Responsibility rests with India to take a step back and de-escalate: Tarar

ISLAMABAD: Minister for Information and Broadcasting Attaullah Tarar has said responsibility rests with India to take a step back and de-escalate the situation.

In an interview with BBC News, he said Pakistan is not the aggressor and it only responded to the Indian aggression under Article fifty one of the UN Charter.

Attaullah Tarar mentioned that Pakistan exercised a lot of restraint but India for the last four days continued to attack our civilian population. He said we have just exercised our right to self defense.

The Information Minister said Pakistan did not attack the civilian population but the military installations. He said India attacked our civilians and we buried innocent persons including children and women.

Pakistan on Saturday launched the military operation ‘Bunyan Marsoos’ — Iron Wall, against India and targeted the several strategic installations, state media reported.

Seven sites in India were targeted including the key Pathankot air base, Udhampur air base, Gujarat air base. Rajhastan air base and Brahmos storage site, security sources said.

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The operation was launched in retaliation to Indian missile strikes that hit several locations inside the country.

Earlier late Friday, India has fired missiles at three air bases inside Pakistan, however all assets of Pakistan Air Force (PAF) remained safe, military spokesman said.

Director General Inter Service Public Relations (ISPR) Lieutenant General Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry at a press conference confirmed that India fired the air-to-ground missiles at the Nur Khan base (Rawalpindi), Murid base (Chakwal) and Shorkot air base.

“By the grace of Allah Almight, all PAF assets are safe,” he said. He warned India of a befitting response, saying “Now just wait for our response”. The DG ISPR said India also fired missiles and drones in Afghanistan.

He said India with its arrogance was pushing the region into destabilization. “We will not get impressed by this, and will fight with full force,” he added.