HIGHLIGHTS
- Ready to respond to any aggression: Pakistan military
- We will never be surprised, Pakistan military tells India
- Military repeats Pakistan government’s denial of responsibility for Pulwama attack
Pakistan’s military said on Friday that it was not preparing for war in the wake of last week’s deadly terrorist attack in Jammu and Kashmir, and accused India of making threats.
But it also said it was ready to respond to any aggression and warned India that it could never be surprised.
“Don’t mess with Pakistan,” said Major General Asif Ghafoor, a spokesperson for Pakistan’s Armed Forces, at a news conference.
Asif Ghafoor repeated Pakistan’s denial of responsibility for the suicide bombing in Jammu and Kashmir’s Pulwama distict on February 14, in which 40 CRPF paramilitary soldiers were killed.
The attack sparked an outpouring of rage and grief in India, and security forces killed its mastermind and two other terrorists in an encounter this week.
The bombing was carried out by Jaish-e-Mohammed, a Pakistan-based group, and India has accused Islamabad’s spy agency ISI of involvement.
Pakistan’s powerful military sets key security and foreign policies, and civil-military discord has plagued Pakistan since its inception.
Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan said in a televised address this week that his country would retaliate if attacked, and Islamabad has warned residents of Pakistan-occupied Kashmir along the Line of Control of an Indian attack.
Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh said earlier in an interview with Aaj Tak that if Pakistan was ready for war, India was “not behind”.
Rajnath Singh told Aaj Tak he would not say how India would respond to the attack in Pulwama, but pointed out that Prime Minister Narendra Modi had said security forces had full freedom.
India has gone on a diplomatic offensive to isolate Pakistan on the world stage, increased basic customs duty on its exports and reiterated plans to stop the sharing of excess river water with Pakistan.
[“source=indiatoday”]