Defence Minister Khawaja Muhammad Asif said that India’s firing on the Line of Control (LoC) was part of a well-conceived plan to satisfy Indian public opinion, which Pakistani forces responded to in a befitting manner.
Reacting to unprovoked Indian firing across LoC, the defence minister said that Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi was trying to do in Kashmir what he had done in Gujrat. He said that Pakistan is fully prepared to respond to any sort of Indian aggression.
He said that India was trying to present the violation of LoC as a surgical strike, wherein small firearms were used by Indian Army in five sectors of Azad Kashmir in which two Pakistani soldiers were martyred and nine others were injured.
Khawaja Asif said the incident took place during the night and there was no firing at the moment.
The defence minister said Pakistan gave a befitting response to Indian aggression and the armed forces were fully prepared to continue that in a case of any violation of ceasefire on LoC.
He stressed that the matter of Kashmir is not going to stall now, vowing that his government will give all the support needed for the Kashmir independence movement, which he said will end in victory.
He highlighted that Pakistan’s policy was to respond and never initiate firing across the LoC.
Similarly, Kashmir Committee Chairman and Jamiat-i-Ulema-i-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) Chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman in his swift reaction warned that India should not be mistaken, as Pakistan is not oblivious to its defence.
While talking to media outside the Parliament House, he made it clear that Pakistan was fully capable of defending its territory and thwarting any external aggression.
He went on to say that India was trying to disturb the regional peace by threatening Pakistan, but “our armed forces are fully equipped to reply to the Indian aggression.”
Rehman demanded that international community should listen to the voice of Kashmiris in India-held Kashmiri (IHK) for their right to self-determination.
He said Kashmiri people were struggling against Indian atrocities demanding their just right to plebiscite and the international community must exert pressure on India to honour the UN resolutions and stop violation of human rights in IHK.
He said Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) supported Pakistan’s stance on Kashmir and called upon the world nations to ensure them their just right and stop India from war mongering.
To a question, Fazlur Rehman said the international community should notice the violation of human rights in IHK and send a clear message to India that their point of view pertaining to Kashmir was in contravening to the UN resolutions.
He urged the Indian leadership to adopt a sensible approach and respect its commitment made to Kashmiri people at the United Nations.