Pakistan’s response will be brutal, if India violates ceasefire: ISPR

ISLAMABAD: ISPR chief Lt-Gen Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry has warned against any ceasefire violation by India, saying the “response would be brutal”.   

In an interview to Sky News, the military’s media wing head said, “Anyone who tries to violate our territory and integrity and sovereignty, our response will be brutal.”

“If India thinks that it can carve out a space for war between India and Pakistan, it is actually a recipe for carving out mutual destruction,” the ISPR director general said.

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About the recognition of the nuclear threat, he, “Any sane player like the USA understands this absurdity and what the Indians are trying to do here.”

Separately, AFP reported that Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar said the country’s military had agreed to extend a ceasefire with India until Sunday, during a phone call between the two armies on Thursday.

He told the National Assembly that both sides had “military to military communications” on Wednesday and Thursday and “today we had a conversation and it is a ceasefire until May 18”.

On the other hand, Lt-Gen Chaudhry said India was trying to “internalise” the issue and “harassing” Kashmiri people with a heavy troop presence.

“It is a problem that has to be resolved by the people of Kashmir as per the United Nations Security Council resolution.”

Lt-Gen Chaudhry was referring to the fact that India is still adamant to any third-party intervention or mediation.

However, Pakistan has suspended the Shimla Agreement, the instrument that made the Kashmir dispute a bilateral issue. The move was a response to New Delhi’s decision to put the Indus Water Treaty in abeyance.

Islamabad has made it clear that any act threatening the country’s water security of Pakistan would be considered an act of war.

INDUS WATERS TREATY

The warning came as AFP quoted Indian External Affairs Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar as saying the Indus Waters Treaty would remain suspended.

New Delhi again cited for this act of aggression is alleged “terrorism”.

“The Indus Waters Treaty is held in abeyance and will continue to be held in abeyance until the cross-border terrorism by Pakistan is credibly and irrevocably stopped,” he said.   

On Wednesday, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif had warned that Pakistan would have destroyed Indian water reservoirs if any serious damaged was caused to the Neelum Jhelum Hydroelectric Project.

India had targeted the installations but the May 7 attack resulted in only minor damage.