Every act of aggression receives swift, resolute, intense response remembered by posterity
Pakistan Rangers (R) and Indian Border Security Force personnel take part in the daily flag lowering ceremony at their joint border post of Wagah near Lahore PHOTO:REUTERS
Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) has released a statement addressing the rhetoric being spread by the Indian leadership recently that mimics “Bollywood-style scripts”. The armed forces have stated that such “jingoism” and “unnecessary chest thumping” could endanger peace and stability in South Asia.
The Indian military and political leadership, directing terrorism allegations towards Pakistan, which Islamabad has repeatedly refuted“. The lies being fed to the Indian public and international audience have turned the Indian military machine into a laughing stock”.
According to the Indian newspaper Hindu, Lt Gen Ghai claimed that more than 100 Pakistani soldiers were killed during the May clashes along the Line of Control. The Indian officer also repeated India’s assertion that it had inflicted significant damage on Pakistani airbases and destroyed its air assets on the ground.
Read: PM declares ‘Youm-e-Marka-e-Haq’ on May 10 to mark operation victory
“It is saddening to see the military leadership of a nuclear-armed country issuing irresponsible statements under immense political pressure,” said the ISPR in response“. The world now recognises India as the true face of cross-border terrorism and the epicentre of regional instability, bent upon adventurism and hegemonism to the detriment of its people and its neighbours”.
The ISPR suggested that there is a pattern to this sort of rhetoric, which surfaces every time an election is approaching on the calendar. “It has been noted with grave concern that five months after Marka-e-Haq in the run-up to elections in Bihar and West Bengal, Indian military leadership has started parroting the same delusional, fabricated and provocative propaganda that they regurgitate before every state elections in India”.
“The Indian Armed Forces and its political masters must realise that Pakistan’s people and its Armed Forces are fully capable and committed to defend every inch of our territory with full resolve. Every act of aggression will be dealt with a swift, resolute and intense response that will be remembered by posterity”.
Read more: Pakistan and India agree to immediate ceasefire
The May conflict began after an attack on a Hindu tourist in Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir, which New Delhi, without providing any relevant evidence, blamed on Islamabad. Islamabad firmly rejected the accusation and called for an independent investigation.
Following India’s deadly air strikes in Punjab and Azad Jammu and Kashmir on May 7, Pakistan said it had shot down five Indian aircraft in aerial combat, later increasing the figure to seven. After both countries carried out retaliatory strikes on each other’s airbases, US mediation on May 10 led to a ceasefire.
Islamabad denied losing any aircraft and said it had struck 26 Indian targets in response to attacks on its three airbases.
