Amarinder Singh warns Pakistan against attempt to escalate conflict

Chandigarh, May 7 (IANS) Warning Pakistan against trying to escalate the conflict, BJP leader and former Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh on Wednesday hailed the Indian defence forces' precision strikes on terror camps inside Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK).

Reacting to the strikes, Singh observed that "the action was overdue, as Pakistan had not been desisting from exporting terror into our country".

He pointed out that just two weeks ago, 26 innocent people were killed in Pahalgam by "Pakistan-trained terrorists".

The former Punjab Chief Minister, himself a former army officer, congratulated the defence forces for exercising utmost restraint by specifically targeting the terror camps inside Pakistan and PoK.

He pointed out that there was no targeting of civilian or military installations. He warned Pakistan against escalating the conflict, lest it lead to its doom.

He condemned the Pakistan Army's attack on civilian areas, resulting in the death of several people in the border town of Poonch in Jammu and Kashmir.

Amarinder clarified that India does not want any escalation.

"The country had made it categorically clear that it would not let those responsible for the Pahalgam terror attack go unpunished. They have been punished, as has been admitted by the Jaish-e-Mohammad terrorist, who, though he escaped himself, lost several members of his family," he said.

This, the former Chief Minister observed, proved how precise the Indian defence forces were in hitting their targets without any civilian or military casualties.

"Our target was the terrorist training camps, and we have hit them hard and that is it," he remarked.

In the early hours of May 7, India launched precision strikes targeting nine high-value terror camps across Pakistan and PoK.

The air and missile strikes focused only on terror infrastructure linked with internationally designated groups such as Jaish-e-Mohammed and Lashkar-e-Taiba. Care was taken to avoid civilian casualties or damage to Pakistan’s military assets, underlining India’s commitment to strategic restraint even in retaliation.

--IANS

vg/svn