Pak Within Rights to Retaliate: Bilawal Bhutto After Air Strikes

Bhutto called India’s strikes as “outrageous and unprecedented act of aggression”.

File image of Bilawal Bhutto Zardari.

(Photo Courtesy: Twitter)

After India's preemptive strikes on “biggest Jaish-e-Mohammed camp” in Pakistan’s Balakot on Tuesday, 26 February, Chairman of Opposition Pakistan People Party Bilawal Bhutto Zardari said the country is within its full right to retaliate and termed it as “outrageous and unprecedented act of aggression”.

Lashing out at the Modi government, Bhutto said, “Atrocious that the extremist Hindutva government of the so-called largest democracy in the world would risk provoking war between two nuclear armed states, to feed war hysteria at home and help with Modi’s re-election campaign.”

‘Innocent People Will Be the Collateral Damage’

The Opposition’s chairman also said that innocent people on both sides of the border will be the collateral damage to any ‘misadventure’.

“While the whole nation will stand united with whatever decision is taken, it is important for Pakistan to be cautious,” he tweeted.

Catch all the updates on the IAF strikes here.

The Indian Air Force’s 12 Mirage 2000 Indian Fighter jets reportedly dropped 1,000 kg bombs destroying terror camps across the LoC on the Pakistani side during early hours of Tuesday.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, while addressing a rally in Rajasthan’s Churu, said, “Today, I assure the countrymen, the country is in safe hands.”

Responding to the strike, Pakistan Army spokesman Major General Asif Ghafoor said, Pakistan will “surprise” India with its response that will be in all domains including “diplomatic, political and military.”

“Prime Minister Imran Khan told the army and people to be ready for any eventuality. Now it is time for India to wait for our response. We have decided. Wait for it,” Ghafoor said.

Initially, Pakistan’s Prime Minister Imran Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf on Twitter had rejected India’s claim of the air strikes and called it “reckless” and “fictitious”.

The Pakistan Army later confirmed that Indian fighter jets dropped “four bombs” during an operation on Tuesday but downplayed its significance, saying the Indian attack was repulsed and while going back the aircraft “jettisoned their payload”.