Ready to ‘wrap up’ tensions if India de-escalates, says Pakistan’s defence minister

Pakistan Defence Minister Khawaja Asif on Wednesday said that the country was ready to “wrap up” tensions with India if New Delhi chooses to de-escalate the situation, Bloomberg TV reported.

The statement came hours after the Indian military carried out strikes on what it said were terrorist camps in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir in response to the Pahalgam terror attack. The Indian armed forces targeted nine sites as part of Operation Sindoor, the defence ministry had said.

Asif told Bloomberg TV that Islamabad had maintained over the past two weeks that it would not initiate hostile actions against India.

“But if we’re attacked, we’ll respond,” he said. “If India backs down, we will definitely wrap up this tension.”

The minister also said that he was not aware of potential diplomatic talks between the two countries at this stage.

After carrying out the strikes, India’s defence ministry said that its actions had been “focused, measured and non-escalatory in nature”.

“No Pakistani military facilities have been targeted,” the ministry said. “India has demonstrated considerable restraint in selection of targets and methods in Pakistan.”

It added: “We are living up to the commitment that those responsible for the attack will be held accountable.”

Pakistan acknowledged that India had carried out the strikes.

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