad suicide bomber blew up a CRPF bus killing 40 soldiers in Pulwama, south Kashmir in February this year.