THE military’s top brass warned India on Wednesday that any “imaginary new normal” its leadership might be entertaining about bilateral dynamics would be met with a “new normal of swift retributive response”.
The statement from the army leadership, released after the 272nd Corps Commanders’ Conference (CCC) held at General Headquarters (GHQ), comes in the wake of last week’s provocative remarks by top Indian civil-military leadership. The forum pledged to counter any Indian aggression with a swift and decisive response, shattering any perceived notion of India’s relative safety accruing from geography.
The warning is understandable as India seems to be bent upon doing another mischief as is evident from highly provocative statements emanating from New Delhi. In a video circulated on social media, Prime Minister Narendra Modi vowed to take revenge for the defeat his country suffered at the hands of Pakistan in the short war of May 2025. Indian Army Chief General Upendra Dwivedi had warned Pakistan that it must stop state-sponsored terrorism if it wanted to retain its place on the globe. He had said that Indian forces would “not show any restraint this time”, potentially hinting at another military incursion. The Pakistan military had issued a strong response to the remarks and warned that any future conflict with India could lead to “cataclysmic devastation” and the country would “resolutely respond, without any qualms or restraint”. It had said that “those seeking to establish a new normal must know that Pakistan has established a new normal of response, which will be swift, decisive and destructive”. In this backdrop, the army leadership has done well in conveying a strong message that any misadventure will be given a befitting response as did the defence forces in May. As India has a disillusion about its strategic depth, the CCC made it clear that this will not be an advantage, in any form, for the war mongers. Indian leadership is in the habit of Pakistan-bashing for the sake of domestic political gains forgetting that such rhetoric has serious repercussions for peace and security of the region. As against this, the record shows Pakistani leadership never hurled threats and instead demonstrated its peaceful intentions by repeatedly offering substantive talks to India, a gesture, which was never reciprocated by New Delhi in the same spirit. The meeting rightly pointed out that unwarranted warmongering is likely to lead to heightened tensions and will endanger regional peace and security. India must pay heed to warnings by Pakistan as miscalculations cast India heavily in the May war and it will surely repent in case of another misadventure.
The deliberations of the army commanders are also a source of satisfaction for people of Pakistan in the backdrop of almost daily threats being hurled by New Delhi, stoking possibilities of another aggression against the country. These showed that the military was fully alive to the challenges to the security of the motherland and prepared, as before, to meet them in a professional manner. It is also relevant to note that during the conference, COAS Asim Munir directed the commanders to ensure the highest standards of operational readiness, discipline, physical fitness, innovation and responsiveness. He expressed full confidence in the operational preparedness of the Pakistan Army to counter threats across the entire spectrum, from conventional and sub-conventional, to hybrid and asymmetric threats. Differences of opinion are normal in a democratic polity but the entire nation is one when it comes to defending the country. They demonstrated this spirit during the May conflict and they stand shoulder-to-shoulder with their defence forces in foiling designs of the enemy again. Apart from preparations to counter any aggression, our leadership and the Foreign Office should also sensitize the international community about renewed threats to regional peace due to the belligerent posture of India.
