PM Imran on Pulwama attack: Pakistan to retaliate immediately if India goes for any misadventure

ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Imran Khan Tuesday warned India against any misadventure in the wake of Pulwama attack and said "Pakistan would not think, but immediately retaliate."

In a televised address to the nation, Prime Minister Imran Khan reacted to the sabre-rattling, in particular by the Indian media, calling for a surgical strike against Pakistan, and expressed the hope that "better sense will prevail."

He said "if Indians believe that they can launch an attack on Pakistan, they should understand that Pakistan would not think, but retaliate immediately as there will be no other option."

Imran Khan said "no law in the world allows anyone or a country to be the "judge, jury and executioner" and said if India offered any proof, Pakistan would cooperate.

"We all know that it is easy to start a war, but very difficult to end. And we do not know where it will lead to."

The Prime Minister offered the Indian government to fully cooperate in any kind of investigation it wanted into the Pulwama incident.

He also asked for tangible, credible and intelligence-based evidences which should be shared and expressed the resolve that Pakistan would take action.

The prime minister regretted Indian posture of preconditioning the Kashmir issue with talks over terrorism, and said that Pakistan was ready for a dialogue on this issue as it was affecting the whole region.

He said Pakistan had been the worst victim of curse of terrorism in the last fifteen years.

The prime minister, expressing his wonder over the swift and baseless Indian allegations in the aftermath of Pulwama incident, questioned Indian leadership what were the advantages Pakistan hoped to get out of such attack.

The PM explained that he did not immediately respond to the Indian accusations as they were fully focusing on the significant visit by the Saudi Crown Prince and the economic conference.

If he had responded at that time, the attention could be diverted from the significant visit by the royal dignitary of the brotherly country, he said.

“An idiot could think to do so to sabotage his visit. Why at this stage when Pakistan was going for peace and stability?” he added.

The premier said Pakistan was going to achieve peace and stability after resolutely fighting terrorism in the last fifteen years, with loss of seventy thousand precious lives and 100 billion dollar losses in economic terms.

The Prime Minister advised the Indian leadership to break the shackles of its past mantra and refrain from targeting Pakistan for every incident in the Occupied Kashmir.

He said India should instead come forward to resolve the Kashmir issue though dialogue.

“We are ready to talk to you,” he added.

He said a new government has been functioning in Pakistan with new thoughts and vision in the “Naya Pakistan”.

He reiterated that it was in Pakistan’s interest, not to allow anyone to use its soil against anyone nor allow someone to carry out such activities on its soil from the outside.

“If someone is doing it, he is doing enmity with Pakistan. If someone is using our soil, it is enmity with us. It is against our interests,” he added while ruling out any outside pressure.

He said Pakistan wanted to eliminate terrorism from the region.

The PM reminded India to give new thinking and introspection to the grave situation in IoK and ponder as to why Kashmiri youths had gone to such extent by completely discarding fears of death.

Suppression of Kashmiris through use of military force and one-dimensional oppression would not succeed.

How could you expect to resolve the issue in future when all such oppressive tactics and use of military force had failed so far, he reminded the Indian government and referred to the Afghan issue where the world had acknowledged to find out solution to the 17-year long war through dialogue process.

He said that war was no solution to Kashmir issue.

Why should not this issue be discussed in India! The prime minister said they were hearing Indian leadership, politicians and media unleashing aggression against Pakistan in the aftermath of Pulwama incident.

The prime minister noted that such war-mongering behavior was understandable due to the elections year in India as with Pakistan’s bashing, they would get boost in the election campaigns.