A day after Indian Army Chief General Bipin Rawat said that the force was ready to call Islamabad’s “nuclear bluff” and cross the border to carry out any operation if asked by the government, Pakistani foreign minister Khawaja Muhammad Asif on Saturday issued a nuclear threat to India.
“Very irresponsible statement by Indian Army Chief, not befitting his office. Amounts to invitation for nuclear encounter. If that is what they (India) desire, they are welcome to test our resolve. The general's doubt would swiftly be removed, inshallah,” tweeted Asif.
His tweet came hours after Pakistan Army spokesman Major General Asif Ghafoor also threatened India with a nuclear strike.
"Should they India wish to test our resolve they may try and see it for themselves. We have a credible nuclear capability exclusively meant for threats from the East," Ghafoor told state-run PTV World, as reported by Pakistani daily Dawn.
Following Asif's remarks, Ministry of Foreign Affairs' Spokesperson Dr Mohammad Faisal went on a tweeting spree.
"The threatening and irresponsible statement by the Indian Army Chief today is representative of a sinister mindset that has taken hold of India. Pakistan has demonstrated deterrence capability," he tweeted from his personal handle.
"These are not issues to be taken lightly. There must not be any misadventure based on miscalculation. Pakistan is fully capable of defending itself," he said in a second tweet.
During a press conference on Friday, General Rawat had said, “We will call the (nuclear) bluff of Pakistan. If we will have to really confront the Pakistanis, and a task is given to us, we are not going to say we cannot cross the border because they have nuclear weapons. We will have to call their nuclear bluff”.
He was responding to a question during a press conference on possibility of Pakistan using its nuclear weapons in case the situation along the border deteriorates.
In reply to another question, he said India and the US were deliberating on a proposal to appoint military liaison officers at each other's combatant commands.
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