MT  Desk: Deputy PM Muhammad Ishaq Dar is leading the Pakistan delegation at the 32nd ministerial meeting of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) Regional Forum (ARF), being held on Friday in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
Addressing the Pakistani community in Kuala Lumpur, Dar said on the military side of matters, there was no issue between Pakistan and India as the armed forces had gone back to the mutually decided positions.
However, he added that the defeat inflicted by Pakistan has been difficult for the Indian political leadership to digest.
The Deputy PM said that Pakistan gave a befitting and measured response to Indian aggression. He stated that India seeks to establish hegemony in the region, but Pakistan shattered its pride through its response, according to Radio Pakistan.
“Pakistan believes in peace and in building relationships based on equality, dignity and mutual respect,” Dar added.
He said that sometimes New Delhi says that this is a temporary ceasefire, adding, “Pakistan neither asked for a ceasefire, nor would it. “Neither did we initiate [hostilities] nor did we aggravate matters, and then, when they asked for a ceasefire, we agreed to it after settling the score.
“Otherwise, we wouldn’t have received a call requesting for a ceasefire at 8:15am, just half an hour after our operation ended at 7:45am, where they (India) said we are ready for a ceasefire,” Dar said.
On Thursday, Chief of Army Staff Field Marshal Asim Munir said that India was doubling down on its “nefarious agenda” against Pakistan through the use of proxies after facing a “manifest defeat” in the recent military conflict between the two countries.