ISLAMABAD: As tension between Pakistan and India heighten, Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif made clear on Friday that the nation’s leaders would not allow anyone to cast an evil eye on Pakistan.
“No one will be allowed to cast an evil eye on Pakistan,” the premier said in a thinly veiled reference to India. “The nation is standing shoulder-to-shoulder with the valiant armed forces to defend the motherland.” He made the remarks while chairing a meeting of the federal cabinet convened to review escalating tensions between India and Pakistan.
Nawaz went on to add that Kashmir was the unfinished business of the Partition. The premier added that atrocities by Indian forces in the held valley could not crush Kashmiris’ right to self-determination. “Indian atrocities in held Kashmir are unacceptable,” he remarked.
The prime minister further said that all steps would be taken in connection to LoC violations or aggression. He said Pakistan’s resolve to establish peace remained strong.
Calling for a probe into the Uri attack, the prime minister said blaming Pakistan for orchestrating the attack was beyond comprehension. Nawaz reiterated that Pakistan was fully capable of executing surgical strikes.
Saying that Indian aggression constituted a threat to the entire region, Nawaz said the nation would take all measures to protect its territorial integrity.
The federal cabinet condemned Indian accusations in the wake of the Uri attack and pledged to unveil India before the international community.
At least two Pakistan Army soldiers were killed on Thursday when Indian troops fired across the Line of Control in Azad Jammu and Kashmir. Dismissing Indian claims of ‘surgical strikes’, DG ISPR Asim Bajwa said that there had only been cross border fire, initiated and conducted by India.
On September 24, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi threatened Pakistan of an isolation globally, saying “sacrifice of 18 of our soldiers will not go in vain.” Pakistan and India have been involved in a tense verbal and diplomatic spat since the Uri attack.
At least 18 Indian troops were killed in an attack on a military airbase in Sri Nagar near the Line of Control (LoC). India accused Pakistan of perpetrating the attack, a charge the latter denied categorically.
Tension was already rising between the two arch rivals since the July 8 killing of Hizbul Mujahideen (HuM) commander Burhan Wani. At least 100 demonstrators have been killed since then due to indiscriminate use of force against Kashmiris by Indian forces. —INP
