Pakistan will refrain from military action if India stays calm: Asif
ISLAMABAD: Defence Minister Khawaja Asif has said that if India does not attack Pakistan, the latter will also refrain from military action.
In an interview with Russian media on Pak-India tension, Asif, however, said if India attacks, Pakistan will reply in the same coin. He further said Pakistan itself was a victim of terrorism and the Indian allegations that the country was involved in the incident had nothing to do with reality.
“We paid the price for supporting America against the Soviet Union. Pakistan does not want to increase the tension, nor does it want to take the initiative in any action,” he added.
He remarked that joining the Afghan war in the 1980s, under the influence of the West, was a mistake of past rulers.
The roots of terrorism in the region go back decades to policies adopted by Western countries, particularly the United States.
Khawaja Asif called Taliban “Indian agents” and added that New Delhi is preparing terror attacks on Pakistani soil.
He said that Pakistan possesses credible intelligence indicating India’s involvement in orchestrating attacks through the TTP.
“India is providing IEDs and other weaponry to TTP operatives, aiming to target key Pakistani cities,” he stated.
Khawaja Asif recalled that during the Ashraf Ghani administration in Afghanistan, India operated multiple consulates which were allegedly used to fund and arm terrorist groups.
“The current Indian government, under Modi, operates with the same extremist mindset that led to the Gujarat violence,” he added.
“Modi is himself a terrorist. The US and Canada accused Modi of committing terrorism, and he did not deny his involvement in subversive activities. India is involved in what is happening in Balochistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa,” he said.
Asif said Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has offered cooperation to India in holding an international inquiry with the support of several countries into the attack that triggered tensions between the two countries.
“We are ready to welcome any commission or committee formed to investigate this incident,” the minister said. Tensions have not yet eased, and we are facing an enemy that cannot be trusted, the defence minister said.
China is our neighbouring country, it understands what is going on in the region, the minister said, adding the PM has said that any country in the world could investigate the Pahalgam incident.
Asif also condemned India’s move to release additional flow of water into Pakistan on Saturday, which prompted the government in Pakistan-administered Kashmir to warn residents about potential flooding in its river Jhelum.
The Jhelum river flows from Indian-administered Kashmir into Azad Kashmir and then Pakistan’s Punjab province. India had announced this week it was suspending the decades-old Indus Waters Treaty, which regulates the flow of the six rivers of the Indus Basin between the two nations.
Suspension of the treaty means India can stop sharing crucial information and data on the release of water from barrages/dams or on flooding. “I would call it water terrorism,” he said. “Without any warning. So low-lying areas in Pakistan would be flooded, there will be destruction of crops, there will be destruction of populated areas,” he added.