Pakistan's Defence Minister: Hostilities will cease if India steps back

Pakistan's Defence Minister Khawaja Asif told in an interview with U.S. media that the country was merely defending its territory and would not escalate the situation unless provoked, adding that hostilities would end if India chose to de-escalate.

“We have been saying all along the last fortnight that we will never initiate anything hostile toward India. But if India attacks, we’ll respond. If India backs down, we’ll definitely wrap up,” Caliber.Az quotes the minister as saying.

In a significant escalation following the April 22 militant attack in Pahalgam, Jammu and Kashmir, Indian forces launched airstrikes on seven sites inside Pakistan — well beyond the contested Line of Control.

Indian officials confirmed the operation, dubbed “Operation Sindoor”, hit targets in Bahawalpur, Muridke, Tehra Kalan, Sialkot, Bhimber, Kotli and Muzaffarabad.

Indian authorities claim the Kashmir assault was designed to derail development in the region and incite communal unrest. While Delhi has publicly accused Islamabad of aiding the attackers, Pakistan has flatly denied any involvement and instead says it’s India that’s destabilising regional peace.

The tit-for-tat rhetoric and military manoeuvres have put South Asia’s two nuclear-armed neighbours on edge — again. Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif labelled the Indian airstrikes a “cowardly attack” that killed women and children, vowing Pakistan has the full right now to respond in a befitting manner to the conflict imposed on us.”

India, for its part, has briefed international partners. National Security Advisor Ajit Doval spoke with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio in the aftermath of the strikes. The United States, currently in trade talks with India, has urged calm. President Donald Trump, speaking from the Oval Office, called the situation “a shame” and said, “They’ve been fighting for a long time. I just hope it ends very quickly.”

The current military action follows a familiar script — a terrorist incident in Kashmir, Indian retaliation, and a sharp diplomatic standoff. Yet analysts caution that while both sides have shown restraint in the past, the risk of escalation cannot be dismissed.
“Things can go out of control, spin out of control,” said Rajeswari Pillai Rajagopalan, senior fellow at the Australian Strategic Policy Institute. “But if you look at their repeated conflicts over the last three decades since both countries went nuclear in 1998, both sides have shown restraint.”

Still, there are signs this round could widen. Pakistan says it shot down five Indian jets — a claim India hasn’t confirmed — and has since closed its airspace. India, meanwhile, has suspended the long-standing Indus Waters Treaty, nearly halting the Chenab River’s flow into Pakistan, sparking alarm in Pakistan’s agricultural heartland. Islamabad says the stoppage amounts to an economic attack on its farmers and a violation of international norms.

As skirmishes continue along the border, both militaries are conducting readiness drills. Pakistan carried out surface-to-surface missile tests earlier this week, and India has launched mock drills across several states, projecting resolve amid growing tensions.

India’s opposition, the Indian National Congress, has so far backed the government’s military response but stopped short of calling for further strikes. The political calculus in Delhi remains cautious, asserting strength without inviting full-scale war.

Markets, meanwhile, are showing signs of strain. India’s benchmark NSE Nifty 50 Index swung between losses and gains, while the rupee weakened 0.2% against the dollar. Pakistan’s KSE-30 Index dropped as much as 6.1% — the lowest since December — before trimming losses.
“Financial markets will likely be jittery in the immediate aftermath,” said Sonal Varma, chief economist for India at Nomura Holdings. “That said, past episodes show that the market and economic impact of similar geopolitical events tends to be short-lived.”

The crisis has once again brought global attention to the deeply entrenched Kashmir dispute — an issue that has plagued India-Pakistan relations since Partition in 1947. While both countries have fought several wars and frequent skirmishes over the territory, the 1999 Kargil conflict marked their last prolonged military engagement.

Now, with nationalist sentiment running high and diplomatic bridges fraying, the region is facing its most volatile flashpoint in years. For now, the strikes remain targeted and contained. But as both governments harden their rhetoric and position forces, the risk of miscalculation looms.

By Aghakazim Guliyev