ISLAMABAD: The military warned on Thursday that any Indian ceasefire violation would be met with a “swift and assured response” by Pakistan, cautioning that serious escalation could result in mutually assured destruction, Dawn.com reported.

In an interview with British broadcaster Sky News, Director General of the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) Lt Gen Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry warned that by rooting for war, India was carving out a “recipe for mutual destruction”, adding that the world now recognised the extent of the nuclear threat.

“Any sane player like the USA understands this absurdity and what the Indians are trying to do here,” Lt Gen Chaudhry said.

The remarks came amid heightened tensions following allegations by India that Pakistan was involved in the Pahalgam attack. Pakistan has denied the allegation and has repeatedly asked New Delhi to share credible evidence.

Talking about India’s actions in held Kashmir, he accused New Delhi of trying to “internalise the issue and harass” the Kashmiri people with a heavy troop presence.

“It’s a problem that has to be resolved by the people of Kashmir as per the United Nations Security Council resolutions,” he said. “Anyone who tries to violate our territory and integrity and sovereignty, our response will be brutal.”

The ISPR chief warned that a “serious escalation between India and Pakistan would destroy both sides” under the concept of mutually assured destruction — a doctrine of military strategy and national security policy which posits that a full-scale use of nuclear weapons by an attacker on a nuclear-armed defender with second-strike capabilities would result in the complete annihilation of both the attacker and the defender.

In a press conference held last week after the ceasefire was brokered, the ISPR chief had cautioned that a conflict between Islamabad and New Delhi “can lead to peril of more than 1.6 billion people”. He added, “In reality, there is no space for war between India and Pakistan.”

Published in Dawn, May 16th, 2025