RAWALPINDI — Pakistan’s military on Saturday issued its starkest warning yet to India, cautioning that any fresh round of hostilities between the nuclear-armed rivals could trigger “cataclysmic devastation” across South Asia, according to “The Express Tribune”.
In a statement, the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), the army’s media wing, said Pakistan would not exercise restraint if provoked. “We caution that a future conflict might lead to cataclysmic devastation. In case a fresh round of hostilities is triggered, Pakistan will not hold back. We shall resolutely respond without qualms or restraint,” the communiqué declared.
The remarks followed what ISPR described as “delusional, provocative and jingoistic” statements from senior Indian security officials, which it said could serve as a pretext for aggression. “These irresponsible statements indicate a renewed attempt to fabricate arbitrary grounds for conflict — a prospect that could have serious consequences for peace and stability in South Asia,” the statement said.
Relations between the neighbors plummeted in April after an attack in Pahalgam killed 26 people. India immediately blamed Pakistan, which denied involvement. In the days that followed, New Delhi suspended the Indus Waters Treaty, cancelled visas for Pakistanis, shut down the Wagah-Attari border crossing, and ordered the closure of Pakistan’s High Commission in New Delhi.
Hostilities escalated further in early May, when Indian missile strikes hit six cities in Punjab and Azad Jammu and Kashmir, killing dozens of civilians. Pakistan retaliated by downing Indian warplanes, including three Rafale jets, and later launched “Operation Bunyanum Marsoos,” which struck Indian missile depots, airbases, and other strategic facilities.
The confrontation brought both nations perilously close to all-out war before U.S. President Donald Trump announced a ceasefire following overnight diplomacy.
On Saturday, ISPR warned that Pakistan had adopted its own “new normal” for response — swift, decisive, and destructive. “This time we shall shatter the myth of geographic immunity, hitting the farthest reaches of Indian territory,” it said. “As for talk of erasing Pakistan from the map, India must know that if such a situation arises, the erasure will be on both sides of the border.”
