News Desk |
On Tuesday, Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi made it clear that Pakistan’s citizens and its armed forces are on high alert, and competent enough to defend every nook and cranny of their motherland. While speaking to a private TV channel, he strongly condemned the intrusion of the Indian military aircraft that violated the Line of Control and ventured in from the Muzaffarabad region, FM Qureshi stated, “Pakistan is surrounded by clouds of peril and the aggression is visible to us”.
“An aggressive political entity is hell-bent on threatening regional peace and stability to fulfill their political ambitions”, he asserted. “India’s leaders have become agitated and unnerved in pursuit of their political ambitions”, Qureshi hoped that “better sense would triumph in New Delhi”.
FM Qureshi urged the people of Pakistan to not be anxious by this act of violation from the Indian air force and assured that Pakistan’s defenses are powerful and well-prepared to give a strong response to Indian misadventures. “Pakistan knows how to defend itself”.
Foreign Secretary Vijay Gokhale conducted a “3-minute long” press conference to inform the Indian nation and confirm the LoC violation. “India struck the biggest JeM training camp in Balakote today.
Qureshi asserted that Pakistan is a “peace-loving nation” that has managed to attain paramount achievements in fighting terrorism. “We are a responsible nation, and we will step forward with wisdom, responsibility, and patience.”
Foreign Minister Qureshi held a consultative meeting at the Foreign Office and informed that at 11 pm on Tuesday, a meet will be held at PM House to brief Prime Minister Imran Khan with “minute-by-minute details” of the developments.
After the consultative meeting at the Foreign Office, FM Shah Mehmood Qureshi addressed the media and commented on the upheaval resulting from Indian intrusion. “We kept on informing the international community that such an incident could happen. Indian has initiated by carrying out an act of aggression Pakistan, and it is a gross violation of the Line of Control (LoC)”
Read more: Indian defense ministry unaware of LoC violation
“Pakistan has the right of self-defense and the right to providing India a befitting response for its aggression”, warned FM Qureshi. He informed that PM Imran Khan has summoned a meeting to discuss the current situation in the aftermath of India’s violation of the LoC.
India Claims “Heavy Casualties in the Attack on Biggest JeM Camp”
On Tuesday, Indian Foreign Secretary Vijay Gokhale confirmed the LoC violation and stated that the Indian security forces had undertaken a “non-military pre-emptive action against the biggest camp of Jaish-e-Mohammad in Balakote”.
Foreign Secretary Vijay Gokhale conducted a “3-minute long” press conference to inform the Indian nation and confirm the LoC violation. “India struck the biggest JeM training camp in Balakote today. The strikes specifically targeted the camp of JeM and made sure there are no civilian casualties”.
Prior to this statement by Foreign Secretary Vijay Gokhale, the Indian Defence Ministry had denied knowledge of any cross border airstrike into Pakistan.
As per the press statement shared by Scroll India, Gokhale alleged, “In an intelligence-led operation in the early hours of today, India struck the biggest training camp of JeM in Balakot. In this operation, a very large number of JeM terrorists, trainers, senior commanders and groups of jihadis who were being trained for fidayeen action were eliminated. This facility at Balakot was headed by Maulana Yusuf Azhar, alias Ustad Ghouri, the brother-in-law of Masood Azhar”
The press statement further purported, “Credible intelligence was received that JeM was attempting another suicide terror attack in various parts of the country, and the fidayeen jihadis were being trained for this purpose.” Gokhale asserted that faced with such “imminent danger” it was “absolutely necessary” for India to launch a “preemptive strike”. Gokhale hastily concluded the 3-minute press conference and failed to take any questions.
Read more: Indian aircraft violate LoC, forced back by timely response: DG ISPR
Prior to this statement by Foreign Secretary Vijay Gokhale, the Indian Defence Ministry had denied knowledge of any cross border airstrike into Pakistan.
Pakistan Responds to India’s “Preemptive Strike”
Speaking to Dunya News, senior anchor Kamran Khan commented on Indian media’s “laughable” claims of an attack on JeM camps. “They claim that JeM camps have been attacked, launch pads have been attacked-these stories and news reports are baseless and laughable-it is difficult not to laugh at such reports. Indian media cannot reap much success with these fallacious reports, and we expected them to air more fabrications on this event in the future. ”
This is yet another drama, and we want to send across a strong message that entire Pakistan stands in solitary with its armed forces.
While addressing the national assembly today, PMLN leader, Khawaja Asif stressed that it is important for all political parties to be unified and unanimous against Indian intrusion. “It is important for all political parties to stand by its armed forces in the face of this aggression.”
Speaking to a private news channel, PTI’s Provincial Minister Punjab Fayyaz ul Hassan Chohan shed light on the cowardice and fear that forced the Indian aircraft to be chased out of Pakistan’s air space. “After entering our air space, the Indians aircraft and their pilots were engulfed with fear as soon as they realized that PAF fighter jets have surrounded them. Their cowardice and fear can be assessed from the fact that they even dropped their payload to increase their speed and get out of our air space. Instead of combatting our fighter jets, they chose to run in haste.”
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Chohan further added, “This is their standard attitude which was also observed during their dramatization of a supposed surgical soil that they claimed to have conducted in Pakistan, making a fool out of the international community and Indian nation. This is yet another drama, and we want to send across a strong message that entire Pakistan stands in solitary with its armed forces. If the Modi-led government forces us to go to war just to win the upcoming election, they will be given a befitting response”.
Mina Jahangir with additional input by News Desk.