Each act of aggression receives a quick, determined and intense response that will be remembered by posterity.
Pakistani Rangers (right) and Indian Border Security Force personnel take part in the daily flag-lowering ceremony at their joint border post at Wagah, near Lahore. PHOTO:REUTERS
Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) has issued a statement addressing rhetoric recently spread by Indian leaders that mimics “Bollywood-style scripts.” The military has stated that such “jingoism” and “unnecessary chest-beating” could endanger peace and stability in South Asia.
“Indian military and political leaders level allegations of terrorism against Pakistan, which Islamabad has repeatedly refuted. “The lies being hurled at the Indian public and international audience have made the Indian military machinery a laughingstock.”
According to the Indian newspaper Hindu, Lt. Gen. Ghai claimed that more than 100 Pakistani soldiers were killed during May clashes along the Line of Control. The Indian official also repeated India’s claim that it had inflicted significant damage on Pakistani air bases and destroyed its air assets on the ground.
Read: Prime Minister declares ‘Youm-e-Marka-e-Haq’ on May 10 to commemorate the victory of the operation
“It is sad to see the military leadership of a nuclear-armed country issuing irresponsible statements under immense political pressure,” the ISPR said in response. “The world now recognizes India as the true face of cross-border terrorism and the epicenter of regional instability, inclined towards adventurism and hegemonism to the detriment of its people and neighbors.”
The ISPR suggested there is a pattern to this type of rhetoric, which emerges every time an election approaches on the calendar. “It has been noted with grave concern that five months after Marka-e-Haq, in the run-up to elections in Bihar and West Bengal, Indian military leaders have started parroting the same delusional, fabricated and provocative propaganda that they regurgitate before every state election in India.”
“The Indian Armed Forces and their political masters must realize that the people of Pakistan and their Armed Forces are fully capable and committed to defending every inch of our territory with complete resolve. Every act of aggression will be met with a swift, resolute and intense response that will be remembered by posterity.”
Read more: Pakistan and India agree to immediate ceasefire
The May conflict began after an attack on a Hindu tourist in Jammu and Kashmir, illegally occupied by India, which New Delhi, without providing any relevant evidence, attributed to Islamabad. Islamabad firmly rejected the allegation and called for an independent investigation.
Following India’s deadly airstrikes in Punjab and Azad Jammu and Kashmir on May 7, Pakistan said it had shot down five Indian aircraft in aerial combat, later increasing the number to seven. After both countries carried out retaliatory attacks against each other’s air bases, US mediation on May 10 led to a ceasefire.
Islamabad denied losing any aircraft and said it had attacked 26 Indian targets in response to attacks on its three air bases.
