ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s Defence Minister Khawaja Asif on Monday warned that India could strike at any point along the Line of Control (LoC) in Azad Jammu and Kashmir as tensions between the two nuclear-armed neighbours escalated following the Pahalgam attack.
“There are reports that India may strike at any point along the Line of Control (LoC)… New Delhi will be given a befitting reply,” the defence minister said while speaking to journalists in Islamabad.
On 22 April, gunmen attacked tourists in the Pahalgam area of Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir and killed 26 people. 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.
A day after the Pahalgam incident on 23 April, India’s Cabinet Committee on Security approved measures including the closure of the Wagah-Attari border crossing and the suspension of the Indus Waters Treaty.
Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has called for an independent investigation into the incident.
Islamabad also warned that any attempt by India to stop or divert the Indus River waters would be considered an “act of war”.
Khawaja Asif said that Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif had already called for the establishment of an international commission to investigate the incident.
“Such a probe would expose whether India itself or any internal group was involved, and clarify the truth behind New Delhi’s baseless allegations against Pakistan,” he added.
“An international investigation will reveal whether [Indian Prime Minister] Narendra Modi is lying or telling the truth,” he said, adding, “Only then can we tell Modi that he is a liar and destroying global peace.”
The minister accused Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi of pushing the region to the brink of nuclear war solely to secure votes through political drama.
He further added that India is involved in sponsoring terrorism in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan.
“We had presented evidence of Indian terrorism in KP to the United Nations in 2016 and 2017,” he noted, adding: “Those proofs included videos showing how India finances and instigates terrorism.”
NA resolution
Meanwhile, the National Assembly of Pakistan adopted a resolution warning India that any act of aggression, including water terrorism or military provocation, would be met with a “firm, swift and decisive” response.
Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) lawmaker Tariq Fazal Chaudhry, tabled the resolution, which warned India that Pakistan remains fully capable and prepared to defend its sovereignty and territorial integrity as “clearly demonstrated by its robust and valiant response to India’s reckless actions in February 2019”.
It also denounced terrorism in all its forms and manifestations and stressed that the killing of innocent civilians was contrary to the values upheld by Pakistan.
The resolution also rejected all “frivolous and baseless attempts” to link Pakistan with the Pahalgam attack in occupied Kashmir.
It further condemned India’s “unlawful and unilateral declaration” to hold the Indus Waters Treaty in abeyance in blatant violation.
The resolution emphasised that the people of Pakistan remain committed to peace, but will never allow anyone to transgress the country’s sovereignty, security, and interests.
