Pakistan Wednesday said the ball is now in India’s court following Islamabad’s “peace gesture” of releasing an Indian Air Force pilot but warned that the situation will “go bad” if New Delhi decides to opt for further escalation.
The remarks were made by Asif Ghafoor, the director generalof Pakistan army’s media wing Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), to CNN.
Tensions between the two neighbours heightened following theFebruary 14 Kashmir suicide bombing that killed 40 CRPF personnel which wasclaimed by the Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM). India retaliated by bombing JeM’sbiggest training camp in Balakot across the Line of Contorl.
Later, Islamabad captured an IAF wing commander after aFebruary 27 dogfight between Indian and Pakistani Air Force. He was released onMarch 1 as a “peace gesture” by Pakistan.
“We feel that now the ball is in the Indian court. Shouldthey decide to escalate more, the situation will go bad,” Ghafoor told CNN.
Asked whether India and Pakistan were close to war, he said:”We were I would say close to war because when they (India) violated theairspace under token aggression, we went for response. Now it is up to Indiawhether they take that (IAF pilot release) as a peace gesture and move forwardtowards de-escalation or continue the agenda that they have.”
Talking about the situation on the Line of Control (LoC),Ghafoor said: “Along the Line of Control (LoC) we’re are eyeball to eyeball.There is presence of troops at the LoC for decades. But post the Indianaggression and our response the safeguards have been taken by both side.”
He added that troops had been increased “because it isnatural as part of military planning. When the situation gets hot there aresafeguards. Those safeguards are in place on both sides.”
Speaking about the Balakot raids, in which New Delhi saidthat a large number of militants were killed, Ghafoor claimed that there wereno casualties.
“Their (Indian) claims are false and I believe lately thereis an announcement from their side also that they cannot claim any casualty.Anybody who operates from Pakistan, we feel, that is not in the interest ofPakistan. Instead of blaming Pakistan, it is time that the world should assistand facilitate Pakistan in getting rid of such organisations,” he said.
Asked if the Kashmir attack triggered the tensions, Ghafoorsaid the answer lied in the UN Human Rights Commission report which highlighted”Indian atrocities in Kashmir”.
“The world has to see what is forcing the Kashmiri youth togo towards violence. So instead of looking towards framed allegation for thisincident, India also has to look inward. We have to move towards resolution ofKashmir, because this issue is a flashpoint for peace in the region,” he added.
PAK MOBILISES MORE TROOPS, WEAPONARY
Amid heightened Indo-Pak tension, sources in the Indiansecurity establishment on Wednesday said that Pakistan has mobilised additionaltroops and military equipment from its frontier with Afghanistan to forwardpositions in several sensitive sectors along the LoC in Kashmir.
Sources said the military officials of the two armies spokeover the hotline on Tuesday during which India had asked Pakistani side not totarget civilian population along the LoC.
“Post our warning to the Pakistan Army not to target civilianareas, the overall situation along the Line of Control remains relativelycalm,” the Army said in a statement while reiterating the warning onWednesday about attacks on civilians.
‘JeM DOESN’T EXIST IN PAK’
Jaish-e-Muhammed which claimed responsibility for thePulwama attack does not exist in Pakistan, the military’s spokesperson hassaid, days after Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi admitted that theoutfit’s chief is present in the country.
Director ISPR major general Asif Ghafoor said that the JeMclaim of responsibility for the Pulwama attack had not been made from insidePakistan.
“Jaish-e-Muhammed does not exist in Pakistan. It hasbeen proscribed by the United Nations and Pakistan also. Secondly, we are notdoing anything under anybody’s pressure,” he claimed.
Ghafoor said instead of blaming Pakistan, it is time for the world to assist and facilitate Pakistan in getting rid of such organisations.