ISLAMABAD: A day after Indian Army Chief General Bipin Rawat warned of calling out Pakistan's "nuclear bluff", the country's top civil and military leaders threatened to stir a 'nuclear encounter' with India.
Issuing the nuclear threat, Pakistan foreign minister Khawaja Muhammad Asif took to Twitter on Saturday:
“Very irresponsible statement by Indian Army Chief, not befitting his office. Amounts to invitation for nuclear encounter. If that is what they desire,they are welcome to test our resolve.The general's doubt would swiftly be removed, inshallah.”
— Khawaja M. Asif (@KhawajaMAsif) January 13, 2018
His tweet came hours after Pakistan Army spokesman Major General Asif Ghafoor also threatened India with a nuclear strike.
"Should they [India] wish to test our resolve they may try and see it for themselves. We have a credible nuclear capability exclusive[ly] meant for threat[s] from [the] East," Ghafoor told state-run PTV World, as reported by Pakistani daily Dawn.
Following Ghafoor's statement, Dr Mohammad Faisal, the Spokesperson of Pakistan's Foreign Affairs Ministry, also tweeted:
The threatening and irresponsible statement by the Indian Army Chief today is representative of a sinister mindset that has taken hold of India. Pakistan has demonstrated deterrence capability.1/2
— Dr Mohammad Faisal (@ForeignOfficePk) January 13, 2018
These are not issues to be taken lightly. There must not be any misadventure based on miscalculation. Pakistan is fully capable of defending itself. 2/2
— Dr Mohammad Faisal (@ForeignOfficePk) January 13, 2018
During a press conference on Friday, the Army chief Rawat had said, “We will call the (nuclear) bluff of Pakistan. If we will have to really confront the Pakistanis, and a task is given to us, we are not going to say we cannot cross the border because they have nuclear weapons. We will have to call their nuclear bluff."
Pakistan has been facing the heat from the international community for a while now.
Accusing it of sheltering militants and terror-based outfits on home soil, Donald Trump-led US administration froze $255 million military aid to Pakistan.
Instead of weeding out terror-related activities from home turf, Pakistan has trained its guns on India.
While briefing international convoys at a two-day event, Pakistan harped on how Indian intelligence agencies are spreading internal instability and how “terrorist activities are being carried out from Afghan soil.”
Some Pakistani leaders also threatened to suspend all military and intelligence cooperation with the US.
The US, meanwhile, said that there's been no official communication from Pakistan on the suspension of cooperation.
The Trump administration has often expressed concern over Pakistan's nuclear programmes, worried it could land up in the hands of terror groups.
