AS influential and vocal members of the international community are emphasizing the need for de-escalation, India is persisting with its provocative and aggressive posture, forcing Pakistan to reaffirm its resolve to defend its sovereignty and territorial integrity at all costs.
During his telephonic conversation with the US Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Thursday, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said that Pakistan has the right to act in self-defence in accordance with Article 51 of the UN Charter.
Strongly condemning India’s missile and drone strikes that killed 31 innocent civilians, injured 57 others and damaged civilian infrastructures, he pointed out that India’s attacks had violated Pakistan’s sovereignty and territorial integrity, while gravely jeopardizing peace and stability in the South Asia region.
In an escalatory move, India has started using Israeli made drones in line with its objective of terrorizing people of Pakistan and spreading panic and fear among them, forgetting that each and every citizen is spirited to face every challenge and foil designs of the enemy.
At least three people lost their lives and seven, including four soldiers, sustained injuries as Pakistan intercepted and destroyed as many as 25 Indian drones that had intruded into its airspace across the country.
According to the Inter-Service Public Relations (ISPR), the Pakistan Army, using their soft-kill (technical) and hard-kill (weapons) skills fully, to shoot down these Indian drones.
The locations where these drones were neutralized included Lahore, Attock, Gujranwala, Chakwal, Rawalpindi, and Bahawalpur in Punjab, as well as Sukkur, Umerkot and Karachi in Sindh.
In a statement, the ISPR said after the destruction of its five modern jets, drones and several posts, as well as soldier deaths, India is attacking Pakistan using these drones in panic.
The scale at which these drones have been used and the professionalism demonstrated by Pakistan defence forces is a clear demonstration of India’s jingoism and Pakistan’s preparedness to take on every challenge thrown by a cowardly enemy.
This was yet another manifestation of the fact that Pakistan defence forces are properly trained in using modern technologies and countering each and every move of the enemy.
However, the very fact that instead of responding to the calls for restraint, India is continuing with its plans to inflict losses on innocent people and civilian infrastructure within Pakistan, which will surely prompt the relevant authorities to respond in kind.
It was because of this grave escalation that Defence Minister Khawaja Muhammad Asif warned that these (drone) strikes make a Pakistani response to India increasingly certain.
From the very beginning of the prevailing tension, India is relying heavily on falsehood.
It started levelling baseless allegations against Pakistan within minutes of the Pahalgam attack and now it claimed that Pakistan targeted 15 Indian cities with drones and missiles.
Pakistan will definitely give a befitting response to the dastardly act of aggression against civilian population but not in a vague manner.
Rejecting Indian claim, which is aimed at fabricating evidence to justify its military actions against Pakistan, the ISPR chief has warned that any retaliatory strike by Pakistan would be so decisive and resounding that its reverberations would be felt around the world.
“When Pakistan strikes, it will be unmistakable and undeniable.
You won’t need the media to explain — the impact will speak for itself,” he stated during his joint news conference with Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar.
The claim about the Indian air defence system’s ability to neutralize fifteen projectiles fired by Pakistan is also questionable in the backdrop of the reality that this system miserably failed to protect its own aircraft.
The propaganda is understandably aimed at satisfying the domestic public opinion, which has started questioning professionalism of the Indian armed forces.
In fact, India is using dirty tactics to influence the local public opinion as confirmed by authentic reports it deliberately targeted Amritsar with projectiles and missiles in a calculated move to incite anti-Pakistan sentiments within the Sikh community.
Responding to the Indian allegation, Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar has categorically stated that Pakistan has no intention to endanger civilian population in east Punjab.
Pakistan Foreign Office has also has strongly denied the Indian claims that Pakistan launched attacks in Pathankot, Jaisalmer and Srinagar, calling the allegations “baseless and irresponsible” and “politically motivated”, adding the “reckless propaganda campaign” is designed to damage Pakistan’s image and stir up tensions in the region.
Intriguingly, all this is happening in the backdrop of reports that national security advisors of the two countries had a contact after India attacked Pakistan.
India’s NSA Ajit Doval told his foreign counterparts his country has no intention to escalate but multiple drone attacks on highly populated cities of Pakistan exposes real intentions and designs of New Delhi.
What an irony that India claims its strikes targeted “terrorist camps” that served as ‘recruitment centres, launch-pads and indoctrination centres and housed weapons and training facilities’ but the entire world including local and foreign media witnessed destruction of places of worship and martyrdom of children and women in these strikes.
Apart from others, members of the UN Military Observer Group for India and Pakistan (UNMOGIP) visited the mosque struck by Indian missiles in Muzaffarabad’s Shawai area – killing three people including its 80-year-old caretaker.
Shamefully, India also targeted hydropower projects in Azad Kashmir and together with its unilateral suspension of the Indus Basin Treaty and release of excessive water in Chenab speak volumes about its designs.
It is quite obvious that water being a lifeline for agrarian Pakistan, it cannot close its eyes to such hostile actions and will surely go to any extent to safeguard its legitimate interests as also guaranteed by the international law.
Pakistan, as before, welcomes all moves aimed at de-escalation but it is for the world community to see that the other side is not interested in peace and instead wants to terrorize Pakistan.
The entire world is witness that Pakistan is not an aggressor and there is growing acknowledgement of its legitimate rights.
People of Pakistan are thankful to the Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, who has once again demonstrated his love and affection for the country by making a telephone call to Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, expressing complete solidarity with Pakistan.
Statements of various world leaders and capitals clearly show an understanding of Pakistan’s point of view including its demand for a transparent international probe into the Pahalgam incident and highlight Pakistan’s successful diplomatic offensive aimed at exposing India’s real agenda.
