With tensions escalating with India, the Islamic nation has moved artillery regiments from Sialkot and deployed F-16 fighter jets to guard Islamabad and Rawalpindi.
Islamabad: Pakistan's Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar has said that Pakistan will not strike India first but reserves the right to retaliate. While speaking in the Senate on the recent tensions with India on April 29, Dar warned “there'll be tit-for-tat” in case India resorts to any “escalatory move”.
Ishaq Dar also mentioned that there were “intel reports” which indicate that India is considering an “escalatory move”. His statement came as tensions between India and Pakistan escalated following a terror attack in Pahalgam, Jammu and Kashmir, on April 22. At least 26 people, mostly tourists, were killed when terrorists opened fire in Pahalgam.
Sharing details of Pakistan’s diplomatic overtures following the escalation in the aftermath of the Pahalgam attack, Ishaq Dar said he spoke with the foreign ministers of Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, China, the United Kingdom, Turkiye, Azerbaijan, Kuwait, Bahrain, and Hungary. “I walked them through what happened...," Ishaq Dar was quoted by Dawn as saying.
Pakistan's Federal Minister for Information and Broadcasting Attaullah Tarar said on April 30 that Pakistan "has credible intelligence that India intends to carry out military action against Pakistan in the next 24 to 36 hours on the pretext of baseless and concocted allegations of involvement in the Pahalgam incident."
Tarar said Pakistan itself has been a victim of terrorism and has condemned all forms of such violence. “Being a responsible state, Pakistan open-heartedly offered a credible, transparent and independent investigation by a neutral commission of experts to ascertain the truth,” Tarar wrote on X.
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Ceasefire violations continue Pakistani troops violated the ceasefire along the Line of Control (LoC) in Jammu and Kashmir for the fifth straight night, with the Indian Army responding in a "measured and effective" manner, officials said on April 29. The firing, which came amid increasing tensions between India and Pakistan following last week's terror attack in Pahalgam, took place near areas opposite Kupwara and Baramulla districts, and the Akhnoor sector. The Pakistani soldiers have been firing at different Indian positions along the LoC since last week. There have so far been no reports of any casualties. |
