In a sharp response to Indian prime minister Narendra Modi’s reported resolve to retaliate militarily over any terrorist attacks, Pakistan’s military has warned that any Indian aggression would be met with decisive force — beginning with strikes deep inside India, reports the Express Tribune on Friday.
In an interview with The Economist, Inter-Services Public Relations Director General Lieutenant General Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry rubbished rumours that Army Chief Field Marshal Asim Munir might be positioning himself for the presidency.
When asked how Pakistan would react if India repeated any act of aggression, Lieutenant General Chaudhry, the chief military spokesperson, warned that India must understand it could be struck anywhere by Pakistan.
Lt Gen Chaudhry said that Pakistan would begin by striking deeper within India. ‘This time, we’ll start from the east of India,’ he said. ‘They India also need to understand that they can be struck everywhere,’ he added.
Lt Gen Chaudhry’s remarks came in the wake of rising Indian rhetoric and accusations. The statement marks one of the strongest retaliatory warnings from Pakistan’s military in recent times and comes amid heightened tensions between the two nuclear-armed neighbours.
Earlier in May, Pakistan and India engaged in a four-day military confrontation, triggered by an attack in April on tourists in Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir, which New Delhi blamed on Islamabad.
In response to India’s missile strikes on civilian targets inside Pakistan, the country’s armed forces launched a large-scale retaliatory military action — named Operation Bunyanum Marsoos — targeting several Indian military positions across multiple regions.
Pakistan downed six Indian fighter jets, including three Rafales, and dozens of drones. After at least 87 hours, the war between the two nuclear-armed nations ended on May 10 with a ceasefire brokered by the US.
The success of Operation Bunyanum Marsoos has been praised as a ‘historic military victory’. The operation was also hailed during a federal cabinet meeting chaired by prime minister Shehbaz Sharif. Following the victory, Field Marshal Munir’s stature rose significantly both at home and abroad.
