Director General (DG) Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) Lieutenant General Asim Bajwa on Saturday said Pakistan Army had made it clear that India should not be under any illusion that it can invade its territory because the forces know how to protect every inch of it. Speaking to journalists in Bhimber sector of Azad Jammu and Kashmir, Bajwa said Pakistan Army caused heavy casualties on the Indian side of the border when the forces retaliated cross-border firing by Indian forces, which killed two Pakistani soldiers.
He said the armed forces of Pakistan will do whatever it takes to protect the motherland adding that Indian soldiers indeed lost many lives during unprovoked firing at the Line of Control (LoC), which they falsely declared as 'surgical strike'. Initially, the Indian army was not accepting the loss of lives at their end, said the chief of Pakistan Army's media wing. "We are certain they have suffered casualties. But why they are not admitting this is a question which needs to be put to them," he said.
Dismissing once again Indian Army's claims of carrying out a 'surgical strike' in Pakistan on Thursday, Lieutenant General Bajwa said: "We will do whatever we can to protect Pakistan." The press briefing was organised so that "Indian lies could be revealed," he said.
The ISPR chief also took media representatives to the Line of Control at Baghsir, 20 kilometers from Bhimber, to show the situation on ground. According to sources, the area is such that infiltration by Indian forces is impossible and the area is monitored in such a way that even movement of wildlife does not go undetected. Pakistan's permanent representative to the United Nations, Maleeha Lodhi, met Ban at UN headquarters in New York overnight to ask the veteran diplomat to intervene personally.
Ban called on "both sides to exercise maximum restraint and take immediate steps to de-escalate the situation", a statement from his spokesman said after the meeting. The UN chief said India and Pakistan should address differences through diplomacy and dialogue, and offered to mediate. "His good offices are available, if accepted by both sides," the UN spokesman said. Speaking to media persons, Lodhi said: "The time has come for bold intervention by him if we are to avoid a crisis, because we can see a crisis building up."