Pakistan to give equal response if India strikes: Kayani

By IANS,

Islamabad : Pakistan’s armed forces would give an equal response within a few minutes if India carried out any surgical strike inside the country, army chief General Parvez Kayani said here.


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In a meeting here Monday with President Asif Ali Zardari, Kayani told him of operational preparedness of the armed forces. The meeting was held in the backdrop of the growing tension between India and Pakistan following the Mumbai terror attacks.

“The armed forces are fully prepared to meet any eventuality, as the men are ready to sacrifice for their country,” The News daily reported quoting Kayani.

Zardari said Pakistan wanted peaceful and cordial relations with all its neighbours, but the “threatening statements of the Indian leadership were creating an atmosphere of aggression and harming the regional environment”. The meeting lasted 60 minutes.

The media report stated the crux of the meeting was that any further buckling under mounting Indian pressure would prove counter-productive in the sense that it would further encourage New Delhi to build up more pressure on Islamabad.

Zardari said: “We are keeping a close watch on all the latest developments and threatening tones of Indian leadership.”

He said all the national security agencies, the army, political leadership and public were completely united to meet any aggression against Pakistan.

He said Islamabad was in touch with all friendly countries, which were being briefed about “Pakistan’s peace efforts and the hostility shown by India”.

“We do not want any war with India, as that would prove detrimental to both our nations,” the president was quoted as saying.

Zardari, however, expressed his satisfaction over the preparedness of the army and said all necessary resources would be provided to the armed forces.

He said: “We have the right to defend our borders in case of any aggression.”

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