Pakistan Warns of 'Consequences' as India Hints at Potential Cross-Border 'Anti-Terror Op'
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – The media wing of the Pakistan Armed Forces, ISPR, claimed on Tuesday that India is trying to divert world's attention away from the situation of Kashmir, which was stripped of its special status in August.
"Accusations of infiltration/presence of alleged terrorists camps are pretext for a false flag operation/misadventure which if tried shall have serious consequences for regional peace Pak Armed Forces are fully prepared to respond to any aggression/misadventure regardless of cost," it said, Sputnik reported.
Indian army chief General Bipin Rawat on Monday claimed Pakistan had reactivated a terror camp in the Balakot area of that country’s Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province, and that around 500 terrorists have been positioned to infiltrate the border to spread violence in India.
Pakistan's military said Indian military commanders were expressing their "frustration due to their failure to handle the situation" in Kashmir.
In the past few weeks, Indian authorities and military officers have accused Pakistan of reactivating the terror camp in retaliation for India's decision to scrap the special status of Jammu and Kashmir on 5 August.
Tension between the two nuclear-armed nations escalated after India carried out an aerial strike at Balakot inside Pakistan in February to destroy alleged terror infrastructure operated by the Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) terror group. The move was to avenge the killing of 40 Indian security personnel in a suicide bombing attack claimed by JeM on 14 February.
On February 27, Pakistan retaliated to India’s strike and reportedly shot down an Indian fighter jet in a dogfight while an F-16 operated by the Pakistan Air Force was also shot down, according to the IAF.
The tension resurfaced in the first week of the August after New Delhi revoked Jammu and Kashmir's special status. Reacting to India's move on Kashmir, Pakistan downgraded diplomatic ties with New Delhi and expelled the Indian high commissioner.