PAKISTAN on Sunday strongly condemned and categorically rejected what it called the “highly inflammatory, baseless and irresponsible” remarks made by Indian External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar regarding Pakistan’s defence forces, terming them “misleading and unacceptable”.
In a sharply worded response, the Foreign Office (FO) said Pakistan believes in co-existence, dialogue and diplomacy, but remains united and resolute in its intent and ability to protect its national interests and sovereignty. Jaishankar had alleged in an interview that India’s core challenges “emanate from Pakistan’s military establishment,” further accusing Pakistan’s Army of fostering ideological hostility towards India.
India’s diabolical remarks against Pakistan defence forces are quite understandable as these have stood firmly against Indian expansionism and designs to establish its superiority in the region. It is also a historical fact that the then Indian leadership did not accept the reality of Pakistan at the time of partition hoping the new Muslim State will crumble within months but that did not happen mainly due to the unwavering resolve of its defence forces to defend every inch of the motherland. India has always been involved in conspiracy to create a wedge between Pakistan defence forces and people of Pakistan besides indulging in malicious propaganda to paint the defenders of the country in bad light. It was in line with this policy that venomous propaganda is launched, time and again, against Pakistan’s nuclear programme as well as the premier intelligence agency, the ISI, which remains instrumental in foiling conspiracies of the enemy against the country. This is despite the fact that the nuclear programme of Pakistan was essentially in response to India’s war-mongering after detonation of its first nuclear device in 1974, which was ironically dubbed as ‘smiling Buddha’- in an attempt to hoodwink the international community by portraying the test a ‘peaceful nuclear explosion’. The same attitude was witnessed when New Delhi carried out the second round of tests in 1998, forcing Pakistan to go nuclear. Pakistan has always demonstrated its resolve to promote the universal principle of peaceful co-existence but India never reciprocated this gesture and instead carried out repeated aggression against the country and harmed its interests in different ways. This became evident in forceful occupation of Jammu and Kashmir in stark violation of principles of partitions, 1965 war, dismemberment of Pakistan in 1971, humiliating attitude adopted in the case of prisoners of war, numerous false flag operations to defame Pakistan in the context of terrorism and the latest war in May this year when it got an unforgettable lesson at the hands of brave and vigilant defence forces of Pakistan. The very purpose of maintaining defence forces all over the world is aimed at defending their motherlands and Pakistan defence forces have done nothing except to fulfill their mandated responsibilities by forcing the aggressor to lick the ground. The May 2025 conflict vividly demonstrated the professionalism of Pakistan’s defence forces and their resolve to defend the motherland and its people against any Indian aggression in a befitting, effective, yet responsible manner. No amount of propaganda can belie this truth. The FO spokesperson rightly pointed out that the Indian Minister’s assertions were part of a sustained propaganda campaign aimed at diverting global attention from India’s destabilizing activities in the region and its state-sponsored terrorism inside Pakistan. As asserted by the spokesperson, Pakistan is a responsible state and all its institutions, including the defence forces, remain a cornerstone of national security, dedicated to safeguarding the country’s sovereignty and territorial integrity. With the full backing of the people of Pakistan, its defence forces will surely continue to discharge their duties to counter threats to the security and defence of the country.
