ISLAMABAD – Prime Minister Imran Khan Sunday reiterated his earlier stanceregarding the Pulwama incident that if India gives actionable intelligence,Pakistan will immediately act.
The prime minister, in response to his Indian counterpart Narendra Modi’scomments during a public meeting in Tonk, Rajasthan, on Saturday, urged himto ‘give peace a chance’.
“Prime Minister Imran Khan stands by his words,” PM Office Media Wing saidin a press release. “In my meeting with PM Modi in December 2015, we hadagreed that since poverty alleviation is a priority for our region, wewould not allow any terrorist incident to derail peace efforts, howeverlong before Pulwama, these efforts were derailed in September 2018.
Sadly, now peace remains elusive due to elections in India,” the pressrelease quoted the prime minister as saying.
On Saturday, Modi had asked Prime Minister Khan to keep his word as aPathan and fight poverty and illiteracy together with India instead offighting each other.
Tensions between Pakistan and India grew after a suicide attack on a convoyof vehicles carrying paramilitaries in Indian-held Kashmir which killedmore than 40 Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) personnel earlier thismonth. Responsibility of the attack in Pulwama district was claimed bymilitant group Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM), which India alleges is based inPakistan. Islamabad has strongly denied the charges.
Read Top Stories
In a televised address following the attack, Prime Minister Imran Khan hadwarned India against any misadventure, saying Pakistan will not think butimmediately retaliate to any aggression. “If Indians believe that they canlaunch an attack on Pakistan, they should understand that Pakistan will notthink to retaliate … it will retaliate immediately, as there is no otheroption,” he had said.
The prime minister had also reminded India to give new thinking andintrospection to the grave situation in the occupied valley and ponder asto why Kashmiri youths had gone to such an extent by completely discardingfears of death.
Later at a meeting of the National Security Committee, Prime Minister ImranKhan had authorised the armed forces of Pakistan to respond ‘decisively’and ‘comprehensively’ to any aggression or misadventure by India.
“The forum noted that Pakistan is not involved in any way, means or formin the said incident. The incident was conceived, planned and executedindigenously,” a press release issued by the PM Office after the meetinghad said.
