‘Army Strengthened’
In an interview with Reuters, Pakistan’s Defence Minister Khawaja Muhammad Asif said that they have strengthened their army, which has become necessary now. Certain strategic decisions needed to be made, and therefore, those decisions have been taken. The Pakistani Defence Minister stated that India’s rhetoric is escalating. The Pakistani army has indicated a possibility of an Indian attack. He did not elaborate on the intelligence information or event that led to this assessment.
‘Pakistan Fully Alert’
During this time, Pakistan’s Defence Minister Asif also mentioned the use of nuclear weapons. He stated that Pakistan would only use its nuclear weapons if its existence is threatened. Pakistan is now fully alert. On the other hand, India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi has spoken of “reducing terrorist bases to dust”. However, earlier, Pakistan’s Defence Minister Khawaja Asif had demanded the formation of an international investigation team from Russia, China, and Western countries to investigate the Pahalgam terrorist attack. He said in an interview that this investigation would confirm the veracity of India’s allegations regarding Pakistan’s involvement in the attack. Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has also supported this international investigation.
