War with India not an option: Nawaz

National Security Committee meets; says desire for peace not to be taken as weakness; Indian
aggression to be effectively responded; India should respect ceasefire agreement


Muhammad Saleh Zaafir
Saturday, October 11, 2014
From Print Edition


187 4 1 1



ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Muhammad Nawaz Sharif has said that a war with India is
not an option but Pakistan would respond with full-force to any attempt to challenge its
sovereignty.

He said this while addressing a meeting of the National Security Committee (NSC) held here on
Friday.

After the NSC meeting, a statement was issued which said that the committee meeting stressed
the fact that both the countries were aware of each others capabilities. It is shared responsibility
of the leadership of both the countries to immediately defuse the tension, it said.

The committee expressed the resolve that any attempt to challenge Pakistans territorial
integrity and sovereignty will be responded with full force. The armed forces assured the
National Security Committee that they are fully prepared to deal with any adversity at our
borders, the statement added.

Further, during the meeting, the premier condemned the unprovoked firing by India across the
border.Addressing the escalation of border clashes between India and Pakistan, Nawaz Sharif
said that Pakistans desire for peace should not be misunderstood and called upon India to
immediately honour the sanctity of the Line of Control (LoC) and the working boundary and halt
firing for durable peace.

Pakistan has replied befittingly to Indias violation of the ceasefire, he said.The premier also
deplored the loss of lives on Pakistans side as a result of Indian firing.Further, the top military
leadership briefed the meetings participants on the latest situation along the LoC and working
boundary and clarified that Pakistani forces were only firing in defence and not targeting the
civilian areas.

Terming his visit to Miranshah a moving experience, Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif said he was
thrilled to see what the armed forces had achieved so far in the ongoing Operation Zarb-e-Azb
against the foreign and local militants in North Waziristan.

Mentioning his meeting with the officers and soldiers fighting in the operation, Nawaz said,
They have fought bravely in the area and cleared all of North Waziristan area.We saw a
mosque which was used for brainwashing the young minds, the rooms where people were trained
for terrorism and weapon depots, he said, as he narrated his experience.

Paying rich tributes to those fighting the terrorists in the agency, the premier said the terrorists
had suffered heavy losses in the operation.The prime minister extended his condolences to the
families of the martyred soldiers and offered them government assistance.

Earlier, Chief of the Army Staff (COAS) General Raheel Sharif, Chief of the Naval Staff (CNS)
Admiral Muhammad Zakaullah and Secretary Defence Lt General (retd) Muhammad Alam
Khattack called on Prime Minister Nawaz separately and discussed matters pertaining to national
security. Three out of nine members of the NSC, including Finance Minister Senator Muhammad
Ishaq Dar, Defence Minister Khawaja Muhammad Asif and Chairman Joint Chiefs of Staff
Committee (CJCSC) General Rashad Mahmood, couldnt attend the meeting as the earlier two
are in the United States while the general is in Saudi Arabia to perform Haj.

Federal ministers Chaudhary Nisar Ali Khan, Senator Pervaiz Rasheed, Prime Ministers
Adviser on National Security and Foreign Affairs Sartaj Aziz, Special Assistant to the PM on
Foreign Affairs Syed Tariq Fatemi, COAS General Raheel Sharif, CNS Admiral Muhammad
Zakaullah, Chief of the Air Staff (CAS) Air Chief Marshal Tahir Rafiq Butt, Director General
Inter-Services Intelligence (DGISI) Lt General Zaheerul Islam, Chief of General Staff (CGS) Lt
General Ishfaq Nadeem Ahmad, DG Joint Staff (DGJS) Lt General Muhammad Asif, DG
Military Operations (DGMO) Major General Aamer Riaz, DG Inter-Services Public Relations
(DG ISPR) Major General Asim Saleem Bajwa, federal secretaries Shahid Khan, Aizaz Ahmad
Chaudhry, Lt General (retd) Muhammad Alam Khattack, Additional Secretary to the PM Fawad
Hasan Fawad and PSO to the PM Nabil Awan were among those who attended the meeting.

It has been officially stated that the NSC discussed the situation arising out of the unprovoked
firing by the Indian security forces across the Line of Control and the Working Boundary. The
committee noted with deep concern that the continuing ceasefire violations by the Indian forces
had led to a loss of precious lives and injuries to innocent people, including our fearless soldiers.
Sadly, the unprovoked violations of the ceasefire by the Indian security forces occurred in total
disregard to the auspicious and festive occasion of Eidul Azha.

The committee offered condolences to the bereaved families of the 13 civilians and sympathies
to the injured people. The committee commended the valiant Jawans, who bravely and duly
responded to the aggression. The committee expressed its full confidence in the capability of the
armed forces to defend the country against any aggression and safeguard the territorial integrity
of Pakistan.

The committee noted that the Government of Pakistan pursued a policy of peaceful relations with
all its neighbours. Initiation of peace dialogue of the 1990s, and more recently, participation of
the prime minister in Prime Minister Modis oath-taking ceremony, are a manifestation of
Pakistans sincere desire to constructively engage India in establishing durable peace in the
region.

The committee noted that these developments had not only disappointed the people in Pakistan
and India but the international community too had shared this disappointment. The committee
further noted with regret the irresponsible statements made at the political level in India, in the
backdrop of the situation at the LOC and working boundary.

The committee, however, made it clear that Pakistans earnest desire for normalising the bilateral
relations and defusing the situation on the LOC should not be seen as a sign of weakness. It is,
in fact, a sign of maturity and sincerity, the committee said expressing the hope that both the
countries would respect the ceasefire agreement of 2003 and maintain tranquility at the LoC and
the working boundary without indulging in blame game and point-scoring.