'Panicked' Pak fears military strike in 24-36 hours

Pakistan information minister Attaullah Tarar on Wednesday said Islamabad had received "credible intelligence" regarding India's plans to carry out a military strike within the next 24 to 36 hours.

Tarar's reaction comes a day after Prime Minister Narendra Modi granted the security forces "complete operational freedom" to respond to the Pahalgam terror attack, which left 26 persons dead and at least 20 injured.

Tarar's statement on X said any act of aggression would be met with a decisive response. "Pakistan has credible intelligence that India intends to launch a military strike within the next 24 to 36 hours using the Pahalgam incident as a false pretext,” Tarar said, adding that India would be fully responsible for any serious consequences in the region.

He said, “Pakistan has been a victim of terrorism itself...we have always condemned it in all its forms and manifestations, anywhere in the world.”

Tarar stressed Pakistan had "open-heartedly offered a credible, transparent, and independent investigation by a neutral commission of experts to ascertain the truth". He also urged the international community to recognise the severity of the situation, stressing that "the onus of an escalatory spiral and its ensuing consequences shall squarely lie with India".

“The nation reiterates its resolve to defend the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Pakistan at all costs,” he said.

Tensions between India and Pakistan heightened after the Pahalgam terror attack. India has already downgraded diplomatic ties with Pakistan and suspended the Indus Waters Treaty, closed the Attari-Wagah border, expelled all Pakistani military attaches, while Pakistan responded with tit-for-tat measures and paused the 1972 Simla Agreement following the terror attack.