Deputy Prime Minister Ishaq Dar on Monday said that at a time when both Pakistan and India had reached the brink of war, the former would never strike the latter. Addressing a seminar in Islamabad, Dar, who is also the country’s foreign minister (FM), however, said that the country’s armed forces were fully alert and would give a befitting reply to India in the event of aggression by the latter. “Already, the Indian jets have tried to enter Pakistan’s airspace, but we forced them to retreat within minutes.”

He further said that for Pakistan, the suspension of the Indus Waters Treaty by India amounted to a declaration of war. He said categorically that Pakistan would not allow India to deprive it of a single drop of water. Dar requested the international community to take immediate notice of the situation in the region.  Asserting that Pakistan was against terrorism in all its forms and manifestations, the deputy PM said that the country could not even think of allowing militants to use its soil to carry out attacks in another country. “We have always talked about peace in the world,” he added. 

He stressed the need for resolving the issues of Kashmir and Palestine, saying they could not be put in cold storage.  Dar accused India of carrying out a false flag operation in Pahalgam to divert the world’s attention from the separatist movements presently brewing in its several states. “An FIR was registered within 10 minutes of the incident and Pakistan was blamed for it without any investigation,” he said, adding, “By doing this, India has put the lives of billions of people in the region in jeopardy.”

Credit: Independent News Pakistan (INP)