Pak minister's ‘all-out’ war threat after Pahalgam terror attack: ‘Will measure response to what India initiates’

Pahalgam Terror Attack: Pakistan's defence minister Khawaja Asif has warned his country's military was ‘prepared for any eventuality’ amid escalating tensions and downgraded diplomatic relations with India after worst-ever terror attack on civilians in Jammu and Kashmir's Pahalgam that killed 26, mostly tourists, earlier this week.

Asif told British news channel Sky News that the worsening ties between the two neighbouring nations post the Pahalgam terror attack might lead to an all-out India-Pakistan war.

“We will measure our response to whatever is initiated by India. It would be a measured response,” Asif told Sky News in the interview.

Tensions between India and Pakistan escalated in last few days, with widespread reports suggesting a possibility of punitive strikes by India in response to 22 April Pahalgam terror attack. 

India initiated several diplomatic measures after the terror attack targeting Pakistan, which responded with countermeasures, as the militaries of both countries remain on high alert, according to reports.

"If there is an all-out attack or something like that, then obviously there will be an all-out war," Asif said, asserting that the world should be ‘worried’ about the prospect of tensions between two nations, both with nuclear weapons.

India's decision to downgrade diplomatic ties with Pakistan given cross-border links to the Pahalgam terror attack was taken in the Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS) meeting held at Prime Minister Narendra Modi's residence on April 23.

Asif said in the interview that the clash between two nuclear powers is always worrisome. “If things get wrong, there could be a tragic outcome of this confrontation,” he said.

Will identify and punish every terrorist: PM Modi

In his first public appearance after the Pahalgam attack, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Thursday that he wanted the world to know that India will ‘identify and punish’ every terrorist. Modi, in a rare remark in English, said those behind the Pahalgam terror attack and those part of the conspiracy will be punished beyond their imagination.

“Today, from the soil of Bihar, I say to the whole world, India will identify, track, and punish every terrorist and their backers,” Modi said in English, addressing the gathering in Madhubani in the poll-bound state.

The Pahalgam terrorist attack was carried out in the fabled Baisaran meadow of Pahalgam on April 22, a day when United States Vice President JD Vance was in India and Prime Minister Narendra Modi was on a state visit to Saudi Arabia.

Modi cut short his visit and returned to New Delhi on Wednesday morning.

What happened so far?

India responded to the terror attack by announcing measures, including shutting the Integrated Check Post (ICP) at Attari in Amritsar along the India-Pakistan border in Punjab with immediate effect. India also decided to suspend the Indus water treaty until Pakistan credibly and irrevocably abjures its support for cross-border terrorism, among other measures.

Islamabad has also said it ‘rejects’ India's decision to suspend the Indus Waters Treaty after the Pahalgam terror attack, adding that it's the lifeline for 240 million Pakistanis.

Pakistan has said that it has suspended ‘all trade’ with India after New Delhi took a slew of retaliatory measures against the country. Pakistan also threatened to suspend the 1971 Simla agreement in response to New Delhi's measures.