New Delhi: Amid the escalating tensions over the Pulwama attack, Pakistan on Friday warned India not to ‘mess’ with it and reiterated that it had nothing to with the terror strike on CRPF soldiers last week.
"We can respond to full spectrum threats, we hope you don’t mess with us", Director General of Inter-Services Public Relations, Major General Asif Ghafoor, said at a press conference.
In a virtual face-off with India, Ghafoor said that the ‘battle-hardened’ Pakistani army would retaliate in case of any threat. “We have the right to retaliate if our national sovereignty is at stake,” he added.
He said that while Pakistan was not preparing for war, it reserves the right to respond to war threats from Indian side. “It's you (India) who is sending war threats. We're not preparing for initiating a war.”
The statement comes a week after the suicide attack carried out by Pakistan-based Jaish-e-Mohammed in Kashmir’s Pulwama district, in which 40 CRPF soldiers were killed.
On Thursday, the powerful UN Security Council (UNSC) had also strongly condemned the "heinous and cowardly" terror attack and named Jaish-e-Mohammed in the statement, reportedly despite China expressing reservations.
Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan, who held a meeting with the country’s National Security Council, has also authorised the armed forces to "respond decisively and comprehensively to any aggression or misadventure by India."
In a video message earlier this week, Khan said Pakistan was not involved in the attack in Kashmir. India rubbished Khan's comments, saying disclaiming Pakistan's link with terrorist attacks is an oft-repeated excuse by the "nerve centre" of terrorism.
Ghafoor, however, said that Indi had “started raining accusations on Pakistan without thinking and without any evidence. Pakistan has, this time, taken out some time to respond.”
He even blamed India for the terror outfits operating on its oil. “India started using indirect strategies, and began promoting terrorism in our country after the 1998 nuclear tests.”
“Then in 2008 when we were [forced to fight] terrorism again. The purpose was to scuttle our counter-terrorism efforts, and the live proof of this is Kulbhushan Yadav,” he added.
He reiterated Imran Khan’s Naya Pakistan statement said Pakistan has nothing to gain from terror attacks in India. "Whenever there is supposed to be an important event in Pakistan, or the country is moving towards stability, then there is always some sort of staged incident in either India or Kashmir," the DG ISPR said.
He reiterated Imran Khan’s Naya Pakistan statement said Pakistan has nothing to gain from terror attacks in India. "Whenever there is supposed to be an important event in Pakistan, or the country is moving towards stability, then there is always some sort of staged incident in either India or Kashmir," the DG ISPR said.
The Major General further claimed that India had failed to isolate Pakistan diplomatically. "If it is, you have seen lately how foreign heads of state and dignitaries have been visiting Pakistan, how foreign investment is pouring in, how development is ongoing on CPEC. Regarding military cooperation and diplomacy, we've held joint exercises with Russia, China, the PAF and US Air Force together, and lately the Aman naval exercise took place," he told reporters.
He also pointed out that India has elections in the coming months, insinuating that the attack was carried out for political benefits. "What benefit would Pakistan get from the Pulwama attack?" he questioned. "I'll leave it to you to judge who is benefiting from all this."
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