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ISLAMABAD, Apr 30 (APP):Pakistan on Wednesday reiterating not to initiate, warned India of a strong response if it made any escalatory move as its armed forces were on alert to defend the country’s sovereignty and territorial integrity in case of any act of aggression.
“The world leaders have been requesting the exercise of restraint in recent days. I have made it very clear, on behalf of the government and the nation, that Pakistan will not be the first one to resort to any escalatory move. However, in case of any escalatory move by the Indian side, we will respond very strongly,” Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Senator Mohammed Ishaq Dar said addressing a news conference here along with Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) Director General Lt. General Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry and Foreign Office spokesperson Shafqat Ali Khan.
Brushing aside the Indian allegations against Pakistan following the Pahalgam incident without an “iota of evidence and with such dramatic speed,” he said Pakistan had nothing to do with it.
“We demand an independent and transparent probe by neutral investigators, as announced by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif. Any TORs in this regard should be credible and mutually agreed upon.
“Pakistan has neither any connection … nor is the potential beneficiary. At a time when the economy is stabilising and we are making significant progress against terrorism, we need to question why this situation is being created by India all of a sudden and what is the motivation behind it.”
He said holding in abeyance the Indus Waters Treaty by India was unilateral and illegal as the Treaty contained no such provisions and any amendment or termination required consensus. In case of disagreements or issues, there are forums provided in the treaty which should be invoked,” he added.
“Pakistan is an agrarian economy, millions of people are dependent on the waters being regulated by this treaty. We gave up three rivers in this treaty and I can hardly find a water distribution treaty in the world whereby, a part of dealing with the distribution of water, the rivers could have also been given up.”
Dar said the National Security Committee had made it “very clear” that any attempt to stop or divert the flow of water belonging to Pakistan, as per the IWT and the usurpation of the rights of the lower riparian, would be considered an “act of war”.
The deputy prime minister said the entire region was facing a serious threat to its peace and stability as a politically motivated and highly provocative environment was being created by India in the wake of the Pahalgam attack in the Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK).
Expressing Pakistan’s concerns on the highly irresponsible and destabilized Indian actions and statements, Ishaq Dar said, “Indian media and political leaders are directing a similar discourse against Pakistan”.
He warned that India’s highly irresponsible ploy for narrow objective gains was dragging the entire region towards extreme instability.
He said no cause or objective can justify taking the lives of innocent people. “This is our national policy and this is the Islamic policy too. Killing of the human being as per the Quran is killing of the entire humanity and saving a life is tantamount to saving the entire humanity,” he added.
He said Pakistan, being a victim of terrorism itself, was concerned over the loss of lives in Pahalgam attack, and it also extended condolences being victims of terrorism as no one can feel the pain of those impacted but Pakistan.
In Pakistan, he said more than 80,000 lives had been sacrificed and over US$150 billion had been lost while the overall economic impact and indirect losses were close to $500 billion.
He said the countless sacrifices made by our valiant law enforcement agencies as well as common citizens, have helped address the threat of terrorism and contributed towards regional and international peace and stability.
The deputy PM informed that he had contacted dozens of foreign ministers and other high leaders of various countries to explain to them the recent situation in the region.
He highlighted that India’s illegal and unilateral action of August 5, 2019 reminded of the violation of the relevant UN SC resolutions and the fourth Geneva Convention as well as India’s own commitments.
Replying to a question, the deputy prime minister said PM Shehbaz Sharif was leading from the front, as he had been in touch with the relevant departments and authorities with regard to the current situation. He said Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif also chaired the national security committee.
“He (PM Shehbaz Sharif) is leading from the front, and the military and civil leadership have been working day and night under his leadership,” Ishaq Dar said.
To another query, the deputy PM said the government and the stakeholders decided to re-engage Afghanistan, so he visited Afghanistan, which remained absolutely successful from the political point of view, from economic and trade point of view, and from refugees’ point of view.
He said during his call with the Chinese Foreign Minister, the Chinese FM supported Pakistan’s stance and offered an independent investigation.
Responding to another question, the deputy prime minister stressed that both countries being nuclear power needed to avoid any escalatory move that can lead to a direction that would be unsustainable not only between the two countries but also the entire region. “It is a combined responsibility of friends and the regional actors to make sure that India does not make this mistake,” he added.
Addressing the presser, Spokesperson for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Shafqat Ali Khan briefed the media persons about the details of the Pahalgam and raised questions over the occurrence of the incident and the registration of the FIR.
He said about 26 people died and several were injured in the incident, but neither any arrest of suspects was made nor any evidence was shared. The place is located at a distance of 230 km from the Line of Control.
The Indians using different social media platforms showed the same pattern of accusing Pakistan without any evidence and that within a short period of time, he said, adding the place of occurrence was located in the difficult terrains but after 10 minutes, FIRs was filed, which raised certain serious questions.
Director General of Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), Lt Gen Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry Wednesday, on the occasion vowed that the Pakistan Armed Forces are fully prepared to respond to any aggression by India.
Addressing a press conference alongside Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Mohammad Ishaq Dar and the Foreign Office Spokesperson Shafqat Ali Khan, the DG ISPR reiterated that the Pakistani nation and armed forces are determined to defend the country’s territorial integrity and sovereignty at all costs.
He emphasized that the entire nation is united, and all political parties have already expressed their resolve to respond with full force in case of any Indian aggression.
The DG said that Pahalgam is 230km from the Line of Control (LoC) and questioned how it’s possible for someone to reach such a remote area within 10 minutes. “We will focus on facts, not accusations,” he said, adding that Pakistan was presenting evidence rather than engaging in baseless allegations.
He noted that the alleged attack site is far from the nearest town of Bagh in Azad Jammu and Kashmir.
Displaying various visuals of the area’s geography, Lt Gen Ahmed explained that the distance from the incident site to the nearest police station was approximately 30 minutes. He questioned how an FIR could be registered in just 10 minutes.
He also criticized the Indian media for prematurely blaming Pakistani agencies within minutes of the Pahalgam incident, citing a zipline operator’s video to support what he called a false narrative.
“Why did India’s narrative immediately claim that Muslims attacked Hindus?” he asked, noting that the prime minister had also expressed concerns over the matter.
The DG ISPR said that India was using the Pahalgam incident as a pretext to suspend the Indus Waters Treaty. “India itself is a terrorist state and detains Pakistani and Kashmiri individuals in jails, where they are tortured to make forced statements,” he said.
Lt Gen Ahmed Sharif said that hundreds of Pakistanis are being held illegally in Indian prisons. “India is using these detained Pakistanis in fake encounters. In Uri, Muhammad Farooq was martyred in a staged encounter,” he added.
He said they have credible intelligence indicating that following the Pahalgam incident, India has tasked all its proxies to carry out terrorist acts everywhere in Pakistan. “Whether these proxies are operating in Balochistan or other parts of Pakistan,” he questioned.
DG ISPR said that since January 24, Pakistan has witnessed 3,700 terror incidents, resulting in 3,896 casualties. He said that 77,816 operations have been conducted in which 1,666 terrorists have been eliminated.
“This is terrorism that is being abetted and sponsored by India. The whole world can see and feel its effects. We must be cognizant that Pakistan remains the last bulwark standing against this scourge of terrorism,” DG ISPR said.
He said, “India is facilitating terrorism for the sake of its short-term, myopic political objectives. Terrorism and extremism are internal problems of India. Instead of addressing these issues, India is externalizing them. This cycle is manifesting itself in the Pahalgam incident.”
A similar pattern was observed in the Jaffar Express case, where a specific Indian account predicted the attack beforehand and later ‘confirmed’ it post-incident—a narrative boosted by Indian media.
Responding to a question, the DG ISPR stated, ‘We are closely monitoring the situation with a prepared response. As per the National Security Council’s deliberations, multiple options are available—Pakistan will be defended at all costs.
He said the Pulwama attack was exploited for political gains, and now Indian analysts are citing the Pahalgam incident as a security failure.
He stated that India’s objective is to falsely implicate Pakistan and exploit these allegations for electoral gains. By accusing Pakistan of infiltration, India justifies the killing of innocent civilians—such as the martyrs of Kupwara on April 23.
There is irrefutable evidence confirming India’s involvement in terrorist activities within Pakistan.
Lt General Ahmed Sharif said that Indian intelligence-run social media accounts, which accused Pakistan of the Pahalgam incident, had also made suspicious predictions before the November 4, 2023, Mianwali attack.
A day before the attack, these accounts posted, “Tomorrow is a big day, so we are going to bed early today,” and the next morning, they wrote, “Good morning Mianwali.”
DG ISPR, said the terrorist attack in Mianwali was carried out by Fitna Al-Khawarij. Later, on October 6, 2024, Chinese citizens were targeted in Karachi. Before this attack, the same Indian intelligence-linked social media accounts posted:
“Big day in the next few hours.”
– Followed by: Big explosion in Karachi, more details are coming.
On the morning of October 7, another tweet appeared:
An IED explosion took place near Karachi Airport; a vehicle was carrying foreigners—one injured, one dead.
This pattern suggests prior knowledge of the attacks, raising concerns about possible foreign involvement in destabilizing Pakistan.
The DG ISPR said that the same suspicious pattern was observed before the Jafar Express attack, Social media accounts linked to foreign intelligence agencies posted messages such as:
“Keep your eyes on Pakistan today and tomorrow.”
Shortly afterward, the Jafar Express was attacked, reinforcing concerns about prior knowledge and possible foreign involvement in orchestrating terrorism in Pakistan.
This recurring tactic highlights a deliberate hybrid warfare campaign, where propaganda and terror attacks are coordinated to destabilize the country.
He said India has orchestrated over 3,000 terrorist attacks in Pakistan since 2024, making it the primary sponsor of terrorism in the region.
Before major attacks—such as Mianwali (November 2023), Karachi (October 2024), and Jafar Express – Indian-linked social media accounts posted suspicious warnings, indicating prior knowledge. India has also exploited incidents like Chhattisgarh Pura and Pulwama for political gains.
He said Pakistan’s nation and institutions remain resolute in eradicating terrorism and countering foreign-sponsored threats.