RAWALPINDI: The Pakistan Ex-Servicemen Society (PESS) on Monday urged India to refrain from warmongering, warning that it could have destructive consequences not only for the region but also for the entire world.

India should accept Pakistan’s proposal for joint investigation into the Pahalgam attack in held Kashmir, PESS President retired Lt Gen Abdul Qayyum said at a news conference at Rawalpindi Press Club.

“All 3.4 million ex-servicemen, soldiers, sailors, airmen and women place their services at the disposal of the armed forces leadership for utilisation on the front line, for logistics and in the hospitals in case of any Indian aggression. Ex-servicemen, like the entire nation, stand by the armed forces,” Mr Qayyum said.

He said Pakistan is a peace-loving country and believes in peaceful settlement of all global and bilateral issues. Unfortunately, he regretted, the Indian leadership has always believed in warmongering to earn sympathies of their domestic Hindu radical votes.

Pakistan has rightly intensified its diplomatic efforts to highlight the motives behind these misadventures by the RSS-backed BJP government, he said.

“Pakistan is the worst victim of terrorism not only in South Asia but perhaps in the entire world, with thousands of lives lost. Pakistan also suffered economic losses to the tune of $600 billion while fighting the war against terror.

India is the most rogue state in South Asia which has been promoting terrorism not only in Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Assam and Maldives, but also in Canada and America, he added.

The PESS president said the current false flag operation in India-held Kashmir mirrors previous incidents in Pathankot, Uri and Pulwama. This false flag operation comes ahead of the upcoming elections in Bihar, he added.

“Holding the Indus Water Treaty in abeyance violates international laws, UN charters, and Vienna Conventions,” he said, adding that international law also prohibits upper riparian states from completely drying up rivers allocated to lower riparians, such as the Ravi, Sutlej and Beas, where the lives of animals and birds are also impacted.

Mr Qayyum said that India’s warmongering, instead of apologising to its own people for killing innocent tourists in Pahalgam to advance its political and strategic agenda, is shameful.

“Pakistan sympathises with the families of those killed by the Modi government and has offered to conduct a joint investigation into this [Pahalgam] unfortunate incident. A similar, offer was extended by Pakistan in the case of Pathankot incident, but India didn’t allow it,” he said.

The PESS president said that the only solution to ending tensions along the border is for India to accept Pakistan’s proposal for a joint investigation, cease atrocities in occupied Kashmir, and withdraw its military forces which are committing human rights violations with impunity.

Published in Dawn, April 29th, 2025