Prime Minister Imran Khan on Wednesday
reiterated Pakistan’s offer ofdialogue to India, hours after the Pakistan
Air Force (PAF) shot down two Indian fighter jets.
“We are ready to talk. Let better sense
prevail. Let’s think sensibly. I ask India; with our weapons
capability…on both sides, can we afford a miscalculation? If this escalation
continues, matters will neither be in my control nor Modi’s. The hurt that has
been caused due to the Pulwama attack, we want to come to the table and talk
about terrorism that effects us both,” the prime minister said in a televised
address to the nation.
The premier’s address came after he
chaired a meeting of the National Command Authority to discuss Pakistan’s
response to Indian aggression.
He said taking the nation into confidence
was essential under the current circumstances. “I had a hunch that India would
escalate, and that is why in my earlier speech I said that if India
continues on this path, we will retaliate. We waited, and today we took
action. It was our plan to not cause any collateral damage, and not to cause
any casualties.”
The premier conveyed Pakistan’s
aversion to conflict and said Islamabad was well aware of the impact of
violence. “We know how the families of those killed in Pulwama must have felt.
We have been the victims of war for decades. I have been to hospitals visiting
survivors of bomb attacks, the ones who are left behind.”
Elaborating on the decision to target
Indian forces, the premier said the action was meant to prove Pakistan’s
capability to protect its sovereignty.
“We did not retaliate in haste because
we did not know the extent of damage on our side. Today, we simply wanted to
show our capability. Two Indian MiGs crossed Pakistan’s borders and we
shot them down. I also want to state that the pilot is with us.”
PM Imran also focused on the
unpredictable nature of war and how easily a confrontation could spiral out of
control. “All major wars have been a miscalculation. When they
started, no one realised where they were headed. World War I was supposed
to end in six months but it went on for six years. Similarly, when it was
launching the War on Terror, did the United States ever think it
would remain in Afghanistan for 17 years?”
“We know what war means. Since the
beginning, we have asked India to share actionable evidence with us. It is
nowhere in the interest of Pakistan for our soil to be used as a base for
militancy.”
The prime minister concluded his
address with an invitation of dialogue. “I once again invite you
[India] to the dialogue table. We were and we are prepared
for dialogue on terrorism.”
Earlier, military spokesperson Director
General Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) Major General Asif
Ghafoor also asserted that Pakistan did not want to retaliate at the cost
of regional peace, but the country had no option but to respond.
The military
spokesperson confirmed Pakistani forces have now captured two IAF
pilots after shooting down two Indian jets in Pakistani airspace.
The wreckage of one of the IAF jets fell
within Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK), while the second fell in occupied Kashmir.
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