Ties with Russia strengthened under current government, says Dastgir
February 14, 2018
ISLAMABAD: Defence Minister Khurram Dastgir on Wednesday said that Pakistan’s ties with Russia have strengthened under the current government.
Speaking on the security policy in the upper house of the parliament, Dastgir said that Pakistan and Russia have held joint military exercises to strengthen the bilateral relations.
He also briefed the lawmakers about Pakistan’s improved security relations with Saudi Arabia and Turkey.
The defence minister stated that ties with Pakistan’s neighbour China are the strongest that they’ve been.
Dastagir, in response to belligerent statements from his counterpart in India, on Tuesday said Pakistan will pay India in its own coin in case of any misadventure from the country's eastern neighbour.
India's defence minister, Nirmala Sitharaman, had accused Pakistan of an attack on an army base in Indian-occupied Kashmir which killed 10 people, including five Indian soldiers.
Any Indian aggression, strategic miscalculation, or misadventure regardless of its scale, mode, or location will not go unpunished and shall be met with an equal and proportionate response, the defence minister had said in a statement.
Referring to India's usual practice of blaming Pakistan after every attack by Kashmiri freedom fighters, Dastagir had further said that instead of knee-jerk reactions and blaming Pakistan, India should answer for its state-sponsored espionage against Pakistan.
