Pakistan talks about peace, it is India who always spoke of wars: DG ISPR

RAWALPINDI: Director general ISPR, Major General Asif Ghafoor, on Wednesday said that it was India who always spoke of wars, while Pakistan talked about peace.

Talking to a private TV Channel,  Pakistan Army spokesman said: "India always opted for an escape route from [bilateral] talks," adding that problems would not be resolved by issuing threats of a war.

The DG ISPR, however, criticised New Delhi for its boasts of having conducted so-called 'surgical strikes' inside Pakistan.

He categorically stated, “Such strikes are not only held by mere words. A lie has no legs. Their own people do not support the surgical strikes’ claims as PM Modi has  not provided any evidence to them yet.”

He said that Pakistan is capable to respond any misadventure befittingly. “Not even a drone from enemy’s side can enter the boundary of Pakistan,” he asserted.

In September 2016, India claimed to have conducted surgical strikes in Azad Kashmir, saying that several terrorists were killed in the military action conducted inside Pakistani territory.

The claims were not only rebuffed by Pakistan and the international media, but they also prompted demands from some Indian politicians for New Delhi to substantiate them with evidence.

Major General Ghafoor said the new war is for progress, against ignorance, and for health, education and employment.

Asked about on-duty Indian spy Kulbhushan Jadhav who has been held by Pakistan, he said the International Court of Justice was to conduct a hearing of the case in some time.

The Pakistani military spokesman said that Jadhav's mercy plea was pending with Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Qamar Javed Bajwa.

Commander Jadhav — an Indian navy officer working for Indian covert agency Research and Analysis Wing (RAW) — was arrested on March 3, 2016, from Balochistan after he entered into Pakistan from Iran.

Jadhav was tried in a military court which sentenced him to death for espionage and subversive activities.

Speaking of military courts in the country, the DG ISPR said it would be the government's call if these courts were still required in the country.

Commenting on elections in the country, Major General Ghafoor said polls are a national activity that does bring a change and the military has nothing to do with it.

He, however, maintained that Pakistan would only prosper in the presence of democracy and political stability.

Speaking about situation in Afghanistan, the DG ISPR said Pakistan wants development to continue in Afghanistan after United States' pull-out from there.

"If there would be peace in Afghanistan, then Pakistan would also be peaceful," he said.

Director General Inter-Services Public Relations Major General Asif Ghafoor has said Pak Army, government institutions and the nation have collectively fought the menace of terrorism in the country.

Talking to a private TV Channel on Wednesday, he said we as nation have rendered unprecedented sacrifices to defeat the terrorism.

He said that the people of FATA have faced countless difficulties during war-on-terror but the time has come to focus on the development of terror-affected areas.

Replying a question, he said that 75,000 operations have been carried out during last two years while 345 terrorists were sentenced to death by military courts.