New Delhi: Defence Minister AK Antony is expected to make a new statement in Parliament this afternoon on the killing of five Indian soldiers at the Line of Control, after being briefed by Army Chief General Bikram Singh who visited Jammu and Kashmir yesterday.

The minister’s earlier statement on the incident has led to a huge political storm with the BJP accusing him of letting Pakistan off the hook. The opposition has stalled Parliament proceedings for two days and wants Mr Antony to apologise.

On Tuesday, Mr Antony said that 20 heavily armed militants accompanied by “persons dressed in Pakistan Army uniforms” had ambushed an Army patrol on the Indian side of the Line of Control (LoC) in Poonch, 200 km south of Srinagar.

The Army’s statement said terrorists and Pakistani soldiers were involved. “Terrorists and persons dressed in Pakistan Army Uniform,” read out the minister in Parliament. In other differences, the Army release talked about “the “frustration” and “desperation” of terrorists’ and the Pakistan army”; Mr Antony’s did not.

There is speculation now that the minister’s statement, based on the Army’s on-ground report, might have been altered at the highest bureaucratic levels. Press Trust of India has quoted sources as saying that the statement read out by Mr Antony was vetted by several senior officials including National Security Advisor Shivshankar Menon and Foreign Secretary Sujatha Singh.

  A.K Antony