Indians and Pakistanis took to social media on Friday to react to a Pakistani politician’s warning to the Indian Army chief to stop bragging about the missile strikes in the Balakot region in February.
Pakistan Minister for Human Rights Shireen Mazari took to social media to remind India’s Army Chief General Bipin Rawat of the “failed surgical strike” on Balakot and to warn him that Islamabad had the wherewithal to respond to New Delhi in a telling manner on multiple fronts.
— Shireen Mazari (@ShireenMazari1) September 20, 2019
— Shireen Mazari (@ShireenMazari1) September 20, 2019
Most netizens lampooned Mazari for declaring India’s pre-emptive missile strike a failure, saying she needed to check her facts and instead concentrate on improving Pakistan’s abysmal human rights record.
— VISHAL CHATURVEDI (@IndoriVishal) September 20, 2019
— Bombaywhispers (@Bombaywhispers1) September 20, 2019
— Sandeep Sapre (@SandeepSapre2) September 20, 2019
— Uzman (@GMarkhor) September 20, 2019
However, another group of netizens supported Mazari’s comments, saying she was within her rights to call out India and its army chief, especially on the latter’s statement that a confused Pakistan is worried about India’s ability to strike hard if provoked.
— SheilaZulfiqarAhmed1 (@SheilaZulfiqar) September 20, 2019
— Junaid ahmad (@Junaida43217552) September 20, 2019
— Fatima Anwar (@fatimasadozai) September 20, 2019
In an interview with an Indian daily recently, India’s Army Chief General Bipin Rawat said India is currently well equipped for a sustained 10-day war with western neighbour Pakistan should it take place.
“My gut feeling is that Pakistan possibly feels that India might do something. They are worried that if something goes wrong in the hinterland, whether orchestrated by Pakistan or whether orchestrated from within the country with Pakistan’s help, India will hit back", General Rawat told The Print.
He said Pakistan knows if something “spectacular” happens, there will be retaliation.
“We are not going to spare them. Uncertainty prevails in Pakistan, which is good. Let them also remain under some kind of fear — don’t think you can get away with impunity. We have given a message that we will hit back and faster", he told The Print.
The army chief also advocated the need for India to abandon its “defensive mindset” along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) shared with China, saying the country should focus on “reserves in-depth” and technology when it comes to manning areas bordering Chinese territory.
General Rawat said special measures have been taken to ensure that infiltration attempts are challenged successfully, including deploying one more brigade along the Line of Control (LoC) that separates India and Pakistan.
Recently, Mazari left social media amused after falsely accusing the Indian government of felling apple trees to stop Kashmiri Muslims from having them.
She was trolled after the video clip she linked to Jammu and Kashmir turned out to be shot in the neighbouring Indian state of Himachal Pradesh.
