RAWALPINDI: Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Asim Munir on Thursday warned that any “misadventure” by India, amid fraught tensions with Pakistan that has seen continued shelling across the Line of Control after a militant attack in occupied Kashmir last week, would be met with a quick and decisive response.
The April 22 attack in Pahalgam killed 26 people, mostly tourists, marking one of the deadliest assaults in the region since 2000. India has implied cross-border links without evidence, while Pakistan has rejected the accusation and called for a neutral probe.
Tensions have since spiked, with Pakistan reinforcing its forces and India’s premier granting “operational freedom” to his military. As Pakistan, in the early hours of Wednesday, said it expected an incursion from India within the next 24-36 hours, diplomatic channels from other countries have been engaged to prevent a possible military confrontation.
A press release issued by the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) said COAS Munir visited the Tilla Field Firing Ranges in Jhelum to witness “Exercise Hammer Strike”, a high-intensity, field training exercise conducted by the military’s Mangla Strike Corps.
Addressing the troops amid the exercise, the ISPR said the army chief reaffirmed the military’s “unyielding resolve” to defend the nation’s sovereignty and territorial integrity at all costs.
“Let there be no ambiguity: any military misadventure by India will be met with a swift, resolute, and notch-up response. While Pakistan remains committed to regional peace, our preparedness and resolve to safeguard national interests is absolute,” he was quoted as saying by the ISPR.
It said the COAS lauded the “high morale, combat proficiency, and warfighting spirit” of the officers and troops, terming them the “embodiment of Pakistan Army’s operational excellence”. Senior military leadership, formation commanders and dignitaries from various services also witnessed the exercise.
“Exercise Hammer Strike stands as a testament to Pakistan Army’s pursuit of continuous transformation through rigorous training, doctrinal innovation, and technological modernisation,” the ISPR said.
It added that the exercise was meticulously designed to validate combat readiness, battlefield synergy and the operational integration of cutting-edge weapon systems under near-battlefield conditions. A diverse array of advanced capabilities, including multirole fighter aircraft, combat aviation assets, long-range precision artillery, and next-generation field engineering techniques, were employed to simulate conventional battlefield scenarios.
The ISPR said troops from all arms and services demonstrated “exceptional tactical cohesion, agility, and lethality during synchronised offensive manoeuvres — reflecting an extraordinary level of training and professionalism.
“Notably, the exercise showcased Pakistan Army’s increasing absorption of niche and emerging technologies to augment its kinetic and non-kinetic operational capabilities.”
A day ago, Pakistani officials had said the country would exercise restraint in the face of heightened tensions with India but warned it would respond “strongly” and “decisively” if attacked, invoking its right to self-defence under international law.
“Pakistan will not be the first one to resort to any escalatory move; however, in case of any escalatory move by the Indian side, we will respond very strongly,” Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar had said during a joint media briefing with military and Foreign Office spokespersons.
Dar said a similar message had been communicated to the international partners. “Any misadventure will be responded to in a befitting and decisive manner at the time and place of our choosing.”
“Our response would be befitting, decisive and assured,” ISPR Director General Lt Gen Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry had said. “We are ready for all eventualities. If they choose military confrontation, that would be their choice, but we would then determine its (conflict’s) future direction.”
Gen Chaudhry emphasised that Pakistan’s armed forces were fully capable and prepared to defend the country across all domains. “We are vigilant and our response and counter-measures would be appropriate and decisive,” he said.
