Army ready for befitting response to Indian aggression, parties told

RAWALPINDI/ISLAMABAD/LAHORE: Amid the height of Pak-India tensions, India was Sunday warned that the people of Pakistan and their armed forces stood united to give a befitting response in case of any misadventure in the wake of Pahalgam false flag operation.

This stark warning came during an in-camera briefing to the parliamentarians by Director General ISPR Lt. Gen Ahmad Sharif Chaudhry and Minister for information Attaullah Tarar on the stand-off with India.

A large number of leaders and members of political parties except Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) attended the briefing at the Pakistan Television Headquarters late Sunday night.

The PTI leadership skipped the extraordinary meeting, conditioning their attendance with the release of the party founder Imran Khan.

Sources quoted Gen Sharif as saying that Pakistan was a peaceful country that desired peace in the region but would respond in a befitting manner if the adversary resorted to any aggression.

He apprised the parliamentarians of the armed forces readiness to deal with any misadventure by the neighbouring country.

Tarar apprised the political leaders of Pakistan’s view and diplomatic measures in the present tense situation. The in-camera briefing was arranged a day ahead of the National Assembly session Monday evening (today).

The lower House of Parliament is also likely to debate the issue and pass a resolution to condemn India’s nefarious designs.

Meanwhile, Minister for Defence Khawaja Asif took an exception to the PTI leaders’ boycott of the briefing. In a statement on ‘X’, he regretted that the PTI leaders conditioned their presence to Imran Khan’s release.

Prominent among those who attended the meeting included former prime minister Raja Pervaiz Ashraf, Qamar Zaman Kaira, Shazia Marri, Dr. Farooq Sattar, Dr. Tariq Fazal Chaudhry, Senator Abdul Qadir, Pervaiz Khattak, Talal Chaudhry, Noor Alam Afridi, Sharjeel Memon, Saeed Ghani and others.

Justifying its boycott of the in-camera briefing, the PTI committee in a statement said, “Since it was merely a government briefing, and there was neither a serious attempt to build a national consensus nor was there any intention to include an important national leader like Imran Khan, we believe our participation in this briefing was not necessary.”

The political committee explained the factors, which it thought were enough for it to boycott the planned briefing.

“The PTI forum believed that in the current sensitive situation, the government should have immediately convened an All Parties Conference (APC) so that a common course of action could have been drawn up by taking all national parties into confidence.

“Unfortunately, the government wasted this opportunity. Not only was the APC not convened, but instead a one-sided briefing is being given by a government minister. Imran Khan and PTI are the voices that express the true sentiments of the people,” it maintained.”

Imran Khan, it emphasized, has always talked about national unity, institutional harmony and political stability, and he has not been a supporter of any kind of division, disunity or weakness.

The political committee also stressed that PTI has always condemned all forms of terrorism in all its forms and all manifestations in unequivocal and unambiguous terms. The party supremo, who is currently illegally imprisoned, has clearly condemned not only terrorism in his messages to the nation from prison but also emphasised the need for national unity, solidarity and internal stability.

Imran’s stand is self-explanatory, the forum pointed out, and noted that the insight and courage with which he has given the message of unity to the nation is a reflection of the thinking of a national leader.

“PTI is clear that in the event of any external aggression, we will stand in the forefront to defend the country and the nation. We also made this national stance clear on our foundation day, when Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf passed a formal resolution in which the party put its principled stance on Indian aggression and propaganda before the entire nation, which is a sign that the party is serious and always ready for national security, sovereignty and unity at all levels,” the committee contended.

Meanwhile, Punjab Information Minister Azma Bokhari strongly condemned Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf’s decision to boycott the national security briefing, calling it a clear demonstration of their anti-state mentality.

“This boycott is just another example of PTI’s enmity towards the country. What else can one expect from a group that consistently undermines national interests?” Azma Bokhari remarked. “Their so-called ‘Tigers’ continue to wage war against Pakistan and its institutions.”

She further said, “This is the same party that never participated in security briefings during its own government, and then appeared on media complaining ‘what should I do, go to war?’ What more can be expected from them? They remain confrontational towards the state to this day.”

Azma Bokhari added, “Boycotting national matters has become PTI’s signature move. They have never been able to think like true Pakistanis. Their cheap tactics and immature conduct are now seen at every forum and level. Such behaviour is deeply regrettable and condemnable.”

The information minister emphasized that issues of national security must be approached with unity and seriousness beyond political interests. “Sadly, PTI continues to defy this principle,” she concluded.

Meanwhile, the Pakistan Army gave a befitting response to India’s unprovoked firing on Pakistani posts in various sectors from across the Line of Control (LoC) Sunday night.

Security sources said the Indian Army resorted to unprovoked firing on Pakistani posts in Nakial, Khoi Ratta, Sharda, Kel, Neelum and Haji Pir sectors.

“Pakistan Army effectively responded to the ceasefire violations and unprovoked firing from India in these sectors,” security sources said and expressed Pakistan’s resolve and readiness to give a befittingly response to aggression from the adversary.