ECHOING sentiments and spirit of the nation, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, on Wednesday, warned India of the consequences of its aggression against Pakistan, vowing to avenge every drop of martyrs blood, shed in the May 7 attacks.
In a televised address, he said that India had committed a grave mistake last night by resorting to aggression and thought that Pakistan would back off, but New Delhi would have to face the consequences of its actions.
The Prime Minister highlighted that Pakistan’s response to the unprovoked attack has demonstrated its military strength and resolve.
Separately, President Donald Trump has offered to mediate in the ongoing conflict and the United Nations has called upon the two countries to exercise maximum restraint.
Pakistan demonstrated the highest level of restraint in the face of baseless allegations leveled by India almost within no time of the Pahalgam incident.
As India was flexing muscles to carry out aggression against Pakistan, Islamabad tried its level best to de-escalate mounting tension, seeking intervention by other members of the international community and offering to cooperate in a neutral and transparent international probe into Pahalgam attack.
However, despite peace overtures of Pakistan and appeals by a number of countries to sort out the differences through discussion and dialogue, India first opted to intimidate Pakistan and then went ahead to implement its plans to impose a war as part of its ambitions to establish regional hegemony.
Salute to the bravery and professionalism of Pakistan defence forces, especially Pakistan Air Force (PAF), which forced the enemy to lick the ground.
The response of the Pakistan defence forces conveyed a clear message that conventional superiority is meaningless before a motivated and spirited nation and hopefully India will always remember this lesson.
However, the nation is unanimous in its demand to avenge the blood of the innocent souls targeted by the coward enemy.
According to Director General Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) Lt Gen Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry, 31 ordinary souls were martyred and 57 other injured during unprovoked Indian attacks on different cities of Pakistan and Azad Kashmir.
What a shame that India killed and injured innocent people including women and children (in Bahawalpur’s Ahmedpur East area alone two three-year-old girls and seven women were martyred) in the name of strikes against terrorist infrastructure, which is a clear instance of state-sponsored terrorism.
India is in the habit of putting blames of its internal weaknesses and problems on Pakistan and hurling threats of surgical strikes, which is manifestation of a taken for granted attitude and, therefore, deserves a strong and effective response both physically and diplomatically.
The nation supports the decision of the leadership to avenge the blood of innocent citizens and stands firmly behind its forces in this hour of trial and tribulations.
As always, morale of the nation and its defence forces is high and they are determined to go to any extent to defend the sovereignty of the country and protect the lives of the citizens.
No sane person will support wars but there can be no compromise when it comes to safeguarding dignity and sovereignty of the country and lives of the people.
As pointed out by the Prime Minister, Indian aggression is a clear attempt to divert attention from the realities of occupied Kashmir but no unilateral action can change the disputed nature of the region.
Instead, the threats posed to regional peace and security underline the need for a just settlement of the issue in accordance with the aspirations of Kashmiri people and the relevant UN resolutions.
Pakistan welcomes offers of mediation being made by friendly countries including the one made by President Trump but instead of window-dressing the mediation should focus on addressing the core issue of Jammu and Kashmir, which is a flash point in the region.
