Pakistan won’t tolerate violation of territorial integrity: DPM Dar

Deputy Prime Minister Ishaq Dar has said that Pakistan will respond and will not allow any breach of its territorial integrity, regardless of whether the country involved is the smallest or the largest.

“We have strong army, air force and navy. And we can beat if we are challenged,” the foreign minister emphasised. He made these remarks during an interview with Al-Jazeera.

When asked about the Israeli attack on Qatar and whether Pakistan could be next, the deputy prime minister mentioned that according to our information Israel provided full support to India in recent conflict with Pakistan.

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He said the world saw the events (of war earlier this year) and all the claims got exposed. The (self-claimed) hegemony is buried, he said, adding that Pakistan was pushed into the war and what we did, was in self-defence.

“Pakistan believes in peace and does not want any destabilisation in the region. Pakistan desires peaceful relations with all its neighbours including India,” he said. However, he pointed to credible evidence of the involvement of certain countries in terrorist attacks inside Pakistan, stressing that such actions are unacceptable.

FM Dar reaffirmed Pakistan’s commitment to wipe out terrorism. He said Pakistan is the biggest victim of terrorism. “We have suffered the most, still finger is pointed on Pakistan which is not fair,” he asserted.

Describing the Israeli aggression against Qatar uncalled for, the deputy prime minister said it is unfortunate that the international law, international humanitarian rules and the resolutions of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) and the UN Security Council seem to have no effect on one country.

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He stressed the need for reforms within the UN system and called for a roadmap along with concrete measures outlining the course of action to be taken if Israel does not halt its aggression.

In the interview, the foreign minister said: “Merely condemning the Israeli attacks is not enough and that a clear course of action must be adopted against it. He added that Israeli provocations make it clear Israel does not want peace, and the world must now take steps to halt Israel’s actions.”

Deputy Prime Minister Dar also called for an immediate and unconditional ceasefire in Gaza and unhindered flow of humanitarian assistance to the Palestinian people.

To a query, he said Pakistan’s nuclear weapon was for deterrence against hostile countries.