Pakistan-India Relations Reverting To Pre-April 22 Status, Says Mirza

Summary:

• Pakistan’s chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff talked about the escalating situation between Pakistan and India.
• India’s chief of defence staff and defence ministry did not respond to General Sahir Shamshad Mirza’s statement.
• India’s chief of defence staff and Pakistan’s chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff were together at the Shangri-La Dialogue Forum in Singapore.

SINGAPORE: General Sahir Shamshad Mirza told Reuters on May 30 about the backing of Pakistani and Indian troops from their border that were tightened during the nuclear escalation between both nations.

The escalated situation between Pakistan and India:

Before April 22, the situation between Pakistan and India was not intense. On April 22, in Indian-occupied Jammu and Kashmir’s Pahalgam, people, mostly terrorists, were killed. India alleged that Pakistan had sent its backend-terrorist group that killed people. Though Pakistan has denied this allegation.

On May 7, the Indian military attacked Pakistan and claimed that it attacked the terrorist place. Despite Pakistan’s denial of involvement, the Indian military attacked. Resultantly, Pakistan defended its territory and claimed to attack Indian military bases and jets.

The recent battle between Pakistan and India is counted as the worst. Though Washington claimed to play as mediator to ease the tension, India thus denied its involvement in mediation.

General Sahir Shamshad Mirza’s statements:

The chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Sahir Shamshad Mirza, was in Singapore on May 30. He was present to attend the Shangri-La Dialogue Forum, where he made statements about the Pak-India war to Reuters.

In his two-day International Conference, he emphasized that “Peace and stability in South Asia can only be achieved through reciprocal measures for nuclear risk reduction and instituting a balance in a wider geostrategic construct.” He represented Pakistan’s stance that always stressed resolving the tensions between nations through dialogues.

During the interview, he said that Pakistan and India have started the process of drawing back their military troops on their borders, which were tightened in the chaotic situation. Mirza passed his first statement after the ceasefire. He said, “We have almost come back to the pre-22nd April situation. We are approaching that, or we must have approached that by now.”

Warning by Pakistan’s CJCSC:

Talking to the media in Singapore, Mirza said that there was no move towards nuclear weapons, though the situation was very dangerous, but it should not be taken leniently. He said, “Nothing happened this time. But you can’t rule out any strategic miscalculation at any time because when the crisis is on, the responses are different.”

He also highlighted that this time, the situation was worse because it did not solely revolve around Kashmir. In fact, it is premised on the whole of Pakistan and India. Both sides had attacked each other’s military installations, but neither of them had officially acknowledged the loss. He also said that the window for negotiation is now closed with India. 

In his words, “This chaos lowers the threshold between two countries who are contiguous nuclear powers. In the future, it will not be restricted to the disputed territory. It would come down to the whole of India and Pakistan.” He called it a “Dangerous Trend.”

He also remarked on further negotiatory deals with India. He said, “The time window for the international community to intervene would now be very less, and I would say that damage and destruction may take place even before that time window is exploited by the international community.” He cleared that in future, it would be difficult to accept any third-party involvement in a ceasefire if India continued its heinous and cowardly attacks.

India’s Defence Minister statement:

On Friday, India’s Defence Minister, Rajnath Singh, said, “If there are talks, it will only be on terrorism and (Pakistan Kashmir). “If Pakistan is serious about talks, it should hand over terrorists to India so that justice is served.” 

Reuters asked Mirza about his meetup with India’s defence chief, who was also in Singapore to attend Shangri-La Forum. General Sahir Shamshad Mirza said, “These issues can only be resolved by dialogue and consultations on the table. They cannot be resolved on the battlefield.”