Alwaght- The Pakistan Army has warned India against any misadventure, asserting that the country's nuclear weapons were exclusively meant to foil any threat emanating from the east.
The army's warning came after Indian Army chief General Bipin Rawat's recent remarks that his country's force was ready to call Pakistan's "nuclear bluff" and cross the border to carry out any operation if asked by the government.
"We will call the (nuclear) bluff of Pakistan. If we will have to really confront the Pakistanis, and a task is given to us, we are not going to say we cannot cross the border because they have nuclear weapons. We will have to call their nuclear bluff," Rawat said at a press conference on Wednesday.
Pakistan Army Spokesman Major General Asif Ghafoor warned of response if India undertook any misadventure.
"Well, it's their choice. Should they wish to test our resolve they may try and see it for themselves," Ghafoor told state-run PTV.
General Rawat's remark had come in response to a question on possibility of Pakistan using its nuclear weapons in case the situation along the border deteriorated.
He said General Rawat's comments were unbecoming of an army chief.
"But we believe it's a weapon of deterrence, not a choice. The only thing stopping them is our credible nuclear deterrence as there is no space of war between the two nuclear states," he said.
He alleged that India was using sub-conventional threat and state-sponsored terrorism to destabilise Pakistan but has failed to achieve its objectives so far.
Pakistan and India have routinely tested ballistic missiles since they first became nuclear capable respectively in 1998 and 1974.
Neither of the neighbors has signed the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) or other international regulatory pacts that restrict developing or testing nuclear weapons.
India considers the NPT as discriminatory, while Pakistan has indicated that it will not join the international treaty until its neighbor does.
