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Democracies don’t go to war….says DG ISPR

Fe’reeha Idrees

Pakistan’s military spokesperson has spoken amidst much furore from India and blame game post Pulwama attack which left more than 40 dead on 14th February. After Prime Minister Imran Khan’s earlier powerful message “if attacked we will not think to retaliate but we will retaliate “, the DG-ISPR General Asif Ghafoor resonated the message further by saying, “I hope sense prevails. We are a battle hardened Army always trained to tackle a known threat like India, it’s a united nation and Army with a singleness of conception. Should India initiate any violence, we will be ready to tackle it. We want them to know you will never be able to surprise us but we shall surprise you. India should know we are a full-spectrum threat. We hope you get the message. Don’t mess with Pakistan.”

we are ready

However he also maintained Pakistan is a peace loving nation which does not want war. We want a prosperous Pakistan with schools and prosperity. We believe nations don’t progress individually. We need the region to progress. Armed forces are for security and deterrence and to protect, going to armed conflict is not success but failure that’s why we are saying we will act if aggression imposed on us.”

Prime Minister Imran Khan’s earlier powerful message “if attacked we will not think to retaliate but we will retaliate

General Asif Ghafoor said Pakistan and India have a long history of tension-packed relation, with India imposing a full-fledged war in 1965 and act of “real terrorism” by exploiting the vulnerable situation of Pakistan in 1971 and inciting violence in the then East Pakistan via Mukti Bahni. “Indian prime minister has said this on record about Indian role in raising tensions in 1971”, he said. He said that in 2001 when Pakistan was busy at Afghan border fighting terrorism, India created escalation on Eastern border. “There is a pattern whenever things start going smoothly in Pakistan, a seemingly staged event occurs to destabalise Pakistan. Violent incidents in India always coincide with important political developments in Pakistan.”

a seemingly staged event occurs to destabalise Pakistan

General Asif Ghafoor mentioned eight important events happening at the time of Pulwama:

  1. Crucial visit by Saudi Crown Prince Muhammad Bin Salman.
  2. UN terror list.
  3. Afghan peace process.
  4. Debate at EU on human rights.
  5. The trial if Kulbhushan Jhadav at ICJ.
  6. FATF.
  7. Kartarpur border opening negotiations.
  8. Matches of Pakistan Super League in Pakistan.

He said all these eight events are linked to Pakistan and there is no way that Pakistan could benefit by unrest while such important events are taking place.

“Pulwama attack is used for fifth generation warfare with full propaganda machinery everywhere trying to malign Pakistan”.

it’s a changing Pakistan

Throughout the presser, DG ISPR made frequent references to the Prime Minister’s speech saying that indeed it is time for India to “introspect”. We have done that, it’s a changing Pakistan, we have learnt from our mistakes, we have learnt to be patient, today is the second anniversary of operation Raddul Fassad, we have made huge sacrifices to eradicate Pakistan of terror, each one us has fought this war, fighting a war against unknown enemy was difficult and we did it, we are now a battle hardened Army, to fight against a known enemy like India for which we have been trained all our lives is not a difficult task. But i will stress, India is a democracy and so are we and democracies don’t fight wars.”

Prime Minister has made an unprecedented offer of peace to India

In another mention of the Prime Minister’s speech, he said, “Prime Minister has made an unprecedented offer of peace to India by offering dialogue even on terrorism. Lets avail this opportunity, lets rid the region of terrorism and solve the issue of Kashmir.”

When this correspondent asked the question to DG ISPR that how can peace return to the region if India is not ready to address the issue of Kashmir and its indigenous nature and what if there is another attack in India, the DG ISPR said that the struggle in Kashmir needs to be addressed by India. “There is no role of Pakistan in Kashmir, it doesn’t suit Pakistan nor Kashmiris if we fiddle there, this message is absolutely clear in Pakistan.”

Our nuclear programme is that of deterrence and deterrence alone

About the two nations being nuclear powers, he said, “Our nuclear programme is that of deterrence and deterrence alone. To talk about its use is and will be insanity at any stage”.

in India it’s all war loving journalism

As for the role of Indian media, he condemned it saying they are busy in blind propaganda and irrational war mongering. “There are always two types of journalism, peace loving journalism and war loving journalism, in India it’s all war loving journalism, in Pakistan journalism is much more mature and peace loving.”

DG ISPR also made an important announcement about the verdict of a military inquiry in former DG ISI Asad Durrani’s conduct in violating the Military of code of conduct. He said the inquiry had found him guilty and he will be stripped of his military pension and benefits and his name maybe put on ECL. He also confirmed the news of two military officers being held and questioned in espionage cases by the military.

I hope sense prevails

The atmosphere in the room was professional but calm. Later on, DG ISPR spoke to journalists and answered their questions. To one question repeatedly asked as to “what if”, he had a smile through out on his face as he said, “relax, we are ready “.

 

The writer is a well known journalist and news anchor at AbbTakk News’ programme “Tonight with Fereeha”. she has prominent stature in Pakistan’s anchors’ list and tweets @Fereeha