Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and President Asif Ali Zardari have reaffirmed that Pakistan\u2019s sovereignty and territorial integrity are non-negotiable, vowing a firm response to any act of aggression amid escalating border tensions. Their statements come in the wake of intensified clashes along the Pakistan-Afghanistan border, where Pakistani forces have conducted counter-strikes following what officials described as unprovoked attacks by Afghan Taliban forces. \u2018No Compromise on Defence\u2019 In a statement, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said Pakistan would respond decisively to any aggression, stressing that both the people and the armed forces stand united in defence of the country. Highlighting the military\u2019s capabilities, he said that under the leadership of Chief of Army Staff Syed Asim Munir, the armed forces remain fully equipped, trained and prepared to counter internal and external threats. \u201cPakistan has consistently promoted peace, but our integrity will never be compromised,\u201d the premier said, adding that the entire nation stands behind its armed forces. President Warns Against Misreading Peace President Zardari echoed similar sentiments in a social media message, stating that Pakistan\u2019s commitment to peace should not be mistaken for weakness. He warned that any miscalculation would invite a comprehensive and decisive response, asserting that no aggressor would remain beyond the reach of Pakistan\u2019s armed forces. \u2018Open War\u2019: Defence Minister Defence Minister Khawaja Asif described the situation as an \u201copen war,\u201d saying Pakistan\u2019s patience had run out. He criticised the Afghan Taliban government, accusing it of allowing militant elements to operate from its soil. Asif emphasised that Pakistan had long supported Afghan stability and hosted millions of Afghan refugees over the decades. \u201cOur forces are now delivering a decisive response,\u201d he said, warning that national security would not be compromised. Civilian Safety a Red Line Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi condemned what he termed attempts to target civilian populations, calling such actions a \u201chorrific miscalculation.\u201d He praised the armed forces for their swift and professional response and reiterated that Pakistan would not tolerate any threat to its civilians or territorial integrity. As tensions remain high along the border, the country\u2019s top leadership has signalled unity and resolve, emphasising that while Pakistan seeks peace, it stands ready to defend its sovereignty at all costs. \u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and President Asif Ali Zardari have reaffirmed that Pakistan\u2019s sovereignty and territorial integrity are non-negotiable, vowing a firm response to any…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":30917,"comment_status":"registered_only","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[8],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-30916","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-latest-news-updates"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.diplomacypakistan.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30916","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.diplomacypakistan.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.diplomacypakistan.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.diplomacypakistan.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.diplomacypakistan.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=30916"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.diplomacypakistan.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30916\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.diplomacypakistan.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/30917"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.diplomacypakistan.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=30916"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.diplomacypakistan.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=30916"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.diplomacypakistan.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=30916"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}