The army chief’s stern warning came days after Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi reportedly told his country’s armed forces that they had the “complete operational freedom to decide on the mode, targets and timing of our response” to the Pahalgam incident.
Gen Munir, however, reaffirmed the unyielding resolve of Pakistan’s armed forces to defend the nation’s sovereignty and territorial integrity at all costs.
“Let there be no ambiguity: any military misadventure by India will be met with a swift, resolute, and notch-up response,” he said while addressing the troops during his visit to the Tilla Field Firing Ranges (TFFR) on Thursday where he witnessed Exercise Hammer Strike – a high-intensity, field training exercise conducted by Pakistan Army’s Mangla Strike Corps.
“While Pakistan remains committed to regional peace, our preparedness and resolve to safeguard national interests is absolute,” the army chief was quoted as saying by the military’s media wing, the ISPR.
The exercise was meticulously designed to validate combat readiness, battlefield synergy, and the operational integration of cutting-edge weapon systems under near-battlefield conditions. A diverse array of advanced capabilities, including multirole fighter aircraft, combat aviation assets, long-range precision artillery, and next-generation field engineering techniques, were employed to simulate conventional battlefield scenarios.
Troops from all arms and services demonstrated exceptional tactical cohesion, agility, and lethality during synchronised offensive manoeuvres – reflecting an extraordinary level of training and professionalism. The exercise showcased Pakistan Army’s increasing absorption of niche and emerging technologies to augment its kinetic and non-kinetic operational capabilities.
During the visit, the army chief lauded the high morale, combat proficiency, and warfighting spirit of the officers and troops, terming them the embodiment of Pakistan Army’s operational excellence.
The Exercise Hammer Strike stands as a testament to Pakistan Army’s pursuit of continuous transformation through rigorous training, doctrinal innovation, and technological modernisation. Senior military leadership, formation commanders, and dignitaries from various services witnessed the exercise.
India has alleged Pakistan’s hand in the killing of 26 tourists in the Pahalgam area of Anantnag district of Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK) late last month. And since then, New Delhi has been beating war drums in an environment of war hysteria whipped up by its jingoistic media.
India has not produced even a shred of evidence to substantiate its allegations, though Pakistan has offered a “neutral, transparent, and credible investigation” into what has happened in the mist-covered Baisaran meadows of Pahalgam on April 22. At the same time, Islamabad has also slammed India for a “pattern of exploitation” by leveling “baseless allegations and false accusations without credible investigation or verifiable evidence.”
Angry rhetoric between the two nuclear-armed neighbours has alarmed the international community which has stepped up efforts to defuse the situation. On Wednesday, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio urged India and Pakistan to work together to “de-escalate tensions”. He held separate talks with India’s foreign minister and Pakistan’s prime minister, Shehbaz Sharif, and called on them to “maintain peace and security in South Asia”.
The US top diplomat urged Islamabad to cooperate “in investigating this unconscionable attack”. However, Shehbaz rejected “Indian attempts to link Pakistan to the incident”. He also urged the US to “impress upon India to dial down the rhetoric and act responsibly”.