ISLAMABAD – Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif yesterday warned India that Pakistan was capable to launch surgical strikes inside India and asked the nuclear armed neighbour to burry its dreams of crushing Pakistan.
This came as a snub from Pakistan to India after the last day’s skirmishes along the Line of Control. India claimed of airdropping 150 commandoes into Azad Kashmir to launch ‘surgical strikes’ in wee hours of Wednesday night, which was quickly rejected by Pakistan.
As suspicions grew even within India about their army’s claims, the official position took a major shift yesterday when Minister of State for Information and Broadcasting Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore said that no aerial operations were involved. But, he insisted the Indian soldiers crossed the LoC “on the ground” for carrying out “pre-emptive strikes”. “That is not like crossing the International Border.” The targets were “launch pads”, he said, which were temporary in nature.
Addressing a special cabinet meeting here, Prime Minister Sharif said the Indian claims of surgical strikes were false but Pakistan had the potential to carry such strikes inside India.
Sharif however, said Pakistan wanted peace to pursue its development agenda but every Pakistani was ready to defend the motherland if need be. He stressed that Kashmir was an unfinished agenda of partition of the sub-continent and India’s continued brutalities in held-Kashmir and aggression were unacceptable.
An official statement said the cabinet joined the prime minister in completely rejecting the Indian claims of carrying out ‘surgical strikes’. The meeting praised the armed forces for their befitting response to the Indian aggression.
A cabinet member who attended the meeting told The Nation the atmosphere was electric and everybody was furious at India’s war-phobia.
“The PM assured the cabinet that India cannot strike at will inside Pakistan as the country was capable of defending itself,” he said. The minister said the premier and the cabinet members agreed India wanted to isolate Pakistan at the international level but will fail miserably.
“The PM showed confidence in the armed forces and the nation to fight as one unit if a war is imposed. The meeting decided to payback India in the same coin,” he added.
Another participant said Nawaz Sharif and his team did not have war on their heads as they met. “All were for peace and all were for hitting back if a war is imposed. There was no craziness like the signals coming from across the border,” he maintained.
The premier said India should not have alleged Pakistan of backing Uri attack within hours after the strike without any investigation or evidence.
In face of Inidan threats, PM is to chair a meeting of the National Security Committee on Oct 4 followed by a joint session of parliament on the national security on Oct 5.
The PM said India’s continued brutalities in Kashmir and aggression were unacceptable and he pressed for solution of the issue under the UN resolutions. The government, he said, was resolved to achieve progress and prosperity and eliminate poverty and unemployment, for which Pakistan advocated peace in the region.
Prime Minister Sharif warned that Pakistan’s commitment for peace must not be construed as weakness. “In case of any aggression or violation of LoC, Pakistan will take all necessary steps to protect its people and territorial integrity,” he said.
The official statement said the cabinet expressed deep concern over the continued killings and grave human rights violations in the held Kashmir and reiterated Pakistan’s call for free, fair and impartial investigation into the killings of innocent civilians, under the UN auspices.
It expressed Pakistan’s unwavering commitment to provide political, moral and diplomatic support to the people of Jammu and Kashmir.
The cabinet noted that the statements of Indian PM Narendra Modi have provided fresh evidence of Indian involvement in subversive and terrorist activities in Pakistan, which is a clear contravention of the UN Charter and international law.
http://nation.com.pk/national/01-Oct-2016/pakistan-says-capable-of-surgical-strikes
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