Message to India: Any attack won’t go unpunished

ISLAMABAD:

Pakistan will not initiate any military action against India but will deliver a “befitting response” if provoked, Foreign Minister and Deputy Prime Minister Ishaq Dar declared on Wednesday amid growing fears of an imminent Indian cross-border strike.

Addressing a press briefing at the Foreign Office alongside Director General Inter-Services Public Relations (DG ISPR) Lt General Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry, Dar said the Pakistan military was fully prepared to respond to any threat.

The DG ISPR added that while Pakistan sought no escalation, Islamabad would decide its course of action if India opted for a military route.

The carefully worded remarks by the deputy prime minister and Pakistan’s military spokesperson came against the backdrop of reports claiming that India was considering military strikes following the recent Pahalgam incident.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi reportedly chaired a series of high-level meetings over the past two days, granting the armed forces a “free hand” to retaliate.

Foreign Minister Dar reiterated that Pakistan condemned terrorism in all its forms and manifestations. While the initial statement on the Pahalgam attack was measured, he has now issued an explicit condemnation of the incident.

Dar reiterated Pakistan’s principled stance against terrorism, stating: “Let me start by reiterating that Pakistan condemns terrorism in all its forms and manifestations. No cause or objective can justify taking the lives of innocent people. This is the national and Islamic policy: killing of a human being is tantamount to killing entire humanity as per the [Holy] Quran and saving a life is tantamount to saving entire humanity.”

The deputy prime minister said the targeting of innocent civilians was deeply condemnable and deplorable, adding that Pakistan had consistently raised its principled stance against such acts wherever they occurred globally.

“We are concerned over the loss of life during the Pahalgam attack. We also extend our condolences. Being a victim of terrorism itself, no one can feel the pain of those impacted by this scourge like Pakistan,” Dar said.

However, Dar criticised India for its duplicity, stating that New Delhi “glorifies and even celebrates its assassination campaigns and sponsoring of terrorism in Pakistan and other countries”.

“No other country has sacrificed or suffered as much as Pakistan in the fight against terrorism,” he added.

Dar warned that the entire region faced a grave threat to peace and stability owing to the “politically motivated and highly provocative environment being created by India” in the wake of the Pahalgam attack.

He noted that world leaders had urged restraint in recent days and clarified: “I have made it very clear, on behalf of the government and the nation, that Pakistan will not be the first one to resort to any escalatory move. However, in case of any escalatory move by the Indian side, we will respond very strongly”.

Dar also expressed concern over the “media frenzy and war-mongering” in India. “Each and every incident in India seems to be deliberate and choreographed”, he said, adding it was “unfortunate that India continues to weaponise unsubstantiated accusations and allegations as part of its disinformation strategy for narrow political ends”.