JAMMU: Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) president Amit Shah said Monday that India would give a "befitting reply" to Pakistan over a spike in ceasefire violations, said a report published on The Times of India (TOI).

“Home minister Rajnath Singh has clearly said that if Pakistan resorts to firing, we will definitely give a befitting reply to them," Shah said. His statement comes as a spate of firing along the working boundary continues intermittently, claiming lives on both sides.

The BJP president is on a visit to the R S Pura area of Jammu where he is expected to meet villagers who are living close to the international border in the state.

He assured villagers that the BJP government would look into their problems, particularly those who had been displaced after partition in the 1947 and the 1965 and 1971 wars with Pakistan

In 2013, Pakistan and India had pledged to uphold the 2003 ceasefire accord which is left in tatters by repeated violations.

Both countries have engaged in allegations, denials and counter allegations over the firing incidents. Last year, in a meeting, the DGMOs of the two countries had agreed to a number of steps to keep the ceasefire accord intact

During his visit, Shah said that he could not guarantee voting rights to those who were seeking refuge here from the other side of the border.

He said they could not take a call on voting rights and that it was the call of the Jammu and Kashmir state government.

He also expressed hope that the BJP would form the next state government in Jammu & Kashmir.

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Earlier, Shah had also said that by calling off the scheduled foreign secretary talks with Pakistan, the Indian government had sent out a message to Pakistan that bilateral dialogue could not be held if it continued to engage separatists in Kashmir vis-a-vis India, according to a report published on India Today.