If India wants war, it should not forget 27 Feb: DG ISPR

RAWALPINDI: Director General Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) Major General Asif Ghafoor on Wednesday spoke to media regarding India’s illegal annexation of Occupied Kashmir and other regional matters.

https://www.facebook.com/OfficialDGISPR/videos/371308930462939/

The military’s spokesman condemned the Indian move is aimed at destabilizing the region and harming the security situation in South Asia.

“They (the Modi government) are following Hilter’s ideology and wanted Pakistan’s military to engage on the eastern border after a long engagement on its western border. I want to remind India that wars do not only require a strong economy but brevity and courage,” said Asif Ghafoor.

He reminded India that if it opts for war, it should remember that Pakistan Air Force heroes like Noman Ali and Hasan Mehmood are ready to do what they did when India tried to enter Pakistani airspace on February 27.

“If you impose war, remember February 27,” the DG ISPR warned India.

The DG ISPR maintained that Pakistan has always tried to resolve the Kashmir issue through diplomatic efforts but the Indian government is not ready for talks and has no plans to end atrocities in the valley.

“Modi has accepted that all issues between Pakistan and India are bilateral but is not ready for dialogue, they are not even accepting a mediation offer so as our PM (Imran Khan) said that now Pakistan will not approach India for talks,” said the military’s spokesman.

He, however, reminded the world that Kashmir is the jugular vein of Pakistan and the army can fight till the last bullet and the last man for Kashmir if the need arises.

In what can be termed his message for the people of the Kashmir, DG ISPR said that they should not lose hope as freedom struggles like the independence of Pakistan take years.

Answering a journalist’s question, Major General Asif Ghafoor said that Pakistan is a responsible nuclear state and its nuclear arsenal is for deterrence.

In reply to another question, the DG ISPR, however, made it clear that contrary to what the people demand, armies cannot disclose their strategies and plans in public.

It is pertinent to note here that Prime Minister Imran Khan in his address to the nation on August 26, also said that his government had approached India for dialogue several times but the Indian side’s refusal was the factor talks couldn’t move forward.

“So we decided that there can be no talks with this government, which follows the RSS (Hindu extremist organisation) ideology,” the PM had said.

The PM also called upon the UN and the powerful countries of the world to look into the matter as it is a nuclear flashpoint.

“We will do what we can to help the people of Kashmir, come hell or high water but if Indian government’s stubbornness leads towards the war, both countries have nuclear weapons and the whole world will suffer if such a situation arises,” said the premier had said while terming the Indian move a decisive moment in Pakistan’s Kashmir policy.

The illegal annexation of Kashmir

The Indian government, through a presidential decree issued on August 5 revoked Article 370 of India’s constitution that guaranteed special rights to Occupied Kashmir, including the right to its own constitution and autonomy to make laws on all matters except defence, communications and foreign affairs.

In the lead-up to the move, India sent thousands of additional troops to the occupied valley, imposed a crippling curfew, shut down telecommunications and internet, and arrested political leaders.

On August 24, a delegation of India’s main opposition politicians, including Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, has been sent back to the capital, New Delhi, after it reached Srinagar. Gandhi and others had flown into the occupied region to observe the situation on the ground.