Prime Minister Imran Khan, addressing the nation on Tuesday, warned India of retaliation in the event of any aggressive military measures by New Delhi following Indian allegations of Islamabad’s involvement in the Pulwama attack.
“Pakistan will not think about retaliation, we will retaliate. You will leave us with no other option,” said the premier as he referred to growing voices in the Indian government and media asking for punitive military measures against Islamabad.
The PM further said Pakistan has nothing to gain from carrying out the attack, given that they were planning and hosting such an important state visit.
“It is in our country’s interest that no one uses Pakistan to carry out terrorist attack. What would Pakistan gain from this, when we are working towards a stable country?”, he asked.
PM Imran further asked India to share any evidence the country may have collected regarding who carried out the attack. “If you have evidence that someone from Pakistan is involved, we will take action because if someone is using our soil to carry such attacks out, they are against Pakistan. We don’t want any terrorism in the region.”
At least 44 Indian security personnel in Indian-occupied Kashmir were killed in a car bomb attack on a security convoy on which was the worst in decades of insurgency in the held territory.
The responsibility of the deadly attack was reportedly claimed by the banned Jaish-e-Muhammad. India, however, took no time in pointing a finger at Pakistan.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi said the country would give a ‘strong reply’ to those behind the Kashmir attack as New Delhi withdrew the Most Favoured Nation (MFN) trade status given to Pakistan.
Islamabad has strongly rejected the Indian allegations because these were made within a short time from the attack and without carrying out any investigations.
