After Nawaz Sharif's warning, Pak Army chief Raheel Shareef hits out at India's 'litany of falsehoods'

Facing international isolation, Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif in an unprecedented move has warned the powerful military not to shield banned militant groups and directed authorities to conclude the Pathankot terror attack probe and the 2008 Mumbai attack trials, a leading Pakistani daily reported . Sharif's orders came after a series of meetings between military and civilian leaders, Dawn newspaper said.

The government delivered a "blunt, orchestrated and unprecedented warning" to the military leadership and sought consensus on several key actions, including action against banned militant groups, the paper quoted unnamed individuals, who were involved in the meetings. At least two sets of actions have been agreed as a result of the most recent meeting, an undisclosed one on the day of the All Parties' Conference, which took place on Monday. ISI Director General Rizwan Akhtar, accompanied by National Security Adviser Nasser Janjua, will travel to all provinces with a message that military-led intelligence agencies should not interfere if law enforcement agencies act against militant groups that are banned.

Sharif directed that fresh attempts be made to conclude the Pathankot investigation and restart the stalled Mumbai attacks-related trials in a Rawalpindi anti-terrorism court. Those decisions, taken after an extraordinary verbal confrontation between Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif and the ISI DG, appear to indicate a high-stakes new approach by the PML-N government, the paper said. Separately, on Monday Foreign Secretary Aizaz Chaudhry made an exclusive presentation in the Prime Minister's Office to a small group of civil and military officials. The presentation by the Foreign Secretary summarised the results of the recent diplomatic outreach by Pakistan, the crux being that Pakistan faces diplomatic isolation and that the government's talking points have been met with indifference in major world capitals, the paper said.

On the US, Chaudhry said that relations have deteriorated and will likely further deteriorate because of the American demand that action be taken against the Haqqani network. On India, Chaudhry said that the completion of the Pathankot investigation and some visible action against Jaish-i-Mohammad, which India says was behind the January 2 attack, were the principal demands. Chaudhry said while China has reiterated its support for Pakistan, it too has indicated a preference for a change in course by Pakistan. Specifically, while Chinese authorities have conveyed their willingness to keep putting on technical hold a UN ban on Jaish-i-Mohammad leader Masood Azhar, they have questioned the logic of doing so repeatedly, the report said. The Foreign Secretary's unexpectedly blunt conclusions triggered an astonishing and potentially ground-shifting exchange between the ISI DG and several civilian officials, it said.

Raheel Sharif blames India 

Pakistan army chief General Raheel Sharif accused India of spreading a "litany of falsehoods" and warned that any aggression or a "strategic miscalculation" against his country will not go unpunished. "We have recently witnessed an unfortunate display of utter desperation" playing out inside Kashmir and along Line of Control through a "litany of falsehoods and distortion of facts by India", Raheel said while addressing the passing out ceremony of Pakistan Air Force (PAF) cadets in Risalpur, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa. "We expect international community to condemn Indian insinuations and fabrications about a nation that has made unparalleled contributions in the global fight against terrorism," he said. 

Raheel's comments assume significance as they come amidst the strain in Indo-Pak ties after the Uri terror attack and India's surgical strikes on terror launch pads in Pakistan- occupied Kashmir. Pakistan claims no surgical strikes have taken place.
"Any aggression, born out of deliberate intent or even a strategic miscalculation, will not be allowed to go unpunished and will be met with the most befitting response," Raheel said.
"We will be highly relentless in defending our motherland against entire spectrum of threat. I am confident that with the united resolve of our nation and its armed forces, those inimical to regional peace will not be allowed to succeed.

Their evil plots and plans will be defeated," he said. Raheel claimed that "enemies" of Pakistan's peace and prosperity have been distressed by the sight of the country's "successes". "These enemies will now attempt to accelerate their efforts to reverse our gains and derail our progress through direct and indirect strategy," he asserted. Raheel said Pakistan is a "responsible" country and claimed that it remains committed to following the policy of friendship with all other countries based on the principles of equality and mutual respect. 

"While doing so, the armed forces of Pakistan remain fully prepared to give the most befitting response to any kind of internal and external threat posed to our nation," he said. "Their (enemies') nefarious designs will not be allowed to succeed at any cost. Resolute efforts to consolidate our gains is the only way forward for which we will not leave any stone unturned," Raheel said. He claimed that Pakistan was making efforts to eliminate militancy. "Internally, Operation Zarb-e-Azb had successfully turned the tide against terrorism. We are engaged in eliminating the terrorism infrastructure from our soil and foil nefarious designs of our enemies," he said.