He added: ‘I think the view in Pakistan is that enough is enough. We are not sacrificial lambs,we will stand up. If India does not respond now,I am sure Pakistan will say thank you,that is it.’
Hours after carrying out strikes on India,Pakistan’s foreign minister,Ishaq Dar,said his country would consider de-escalation if India stopped further attacks.
Earlier,he told Pakistan’s Geo News: ‘We responded because our patience had reached its limit. If they stop here,we will also consider stopping.’
Prime minister Shehbaz Sharif also told his country’s political leaders ‘we have given India a befitting response’.
Indian Civil Defence volunteers and security personnel stand outside a damaged house after cross-border shelling from Pakistan,at Jammu town in Jammu and Kashmir (Picture: EPA)
India has also said it is committed to ‘non-escalation’,providing that rival forces reciprocated.
Wing Commander Vyomika Singh warned: ‘Indian armed forces remain in a high state of operational readiness.’
Rubio had spoken to Pakistan’s army chief Asim Munir on Friday to offer American assistance ‘in starting constructive talks in order to avoid future conflicts’.
He spoke to his Indian counterpart S Jaishankar,stressing that ‘both sides need to identify methods to de-escalate and re-establish direct communication to avoid miscalculation,’ State Department spokesperson Tammy Bruce said Saturday.
Villagers use sacks filled with sand to protectively surround parts of a projectile intercepted by the Indian Army in Wadala Bhattewad village near Amritsar,India (Picture: AP)
The Group of Seven (G7) major economies had earlier called for maximum restraint from India and Pakistan,urging the neighbours to engage in direct dialogue.
‘Further military escalation poses a serious threat to regional stability. We are deeply concerned for the safety of civilians on both sides,’ according to the statement,which was posted in the official website of the government of Canada,a member of the G7.
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