ISLAMABAD: Pakistan, on Thursday, condemned in strongest terms the irresponsible and provocative statement reportedly made by Indian home minister threatening so-called “surgical strikes” in Pakistan, and warned the neighbouring country of a swift response to any aggression.

“This delusional statement only goes to further demonstrate the BJP-RSS combine’s propensity to stoke regional tensions for both ideological reasons and political expediency, based on enmity towards Pakistan,” Foreign Office spokesperson Asim ftikhar Ahmad said in a response to the statement.

He said that such statements also serve as smokescreens to divert world attention from India’s state-terrorism and systematic human rights violations in the Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK), and against Muslims and other minorities in India.

He said that Pakistan has repeatedly drawn the attention of the international community to India’s sinister designs of staging “false flag” operations to implicate Pakistan and Kashmiris.

“While Pakistan is a peace-loving country, we will spare no effort in resolutely thwarting any aggressive designs,” the spokesperson warned, adding that Pakistan’s swift response to India’s Balakot misadventure in 2019, including the downing of Indian combat aircraft and capture of Indian Air Force pilot, fully demonstrated the will, capacity and preparedness of our armed forces to deter Indian aggression.

According to Indian media reports, the Indian home minister had claimed that “there used to be talks when India’s border came under attack, but now Delhi gives a befitting reply to terrorist attacks.”

“The surgical strike under Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and former defence minister Manohar Parrikar was an important step. We sent out a message that no one can disturb India’s borders. There was a time for talks, but now is the time to reciprocate,” the minister further claimed.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2021