By Staff Reporter
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan warned on Tuesday that India was set to launch military action within 36 hours over a disputed Kashmir attack.
The warning follows heightened tensions between the nuclear-armed neighbors after a deadly attack in occupied Kashmir last week, which India has blamed on Pakistan, though without providing evidence.
Earlier on Tuesday, India announced it had granted its military “operational freedom” to respond to the attack in Pahalgam that killed 26 tourists.
The decision has sparked fears of an escalation in a region long marred by conflict over the disputed territory.
“Pakistan has credible intelligence that India intends carrying out military action against Pakistan in the next 24-36 hours on the pretext of baseless and concocted allegations of involvement in the Pahalgam incident,” Information Minister Atta Ullah Tarar told media in a late-night press conference.
“Pakistan rejects India’s self-assumed role as judge, jury, and executioner in the region.”
The April 22 attack in the disputed Kashmir region was the deadliest there since 2000. The dispute has triggered retaliatory measures, straining bilateral relations.
On April 23, India suspended the 1960 Indus Waters Treaty, a World Bank-mediated agreement securing water for 80 percent of Pakistani agriculture. Pakistan condemned the move as an act of war and banned Indian airlines from its airspace, among other reciprocal actions.
Last week, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif accused India of engaging in a blame game over the Pahalgam attack and expressed the country’s willingness to participate in a neutral, transparent, and credible investigation to address the crisis.
Tarar called Indian behavior “completely reckless.”
“Pakistan has been the victim of terrorism itself and truly understands the pain of this scourge. We have always condemned it in all its forms and manifestations anywhere in the world,” the minister said.
Tarar stressed that Pakistan, as a responsible state, has offered a “credible, transparent, and independent investigation” by a neutral commission of experts to uncover the truth about the attack.
He accused India of rejecting this approach in favor of confrontation.
“Unfortunately, rather than pursuing the path of reason, India has apparently decided to tread the dangerous path of irrationality and confrontation, which will have catastrophic consequences for the complete region and beyond.”
The minister said India’s reluctance to support an impartial probe pointed to ulterior motives.
“The evasion of credible investigations is in itself sufficient evidence exposing India’s real motives,” he said, adding that “consciously making strategic decisions hostage to public sentiments, purposefully trumped up for securing political objectives, is unfortunate and deplorable.”
Tarar cautioned that any military move by India would meet a firm response. “Any such military adventurism by India would be responded to assuredly and decisively,” he said.
“We reiterate the nation’s resolve to defend the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Pakistan at all cost,” he said.
The Pahalgam attack has deepened the rift between India and Pakistan, which have fought three wars and numerous skirmishes since their partition in 1947, largely over Kashmir.
Meanwhile, AFP reported that India has authorised its military with “complete operational freedom” to respond to the Kashmir.
In a closed-door meeting on Tuesday, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi met with army and security chiefs, instructing the armed forces that they had “complete operational freedom to decide on the mode, targets and timing of our response to the terror attack,” according to a senior government source who spoke to AFP on condition of anonymity.
The government later released video footage showing Modi alongside army chiefs and Defence Minister Rajnath Singh.
The warning follows heightened tensions between the nuclear-armed neighbors after a deadly attack in occupied Kashmir last week, which India has blamed on Pakistan, though without providing evidence.
Earlier on Tuesday, India announced it had granted its military “operational freedom” to respond to the attack in Pahalgam that killed 26 tourists.
The decision has sparked fears of an escalation in a region long marred by conflict over the disputed territory.
“Pakistan has credible intelligence that India intends carrying out military action against Pakistan in the next 24-36 hours on the pretext of baseless and concocted allegations of involvement in the Pahalgam incident,” Information Minister Atta Ullah Tarar told media in a late-night press conference.
“Pakistan rejects India’s self-assumed role as judge, jury, and executioner in the region.”
The April 22 attack in the disputed Kashmir region was the deadliest there since 2000. The dispute has triggered retaliatory measures, straining bilateral relations.
On April 23, India suspended the 1960 Indus Waters Treaty, a World Bank-mediated agreement securing water for 80 percent of Pakistani agriculture. Pakistan condemned the move as an act of war and banned Indian airlines from its airspace, among other reciprocal actions.
Last week, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif accused India of engaging in a blame game over the Pahalgam attack and expressed the country’s willingness to participate in a neutral, transparent, and credible investigation to address the crisis.
Tarar called Indian behavior “completely reckless.”
“Pakistan has been the victim of terrorism itself and truly understands the pain of this scourge. We have always condemned it in all its forms and manifestations anywhere in the world,” the minister said.
Tarar stressed that Pakistan, as a responsible state, has offered a “credible, transparent, and independent investigation” by a neutral commission of experts to uncover the truth about the attack.
He accused India of rejecting this approach in favor of confrontation.
“Unfortunately, rather than pursuing the path of reason, India has apparently decided to tread the dangerous path of irrationality and confrontation, which will have catastrophic consequences for the complete region and beyond.”
The minister said India’s reluctance to support an impartial probe pointed to ulterior motives.
“The evasion of credible investigations is in itself sufficient evidence exposing India’s real motives,” he said, adding that “consciously making strategic decisions hostage to public sentiments, purposefully trumped up for securing political objectives, is unfortunate and deplorable.”
Tarar cautioned that any military move by India would meet a firm response. “Any such military adventurism by India would be responded to assuredly and decisively,” he said.
“We reiterate the nation’s resolve to defend the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Pakistan at all cost,” he said.
The Pahalgam attack has deepened the rift between India and Pakistan, which have fought three wars and numerous skirmishes since their partition in 1947, largely over Kashmir.
Meanwhile, AFP reported that India has authorised its military with “complete operational freedom” to respond to the Kashmir.
In a closed-door meeting on Tuesday, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi met with army and security chiefs, instructing the armed forces that they had “complete operational freedom to decide on the mode, targets and timing of our response to the terror attack,” according to a senior government source who spoke to AFP on condition of anonymity.
The government later released video footage showing Modi alongside army chiefs and Defence Minister Rajnath Singh.
Copyright © 2021 Independent Pakistan | All rights reserved
