Pakistan’s defence minister, Khawaja Muhammad Asif, asserted on Monday that an Indian military invasion was on the cards following a terror attack on tourists in Jammu and Kashmir’s Pahalgam last week that left 26 dead.
There has been heightened tension between the two nuclear-armed countries since the attack killed 26 and caused outrage in the nation. There have been numerous calls for action against Pakistan.
Pakistan Reinforces Forces Amid Rising Threat Perception
“We have reinforced our forces because it is something which is imminent now. So in that situation, some strategic decisions have to be taken, so those decisions have been taken,” Asif told Reuters in an interview at his office in Islamabad.
Asif told us India’s threat rhetoric was growing and that the military had presented the government with the potentiality of an Indian attack. He didn’t go further into explanation regarding his thinking an incursion was imminent.
Investigation Links Pahalgam Attack to Suspected Pakistani Militants
Following last week’s attack at Pahalgam, the probe indicated two suspected militants as Pakistani. Islamabad has condemned any involvement and requested a balanced inquiry.
Asif said Pakistan was on high alert and that it would only use its arsenal of nuclear weapons if “there is a direct threat to our existence”.
Shahbaz Sharif’s Neutral Inquiry Call
Against the backdrop of escalating tensions over the Pahalgam terror attack, Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Saturday asserted that Islamabad stands ready for a “neutral investigation” into the Pahalgam terror attack.
Speaking at a ceremony in a military academy in Abbottabad, Sharif stated, “Pakistan is open to participating in any neutral, transparent and credible investigation.” The appeal was attacked by J&K CM Omar Abdullah.
But he also maintained that Pakistani forces are “fully capable and prepared to defend the country’s sovereignty and its territorial integrity against any misadventure as clearly demonstrated by its measured yet resolute response to India’s reckless incursion in February 2019”.
