Prime Minister Imran Khan on Saturday issued a strong-worded statement in which he warned the world that Pakistan would have no option but to give a befitting response to India if it undertakes a “false-flag operation”.
The premier’s statement comes in the backdrop of a recent statement by Indian army chief Bipin Rawat who had said that the situation at the restive Line of Control (LoC) could “escalate any time”.
“We (Indian Army) have to be prepared for the spiralling of the escalatory matrix,” Rawat was quoted by the Indian media as saying.
PM Imran’s statement comes as a massive movement in India has taken root, in which citizens are galvanising to protest the newly introduced Citizenship Amendment Act. The act makes it easier for non-Muslims from the neighbouring countries – Afghanistan, Bangladesh and Pakistan – to gain Indian citizenship.
“Over the last five years of Modi’s government, India has been moving towards Hindu Rashtra with its Hindutva supremacist fascist ideology. Now, with the Citizens Amendment Act, all those Indians who want a pluralist India are beginning to protest and it is becoming a mass movement,” said the premier.
PM Imran issued a stark reminder of the ongoing siege by Indian occupation forces in India-held Kashmir (IHK), saying that “a bloodbath can be expected when it is lifted”.
He said as the protests in India continue to gain pace, so are the “threats to Pakistan from India”.
“[The] Indian army chief’s statement adds to our concerns of a false-flag operation,” he added.
The premier said he had warned the international community multiple times and now he wished to reiterate that if India launched an operation “to divert attention from its domestic chaos plus whip up war hysteria to mobilise Hindu nationalism”, Pakistan would be left with no choice but to respond “befittingly”.
Earlier, in response to the Indian army chief’s statement, Inter-Services Public Relations Director General Maj Gen Asif Ghafoor had tweeted, “Provocative statements and preparations for escalation along LoC by Indian COAS appear to be an effort, as usual, to divert world attention from widespread protests in India against CAB [Citizenship Amendment Bill].”
He added that the Pakistani armed forces “shall befittingly respond to any Indian misadventure or aggression”.
