Pakistan Army says country doesn’t wish for war

The Pakistan Army on Friday said the country does not wish for war, but warned India of “surprise” in case it takes any aggressive military measures, amidst heightened tensions between the two sides.

“We have a 72-year history. The partition happened in 1947 and Pakistan was liberated. India still hasn’t been able to accept that,” said Director General Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) Major General Asif Ghafoor during a press conference.

The Major General also said that India blamed Pakistan for the Pulwama attack “without due investigation” and New Delhi has not yet accepted the “reality of partition”.

Ghafoor’s statement come a week after the Pakistan-based militant group Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM), took responsibility for the Pulwama terror attack in the Indian-controlled Kashmir that claimed the lives of at least 44 Indian paramilitary personnel on February 14.

“We are not preparing for war, you (India) are issuing threats…we have right to respond to the threats. We are not preparing to initiate but planning to defend and retaliate which is our right,” the Army spokesman said.

“We are not the army of past, we are a battle-hardened army. We have fought against an unseen enemy and won,” he said.

The army spokesman said that “we can respond to full spectrum threat” and warned “I hope you (India) get (the message) and do not mess with Pakistan”.

He further said that, “should you (India) initiate any reaction first, you would never be able to surprise us…we will surprise you.”

The Army spokesperson said when the Pulwama incident took place, events such as Saudi crown prince’s visit to Pakistan, Afghan reconciliation process, European Union discussion on human rights violations in Indian-held Kashmir, Kulbhushan Jadhav case hearing in the International Court of Justice, Financial Action Task Force hearing, Pakistan Super League matches and Kartarpur corridor development took place.

He further questioned “how could Pakistan benefit from Pulwama attack in light of these events?”

Major General Ghafoor said Pakistan Army will not disappoint the nation, defend every inch of the motherland and fight till the last bullet.