 "Pakistan's defence minister threatens nuclear response to India's 'imminent military incursion'")
Pakistan’s Defence Minister Khawaja Muhammad Asif warned on Monday of an imminent military incursion by India following a deadly terrorist attack on tourists in India’s Kashmir that killed 26 people. He also said that Pakistan would resort to using nuclear weapons in the event of a direct threat to its existence.
Asif emphasised that strategic decisions had been made, but did not go into further detail regarding the imminent threat.
India blamed Pakistan for backing terrorists, but Islamabad denied involvement and called for a neutral investigation. As tensions escalate, Asif confirmed Pakistan was on high alert and prepared for potential strategic action.
The militant attack killed 26 people and triggered outrage in Hindu-majority India, along with calls for action against Muslim-majority Pakistan. India accuses Pakistan of backing militancy in Kashmir, a region both claim and have fought two wars over.
”We have reinforced our forces because it is something which is imminent now. So in that situation some strategic decisions have to be taken, so those decisions have been taken,” Defence Minister Khawaja Muhammad Asif told Reuters in an interview at his office in Islamabad.
Asif said India’s rhetoric was ramping up and that Pakistan’s military had briefed the government on the possibility of an Indian attack. He did not go into further details on his reasons for thinking an incursion was imminent.
After the Kashmir attack, India identified two suspected militants as Pakistani. Islamabad has denied any role and called for a neutral investigation.
Asif said Pakistan was on high alert and that it would only use its arsenal of nuclear weapons if ”there is a direct threat to our existence”.
Impact Shorts
More ShortsTerrorists struck a prime tourist location in Pahalgam in south Kashmir last Tuesday, killing at least 26 people, mostly tourists, and injuring several others, following which security has been beefed up across the valley, especially at vital tourist spots.
With inputs from agencies
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