By Staff Reporter
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan on Tuesday doubled down on its commitment to uphold the fragile ceasefire with India but warned that any aggression would be met with full resolve.
The statement from the Foreign Office was a direct response to Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s May 12 address, in which he accused Pakistan of launching retaliatory strikes on Indian military and civilian targets.
Modi claimed India’s air defence repelled the attacks, inflicted significant losses on Pakistan, and said Pakistan requested a ceasefire through military channels on May 10 after its “failed retaliation”.
The Foreign Office rejected Modi’s narrative as ‘yet another blatant lie,’ asserting that the ceasefire was brokered as a result of the facilitation of several friendly countries.
“This ceasefire was achieved as a result of the facilitation of several friendly countries, which contacted us with a message of de-escalation. The portrayal of Pakistan as seeking a ceasefire in despair and frustration is yet another blatant lie,” the foreign office said.
“The Pahalgam attack is being exploited without credible evidence to malign Pakistan, justify military adventurism by contriving a casus belli, serve domestic political objectives, deflect attention from rising communal tensions, human rights violations in Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir, and reinforce a manufactured narrative of a perpetual external threat.”
Despite the war of words, the ceasefire has spurred talks between military officials from both sides to hammer out operational details. An initial post-ceasefire meeting yielded an agreement to uphold the truce and scale back troop deployments along the international border, with a second round of discussions expected soon.
The Foreign Office slammed Modi’s speech as “a dangerous escalation rooted in misinformation, political opportunism, and a blatant disregard for international law”.
“At a time when international efforts are being made for regional peace and stability, this statement represents a dangerous escalation rooted in misinformation, political opportunism, and a blatant disregard for international law,” the foreign office said. “This statement also reflects a propensity to fabricate misleading narratives to justify aggression.”
The Foreign Office said India’s actions following “unlawful and unprovoked aggression” had pushed the region to the brink of disaster.
“India recklessly provoked the situation further by targeting Pakistan’s military bases, risking an uncontrollable escalatory spiral,” the statement said, adding that New Delhi was attempting to normalize “the cold-blooded murder of innocent civilians” as “the new normal” for the region.
“The “normal” remains that no one will be allowed to challenge the principles and purposes of the UN Charter, as amply demonstrated by Pakistan in resolutely defending its sovereignty, territorial integrity, as well as the security of its people,” it added.
The statement said Pakistan will monitor Indian actions in the coming days, and it will not allow anyone to challenge its sovereignty. “Make no mistake, we will closely monitor India’s actions and behaviour in this regard in the coming days. We also urge the international community to do the same.”
The violence erupted between the nuclear arch-rivals after India launched nighttime air raids on May 6-7 in retaliation for what New Delhi called Pakistan’s involvement in a militant attack in Pahalgam, occupied Kashmir that killed 26 people. Islamabad denied the allegation and condemned the strikes as “unprovoked and reprehensible dastardly attacks,” accusing India of targeting civilians in Punjab.
Pakistan responded with missile strikes under Operation Bunyanum Marsoos, triggering a cycle of aerial and artillery exchanges that stretched across the region. A US-brokered ceasefire is struggling to contain the deadliest military escalation between the rivals in nearly a decade.
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