Former president General Pervez Musharraf on Thursday said Pakistan needs to incite those fighting in Kashmir, India Today reported.
“We have source (in Kashmir) besides the (Pakistan) army…People in Kashmir are fighting against (India). We just need to incite them,” Musharraf told a TV channel.
Musharraf, who assumed power in 1999 soon after the Kargil conflict as hostilities erupted between Indian and Pakistani troops in the area, claimed that the Pakistan army is ready for war with India. But He cautioned India against any misadventure.
“India should not be under the illusion that Pakistan will not hit back,” he warned.
“In Kashmir, we can fight with the (Indian) army from both the front and back…We are Muslims. We will not show the other cheek when we are slapped. We can respond tit for tat,” he said, while commenting on the recent firing along the Line of Control and working boundary.
At least 12 people have been killed since India resorted to ‘unprovoked’ firing on the border. The Pakistan Army has repeatedly affirmed that they have replied “befittingly” to the heavy firing and mortar shelling. However, the government has called for the matter to be resolved through dialogue between the two nuclear-armed neighbours.
Ceasefire violations on the Line of Control (LoC) and working boundary between India and Pakistan although common have been unusual in their intensity and frequency this time.
The former army chief explained that external aggression happens only when the country remains weak internally.
“If we remain strong internally, no one can dare to target us,” he asserted.
Musharraf also lashed out at Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi. However, he did not only reserve his criticism for the Hindu-nationalist leader, censuring Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif for attending Modi’s swearing-in ceremony in New Delhi in May this year.
“Modi is anti-Muslim and anti-Pakistan. He has not changed. The problem is with us… We are running to attend his (Modi) inauguration, we should keep our dignity.”
