‘Credible intel’ indicates India intends military action against Pakistan within 36 hours: Tarar

Federal Minister for Information and Broadcasting Attaullah Tarar on Wednesday morning stated that Pakistan has “credible intelligence” indicating that India intends to conduct a military action against Pakistan in the next 24 to 36 hours on the pretext of baseless and concocted allegations of involvement in the Pahalgam incident in held Kashmir.

The situation between the two countries remained tense following the attack in Pahalgam, a tourist spot, which had killed 26 people, including a Nepalese national. Without conducting a transparent investigation and concrete evidence, fingers were pointed towards Pakistan, alleging that it had orchestrated the attack. Pakistan has firmly rejected the accusations.

Issuing a video statement on state television, the federal minister said that Pakistan strongly rejects India's self-assumed hubristic role of judge, jury, and executioner in the region.

He underscored that Pakistan itself has been facing terrorism for the past two decades and has consistently condemned terrorism in all its forms across the world. "Being a responsible state, Pakistan open-heartedly offered a credible, transparent, and independent investigation by a neutral commission of experts to ascertain the truth,” he said.

The minister added that following the Pahalgam attack, Pakistan, as a responsible state, had offered to conduct an independent and impartial investigation. 

He noted, however, that India has apparently decided to tread the dangerous path of irrationality and confrontation, which, according to him, will have catastrophic consequences for the entire region and beyond.

Tarar further said that the evasion of credible investigations is in itself sufficient evidence exposing India's real motives. “Consciously making strategic decisions hostage to public sentiments, purposefully trumped up for securing political objectives, is unfortunate and deplorable,” he added.

Additionally, the federal minister made it clear that any kind of military adventurism from India will be met with a definite and decisive response. He emphasised that the international community must understand that the responsibility for the catastrophic consequences of war will lie solely with India.

The minister’s statement came a day after Defence Minister Khawaja Asif, while appearing on a private media outlet, cautioned about the possibility of both countries engaging in war in the next two to four days.

“There is a war looming on the horizon. A very vivid possibility is there that we can have a war in the next two to four days,” Asif said. However, he clarified that, not being a military strategist, he was making such a guess as a political worker.