Pakistan will not resort to military action against India unless the situation escalates, the country's Defense Minister Khawaja Asif said.
„We have no intention of taking any action, but if there is any from India, there will be a response and it will be commensurate with the provocation. We do not want to escalate the situation or initiate anything. "If India tries to invade Pakistan or attack Pakistan, it will be met with a more than proportionate response," he said.
The new crisis in relations between the two countries erupted after a suicide attack in the Pahalgam area of Jammu and Kashmir on Tuesday, which killed 26 people.
"The Resistance Front", a group affiliated with the terrorist organization "Lashkar-e-Taiba", claimed responsibility for the attack. In response to the attack, the Cabinet Committee on Security, chaired by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, decided to reduce the staffing levels of the Indian and Pakistani embassies from 55 to 30, suspend the Indus Waters Treaty, and close the only functioning land border crossing at Wagah-Attari.
New Delhi has asked Pakistanis who entered through the crossing to leave the country by May 1. In addition, Indian authorities have banned citizens of the neighboring state from entering under the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) visa-free regime. Those who have already done so have been given 48 hours to leave India.