The Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) has warned senior Indian officials against continuing to issue “delusional, provocative and jingoistic statements,” stressing that if an untoward situation arises, “the erasure will be mutual.”
In a statement, the military’s media wing said it had noted with grave concern a recent surge in provocative statements from the highest levels of the Indian security establishment. “These irresponsible statements indicate a renewed attempt at fabricating arbitrary pretexts for aggression—a prospect which might lead to serious consequences for peace and stability in South Asia,” it noted.
Emphasizing that India had relied on the “victim card” for decades and painted Pakistan in a negative light while itself perpetrating terrorism in South Asia and beyond, the ISPR said this narrative had been sufficiently debunked. The world now recognizes India as the true face of cross-border terrorism and the epicenter of regional instability, it added.
Recalling the conflict in May between the neighboring states, the ISPR noted it had brought two nuclear powers to the brink of a major war. “However, India seems to have forgotten the wreckage of its fighter jets and the wrath of Pakistan’s long range vectors,” it said, accusing Delhi of suffering from “collective amnesia” and “aching” for another round of confrontation.
“In the face of highly provocative statements of the Indian Defense Minister and its Army and Air Chiefs, we caution that a future conflict might lead to cataclysmic devastation,” it said. If a fresh round of hostilities occurs, it warned, Pakistan would not hold back. “We shall resolutely respond, without any qualms or restraint,” it added.
Referring to Indian statements on establishing a “new normal,” the ISPR said Pakistan had already a “new normal of response” that would be swift, decisive and destructive. “In the face of unwarranted threats and reckless aggression, the people and the armed forces of Pakistan have the capability and resolve to take the fight to every nook and corner of the enemy’s territory,” it said. “This time we shall shatter the myth of geographic immunity, hitting the farthest reaches of the Indian territory,” it added.
“As for the talk of erasing Pakistan from the map, India must know that if situation comes, the erasure will be mutual,” it added.
Over the past week, there has been a spike in jingoistic warmongering from senior Indian officials. On Friday, India’s army chief General Upendra Dwivedi told soldiers near the Pakistan border Islamabad must stop “backing terror” if it wanted to “remain on the world map.” He claimed the Indian army would not show the restraint it had exercised during the May conflict in any future clash.
The same day, Indian Air Force Chief Amar Preet Singh claimed, without evidence, his country “downed five Pakistani fighter jets of the F-16 and JF-17 class” during the May fighting.
Earlier, Indian Defense Minister Rajnath Singh said: “Our soldiers have both weapons and high morale. No challenge can stand before us. Whether it is terrorism or any other kind of problem, we have the capability to deal with and defeat them all.”