RAWALPINDI – The Director-General of Inter-Service Public Relations (ISPR) Major General Asif Ghafoor asserted on Wednesday that the Pakistani armed forces were standing by Kashmiris and will go to any length to protect their land.
Pakistan Army’s spokesman addresses an important press conference at the General Headquarters and said Kashmir is Pakistan’s jugular vein and we [Army] will go to any lengths to protect it.
“How can you think that we can strike a deal over Kashmir? we have not agreed to do that in 72 years, why would we do that now?” the ISPR chief questioned.
The official said Pakistan’s geographical situation cannot be ignored by regional countries or world powers.
“I want to give this message to Kashmiris that we stand by you and will continue to do so. It is sad that your independence struggle was presented as terrorism,” he shared.
He recalled that there are United Nations resolutions on the conflict in Kashmir.
“For the first time in 50 years, the UN Security Council convened a session on Kashmir. The prime minister and the foreign minister have talked to several nations’ heads and foreign ministers,” he shared.
“Modi says he doesn’t want mediation. If you don’t want mediation, then what did you talk to [US President Donald] Trump about?” Major Gen Asif Ghafoor said.
The official thanked international and local media for effectively covering the oppression in Kashmir, adding that the issue of Kashmir which was previously ignored by the world has now gained international attention.
The spokesperson dubbed the repealing of Article 370 of the Indian constitution ‘immoral’ and said this is no longer a conflict of ideologies.
The official affirmed that no step by Indian authorities that does not lead to the self-determination of Kashmiris is acceptable to Pakistan, adding that any isolated step by Pakistan that might take the attention away from Kashmir issue will be cruelty to them.
ISPR Press Conference – 4 Sep 2019 https://t.co/f0bdGRaZc2
— DG ISPR (@OfficialDGISPR) September 4, 2019
The official said in India, the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) and Nazi ideology are in power and they endanger minorities including Muslims and Dalits.
The situation is such in India that there is no religious or social freedom there, the spokesman observed.
Major Ghafoor highlighted that in occupied Kashmir, the ‘fascist’ government of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has ‘uprooted Nehru’s step for the region’.
he said, in contrast, the armed forces have established peace in Pakistan and the country is also playing its role for regional peace.
“We have avoided escalation,” he said of recent tensions with India over occupied Kashmir.
The ISPR DG said Prime Minister Imran Khan in his first speech after assuming office had extended an offer of dialogue to India in response to which they sent in ‘two warplanes and received a fitting reply’.
“Nuclear countries have no room for war,” the military’s spokesperson affirmed.
The official observed that maybe India thinks that it should take action against Pakistan to weaken it, however, warned that wars are not only fought with weapons and economy but with patriotism.
“Armies protect a nation’s sovereignty. When that is threatened, warfighting becomes a compulsion instead of a choice. It is up to India and the rest of the world,” he clarified in point-blank remarks.
The spokesman confirmed that if peace is established in Afghanistan, Pakistan’s troops deployed at the western border will probably be removed.
Major Ghafoor said India is a country with a huge population and a follower of Hitler is in power, adding that the world community has interests in India.
“Then there is China, an emerging world power. China has problems with India as well but their economic relations with India are stable. Afghanistan has seen nothing but war, martyrdom and loss of lives,” he added.
Maj Gen Ghafoor also dished in on the ties with Iran and said Pakistan has good relations with the country but due to the situation in the Middle East, Iran is facing some problems.
“But Iran has a huge role in regional peace,” he added.
The military’s spokesperson said a “befitting response” will be given to any false-flag operation staged by India.
