Prime Minister Imran Khan announced on Thursday that Indian pilot Abhi Nandan, who was captured on Wednesday, will be released today (Friday) to de-escalate tensions with the arch-rival neighbour. "As a peace gesture, we will be releasing the Indian pilot tomorrow," he said while addressing a joint sitting of Parliament.
Pakistan Air Force shot down two Indian fighter jets on Wednesday for crossing the Line of Control (LoC) and captured the pilot, Wing Commander Abhi Nandan, alive. The parliamentarians across the aisle greeted the Prime Minister's announcement of releasing the Indian fighter pilot with thumping desks.
The Prime Minister also revealed that he tried on Wednesday to speak with his Indian counterpart Narendra Modi on telephone as the escalation is not in interest of either Pakistan or India. In a policy statement, Khan said that India has sent a dossier on the Pulwama attack to Pakistan today (Thursday), two days after attacking Pakistan's sovereignty. "Could this not have been done earlier?" he asked while reiterating his offer of dialogue to India to resolve all outstanding issues.
Khan said that India has blamed Pakistan for the Pulwama attack without proof. "Shouldn't they be asking why a 19-year-old agreed to become a human bomb?" he asked, referring to the video of the Kashmiri youth who had claimed responsibility for the Pulwama attack.
"How long will Pakistan be blamed for everything in [the occupied] Kashmir and asked to take action without any proof?," he asked, saying that countries are ruined because of miscalculation. "War is not a solution. If India takes any action, we will have to retaliate," he made it clear again. The Prime Minister also urged India to do introspection of its policy of oppression in the occupied Kashmir.
"I have a feeling that the Indian public does not agree to the current government's warmongering. If their media had seen what our media have seen over the past 17 years, they would not have created this war hysteria," he said.
Explaining Pakistan's action against India, he said that Pakistan acted with restraint following the Balakot incident because it wanted to be absolutely sure it did not cause any damage beyond what had been inflicted on itself.
"The only purpose of our strike was to demonstrate our capability and will. We did not want to inflict any casualty on India as we wanted to act in a responsible manner," he said. Speaking on the floor of the House, Opposition leader Shehbaz Sharif lauded the Armed Forces for their retaliatory action against Indian Air Force planes.
"PAF fighters deserve praise. They have made the nation proud," he said, adding that it has been proven that Pakistan Armed Forces will defend every inch of this land and not hesitate from making any sacrifice. He also offered unconditional support to the government for territorial integrity and sovereignty of the country.
Talking about the Indian-occupied Kashmir, he urged the government to continue political, diplomatic and moral support to Kashmiris who have been facing the Indian oppression. "The situation in Occupied Kashmir is forcing residents to resist," he said, adding that it is India's age-old tactic to hold Pakistan responsible for Kashmiri resistance.
Sharif urged the government to take up the issue of invitation extended to India foreign minister to a meeting of Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) as a "guest of honour." Responding to this, Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi said that Pakistan's stance on the OIC event has been sent to the secretary general in writing. "I will present a copy of that letter to the Parliament," he added.
In a similar vein, Pakistan Peoples Party's lawmaker Raja Pervez Ashraf said that Pakistan does not want a war with India, but if it is imposed then they would fight till the last drop of blood. He said the House is reflecting emotions of the entire nation, adding that releasing captured Indian pilot is another positive move by Pakistan for peace.
"The Armed Forces of Pakistan deserve immense tribute as they responded (to Indian aggression) while at the same time avoided escalation," he said, adding that two nuclear-armed states standing in front of each other are dangerous for world peace.
He also said that Pakistan should register strong protest with the OIC. "We should not boycott the OIC; rather, we should send our delegation to them. We should inform our friends and convince them," he added. Minister for Railways Sheikh Rashid Ahmad, Senator Raja Zafar-ul-Haq and Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal lawmaker Asad Mahmood also expressed their support to the Armed Forces in the face of Indian aggression.
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