SRINAGAR: The war hysteria between India and Pakistan is showing no indication of a shift. Pakistan now claims India is formulating an attack plan with its partners.
Hindustan Times quoted Pakistan’s foreign minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi as saying that India was planning a surgical strike on Pakistan to divert attention from issues it had been facing at home.
In a press conference in Abu Dhabi on Friday, Qureshi said Islamabad had “credible information” that New Delhi was planning such a move.
Qureshi told the media that Delhi was trying to seek “tacit approval” for the strike from its “partners”. He didn’t share any other details.
“An important development has cropped up… I’ve learned through our intelligence forces… that India is planning a surgical strike against Pakistan,” Hindustan Times quoted Qureshi saying.
In the press meet, which was held at the end of Qureshi’s two-day visit to the UAE, the Pakistan foreign minister said that he has shared his country’s concerns on this front with the UAE leadership. He then claimed that India was already “trying to seek tacit approval” from what he called “important players who they consider to be their partners”.
Qureshi criticised the Indian government’s handling of multiple issues, pointing to the situation in Kashmir, the farmers’ protest, the Coronavirus pandemic, and the state of religious minorities in India. He also alleged India was “sponsoring terrorism in Pakistan” and Pakistan has shared a dossier with the international community.
Back home in Islamabad, his spokesman claimed that India attacked an UNMOGIP vehicle on Friday.
“At 1045 hrs, on 18 Dec 20, Indian army resorted to unprovoked fire in Chirikot Sector of [the] LoC. [The] Indian troops deliberately targeted a United Nations vehicle with 2 military observers on board,” Pakistan newspaper Express Tribune quoted the ISPR saying. The two observers were en route to Polas village in Chirikot sector to interact with villagers affected by unabated ceasefire violations (CFV) by India, it added. “It must be noted that UN vehicles are clearly recognizable even from long distances due to their distinct make and type and clearly visible markings,” the ISPR added.
The vehicle, the newspaper said, was damaged but the two observers survived unharmed. They were safely rescued and evacuated by Pakistan Army to Rawalakot.
The Government of India has not reacted to the allegations by the Pakistan foreign minister. The United Nation also has not offered any detail about its vehicle getting hit in Indian fire on the other side of the Line of Control.
On Friday last, however, MEA spokesman Anurag Srivastava did react to the “false flag” operation allegation by Pakistan.”Our position in this matter and the facts on the ground are well known, I don’t want to dignify such propaganda by responding to it,” he told reporters when they asked him a question regarding these allegations.
