Reacting to Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan’s warning to the world if tensions between Pakistan and India escalate to a nuclear war, Indian Army chief General Bipin Rawat has threatened to cross the Line of Control (LoC) “if they have to”, Times of India reported.
According to the details, Bipin’s remarks came after the premier, in his United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) address, warned the world of a potential nuclear war if India continued its actions in held Kashmir.
Bipin said that PM Imran “must understand that nuclear weapons are meant for deterrence and they are not to be used in a conventional war”.
The Indian army chief said that the “2016 surgical strikes and the Balakot airstrikes in 2019 sent a clear message to Pakistan that India is not interested in playing a hide and seek” game anymore.
BOGUS SURGICAL STRIKES & FAILED AIRSTRIKES:
On September 28, 2016, India had claimed that the country carried out surgical strikes on seven terror launch pads across the LoC, inflicting “significant casualties”.
The Pakistan military, however, had swiftly rubbished the notions of a surgical strike, saying, “This quest by the Indian establishment to create media hype by rebranding cross-border fire as a surgical strike is fabrication of the truth. Pakistan has made it clear that if there is a surgical strike on Pakistani soil, the same will be strongly responded.”
Three years later, following the Pulwama incident in which 44 Indian paramilitary soldiers lost their lives, two Indian aircraft entered Pakistani air space on February 27 for the second time in two days, engaged with Pakistan Air Force (PAF), and as a result, were shot down.
The wreckage of one of the planes landed in Azad Jammu Kashmir (AJK), and the wreckage of the other plane landed in the Indian-occupied Kasmir (IoK), Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) had confirmed at the time.
Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman, who was held captive following the aerial dogfight, was handed over to India on March 1 in a peace gesture after PM Imran had announced to release him in an attempt to “de-escalate tensions” between the two countries.
