ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Imran Khan has said that Pakistan believes in peaceful co-operation with its neighbors.
The Prime Minister consulted with senior military leadership and intelligence aides on the possibility of a dispute with India over Pakistan’s security agenda.
In this regard, the Prime Minister’s Office said that the Prime Minister chaired a high-level meeting to review the internal and external security situation.
The meeting was attended by Defense Minister Pervez Khattak, Chairman Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee General Nadeem Raza, Chief of Army Staff General Qamar Javed Bajwa, Chief of Naval Staff Admiral Zafar Mahmood Abbasi, Chief of Air Staff Air Marshal Mujahid Anwar Khan, Director General Inter Services Intelligence. Lieutenant General Faiz Hamid and Director General Military Operations Noman Zakaria were present.
The meeting of the National Security Committee, which was not attended by Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi, quarantined himself after testing positive for the corona virus, including Finance Advisor Dr Hafeez Sheikh and Special Assistant for National Security. There were no participants in the regular National Security Committee meeting.
It may be recalled that the meeting took place in the context of Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi’s telephone conversation with his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi in which he termed the regional security situation as rapidly deteriorating.
The Foreign Minister accused India’s anti-expansionist policies of sabotaging peace in the region.
A statement issued after the meeting pointed to the deteriorating situation on the Line of Control (LoC) with a focus on India as a central agenda item.
The statement said that the meeting resolved that the sovereignty of Pakistan would be protected at all costs.
It also reaffirmed that Pakistan believes in the survival of peaceful co-operation with its neighbors, but that we have both the desire and the ability to defend our people and our territorial integrity. The meeting expressed serious concerns over human rights violations by Indian forces in occupied Kashmir and called on the international community to take notice, the statement said.
Pakistani strategists fear that India, which has failed to normalize the situation in occupied Kashmir since its illegal annexation in August 2019, is heading for a dispute with Pakistan over a combination of military, health and economic crises. Which has been severely damaged by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
It may be recalled that recently, for the first time in 45 years, there was a clash between Indian troops and Chinese troops in which two Indian soldiers were killed.
It is feared that the ongoing conflict on the Indo-Nepal border and the deteriorating economic situation due to the corona virus have added to the frustration of Indian leaders who may take action in the meantime.
Analysts believe that in the current situation, Pakistan is a clear choice for India because its government is well aware that anti-Pakistan sentiments run high in its circles.
Last year, India lost two of its planes and one of its pilots was captured, while the Bharatiya Janata Party presented it as a victory and won the election. He repeated the same move after 20 soldiers were killed in a clash with China last month, accusing officials of the Pakistani mission in Delhi of spying and asking Islamabad to halve the number of diplomats in Delhi, as well as in Islamabad. Reduced the number of its high commissioners.
Shah Mehmood Qureshi had told Wang Yi that Pakistan was showing restraint despite Indian provocations.
A statement issued by the Foreign Office said that the two Foreign Ministers pledged to enhance the strategic consultations agreed upon by the leadership of the two countries and to enhance cooperation at all levels for the overall promotion of the common interests of peace and stability.
The two foreign ministers also decided to meet to discuss the challenges facing the region, the statement said.