NEW DELHI, 8 May: The choice of de-escalation is with Pakistan as it escalated the situation with the Pahalgam terror attack and India only responded to it through Operation Sindoor, Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri said on Thursday.
His comments at a media briefing came amid heightened tensions between the two countries.
Misri said escalation started from that side (Pakistan) with the 22 April Pahalgam attack in which 26 people, mostly tourists, were killed.
“Our approach is not to escalate the situation; we only responded to the 22 April Pahalgam terror attack,” he said.
On de-escalation of the situation, Misri said, “Pakistan escalated the situation, we only responded. Choice is with Pakistan.”
He said at the UNSC meeting, Pakistan opposed mention of the role of terror group The Resistance Force (TRF) when it had already claimed responsibility for the Pahalgam attack.
The foreign secretary said also that the retaliatory actions of Pakistan are impacting civilians, referring to firings along the Line of Control in Jammu and Kashmir.
“Pakistan’s reputation as the centre of global terrorism is rooted in various terrorist attacks across the globe,” Misri, flanked by Wing Commander Vyomika Singh and Colonel Sofia Qureshi, said, adding that Pakistan has been pursuing cross-border terrorism against India for decades.
He said India’s action on Wednesday was restrained and it was confined to terrorist infrastructure.
In retaliation for the Pahalgam terror attack, Indian armed forces early Wednesday carried out missile strikes on terror targets, including Bahawalpur, a stronghold of the Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) terror group.
On Thursday, the defence ministry said that the Pakistani military tried last night to target Awantipura, Srinagar, Jammu, Pathankot, Amritsar, Kapurthala, Jalandhar, Ludhiana, Adampur, Bhatinda, Chandigarh, Nal, Phalodi, Uttarlai, and Bhuj but these attempts were foiled and a Pakistani air defence system was destroyed in Lahore.
Misri said also that Pakistan is deliberately creating roadblocks over the years on the Indus Waters Treaty issue. (PTI)