ISLAMABAD: Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi on Tuesday told US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo that Pakistan maintained responsible behaviour in response to the Indian threats, however the country won’t compromise on its territorial integrity.
In a telephonic conversation with his American counterpart, Qureshi briefed him about the blatant violation of the Line of Control (LoC) by the Indian security forces, and the stance of Pakistani government, parliament and masses reaction over the concerning development.
The foreign minister said that the Indian government is destabilising the peace and security of South Asia for gains in the coming general election.
Qureshi said that the state of Pakistan informed the international community of the expected Indian aggression before the recent intrusion.
Qureshi told Pompeo that the Indian aggression was worthy of condemnation and hoped that the United States would play its role in the situation.
“Pakistan desires regional peace and stability but we cannot compromise on our stability,” Qureshi told his American counterpart.
Qureshi also told Pompeo that the joint peace efforts in Afghanistan could be affected by India’s aggression.
Earlier in the day, while addressing a press conference on the Indian LoC violations, the foreign minister had announced that Pakistan would engage international leadership on the matter.
Qureshi also spoke with the Secretary General of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), Dr Yusuf Ahmad Al-Othaimeen, over the phone.
The foreign minister told the OIC secretary general that India’s LoC violation was “extremely condemnable”. He called on the OIC as well as other member states to condemn the Indian aggression on Pakistan’s behalf.
“India is intruding in Pakistan and also oppressing the helpless Kashmiris,” Qureshi told Al-Othaimeen, adding that inviting India to the OIC meeting would not be acceptable to Pakistan under such circumstances.
Indian military aircraft violated the LoC as they intruded from the Muzafarabad sector and were forced to return owing to the timely response of the Pakistan Air Force (PAF), the Pakistani military spokesman said earlier in the day.
“Indian aircraft intrusion across LoC in Muzafarabad Sector within AJK was 3-4 miles. Under forced hasty withdrawal aircraft released payload which had free fall in open area. No infrastructure got hit, no casualties. Technical details and other important information to follow,” Major General Asif Ghafoor wrote on Twitter.
Earlier, Ghafoor had said, the Indian aircraft “released payload in haste while escaping which fell near Balakot”.
The incursion into the Pakistan air space follows a series of threats by Indian political and military leadership following the attack on an Indian Army convoy at Pulwama by a local youth, in reaction to the oppression unleashed by the occupational forces.
