Fully Prepared for India's Aggression, Says Pakistan Foreign Office

Islamabad: Pakistan on Thursday said that it was fully prepared to defend itself in case of any "aggression" by India and asked New Delhi to stop blaming it without any concrete evidence.

Foreign Office spokesman Dr Mohammad Faisal made the comment while addressing a media briefing.

“If India is bent upon aggression, Pakistan is fully capable of defending itself. The Pakistani nation should not be taken for granted by anyone. If India wants peace then it should refrain from aggressive rhetoric with the sole objective of securing electoral wins,” he said.

He said India has a "kneejerk" tendency to assign unilateral blame without evidence and it also blamed Pakistan for “spy pigeons and worse” but Pakistan strongly rejects the allegations.

He said a similar tendency was shown after Sunjuwan camp attack and certain Indian police and defence officials, and media insinuated against Pakistan.

A group of heavily armed Jaish-e-Mohammad terrorists struck the sprawling camp of the 36 brigade of Jammu and Kashmir Light Infantry in the early hours on February 10, triggering a gunbattle. Seven people were killed in the attack.

He also rejected the comments of Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman by saying that "the familiar tendency of apportioning blame on Pakistan, without concrete evidence, is regrettable".

Sitharaman had blamed Pakistan for the terror attack at the Sunjuwan Military Camp and made it clear that it will pay the price for the "misadventure".

“We have repeatedly seen India arrogating to itself the role of judge, jury and executioner. The reflex assignment of blame and smear campaigns, based on unfounded allegations, carry no credibility,” Faisal said.

To a question, he defended the regular summoning of Indian deputy high commissioner over LoC violations which he said was part of “responsibility of Pakistan is to effectively and emphatically defend its borders, be they physical, diplomatic, political or intellectual.”

He also said Pakistan does not support any move by foreign states to interfere in the internal affairs of the Maldives and influence its upcoming elections.

"We believe that the internal affairs of Maldives should be solved internally in consultation with all the stakeholders. The sovereignty and territorial integrity of Maldives should be respected by all," he said.