Indo-Pak war will be 'recipe for mutual destruction': DG ISPR

The Pakistani military's spokesperson has cautioned that any serious escalation between the two nuclear-armed neighbours could have catastrophic consequences.

"The world now recognises the extent of the nuclear threat. Any sane player, like the USA, understands this absurdity and what the Indians are trying to do here," DG ISPR Lt Gen Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry said in an interview with Sky News on Thursday.

"If India thinks that it can carve out a space for war between India and Pakistan, it is actually a recipe for carving out mutual destruction," he added.

The military spokesperson warned New Delhi of a "swift and assured response" if it violated the ceasefire with Pakistan. Any serious escalation between the nuclear-armed neighbours would lead to mutual destruction, he added.

The warning came as an uneasy truce holds between the two rivals amid relentless verbal dueling over military hostilities triggered by a deadly rampage in the Pahalgam area of Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK) that killed 26 tourists. India blamed Pakistan for the assault – an allegation strongly denied by Islamabad.

The dispute over the Himalayan region has bedeviled relationship between the two neighbours since their inception in 1947, however India's unilateral decision in August 2019 to strip the disputed region of its autonomy had effectively ended whatever normalcy existed in their bilateral relationship.

Lt Gen Chaudhry accused India of attempting to "internalise" the Kashmir issue and "harassing" the region's predominantly Muslim population.

"This (Kashmir) is a problem that must be resolved by the people of Kashmir in accordance with the United Nations Security Council resolutions," he added.