Imran Khan asks Pak army to 'respond decisively' to any Indian aggression, at key security meet

The body issued a statement after the meeting saying that the country was "not involved in any way" in the Pulwama "incident", which was "conceived, planned and executed indigenously".

The country's top civilian and military leadership said in the statement that the Pakistan government was "determined to demonstrate" that it is capable of protecting its people./ Image: Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan , courtesy: Facebook

New Delhi: In the key meeting of Pakistan’s National Security Council, chaired by the country’s Prime Minister Imran Khan after India’s strict warning over Pulwama terror attack, the premier authorised the military to respond “decisively” to any Indian misadventure. The meeting was called to discuss the security situation as the country faced worldwide flak for supporting JeM which carried out the deadly attack. The body issued a statement after the meeting saying that the country was "not involved in any way" in the Pulwama "incident", which was "conceived, planned and executed indigenously". The statement referred to the terror attack as just an “incident”. The country's top civilian and military leadership said in the statement that the Pakistan government was "determined to demonstrate" that it is capable of protecting its people. The meeting was conducted a week after a suicide bomber of the Pakistan-based Jaish-e-Mohammad terror group attacked CRPF convoy in Kashmir, killed 40 soldiers. Coming down heavily on the neighboring country after the attack, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had said that security forces have been given free hand to avenge the dastardly act. "This is a new Pakistan and we are determined to demonstrate to our people that the State is capable of protecting them and believes that monopoly of violence stays with State," said a statement issued after the meeting, according to the Radio Pakistan. The statement said Prime Minister Khan has authorised the armed forces of Pakistan to "respond decisively and comprehensively to any aggression or misadventure by India." On Tuesday, Imran Khan said that action would be taken against the perpetrators of the Pulwama attack if New Delhi shares "actionable intelligence" and at the same time he warned that Pakistan will retaliate if India attacks. Khan was heard saying in the nationwide broadcast: “Thinking that Pakistan will remain quiet if somebody attacks it, is wrong. Pakistan will retaliate. And that is the only option Pakistan has. He questioned India’s claim of his nation’s involvement in the deadly terror attack. He said that 70000 Pakistani lost their lives fighting insurgency in the country so the nation fully understood the brunt of terrorism. He added that India is putting the blame on Pakistan for the terror attack without any substantial proof. India ejected Khan's statement on Pulwama attack saying disclaiming Pakistan's link with terrorist attacks is an oft-repeated excuse by the "nerve centre" of terrorism. The External Affairs Ministry, in a statement, also termed as "lame excuse" Khan's demand for "actionable intelligence" concerning the attack in which 40 security personnel were killed.