Vice-Prime Minister Ishaq Dar announced Thursday that the soldiers of India and Pakistan agreed to extend the ceasefire from last week until Sunday, May 18. Addressing the Senate on Thursday, he declared that the extension will open the way to a renewed political dialogue.
“Now that [ceasefire] has been extended to [May] 18, therefore obviously, in the end, things will go to dialogue, “said Dar.” For the moment, these are military communications to soldiers, therefore obviously, then political dialogue will take place. The resolution of all problems lies in it. »»
DAR firmly said that Pakistan had not asked for a cease-fire. He said the first call on a cease-fire came from the American Secretary of State, who revealed that India had asked for a truce. Pakistan, he said, expressed its will until having received similar calls from Saudi Arabia, Turkiye and China.
“We were already in contact with friendly countries before the conflict was,” he said. “We informed them of our restraint and clearly indicated that although we did not initiate hostilities, any aggression of India would have encountered a strong answer,” he added.
DAR also stressed the role of the Indian media by immediately accusing Pakistan for the recent incident of Pahalgam, establishing parallels with the attack on Pulwama.
The DPM criticized India so as not to provide credible evidence. “This time, we have not left India’s account that we do not contest,” he said. “We decided to respond decisively, and the Prime Minister even offered a transparent investigation, which India rejected without presenting any evidence,” he added.
Referring to the events of May 7, Dar said that 70 to 80 Indian fighter planes entered the Pakistani airspace and had abandoned 24 useful charges. “These bombs did not target activists but fell on mosques and innocent civilians,” he noted. “In response, Pakistan killed five Indian planes. None of our planes has been destroyed.”
He said India is targeting Sikhs areas with false flag operations to encourage the community against Pakistan. “They spread, saying that our F-16s were used. However, the United States confirmed that no F-16 was piloted or shot,” he added.
He said India launched 29 drones in the first 24 hours of hostilities and 80 others the next day. “A single drone managed to strike a military area, injuring four soldiers. Several bases and airports were attacked simultaneously, and we responded decisively,” he said.
Dar also said: “We have clearly indicated: when we retaliate, we will not secretly do it. We have published videos of our strikes and we engaged with around 60 foreign ministers, reiterating our position – we would never launch assault but we would always answer if they were attacked. The world saw our commitment to peace.”
He noted that The telegraph praised the professionalism of the Pakistani army. He also discussed India’s actions in cashmere, saying that Pakistan would raise the question in any future negotiation. “India’s attempt to annex cashmere and its violations of the Indus water Treaty are critical problems,” he said.
“Even the president of the World Bank, Ajay Banga [treaty suspension] will be treated as an act of war, “he added.
DAR said that India had undergone economic losses of at least $ 3 billion, while Pakistan was facing tragic civilian victims. “We haven’t attacked any civil infrastructure,” he said. “Our martyrs mainly include women, children and the elderly-a heavy price that we paid for the assault,” he said.
Meanwhile, the Indian Minister for Foreign Affairs reiterated that the treaty with Pakistan would remain suspended until Islamabad ends “cross -border terrorism”.
During a visit to the troops in a basis of Qatar as part of his Middle East tour, American president Donald Trump expressed his optimism about the cease-fire and the possibility of lasting peace between the two countries.
“And Pakistan was very happy with that [ceasefire] And India was very happy with that and I think they are on the way, “he said.” We settled where everyone was very happy. I’m going to tell you that it seemed to be really going out of control, ”he added.
