NEW DELHI: Former chief of India’s external intelligence agency, the Research and Analysis Wing (RAW), Amarjit Singh Dulat, has warned that neither India nor Pakistan can afford a war, calling it “the last and worst option” amid rising tensions after the Pahalgam incident.
While speaking to Indian newspaper The Hindu in the aftermath of the Pahalgam incident in the Indian illegally occupied Jammu and Kashmir, the former intelligence chief said, despite jingoistic calls, war was not an option.
“I have always maintained that war is not an option. Let us hope there is no war. Even if it comes to that, it is not just the last option but the last bad option. Neither country can afford a war,” he said.
Tensions between Pakistan and India increased after gunmen attacked tourists in the Pahalgam area of IIOJK on 22 April, killing 26 people and injuring 17.
India swiftly blamed Pakistan for the attack without presenting any credible evidence. Pakistan condemned the attack and strongly rejected the Indian government’s baseless accusations.
Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Saturday said Islamabad was open to any “neutral and transparent” investigation into the Pahalgam attack.
Amarjit Singh Dulat expressed concern about some actions by the government in the IIOJK region in the aftermath of the attack. He said that the local Kashmiri population should not be targeted, adding that the demolition of houses in this fashion is a concern to me as well.
The Pakistan Army successfully intercepted and shot down an Indian quadcopter that violated Pakistani airspace along the Line of Control (LoC), security sources confirmed on Tuesday.
According to the sources, the incident took place in the Munaawar Sector of Bhimber, where the Indian military attempted to conduct aerial surveillance using an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV).
The security sources further emphasised that the Pakistan Army remains fully prepared to respond to any form of aggression with immediate and effective action.
Pakistan’s Minister of State for Law and Justice, Barrister Aqeel Malik, has said that Islamabad will invoke the jurisdiction of the International Court of Justice (ICJ) to challenge India’s aggressive actions after the Pahalgam incident.
While speaking to a Pakistani news channel, the Minister said that as soon as the federal cabinet gives its approval, the ministry will approach the United Nations against the Indian move.
He said that India accused Pakistan of the Pahalgam attack within half an hour of the incident without conducting any investigation. “We are fully prepared against India. We will respond to every move of India by going two steps ahead,” he said.
