ISPR warning

In a stern message for India, the spokesperson for Pakistan Army has warned of the ‘uncontrollable and unintended consequences’ that any military adventurism might lead to. In a TV interview on Wednesday, Major General Babar Iftikhar noted that this year has seen over 1,200 ceasefire violations from the Indian side — leading to almost 100 civilian casualties — as well as a couple of failed intrusion attempts by Indian quadcopters that were finally shot down by Pakistani forces. It was thus pretty reasonable for him to mock claims from Indian commanders that intrusions from Pakistan keep taking place in “one of the most militarised zones in the world”.

The chief of the ISPR also accused India of using human shields by placing its artillery in civilian areas so that Pakistan would be forced to attack non-combatants if it were to respond in kind to an Indian attack. “We are always trying not to harm civilians living on the other side,” he said while noting that civilians in Indian Occupied Kashmir already have to live under the shadow of war due to the brutality of the Indian regime. He also scoffed at the more outlandish accusations being thrown at Pakistan by the Indian government and media, such as terrorists sick with the Covid-19 coronavirus crossing the border to infect people in IOK.

The general, while mentioning other odd Indian efforts to divert attention from domestic troubles, said Islamabad and the army both believe that New Delhi is planning a false-flag operation. “Lately, India has faced embarrassment on several fronts,” he said, pointing to its doomed staredown with China, tensions with Nepal, and terrible management of the Covid-19 situation.

As we mentioned earlier this week, at least some of the failures raised by the military spokesperson were themselves actually failed attempts to change the narrative. It is an unfortunate reality we face that until a competent regime takes charge in India, we will be used as the bogeyman to misdirect from the problems facing our neighbour. Unfortunately, because their propaganda scriptwriters seem to be D-listers rather than award winners, it just doesn’t stick, forcing Delhi to keep upping the ante, and risking taking the region to the brink of war.

Published in The Express Tribune, June 5^th, 2020.

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