Pakistan Ready To Respond To 'Full Spectrum Threat' In Case Of India's Aggression - Army

Pakistan is prepared to retaliate against any threats coming from India following the escalation of tensions between the neighboring countries sparked by the terror attack in Kashmir, Director General of the Pakistan Armed Forces' Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) Maj. Gen. Asif Ghafoor said on Friday

NEW DELHI (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 22nd February, 2019) Pakistan is prepared to retaliate against any threats coming from India following the escalation of tensions between the neighboring countries sparked by the terror attack in Kashmir, Director General of the Pakistan Armed Forces' Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) Maj. Gen. Asif Ghafoor said on Friday.

"We can respond to full spectrum threat. And I hope you get this and don't mess with Pakistan," Ghafoor said at a press conference, as quoted by the Geo tv broadcaster.

The spokesman refuted reports that Pakistan had been getting ready for a war due to the growing tensions with India.

"Pakistan is not preparing for war. Threats and reports of a war are coming from your side. We are only using our right to self defence," Ghafoor added.

The relations between New Delhi and Islamabad worsened after February 14, when a car carrying over 100 Pounds of explosives was detonated on the Jammu-Srinagar highway next to a security convoy, killing 45 Indian paramilitary officers.

This was the biggest terrorist attack in India since 2008, when a terrorist attack in Mumbai killed over 150 people. India has named Maulana Masood Azhar, the leader of the Jaish-e-Mohammed residing in Pakistan, as the person responsible for ordering the attack.

The group, which used to perpetrate attacks in the Jammu and Kashmir state, is affiliated with Taliban movement and al-Qaeda terrorist organization (banned in Russia) and aims to separate Kashmir from India and to merge it with neighboring Pakistan.

After the attack, India blamed Pakistan for harboring and protecting terrorists, accusing the country of having a "direct hand" in the incident. As a punitive measure, India has withdrawn Pakistan's most-favored nation (MFN) status and raised custom duties on goods imported from Pakistan to 200 percent.

Islamabad has, in turn, rejected the allegations of its involvement in the attack and said that this was New Delhi's strategy to divert international attention from human rights violations taking place in the Kashmir region.