Amid the ongoing border conflict with Afghanistan, Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said on Friday that his country’s armed forces could “crush” the aggressors.
“Our forces have the full capability to crush any aggressive ambitions,” Sharif said, according to the Pakistan government’s Page X.
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“The whole nation stands shoulder to shoulder with the Pakistani armed forces,” he said, according to AFP.
According to the Express Tribune, Sharif affirmed that the nation and its armed forces remain fully prepared to protect the country’s security, sovereignty and territorial integrity.
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“Pakistan’s armed forces are determined to ensure that the peace and security of the country is never threatened,” Sharif said, according to an official statement from the Prime Minister’s Office, the report said. “Our forces are fully capable of thwarting any aggressive designs,” he added.
“No compromise will be made”
Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif is reported to have said: “There will be no compromise on the defense of the motherland and any act of aggression will be met with a decisive response.”
“The armed forces are equipped with professional expertise, advanced training and effective defense strategies and are fully capable of countering any internal or external threat,” the statement said, according to the Express Tribune.
‘Open War’
Pakistan’s Defense Minister Khawaja Asif has declared “open war” with Afghanistan after both sides carried out cross-border strikes overnight that killed dozens of people.
The Pakistani military targeted “defensive positions” in the Afghan capital Kabul as well as the border provinces of Kandahar and Paktia, killing more than 130 “Afghan Taliban operatives,” according to Islamabad’s Information Minister Attaullah Tarar.
“Now it’s open war between us,” Asif said in X’s post. “Now it’s going to be chaos and showdown.”
“Those who mistake our peace for weakness…”
Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari also affirmed his country’s commitment to national security, saying the country “will not compromise on peace and territorial integrity”.
He stressed that the armed forces’ response to any aggression is “comprehensive and decisive,” the Express Tribune reported.
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“Those who mistake our peace for weakness will face a strong response – and no one will be out of reach,” the president added.
‘Terrible mistake’
Pakistan’s Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi condemned the Afghan Taliban for attacks on civilians.
A statement released by the Ministry of Interior on X quoted him as saying that Pakistan’s armed forces had responded appropriately to open aggression by the Afghan Taliban.
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“A cowardly enemy struck in the dark of night. The Afghan Taliban made a heinous attempt to attack innocent civilians,” he said.
“The nation stands shoulder to shoulder with the armed forces. The Afghan Taliban have made a terrible mistake by attacking. They will have to face serious consequences. We will not allow our security to be compromised,” Dawn quoted him as saying.
‘Cowardly’
Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb condemned Afghanistan’s “unprovoked attack” on Pakistan, Dawn reported, citing a ministry statement on Friday.
In a statement, the finance minister described the attacks carried out in the dark of night as “cowardly”. He reportedly said, “National defense is the top priority of every Pakistani. There will be no compromise on national integrity.”
Aurangzeb added that the peace and security of the country would not suffer any harm.
Pakistan, conflict in Afghanistan
The remarks come amid Operation Ghazab Lil Haq launched by Pakistan on Thursday in response to “unprovoked attacks” by Afghan Taliban forces along several points along the Pakistan-Afghanistan border.
On February 27, Pakistan bombed major cities in Afghanistan, including the capital, Kabul, and Islamabad’s defense minister declared “open war” between the neighbors after months of clashes between the cats.
Pakistan says 133 Afghan fighters have died and more than 200 have been wounded. Meanwhile, Afghanistan said 55 Pakistani soldiers had died in fresh clashes.
