Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan Wednesday again invitedIndia for talks and urged that “better sense should prevail” amid escalatingtensions between the two neighbours.
Khan’s comments came after an aerial engagement between theIndian air force (IAF) and the Pakistan air force (PAF) in which New Delhi saidit shot down a Pakistan fighter jet but lost one of its MiG-21s, with its pilotreportedly in Pakistani custody.
Khan said in an address to the nation: “I wanted to take youinto confidence regarding the situation arising since yesterday. After thePulwama incident, we offered India to cooperate in the probe. We know theysuffered casualties. We offered India that we would investigate. We wanted tocooperate and were ready to do so. I feared that India would still take actionand I had therefore warned India against aggression”.
“When India stuck yesterday morning (on the JeM trainingcamp at Balakot), we spoke to our army command and waited to take action tillwe assessed the damage caused. Our action was only intended to convey that ifyou can come into our country, we can do the same. Two of their MiGs were shotdown…From here, it is imperative that we use our heads and act with wisdom,”he said.
“All wars are miscalculated, and no one knows where theylead to. World War I was supposed to end in weeks, it took six years.Similarly, the war on terrorism was not supposed to last 17 years. I ask India:with the weapons you have and the weapons we have, can we really afford amiscalculation? If this escalates, it will no longer be in my control or in(Prime Minister Narendra) Modi’s”.
“We understand the grief that you have suffered in Pulwamaand are ready for a probe and dialogue. Let’s sit together and settle this withtalks,” Khan added.
Meanwhile Pakistan Wednesday summoned India’s acting highcommissioner Gaurav Ahluwalia and condemned the “unprovoked ceasefireviolations by the Indian forces along the Line of Control which resulted in thekilling of four civilians”.
Director general (South Asia and SAARC) Mohammad Faisal, whois also the foreign ministry spokesman, summoned Ahluwalia and “condemned theunprovoked ceasefire violations by the Indian forces along the Line ofControl,” the foreign office (FO) said in a statement.
The firing on February 26 in Nikial and Khuiratta sectorsresulted in the killing of four civilians, including three women. The firingalso injured six others, the FO said.
The Indian forces along the LoC and the working boundary are”continuously targeting civilian populated areas with heavy weapons”, it said.
“This unprecedented escalation in ceasefire violations byIndia is continuing from the year 2017 when the Indian forces committed 1970ceasefire violation,” it alleged.
“The deliberate targeting of civilian populated areas isindeed deplorable and contrary to human dignity, international human rights andhumanitarian laws. The ceasefire violations by India are a threat to regionalpeace and security and may lead to a strategic miscalculation,” the statementsaid.
Faisal urged the Indian side to respect the 2003 ceasefirearrangement; investigate this and other incidents of ceasefire violations;instruct the Indian forces to respect the ceasefire, in letter and spirit andmaintain peace on the LoC and the working boundary, the statement said.
He also said that the Indian side should permit UN MilitaryObserver Group in India and Pakistan (UNMOGIP) to play its mandated role as perthe UN Security Council resolutions.
Pakistan does not want war with India, says Qureshi
Pakistan’s foreign minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi said onWednesday that his country does not want a war and asked India to come to thetable to resolve all outstanding issues.
“Today’s strike demonstrates our right, will and capabilityto defend ourselves. We do not want war. We hope India will come to the tableto resolve all outstanding issues,” Qureshi said.