‘Pak PM reaction reflects on guilt’

Another round of a diplomatic duel between India and Pakistan seems to be taking roots with New Delhi today dumping Islamabad’s talk of...

Another round of a diplomatic duel between India and Pakistan seems to be taking roots with New Delhi today dumping Islamabad’s talk of forcefully retaliating any Indian pre-emptive strike as a reflection of its ‘‘vulnerability’’ and ‘‘guilt’’.

Describing Pakistan Prime Minister Mir Zafarullah Khan Jamali’s statement as a ‘‘knee jerk’’ reaction, a Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson said Islamabad ought to focus on ending cross-border terrorism than imagining scenarios of military conflict. ‘‘If Pakistan would focus on the action they need to take on the ground and not on imaginary scenarios, that itself would make these imaginary scenarios unimaginable.’’

Jamali, who had asserted that Islamabad will react with ‘‘full force’’ to any Indian ‘‘misadventure’’, was responding to External Affairs Minister Yashwant Sinha’s statement that New Delhi had a fit case for pre-emptive strike just like the United States acted against Iraq.

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Even Sinha’s counterpart in Pakistan Khurshid Muhammad Kasuri had reacted sharply saying, ‘‘Pakistan rejects the doctrine of pre-emption. Its security, however, is not based on mere legal doctrines. Any misadventure by India will be met with full force.’’

Dismissing these assertions as unnecessary, a MEA spokesperson said: ‘‘These knee-jerk reactions essentially arise from Pakistan’s sense of vulnerability which in turn arise from its sense of guilt.’’

According to New Delhi, Pakistan would be better advised not to indulge in ‘‘politics of terror’’ and instead look at ending its sponsorship of terrorism in Jammu and Kashmir. ‘‘If Pakistan would only give up its politics of terror, then there would be no talk of military tension, leave alone talk of pre-emptive action,’’ the spokesperson added.

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