New Delhi: The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) of Imran Khan, the ruling party across the border, has accused the Indian media of stirring up hysteria around the IAF strike on terror camps in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, adding that the operation was a sign of the Indian government’s “desperation” in the run-up to general elections.
Tweeting from its official handle, the PTI denied that the IAF had dropped any bombs on Pakistani territory.
“We realise it’s election year, and a desperation across the border. Fact of the matter is, Indian jets were forced to retreat in haste by Pakistan army patrols and dumped fuel, which in their scramble they thought was a bomb. #Pakistan,” one of the tweets read.
We realise it’s election year, and a desperation across the border. Fact of the matter is, Indian jets were forced to retreat in haste by Pakistan army patrols and dumped fuel, which in their scramble they thought was a bomb.#Pakistan
— PTI (@PTIofficial) February 26, 2019
Accusing the Indian media of bloodlust, it added, “We always knew Indian media was irresponsible, but beating the war drums shows a disturbing bloodlust and deteriorating mindset at a time when Pakistan is on an upward trajectory. Indian jets scrambled back from Balakot which lies close to the LOC.”
It also quoted a tweet by Bloomberg Quint from 8.30 am, when the attack was yet to be confirmed by the Indian media, which quoted an Indian defence ministry spokesperson as saying they “’have no information’ of air strike on Pakistan”.
“Perhaps Indian Defence Ministry should call up Indian media houses and inform them of the cover up story they have for Indian Air Force retreat. Might help in controlling their hysteria. #Pakistan,” the PTI added.
Perhaps Indian Defence Ministry should call up Indian media houses and inform them of the cover up story they have for Indian Air Force retreat.
Might help in controlling their hysteria.#Pakistan https://t.co/My0VKpGSDI
— PTI (@PTIofficial) February 26, 2019
‘Hallucinations and Delusions’
Later, quoting a tweet by news agency ANI, which claimed that Pakistani F-16s scrambled to retaliate against the IAF’s Mirage 2000s had to turn back due to the size of the Indian formation, it accused the Indian media of hallucinations.
“Side Effects of Bollywood Are Hazardous To Indian Media’s Mental Health. Might Induce Hallucinations and Delusions Of Grandeur.#Pakistan,” it tweeted.
Meanwhile, Prime Minister Imran Khan is reported to have convened an emergency meeting to review the situation in the aftermath of the IAF strike, with a formal statement still awaited.
Earlier in the day, Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi was reported as saying that Pakistan reserved the right to defend itself and “deliver an appropriate response”.
Also read: Pakistan says IAF strike act of aggression, has right to respond
This is good! This means that — when Pakistan is saying that India hasn’t harmed it — it has no reason to retaliate !! This is good for the peace in the region.
But I’ll say this: I watched BBC many times in the morning, say around 11 AM. Their news ticker was showing one line that Pakistan had said early morning, “Pakistan jets scramble…”. That line changed only around 1 pm when Indian foreign Secretary gave out a statement, and the ticker started saying “Indian jets…”. Why this delay of nearly 8 hours? I didn’t tune in “on the hour” so I don’t know if the newsreader “spoke” any more details. Normally BBC and CNN get to know these things pretty fast. CNN I think didn’t have any ticker running at all. I tuned in there too, but couldn’t see any on that channel.
Let’s hope this is the end of the story. The scores are evened out, so let India and Pakistan just move on.