Islamabad: In a development that signalled worsening ties between the two South Asian neighbours, Pakistan’s top diplomat Sartaj Aziz on Thursday said that India would not conduct surgical strikes against Pakistan as it knows it will get a tit-for-tat response. Mr Aziz, Advisor to Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif on National Security and Foreign Affairs, said that the ongoing tension along the Line of Control (LoC) was part of a “bigger conspiracy” by India to target Pakistan, by using the tension as an “attraction” to win votes in the state elections.
Speaking during a briefing to the National Assembly Committee on Foreign Relations, the top diplomat said Pakistan wants peace but is not oblivious of its defence. The Advisor said that Kashmir is a core issue and Pakistan would like the international community to play its role in its resolution.
Earlier, echoing Mr Aziz, former military ruler Pervez Musharraf said Pakistan needs to incite those fighting in Kashmir. “We have source (in Kashmir) besides the (Pakistan) army…People in Kashmir are fighting against (India). We just need to incite them”, he said in an interview.
