ISLAMABAD: In response to the firing of Brahmos missiles over several locations across the international border, Foreign Office said that Pakistan was constrained to retaliate to the unprovoked and unlawful Indian aggression in exercise of its right to self-defence under Article 51 of the UN Charter. Accordingly, Pakistan launched “Operation Bunyan-un-Marsoos” early Saturday, said FO spokesperson in a statement.
The Spokesperson remarked that only those entities and facilities were targeted which planned, coordinated, and executed blatant aggression against Pakistan and the cold-blooded killing of its innocent civilians. These targets also included those Indian airbases from where Pakistani airbases were subjected to unprovoked missile attacks. Irrefutable evidence in this regard has already been shared with the international community.
Pakistan and India have agreed to reach a ceasefire understanding. However, it is important to put the relevant developments in the right perspective.
Without a shred of evidence and disregarding Pakistan’s offer for a neutral, transparent and credible investigation by international investigators, India launched multiple strikes during the nights of 7-10 May 2025 which caused loss of innocent lives including women, children and the elderly. These indiscriminate attacks seriously injured dozens, in addition to causing damage to infrastructure, including places of worship, said Ambassador Shafqat Ali Khan.
As if the dastardly aggression during the intervening night of 6 and 7 May, breach of Pakistan’s sovereign airspace through firing of missiles and killer drones, and consequent human and material losses were already not grave enough, India further endangered the regional peace and stability by sending additional waves of killer drones in large numbers across the length and breadth of Pakistan, including the Federal Capital.
These killer drones/loitering munitions and missiles struck multiple civilian and military assets, inflicting further human and material losses and caused a great sense of insecurity among the Pakistani people, leading to heightened public demand for an immediate response in self-defence. Multiple missiles were also fired, targeting our air bases.
Despite facing blatant Indian aggression and persistent provocations, FO says Pakistan exercised great restraint. However, it was constrained to respond to ensure the safety and security of its people. Notwithstanding the incessant provocations, our response deliberately avoided civilian casualties and was precise, proportionate, minutely calibrated, and manifestly restrained.
This dangerous conflagration between two nuclear-armed states calls for deeper introspection and a holistic appraisal by the international community. Far from being a matter of deep-rooted historic differences between the two neighbouring states in the volatile region of South Asia, the conflict ought to be seen in the broader context of the competing geopolitical interests, Ambassador Shafqat added.
The negative impact of this competition has been a constant variable of the regional security paradigm. Hence, any casus belli of the conflict, contrived or actual, cannot be lumped onto any country without due understanding of the genesis and root causes of the problems leading to frequent regional conflicts which the region and the world can ill afford. Strategic instability in South Asia is a result of the unresolved Jammu and Kashmir dispute. This dispute has been aggravated by Indian suppression of the legitimate struggle of Kashmiris for the inalienable right to self-determination and falsely equating it with terrorism.
He said the scourge of terrorism and extremism is not intrinsic to South Asia. However, the undesirable and abhorrent debris of Cold War dynamics transformed the socio-political landscape and shattered regional peace.
India, probably sensing an opportunity in Pakistan’s overwhelming commitment to the fight against terrorism along the Western borders, has repeatedly attempted to exploit this perceived vulnerability by waging an intense hybrid campaign against Pakistan and orchestrating terrorism through proxies to destabilise it. India’s military provocations post-9/11 ought to be seen in the same light.
Surprisingly, FO said India’s bogey of Pakistan as the ‘epicentre’ of terrorism quickly resurfaces whenever Pakistan is close to decisively eliminating the menace of terrorism. This vicious cycle, going on for over two decades, must end now.
Pakistan urges the international community to restrain India from using the sham narrative of the so-called terrorism from Pakistan in order to secure sustainable peace. A forward-looking Pakistan needs support, not indifference from the international community. Pakistan is willing to engage in constructive diplomacy and comprehensive dialogue with India and seek resolution of all issues, including the Jammu and Kashmir Dispute, through peaceful means. The international community must also play its role in preventing further escalation.
All elements of national power remain committed to ensuring the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Pakistan. “Our Armed Forces are obligated to take all measures for defending the motherland, its citizens, and in contributing to securing Pakistan’s vital national interests,” he further asserted.
For the sake of regional peace and stability, Pakistan mounted a very responsible, proportionate, and mature response. It is aware of the disastrous consequences of further escalation between two nuclear states; it is absolutely inconceivable. Any propensity to tread this dangerous path is fraught with catastrophic consequences for the complete region and beyond; hence, such an approach ought to be avoided.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2025
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