IT is a matter of grave concern that nobody from the ruling party has given a befitting reply to India’s home minister’s allegation that Pakistan is a terrorist country.

They should have lambasted the Indian interior minister for insulting our country. In fact, it is India which has not only terrorised peripheral countries like Bhutan, Nepal, Myanmar and Sri Lanka, but has unleashed a reign of terror in Kashmir.

Since 1989, more than 100,000 Kashmiris have been massacred in the Indian-occupied valley. Recently, more than 100 Kashmiris have been massacred, including the youthful Kashmiri leader Burhan Wani.

Also, India is fomenting trouble for Pakistan from Afghanistan. It is sending Afghan mercenaries to attack Pakistani posts regularly. In 2002, right under the nose of Narendra Modi, 2,000 Muslims were killed in Gujarat.

I think Pakistan is on their nerve. Our army chief has warned that if India dare commit aggression, the response from Pakistan would be historic.

I want that our civilian leadership should also pay the Indian leadership in the same coin.

Liaquat Ali Khan’s clinched fist is fresh in my memory. I was just a child then. Is there nobody from among our politicians who could emulate Liaquat Ali Khan and show his fist to Indians? Patriotism is not written on anybody’s forehead.

Safir Siddiqui
Karachi

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IN the aftermath of an attack on an Indian army base near Uri in Indian-occupied Kashmir, a high level meeting was chaired by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the war room in New Delhi.

Various options were considered, including carrying out surgical strikes inside Pakistan.

A surgical strike is an attack designed to destroy a particular target in a country without inflicting damage to other people or buildings near it.

India took such action against militants in Myanmar in June 2015. It is now considering an option to launch a swift, covert strike inside Azad Kashmir.

But, Pakistan is not Myanmar. It is a nuclear-armed nation. A surgical offensive by India could have disastrous consequences which India should weigh 10 times before launching such an attack. Such strikes are conducted at a threshold below full-scale war.

Carrying out such an attack based on mere allegations is not only totally unlawful but also against the fundamental principle of national sovereignty of the targetted country.

Moreover, a targeted operation could lead to military escalation which could go to any limits. Our operational plan is ready, targets are finalised and forces have been dedicated.

Air Cdre (r) Azfar A. Khan
Rawalpindi

Published in Dawn, September 30th, 2016