Islamabad, May 2 (EFE) – Pakistan’s military on Friday accused Indian intelligence and military agencies of directly orchestrating terrorist attacks on its soil, warning of a firm response to any “aggression or misadventure.”
Pakistan’s Chief of Army Staff, General Syed Asim Munir, convened a rare Special Corps Commanders’ Conference at the military’s General Headquarters in Rawalpindi to review what the army described as a deteriorating regional security environment.
The meeting followed a spike in cross-border tensions and heated rhetoric between the nuclear-armed neighbors, triggered by the deadly Apr. 22 attack in the Indian tourist town of Pahalgam, which India has blamed on militants operating from Pakistan.
Pakistan’s military leadership vowed to defend the country with an “unflinching resolve of the armed forces to uphold the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the country against any aggression or misadventure.”
In a strongly worded statement, the military said the commanders “voiced deep alarm over credible evidence of direct Indian military and intelligence involvement in orchestrating terrorist activities inside Pakistan.”
“These state-sponsored actions are a blatant violation of international norms and are universally unacceptable,” the statement said.
Drawing a parallel with the 2019 Pulwama bombing that killed nearly 40 Indian paramilitary troopers and led to India revoking Kashmir’s autonomy, the army alleged that the latest episode fits a pattern of India using crises to achieve “political and military objectives.”
“These incidents have often coincided with unilateral Indian moves to alter the status quo in Kashmir,” the statement added, referencing rising diplomatic and border tensions following the Pahalgam killings.
Kashmir, claimed in full and ruled in parts by both nations since partition in 1947, remains the flashpoint of repeated military and political standoffs.
The commanders also suggested that the Pahalgam attack may be part of a strategy to distract Pakistan from challenges on its western front and from its ongoing economic recovery efforts.
The country faces a resurgence in insurgent activity in the western provinces of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, where the Pakistani Taliban remain active, and Balochistan, which has long struggled with separatist unrest.
Meanwhile, Pakistan is grappling with a severe economic crisis and is currently under debt agreements with the International Monetary Fund (IMF). Compounding its woes, the country ranks among the most climate-vulnerable globally, facing recurring floods and worsening water scarcity in the Indus River basin.
Following the Pahalgam attack, India announced the suspension of the Indus Waters Treaty, a 1960 agreement that had endured decades of bilateral hostility.
Pakistan has denounced the move as “an act of war,” accusing India of trying to deny its rightful share of Indus River waters, a lifeline for millions.
The Pakistani military commanders said the Indian move to suspend the water-sharing agreement constituted “a dangerous attempt to weaponize water, threatening the livelihood and sustenance of over 240 million Pakistanis and escalating strategic instability in South Asia.” EFE
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