Pakistan warns India of a befitting response for surgical strike

Islamabad: Pakistan's Defence Minister Khawaja Asif on Monday warned India of severe consequences in case of a surgical strike on his country.

The minister also claimed that India does not want to continue the process of negotiation with Pakistan and reduce the tension.

"If India conducts a surgical strike, such a response would be given that the country would not even dream of it," Asif said in a fiery speech during the Senate session, according to media.

Earlier this month, Pakistan's Army Chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa had said his forces are fully geared to respond to "any aggression" by India.

"Pakistan's armed forces are fully geared to respond to any aggression by India," army spokesperson Major General Asif Ghafoor had quoted General Bajwa as saying.

Ghafoor also tweeted that General Bajwa rejected the "self defeating claims" of Indian Army Chief General Bipin Rawat about 'so called surgical strikes' and its possible recurrence.

India maintains that its forces conducted surgical strikes in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir, targeting terrorists and destroying their training camps, in September last year.

General Rawat, who took over as the 27th chief of Indian army on December 31, had said India will give a calibrated "hard" response to terror activities that will compel Pakistan to completely rethink its strategy on supporting insurgency and terrorism.

General Rawat was actively involved in the surgical strikes on terror camps across the LoC.