Rawat’s remarks ‘invitation for nuclear encounter’: Pak

Islamabad, Jan 14: Pakistan Foreign Minister Khawaja Muhammad Asif said that Indian Army Chief General Bipin Rawat’s remarks about Pakistan amount to “invitation for nuclear encounter”, said media report.
Asif was reacting to Rawat’s remark in which he said the Army is ready to call Pakistan’s “nuclear bluff” and cross the border if the situation arises.
“We will call the (nuclear) bluff of Pakistan. If we will have to really confront the Pakistanis, and a task is given to us, we are not going to say we cannot cross the border because they have nuclear weapons. We will have to call their nuclear bluff,” Rawat had said at a press conference on Wednesday, reported the Indian Express.
The reaction came after General Rawat had dismissed Islamabad’s assertions that its tactical nuclear weapons had prevented India from waging a military war on Pakistan, said the report.
Reacting to the statement, Asif wrote on Twitter: “Very irresponsible statement by Indian Army Chief, not befitting his office. Amounts to invitation for nuclear encounter. If that is what they desire, they are welcome to test our resolve. The general’s doubt would swiftly be removed, inshallah,” the report mentioned.
Earlier on Saturday, Pakistan Army warned India against any ‘misadventure’. It asserted that the country’s nuclear weapons were exclusively meant to foil any threat emanating from the east and Pakistan Army spokesman Major General Asif Ghafoor warned of a response if India undertook any misadventure, said the report.