ISLAMABAD, Dec 26: Foreign minister Abdul Sattar said here on Wednesday evening that the India’s irrational and irresponsible political rhetoric coupled with massive deployment of forces on the borders with Pakistan certainly refers to “some sinister design”.

He said if war was imposed on Pakistan, we will have no course left but to respond and defend our motherland, and we would do so very effectively.

He was responding to questions in the PTV’s News Night programme.

He agreed with the compere of the programme that India should not seek hegemony and should shun the mindset of show of military superiority in the region, and opt for peaceful resolution of disputes through dialogue.

“Instead of imposing its preferences on Pakistan, India should abide by the civilized norms of inter-state relationship, based on peace, international law and justice,” Abdul Sattar said.

To a question about proactive role by foreign powers to defuse tension on the border, the foreign minister said Pakistan has already written to the major powers, the United Nations secretary-general, the OIC, other international fora and noted international figures, about the situation on its eastern border.

Pakistan, he said, is an important coalition partner in the fight against international terrorism and the international fraternity is fully convinced and is sympathetic towards its principled approach and conduct.

About the response, he said it was positive and they had called for restraint and adoption of peaceful course to deal with the situation.

He agreed that there could be a chance that building up of tension, deployment of forces, and installation of arsenals could be misread as some experts could make exaggerated analysis of it, and it could trigger a chain of actions and reaction, which aspect needs to be kept in mind.

FOREIGN OFFICE: Pakistan Wednesday urged India to pull back its troops to peace time locations, refrain from taking aggressive steps and resolve all problems through negotiations.