KARACHI: After India’s Defence Minister Rajn­a­th Singh claimed on Wednesday that his country is ready to cross the Line of Control (LoC) if provoked, Pakistan slammed his “belligerent rhetoric”, calling it a threat to regional peace.

“Whenever there has been a war situation, our public has always supported the forces but that support has been indirect,” the Indian minister had claimed during an event held in connection the with Kargil war, the Press Trust of India said.

He also boasted India can go to any extreme to maintain its honour and dignity, inclu­ding crossing the LoC.

Indian observers said he made the statement with general elections in mind.

Condemning Mr Singh’s remarks, Pakistan’s Foreign Office spokesperson Mumtaz Zahra Baloch recalled that this was not “the first time that India’s political leaders and senior military officers have made highly irresponsible remarks about Azad Jammu and Kashmir and Gilgit-Baltistan”, saying that such “jingoistic statements” must stop.

“The Indian leadership is reminded that Pakistan is fully capable of defending itself against any aggression. The practice of dragging Pakistan into India’s populist public discourse, with a view to stoking hyper-nationalism and reaping electoral gains, needs to end,” the FO statement said.

Published in Dawn, July 27th, 2023