Director General of Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) Maj Gen Asif Ghafoor said on Monday that there was no space for war between Pakistan and India, two nuclear powers of the sub-continent.
Addressing a press conference in Rawalpindi, Maj Gen Ghafoor recalled that ceasefire violations by Indian troops at the Line of Control have been higher than usual in the year 2017-18. There were 1881 violations recorded in 2017 alone, which left 52 dead and 254 injured, he said.
"Indian army targeted innocent citizens, we responded and targeted [their] forces," he said.
The DG ISPR said that Pakistan had not responded to Indian firing, which followed an agreement by the two countries' militaries last week to adhere to the 2003 ceasefire agreement, but was "compelled" to respond only when civilians were targeted.
He complimented the Pakistani media on showing responsibility on the matter and not inciting provocation, adding that Pakistan wants to respect the truce agreement.
"The Indians have to realise and understand where they want to go [in the future]," he said. "We are two nuclear powers, and there is no space for war."
Pakistan's desire for peace should not be construed as a weakness, the chief of the military's media wing stressed.
Briefing journalists about the situation on the western front, the DG ISPR said seven Pakistani officers were martyred in 71 incidents of firing from across the Afghan border in May.
Maj Gen Ghafoor said that the country's relations with the United States are strained, but the Pakistani stance was that the army with the help of the public has fought terrorism and done what no other armed force in the world could manage.
"We have learned that national interest comes first, we will not compromise on that."
He said that there was no stable presence of the Haqqani Network but that their residual strength remains. "Prior to Zarb-i-Azb [military operation] it was a question of capacity, not resolve," he said.
The military desires respectable repatriation of Afghan refugees from Pakistan, after which the army can target all remaining terrorist networks, he said.
