Pakistan has reiterated its commitment to maintaining the ceasefire with India but cautioned against normalising the arbitrary use of force, weeks after the two neighbours saw their worst conflict in decades.
Speaking at the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Council of Foreign Ministers meeting in Tianjin, China, Dar said Pakistan remained fully committed to the regional ceasefire and a balanced security environment.
However, he cautioned that peace could not be achieved if coercion and aggression were allowed to become standard tools of statecraft.
“Today, Pakistan remains steadfast in its commitment to the ceasefire and the cultivation of a stable regional equilibrium,” Dar said. “But we cannot accept that the arbitrary use of force is normalised.”
The heaviest fighting in decades between Pakistan and India was sparked by an April 22 attack in Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK) that killed 26 people, most of them tourists. New Delhi blamed Pakistan for the attack, a charge denied by Islamabad.
In response to India’s cross-border strikes, Pakistan had launched Operation Bunyan-um-Marsoos after downing six Indian Air Force jets, including three Rafales in response to Indian aggression.
The two countries, following four days of armed conflict, agreed on a US-brokered ceasefire on May 10.
This is a developing story and is being updated with more details.
